Hans Zimmer and his contribution to music in cinema
German film and video game music composer Hans Zimmer has created some of the best-known and most influential soundtracks of our time. Their mores of 200 musical projects have grossed $28 billion at the global box office, with scores like those of 'Gladiator¸ 'The thin lYored line, 'Rain Man or the trilogy of 'The dark knight'. For all these reasons, Zimmer's work is a fundamental part of music in film.
Who is Hans Zimmer?
Born in Frankfurt on September 12, 1957, this composer is characterized by integrating electronic music with symphonic-orchestral arrangements. During his childhood he received piano lessons and later moved to London to enter the world of music during an extensive collaboration with his mentor Stanley Myers.
Although his greatest recognition comes from his work as a soundtrack composer, during the eighties he immersed himself in the world of synthpop and new wave and was part of several groups such as The Camera Club, The Buggles, Helden, alongside Ultravox drummer Warren Cann and Zaine Griff.
A fairly unknown fact is that in Spain it was keyboardist of metico Mecano group, at least in one concert held in Segovia, on November 8, 1984, and collaborated with Nacho Cano in the production of the instrumental song that opens the album of the same name. 'Dwhere is it the country's of fairies?'. Furthermore, in our country he also arranged songs for Miguel Bosé and Amaya Uranga.
In 1986 he did his first freelance work in Vardo, although he continued collaborating with Myers until 1988. As a curiosity, it is worth noting that when he was twenty-two years old he appeared in the music video of the famous song 'Video Killed the Radio Star', playing the electric piano.
As an instrumentalist, he stands out playing the piano, banjo, keyboard, synthesizer, guitar and bass guitar, but it is his work as an author that has led him to be considered an outstanding composer in Hollywood.
Most important awards and nominations that have been given to Zimmer
Zimmer has been awarded an Academy Award, two Golden Globes, three Grammys, an American Music Award and a Tony Award. He has been nominated 68 times in different competitions and categories, of which he has won 19 awards in total.
'The Lion King' in 1995 and 'Gladiator' in 2001, gave him his two Golden Globes, apart from being nominated for these awards for ten other films, in 2003, nominated for best song for 'Spirit: Indomable' and in recent years for 'Interstellar', '12 Years a Slave' ', 'Inception' and 'The Da Vinci Code'. For the Bafta awards He has been nominated for best soundtrack 7 times, the first with 'Thelma and Louis' in 1992 and the last with 'Interstellar' in 2015.
As for the Emmy Awards, it has received two nominations, for Best Original Main Musical Theme in 2017, for 'Genius' and for Best Musical Composition for a Miniseries, Movie or Special, in 2010, for 'The Pacific'. In 2009 he also received the award for best soundtrack at the Saturn Awards, for 'The Dark Knight', a film directed by Christopher Nolan, with whom he has also worked on other films such as 'Dunkirk' and 'Interstellar'.
At the Grammys, has reached a whopping 18 nominations, in different categories, obtaining the award on 4 occasions. For Best Soundtrack Album Compiled for a Film, Television or Other Visual Media, in 2008 for 'The Dark Knight', in 1995 for Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Film or for Television, for 'Marea Roja'; in 1994 for Best Musical Album for Children for 'The Lion King' and that same year for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanied by Vocals for 'Circle of Life'.
But his greatest achievement, in terms of the relevance of the awards, occurred in 1994, when got the EITHERscar from the Academy of Cinematographic Arts and SciencesU.S. Awards for Best Soundtrack for 'The Lion King'. He has been nominated for this same award on ten other occasions, the first for 'Rain Man' in 1988 and the last for 'Dunkirk', in 2017.
Most important soundtracks by Hans Zimmer
The soundtrack of 'Rain Man, a 1988 film directed by Barry Levinson, helped Zimmer attract the attention of the Hollywood industry. At just 30 years old, he worked with a legend like Dustin Hoffman and an emerging actor like Tom Cruise. Few were aware that a film composition star was being created, who had a special talent for interpreting the real needs of a film. On this occasion the musical silences had a primary relevance, for the benefit of the Hoffman – Cruise interpretive duel.
For its part, the music of 'The Lion King' (1994), meant one of the most relevant works in Disney history. An inspiring and majestic score. For this work, Zimmer had a cast of extraordinary professionals such as Conrad Pope, his friend and close collaborator Nick Glennie-Smith and even Henry Mancini.
