PARIS — Oscar-winning composer Maurice Jarre, who captured the majesty of the desert in his music for “Lawrence of Arabia” and wrote the haunting “Lara’s Theme” in his score for “Doctor Zhivago,” has died. He was 84.
Jarre died in his villa in California, where he had lived for decades, Bernard Miyet, a friend of the composer, said Monday. No cause of death was given.
“The world of film music is mourning one of its last great figures,” Miyet said. “As well as his talent, Maurice Jarre cultivated an eternal good nature, a way of living and a simplicity that became legendary.”
Born in 1924 in Lyon, France, Jarre studied music at the Conservatoire de Paris, training initially as a kettledrum player. He started his career composing scores for theatrical productions and worked 12 years as permanent composer at the Theatre National Populaire.
He soon branched into composing soundtracks for movies and, in 1961, worked on director David Lean’s “Lawrence of Arabia,” for which he won his first Oscar.
He won a second for his work on another Lean film, “Doctor Zhivago,” based on the novel by Boris Pasternak. The song “Lara’s Theme” became a hit single.
Jarre collaborated with Lean again in 1984 on “A Passage to India,” winning his third Academy Award.
Jarre’s style was noted for his use of ethnic instruments and, later, synthetic sounds.
He mixed traditional Indonesian instruments with electronic music in the score for Peter Weir’s 1982 film “The Year of Living Dangerously.”
In 1989, he layered Celtic harp and flute over synthesizers for “Dead Poet’s Society.”
He received a lifetime achievement award at the Berlin Film Festival last month after a career including more than 150 soundtracks.
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