Sylvester Levay (originally Lévay Szilveszter, Serbian: Силвестер Леваи, Silvester Levai) is a Hungarian recording artist and composer, born in Yugoslavia (now Serbia).

Sylvester Levay
Levay at 2012 Elisabeth Premiere
Background information
Born (1945-05-16) 16 May 1945 (age 79)
Subotica, FS Serbia, DF Yugoslavia
GenresFilm score
Occupation(s)Composer, musician
InstrumentKeyboards

Life and career

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Levay was born on 16 May 1945 in Subotica[1] in the North Bačka District of Vojvodina, Yugoslavia (now Serbia). Sylvester Levay began his musical studies at the age of eight. Levay developed a taste for American music while growing up in Yugoslavia, eventually becoming a music arranger and lyricist.[2] Upon his arrival in Munich in 1972, he met his writing partner, Michael Kunze, with whom he has created many successful theatrical works.[3][4] From 1980 to 2000 he lived in Hollywood and concentrated on composing film music.[1] He composed songs for notable artists like Elton John and Penny McLean.[5] He was awarded with a Grammy for his 1975 song "Fly Robin Fly".[1]

In October 2010, Levay worked with Xiah Junsu of JYJ to prepare for a musical concert - "Kim Junsu Musical Concert, Levay with Friends" in South Korea to be held at Seoul's Olympic Gymnastics Arena.[6]

He currently divides his time between homes in Munich, Vienna and Los Angeles. Married for twenty-five years, he and his wife Monika have a daughter, Alice, and a son, Sylvester Jr.[citation needed]

Compositions (selection)

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Awards

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Sylvester Lévay elégedett az Összefogás dalával" (in Hungarian). Duna TV. Retrieved 2013-04-01.
  2. ^ Vickers, Tom. "Singles: Surprising Takeoff of 'Fly, Robin, Fly.'" Rolling Stone 203 (January 1, 1976), p. 18.
  3. ^ "Interview mit Sylvester Levay: Wir suchen neue Wege" (in German). thatsmusical.de. 2012-08-13. Archived from the original on 2013-05-23. Retrieved 2013-04-01.
  4. ^ "Poetin Ruth Weiss und Komponist Sylvester Levay ausgezeichnet" (in German). Magistrat der Stadt Wien. 2006-10-04. Retrieved 2013-04-01.
  5. ^ "Sylvester Levay". Allmusic. Retrieved 2013-04-01.
  6. ^ "Xiah Junsu Musical Concert To Be Held", 2010
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