Zimmer's next major step in Hollywood was 'The rgoose' (nineteen ninety six). The collaboration with Glennie-Smith worked again this time in a blockbuster, whose music has become one of the best instrumental soundtracks of recent times. With an epic and vibrant tone, it charges the viewer with adrenaline with astonishing ease. Its fundamental virtue is to provide emotion and intensity at the right moment, giving an action film a perfect setting.
With 'Gladiator (2000) came the union between Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard, who won the Golden Globe for Best Score, an Oscar nomination and a BAFTA. Musical critics drew from this work the influence of Richard Wagner, particularly in songs such as 'Siegfried' and 'The Twilight of the Gods'. The main song, performed with Gerrard, with the title 'Now we are free', plays several times during the film, but its most emotional moment occurs at the conclusion.
In 2008 came 'The dark knight', first collaboration between Zimmer and Nolan. This conceptual score, written by Zimmer and James Newton Howard, does not leave aside the spectacular nature of typical orchestrations. «made in hollywood», and achieves a symbiosis rarely seen until then. His 'Symphony of Chaos' makes it great, specifically in the musical passages composed for the moments in which joker occupies the screen. He leitmotiv of all the work is 'Why So Serious', a complex suite room composed exclusively to accompany and define this character played by Heath Ledger.
In 'The Ulast samurai' (2003) the composer imbues us with the history, customs and values of a people who love their tradition, through the use of traditional instruments with relaxed music throughout the film, and with moments of strength and courage in battle. And with 'The CoI say Da Vinci' (2006), makes a pairing that borders on perfection, locating its soundscapes in the secrets and miseries of some characters to project itself into the epic of those who succumb to their destiny.
On November 10, 2009, the video game was released 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2', with the soundtrack designed by Zimmer. The so-called shooter par excellence offers an orchestra behind every step of the character. The instruments intertwine to form an extraordinary composition, which makes the player feel the bullets above his head. The German composer also worked on other video games such as Crysis 2 and MW2, in which he always favors the interactive experience.
'Inception' e 'Interstellar' They are two other works of the Zimmer-Nolan duet. In the first the composer played with time travel and the world of dreams. According to what he said in an interview in the New York Times, he found the original recording of 'Non je ne regrette rien' in the French National Archives and commissioned the two notes to be extracted digitally and subsequently manipulated in various ways for insertion into the soundtrack. In the second he used an ensemble of 34 strings, 24 woodwind instruments and four pianos, as well as a mixed choir of 60 voices. Majesty and simplicity in equal parts.
Music by Hans Zimmer: 'The Lion King'
Zimmer's music in 'The Lion King' was awarded for Best Soundtrack and Best Song for the theme ''Can you feel the love tonight'. This is its main characteristic, the musical structure would be different from how it had been until then at Disney. The composer, Zimmer, would write the score, and another composer, Elton John, would write the songs with lyricist Tim Rice. This pattern of a composer with a well-known pop artist would be repeated more times at Disney, such as in the film 'Tarzan', with Mark Mancina and Phil Collins.
Hans Zimmer and Netflix
The composer from Frankfurt has also taken the step to platforms with his collaboration in the series 'The Crown'. The soundtrack of the first season is composed by Rupert Gregson-Williams, although the central theme, which can be heard at the beginning of each episode, is a song by Hans Zimmer. This occurs during the first three seasons.
Film music by Hans Zimmer at the FSO
The soundtrack of 'Pearl Harbor It is one of his most intimate works and was influenced by some of his most applauded scores, such as 'The Thin Red Line' (1999), offering another example of the composer's vitality. The epic cuts are reduced to action scenes, always in favor of an overflowing and, at times, baroque lyricism.
For these reasons, it is one of the works that Film Symphony Orchestra He usually carries it to his concerts with total assiduity, almost like a banner. In the program of our current 'Fénix' Tour, 'The best mu'sica of cinema in concert' It is always on the billboard, as a tribute to this brilliant composer who is music history.
Hans Zimmer, nicknamed he 'omnipresent' by a sector of critics, for his constant presence in film music, both as an author, as a producer, or as part of the musical department of different productions, he is one of the most prolific composers in the history of cinema. In these different roles, he has participated in more than 200 musical productions, in one way or another. The latest, 'Dune' by Dennis Villeneuve.
He has been a pioneer in integrationn of the muelectronic physics with symphony more traditional and classic, and alma mater of countless soundtracks by other composers whom he supports and mentors from his Media Ventures studio, now renamed Remote Control. For all these reasons, he is one of the most influential musicians in our universe of soundtracks.
