2. Speaking about music and
famous composers we often
mean
Beethoven, Mozart, Glinka, Tc
haikovsky, etc. and their
masterpieces.
Undoubtedly, their music is
timeless and will be always
beloved and popular, but we
shouldn’t forget that
nowadays we have
people, who are also very
talented and whose works
arouse deep and complex
emotions. So, today I want to
tell you about Hans
Zimmer, German composer
and modern genius.
Hans Florian Zimmer (born
September 12, 1957) is
a German film composer and
music producer.
>> 0 >> 1 >> 2 >> 3 >> 4 >>
3. For nearly three decades
Zimmer has composed music
for over 100 films including
some critically acclaimed film
scores, such as The Lion
King, Gladiator, and The Dark
Knight. His works are notable
for integrating electronic
music sounds with
traditional orchestral arrange
ments. He has received
four Grammy Awards,
two Golden Globes,
a Classical BRIT Award, and
an Academy Award.
He is named also on the list
of the "Top 100 living
geniuses", published by The
Daily Telegraph.
>> 0 >> 1 >> 2 >> 3 >> 4 >>
4. Zimmer was born
in Frankfurt am
Main, Germany. As a young
child, he lived in Königstein-
Falkenstein, where he played
the piano at home, but had
piano lessons only briefly as
he disliked the discipline of
formal lessons. He moved
to London as a teenager. In
an interview in 2006, he
commented: "My father died
when I was just a child, and I
escaped somehow into the
music and music has been
my best friend." Zimmer
began his career
playing keyboards
and synthesizers.
>> 0 >> 1 >> 2 >> 3 >> 4 >>
5. Zimmer's first solo score
was Terminal Exposure for
director Nico Mastorakis in
1987.
A turning point in Zimmer's
career occurred with the 1988
film Rain
Man. Hollywood director Barry
Levinson was looking for
someone to score Rain Man, and
his wife proposed Zimmer.
Levinson was impressed by
Zimmer's work, and hired him.
In the score, Zimmer uses
synthesizers mixed with steel
drums. Zimmer explained that
"It was a road movie, and road
movies usually have jangly
guitars or a bunch of strings."
>> 0 >> 1 >> 2 >> 3 >> 4 >>
6. For the 1992 film The Power of One, Zimmer
traveled to Africa in order to use African
choirs and drums in the recording of the
score.
On the strength of this work, Disney
Animation Studios approached Zimmer
to compose the score for The Lion King.
This was his first score for an animated
film. Zimmer won numerous awards for
his work on The Lion King, including
an Academy Award (also know as The
Oscar) for Best Music, a Golden
Globe, and two Grammys.
>> 0 >> 1 >> 2 >> 3 >> 4 >>
7. In the 2000s, Zimmer has composed scores for
Hollywood blockbuster films
including Gladiator, Black Hawk Down, The Last
Samurai, The Da Vinci Code, The Simpsons
Movie, and Angels and Demons.
>> 0 >> 1 >> 2 >> 3 >> 4 >>
8. While writing the
score for The Last
Samurai, Zimmer felt
that his knowledge
of Japanese
music was extremely
limited. He began
doing extensive
research, but the
more he studied, the
less he felt he knew.
Finally, Zimmer took
what he had written
to Japan for feedback
and was shocked
when he was asked
how he knew so
much about Japanese
music.
>> 0 >> 1 >> 2 >> 3 >> 4 >>
9. For the 2009 film Sherlock Holmes, "The Daily Variety" reported that
Zimmer purchased an out-of-tune piano for 200 dollars and used it
throughout the scoring process because of its "quirkiness“.
>> 0 >> 1 >> 2 >> 3 >> 4 >>
10. Zimmer is also
noted for his work
on the scores
of Christopher
Nolan's Batman
Begins (2005)
and The Dark
Knight (2008), on
which he
collaborated
with James Newton
Howard. Zimmer
is also composing
the score for The
Dark Knight
Rises, the final
installment of
Christopher
Nolan's Batman
trilogy.
>> 0 >> 1 >> 2 >> 3 >> 4 >>
11. Hans Zimmer also
composed music for
video games Call of
Duty: Modern Warfare
2(with Lorne
Balfe), Crysis 2 (with
Borislav Slavov and
Tilman Sillescu).
Nowadays Zimmer
is the head of the
film music division
at DreamWorks stud
ios, and works with
other composers
through the
company which he
founded, Remote
Control Productions.
>> 0 >> 1 >> 2 >> 3 >> 4 >>
12. In December 2010, Zimmer
received a star on the Hollywood
Walk of Fame.
Zimmer lives in Los
Angeles with his wife Suzanne,
and has four children.
>> 0 >> 1 >> 2 >> 3 >> 4 >>
13. What I really like about Hans’ music is that it is really complex and original. He
mixes classical and folk instruments with synthesized sounds and then the theme
began to appear. And every theme for every film is unique and you remember it
even if you’ve seen movie only ones. Hans makes really complicated and
imaginative tracks and each of them has a character, which is extremely suitable for
the plot. His music makes an atmosphere and when we watch film we really feel
it, we feel the mood of the moment.
>> 0 >> 1 >> 2 >> 3 >> 4 >>
14. Actually, it was extremely difficult for me to choose track, which I like most. So, I
decided to name my favourite albums and present one fragment from each of them.
«Sherlock Holmes» - Panic Sheer Bloody Panic
>> 0 >> 1 >> 2 >> 3 >> 4 >>
19. To sum up, I want
to say that music
by Hans Zimmer
is really inspiring
for me and I’m
happy that I had a
chance ones, in
2008, to get
acquainted with
his works. I just
can’t imagine my
life without his
music. And I’m
greatly thankful to
him for what he
composes and for
what he gives to
millions of his
fans, including
me.
>> 0 >> 1 >> 2 >> 3 >> 4 >>
20. 1. Who is Hans Zimmer?
•A composer
•A singer
•A conductor
2. Where is he from?
•From the UK
•From America
• From Germany
>> 0 >> 1 >> 2 >> 3 >> 4 >>
21. 3. How many film works does he have?
•More than 50
•More than 70
•More than 100
4. Have Hans Zimmer ever won an Academy Award?
•No, never
•Yes, he has one Academy Award
•Yes, he has two Academy Awards
>> 0 >> 1 >> 2 >> 3 >> 4 >>
22. 5. What score, composed by Hans, won an Academy Award?
•Sherlock Holmes
•The Lion King
•The Dark Knight
6. When did Zimmer receive a •In 2009
star on the Hollywood Walk of •In 2010
Fame? •In 2011
>> 0 >> 1 >> 2 >> 3 >> 4 >>
23. What do you think about music you’ve heard during my
presentation?
>> 0 >> 1 >> 2 >> 3 >> 4 >>
