Greek composer Vangelis at his apartment in Paris in 1981. Photo by Rob Verhorst/Redferns.

Evángelos Odysséas Papathanassíou, better known as synthesizer pioneer Vangelis, died Tuesday at the age of 79. The electronic composer won an Oscar in 1981 for his soundtrack for the film “Chariots of Fire.” Vangelis’ haunting synth and piano theme for the film about two British Olympic runners became synonymous with dramatic music that inspires audiences during slow motion montages.

Born in 1943 in a coastal town in Thessaly but later raised in Athens, Vangelis played in a string of pop bands before setting up a studio in the 197os and beginning work scoring films. He’s probably best known for his revolutionary soundtrack for the 1982 science fiction film, “Blade Runner.” While the composer’s soundtrack for “Chariots” evoked personal, athletic struggle and an ambition for personal greatness, the’ soundtrack for Ridley Scott’s pioneering cyberpunk film captured the grandly dystopian vision of a futuristic Los Angeles.

Vangelis’ genius, as evidenced by his “Blade Runner” soundtrack, lay in his ability to animate sterile synthesized soundscapes with pliable, human dynamics. Operating a bulky and complicated Yamaha CS-80 synthesizer, Vangelis could mimic everything from saxophones to orchestral strings, all imbued with an organic humanity rather than a machine-like coldness. The soundtrack has inspired thousands of soundalike synthesizer presets.

Inspired by space, Vangelis teamed up with NASA and other space agencies repeatedly over the last 20 years. His 2001 choral symphony “Mythodea” was used as the Mars Odyssey mission. He composed three short pieces for the European Space Agency’s Rossetta 2014 mission to land on Comet 67P. In September of 2021, Vangelis released “Juno to Jupiter,” inspired by NASA’s Juno spaceship.

Papathanassíou died in Tuesday in a French hospital where he was being treated.