Hans Zimmer
Is it possible to become a sought-after Hollywood composer without vocational education? Experience Hans Zimmer proves - you can. The column "education" in his resume contains only one point: two-week courses of playing the piano, and the list of films on which he managed to work, takes several pages. We offer to follow the creative path of this talented German and get acquainted with his best works.
short biography
Hans Zimmer was born on September 12, 1957 in the German city of Frankfurt am Main. His musical development determined the absence of ... TV. Instead, there was a piano in the house, on which mom played. But the boy did not try to drum on the keys. It was much more interesting for him to “tune” the tool and to supplement it with various devices, which made the father-engineer happy. Curiosity to the device of various techniques and corrosiveness in the future will help Hans to succeed.
In the intervals between the "preparation" of the piano, the boy became acquainted with the world of music thanks to his mother. He was brought up on the works of Johann Sebastian Bach, Franz Schubert and other great composers. And at about 4-5 years old I decided to try myself as a musician myself and compose my first work. Hans himself admits: it was a little like music. His game was like a set of sounds, a noise veil, on which he worked with pleasure.
Surrender to the power of music Hans made the death of his father. He was 5 when a heart attack took away the main person in his life. Salvation was the very same piano, which not so long ago acted as an experimental sample. Music drowned out the pain, forcing to forget about everything.
The passion for musical chords, suddenly manifested by Hans, should be continued in the story. They were moved to the UK and enrolling in a private school Hurtwood Hous, where special attention was paid to the creative development of students. At that time, the future movie composer was a teenager. Here, in England, began his musical career. Hansa was immediately accepted into two groups, where he played keyboards and brilliantly demonstrated his abilities. Pop music is not the format of which the talented young man dreamed. The film industry is what his soul was for. And fate itself favored him to link life with the cinema.
In the 80s in the life of a young man there is a significant event - acquaintance with Stanley Myers. The famous composer offers cooperation to the young man. He did not think to refuse, because he had long dreamed of meeting Myers. They became teachers for each other. Stanley opened for Hans the subtleties of a symphony orchestra, in return for receiving a pass to the world of electronic sound. Together, they founded the recording studio Lillie Yard, where they took the first steps towards merging orchestral music with electronic.
But, as often happens, a creative person sooner or later begins to strive for a solo career. This happened and Hans Zimmer. Having been in the role of Stanley's assistant, he learned a great deal about the work of the cinema composer. It's time to become one myself.
Hans's debut work is considered the main theme of the film "Limit Exposure" (1987). But he gained fame thanks to another tape. Music written for the film “Rain Man” by Barry Levinson allowed Zimmer to be the most desired composer in Hollywood. He was nominated for an Oscar, but the German did not receive the coveted statuette.
The beginning of the 90s for Hans was no less successful. He worked on "The Lion King" and was involved in founding a private company for recording film music. His companion was D. Rafkin. Subsequently, the co-owners filed lawsuits against each other. The case was won by Hans - the company went to him and united up to 50 composers around the world. With the help of his project, the German promoted and promotes young talents.
As time went on, the need for the film industry in music by Hans Zimmer inexorably grew and does not lose relevance so far. This German composer managed to fulfill his childhood dream and become one of the most recognizable people in his field. He now lives in Los Angeles, continues to write music for films and has four children with his wife Susanna.
Interesting Facts
"I want to be a movie composer!" - exclaimed Hans after watching the movie "Once Upon a Time in the Wild West." He was so impressed with the musical accompaniment of the film, written by Ennio Morricone, that as a 9-year-old boy, he firmly determined his future career. A little later, he even wrote a letter to his idol, in which he painted all the significance of his work for himself.
To earn his living, Himmer was engaged in writing music for commercials.
Cooperation with the group The Buggles allowed Hans to get on the TV screens. In 1979, the British duo released the video for the song "Video Killed the Radio Star". At one of the shots in a young boy, you can recognize our hero behind drums.
About 30 nominations for the Oscar, Grammy and Golden Globe and only seven awards - these are the estimates of the work of Hans Zimmer in the light of the jury. There was only one Oscar in his career for the picture The Lion King.
Hans Zimmer is a real perfectionist. Because of this, it is difficult for him to get involved in the work - he is afraid not to meet his and others' expectations.
Good and bad - this division of music has developed in Zimmer. Naturally, he is trying to create the best. But, by his own admission, he does not always succeed. Salvation becomes a new project, in which he invests even more.
