Georges Delerue (12 March 1925 – 20 March 1992) was a French composer of film scores and classical music. He composed over 350 scores for cinema and television, making him one of the most prolific film composers in history.
Early Life and Education Born in Roubaix, France, Delerue studied at the Roubaix Conservatory before entering the Conservatoire de Paris in 1945. There, he studied composition with Darius Milhaud and counterpoint and fugue with Jean Rivier. He won the Second Grand Prix de Rome in 1947 and the First Grand Prix de Rome in 1949 for his cantata La Fille du Docteur.
Career Delerue began composing for film in the late 1950s. His breakthrough came with his collaboration with directors of the French New Wave, most notably François Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard. He scored several of Truffaut's seminal films, including Shoot the Piano Player (1960), Jules and Jim (1962), The Soft Skin (1964), Two English Girls (1971), Day for Night (1973), and The Last Metro (1980). For Godard, he composed the scores for Contempt (1963) and A Married Woman (1964).
He worked extensively in international cinema, collaborating with directors such as Alain Resnais (Hiroshima mon amour, 1959), Louis Malle (The Fire Within, 1963), Bernardo Bertolucci (The Conformist, 1970), Oliver Stone (Platoon, 1986; Salvador, 1986), and Mike Nichols (Silkwood, 1983).
Awards and Honors Delerue received numerous accolades, including:
- Academy Award for Best Original Score for A Little Romance (1979).
- César Award for Best Music for Love on the Run (1979), The Last Metro (1980), and Dr. Knock (1985).
- Genie Award for Best Music Score for The Revolving Doors (1988).
- He was named a Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres and a Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur.
Style and Legacy Delerue was known for his melodic lyricism, orchestral sensitivity, and ability to adapt his style to the specific emotional requirements of a film. His score for Jules and Jim, particularly the theme "Catherine," is frequently cited as a masterpiece of film music. He also composed concert works, including a cello concerto, a violin concerto, and the opera Le Chevalier de neige.
He died in Los Angeles, California, on 20 March 1992.
