Stefan Karrer of Milan Entertainment sent me the following information about Maurice Jarre, one of my favorite film composers:  

On March 29, 2009, Maurice Jarre, a much celebrated artist and a very close friend of Milan Records, passed away at his home in Los Angeles. He was 84.

Milan’s development as a record label is closely related to Mr. Jarre’s work, and culminated in 2002 with the release of a two-disc album with interview – The Emotion and The Strength. Mr. Jarre re-recorded all of his favorite scores: Is Paris Burning?, The Tin Drum, Grand Prix, A Passage to India, Ryan's Daughter, Lawrence of Arabia, and Doctor Zhivago, among others. This album also turned out to be Mr. Jarre’s favorite compilation of his own work that he would hand out to close friends and family.

The collaboration between Maurice Jarre and Milan Records started with the soundtrack to Peter Weir’s The Year of Living Dangerously (1982), followed only a few years later by Witness (1985) and Dead Poets Society (1989). In 1990, Milan released what remains to this date its greatest success, Ghost (1990).

Shortly after Sir David Lean’s death in 1991, Maurice Jarre and Milan Records collaborated again in the tribute concert to the great filmmaker. Recorded live at the Barbican Center in London, Mr. Jarre conducted the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. For the commemoration of Sir Lean’s 100th birthday in 2008, Milan issued an enhanced CD/DVD copy of this memorable event – Maurice Jarre: A Tribute to David Lean.

Throughout the 1990s, Maurice Jarre would continue to release his major film soundtracks on Milan: A Walk in the Clouds (1995), Sunshine (1999), and Uprising (2001).

He will be missed dearly as both an artist and as a friend.

(Photo: DVD cover of Maurice Jarre: A Tribute to David Lean. Copyright 2008 Milan Entertainmen, Inc. All Rights Reserved.)