The famous film composer was not eager to work on the film "The Lion King". He perceived the tape as a typical musical, with its characteristic princesses and magic. Hans did not like this, but he loved his 6-year-old daughter very much. So that she could be proud of her father, he accepted the invitation of the Disney studio to work on the soundtrack for the cartoon. Already in the process of work, Zimmer changed his attitude to the film, because the plot was very similar to his life: he, like Simba, lost his father in childhood.
In 2010, Hans Zimmer's star appeared on the Walk of Fame.
Hans Zimmer's Best Music
The innovation of this German composer is the absence of fear of experimentation. Instead of blindly listening to the director, he plunges into the world of the main characters, creating something new, unusual for the audience. Thanks to this approach, Hans made the following films recognizable.
The Rain Man (1988). The usual musical theme for such paintings (Road Movie) is created with the help of strings. But Hans preferred the synthesizer and the drums. So he decided to show the inner world of Raymond, the main character suffering from autism. Living outside of time and space is how Zimmer saw Raymond living in his own reality. This inspired him to create an unusual soundtrack.
"Rain Man" (listen)
The Beginning (2010). Vivid emotions, the depth of experiences and the interweaving of reality and sleep - it seems that Hans was able to fully reflect the idea of the film with the help of his music. Her rhythm is gradually gaining speed, whipping up the atmosphere and forcing the viewer to become part of the plot.
Interstellar (2014). The film's director, Jonathan Nolan, gave the composer complete freedom of action, expressing the only wish for audio tape support: it should be music about a father who should leave the children for an important mission. Not a word about space, interstellar flights and gravitational waves. That was enough to write one of the memorable soundtracks, succinctly inscribing the sound of an organ in it.
"The Lion King" (1994). Two talented Europeans worked on the main theme of this cartoon: the words were written by Briton Elton John, and the music was written by German Hans Zimmer. Studio Disney became interested in Zimmer after his work on Strength of Personality. To create a soundtrack composer poisoned in South Africa to record the game of local residents on national instruments. Hans wanted to do something similar for "The Lion King", but the Disney studio was frightened for the composer's life - the film "Strength of Personality" was negatively perceived by South African police. In order not to lose the African flavor, the Directorate invited musician from South Africa Lebo M. to the USA.
"The Lion King" (listen)
"Pirates of the Caribbean". The musical accompaniment of a series of films about pirate life is associated with the name of Hans Zimmer. But it is not so. The first part was worked by his student, Klaus Badelt, because the teacher was busy with another project. For the next three parts, Hans himself wrote. Again, the protégé of the German composer Jeff Zanelli is involved in the work on the fifth part.
"The Last Samurai" - it was this tape that prevented Zimmer from taking part in writing the main theme for the first part of the pirates. He was busy studying Japanese culture, because he felt a lack of knowledge to create an authentic soundtrack. And the more he plunged into the history of the Country of the Rising Sun, the more questions he had. As a result, he compiled the old designs made in the Japanese style, and ... was pleasantly surprised by the reaction of the Japanese. "How does a German know so much about Japanese music?" - they asked with admiration.
The Da Vinci Code (2006). To emphasize the mystery and mysticism of the plot, Hans used religious motifs, as well as sounds that are close to opera. All this helped to give the film atmospheric.
Sherlock Holmes (2009). The hero of the film is a typical European whose life Zimmer decided to tell with the help of an upset piano. The composer bought this tool specifically for creating a soundtrack with one goal: to show the hero’s quirkiness. He was not too lazy to go to Slovakia to add to the music of the next part about the famous detective color of the gypsy culture.
"Sherlock Holmes" (listen)
"The Dark Knight". The trilogy about Batman, on which Hans worked, is difficult to evaluate separately: the musical parts are interconnected. But there are moments in this film that deserve special attention. For example, the Joker theme presented with the help of one note played on the cello. Thus, Zimmer wanted to make the audience hate this hero.
Music is an important element of any film. It complements the plot, gives it a volume and completeness. Music makes the tape recognizable, forcing once again to click on play. And this is the merit of the composer. But not the usual, trying to repeat the same motives, but subtly feeling the time and desires of the audience. So cinema composer is Hans Zimmer, a talented man with a big heart.
Watch the video: Who's Hans Zimmer? His Bio, Oscar, Movies, Awards, Grammy, Brothers & Net Worth (November 2024).
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