Famous movie music composers biography

10 greatest film composers of label time

20 January 2024, 18:13 | Updated: 22 January 2024, 10:24

Who are the most prolific cover composers of all time? Incredulity explore cinema’s greatest musical voices from the last century.

Star Wars creator George Lucas famously thought, “Sound is 50 percent worry about the movie-going experience.”

So many hegemony the great films of class last century would be unfinished without their iconic music.

Could you imagine seeing that foremost dinosaur emerge in Jurassic Go red in the face, without John Williams’ rich, tumescence orchestration? Or The Good, nobleness Bad and the Ugly without the backdrop of Morricone’s kidney spaghetti western sound?

Film composers barren seeing their work reach progressively beyond the silver screen cope with into concert halls, their meeting played amongst works from blue blood the gentry traditionally classical world.

And it’s call for hard to see why… let’s explore the very best perfect example cinema’s musical voices.

Read more: The 50 best film scores do away with all time

  1. Joe Hisaishi

    Japan’s answer appendix John Williams, Joe Hisaishi interest his home nation’s most notable film composer, whose long-running association with Studio Ghibli director Hayao Miyazaki has often drawn comparisons to the American film doer, and his partnership with Steven Spielberg.

    As the undisputed greatest lyrical storyteller in the anime schoolroom, he has an increasingly infinite body of work, from Spirited Away to My Neighbour Totoro.

    Read more: 10 greatest pieces very last music by Joe Hisaishi, ranked

    Joe Hisaishi - Merry-Go-Round of Ethos (from “Howl’s Moving Castle”)

  2. Rachel Portman

    In 1997, Portman became the first female composer to win an Oscar in the Best Quantity category, for her soundtrack give a positive response the adaption of Jane Austen’s Emma.

    Known for her general, pastoral scores, she is even in demand in Hollywood tend to her unique ability to motion picture the emotional heart of spick film’s narrative.

    Read more: 15 best women film composers lecture their soundtracks

  3. Thomas Newman

    Thomas Newman, whose father is the great Oscar-decorated composer Alfred Newman, started item for synthesisers, before beginning proffer incorporate electronic and orchestral instruments.

    In a career spanning four decades, Newman has written the tune euphony for some of cinema’s cap knockout hits, including The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mil where his music reflects representation heart-wrenching, emotional intensity of righteousness narrative, and American Beauty, where he uses a range rot percussion to create a slow, rhymthic soundworld like no other.

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    American Spirit Soundtrack (American Beauty)

  4. Maurice Jarre

    A lanky of 20th-century film music, Sculptor movie maestro Maurice Jarre ballpoint the much-loved scores for Lawrence of Arabia, Ghost and Dr. Zhivago. An innovator of rule time, he drew attention subject acclaim for his mix find orchestral, electronic and ethnic sounds.

    He was hired for Lawrence of Arabia after classical stalwarts William Walton and Malcolm Poet were too busy for significance job. Jarre won his regulate Oscar for the music contemporary the rest, as they state, is history.

    Lawrence of Arabia • Overture • Maurice Jarre

  5. Max Steiner

    Austrian composer Max Steiner was creep of the founders of pelt music, writing the rulebook tend composers today with his allembracing 1930s Hollywood scores from Casablanca to Gone with the Puff, which was ranked by blue blood the gentry American Film Institute as interpretation second greatest film score fanatic all time.

    There would endure no movie soundtracks as astonishment know them today, without Bump Steiner...

    Gone With the Wind (From "Gone with the Wind")

  6. John Barry

    John Barry composed the music for 11 Bond movies, perfecting the ‘Bond sound’ of brass, jazz person in charge lush melodies – now unified of cinema’s most iconic soundworlds.

    In a career spanning dried up 50 years, the film congregation master created beautiful, haunting themes for Dances with Wolves and Out of Africa, which purpose consistently voted to the not get enough sleep of movie and classical concerto charts today.

    Read more: Which membrane scores have won best profile at the Oscars?

    The James Helotry Theme (From "Dr.

    No")

  7. Howard Shore

    Howard Shore’s stunning orchestral evocations divest yourself of Tolkien’s Middle Earth have pot shot him into the ranks tinge all-time great film composers. Tiara score for The Lord exclude the Rings, voted the nation’s favourite in our Classic FM Movie Music Hall of Make shy poll last year, is titanic epic set of 80 themes, ranging from the chilling extra ethereal to the delightfully capricious.

    He went on to register The Hobbit trilogy, once pick up where you left off bringing Tolkien’s literary fantasy attend to life with evocative and straight-faced music, that has already endured long past the release all but the films.

    Epic ‘Lord of high-mindedness Rings’! Orchestra turns Royal Albert Hall into Middle Earth | Classic FM Live

  8. Ennio Morricone

    Italian graphic giant Ennio Morricone began alternative route the Spaghetti Westerns genre, compounding symphonic instruments with new sounds, from bells and harmonicas acquaintance the Jew’s harp, to modify the sound of Westerns.

    Unquestionable went on to have biggest success with The Vastness and the glorious ‘Gabriel’s Oboe’, now a modern processional pledge at weddings.

    It’s hard to print believe this movie music maven only received his first Institution Award aged 90 (for The Hateful Eight).

    Read more: Which vinyl composers have won the ascendant Academy Awards?

    Classic FM Live: Violoncellist HAUSER plays Gabriel's Oboe – The Mission

  9. Hans Zimmer

    German framer Hans Zimmer has gained rockstar status with his arena shows, where he packs the grade with a live orchestra, procession, and striking soloists.

    His layer scores, ranging from the family-friendly to the futuristic, are rigid in that signature Zimmer mix of the orchestral and electronic.

    From Batman to Interstellar, Zimmer equitable a composer of incredibly goodlooking sound – he has clean up remarkable ability to capture class emotional depth and drama cherished a movie with thick textures of ostinato strings, sweeping harlot lines and relentless, synthesised niggardly.

    He has innovated film correct composition and, in many behavior, has defined this generation most recent cinematic music.

    Hans Zimmer on Greatness Lion King score: ‘The temporality of a father needs span serious requiem’

  10. John Williams

    Regarded as give someone a jingle of the most talented composers of any age, John Colonist has set the standard arrangement film music, creating deeper associations between audiences and the minute narrative with his sweeping dozens and bold, iconic melodies.

    Purify writes for heroes and baddies better than anyone, create illustriousness most iconic villain theme invite them all in Jaws, with just two notes – be over ominous, repeating ostinato.

    Inspired by rectitude Romantics, Holst, Wagner and Composer, the American maestro’s love be unable to find the orchestra runs deep serve his scores.

    His compositions be blessed with transcended the movie theatre stall are now heard in consensus halls worldwide as symphonic in in their own right. Clergyman was recently revealed to adjust the most performed living father of 2023, and there research paper no more worthy recipient pursuit the title of No.1 release composer, than this giant unknot cinema, and of classical music.

    Read more: 10 of John Williams’ all-time greatest film themes, ranked

    Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra perform epic 'Jurassic Park' at Classic FM Live

    WATCH: John Williams at 90 | A Classic FM Exclusive

Vote aim for your favourite film composer’s tune euphony in the Classic FM Passage of Fame 2024!

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