Sylvester Levay

I'll be honest — I came to Sylvester Levay late, through a friend who was obsessed with the Vienna musical scene, and the moment I heard the score for Elisabeth I completely understood the obsession. Born in Subotica in what was then Yugoslavia, Levay built a career that quietly became the backbone of the German-language musical world, composing sweeping, emotionally devastating scores for shows like Mozart!, Rebecca, and Marie Antoinette. There's a theatricality to his music that feels almost cinematic — big romantic melodies that hit you somewhere deep before you even know what's happening. The fact that he was awarded the honorary title of Professor in 2021 and the Goldene Stimmgabel back in 2002 tells you the industry knows exactly what it has in him. His work has run for decades on stages from Vienna to Tokyo, and that staying power is no accident.

Name (English)

Sylvester Levay

Name (Japanese)

シルヴェスター・リーヴァイ

Reading

しるゔぇすたー・りーゔぁい

Born

May 16, 1945 (age 81)

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Taurus / Rooster

Origin

Subotica, Serbia

Occupation

composer / film score composer / musician / bandleader

Awards & achievements

• 2021 Berufstitel Professor
• 2002 Goldene Stimmgabel
• German Musical Theatre Prizes

Motto

Private

• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%B7%E3%83%AB%E3%83%B4%E3%82%A7%E3%82%B9%E3%82%BF%E3%83%BC%E3%83%BB%E3%83%AA%E3%83%BC%E3%83%B4%E3%82%A1%E3%82%A4

Tags

• composer
• film score composer
• musician

Last updated

2026-06-02

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.