The one musician that Hans Zimmer calls “the master”
To many, Hans Zimmer is the modern master of film scoring. After years of movies accompanied by orchestral swells, the German composer infused the craft with new life, introducing electronic techniques and carving out some of the most iconic music in modern cinema, from The Lion King to Inception.
Between his lengthy collaborative relationship with Christopher Nolan, catchy compositions for superhero blockbusters and Disney classics, and excursions into documentary filmmaking, Zimmer’s work has touched millions of film fans and earned him countless awards. But if Zimmer is the modern master of film scoring, who was his predecessor?
Many might say John Williams retains a place in the hearts and childhoods of many for his work on Steven Spielberg blockbusters and the iconic themes for Harry Potter and Star Wars themes. Or perhaps Bernard Herrmann, the mind behind much of Alfred Hitchcock’s accompaniment. While there’s a case to be made for many film composers, there is one Zimmer himself considers to be the “master”.
Growing up in Germany, Zimmer was rarely exposed to visual media. “I grew up without television,” he recalled to Gramophone, “My parents thought that television was the cultural devil and we shouldn’t have one at home. So I didn’t see any movies.”
Still, the Zimmers’ household television ban couldn’t stop the budding film composer’s craving for cinema. At the age of 12, Zimmer snuck into the cinema to see Sergio Leone’s iconic spaghetti western, Once Upon a Time in the West, which would ignite a love for film and, particularly, for film music.
“Not only was the film an overwhelming experience,” Zimmer recalled, “But the music completely got me and set me on my path, and I knew what I wanted to do. That was really how I started becoming aware of Ennio Morricone.” Zimmer gained an interest in film composition, which has been unwavering ever since, as has his love for Morricone.
Morricone is every bit the master. No matter which part of one of his soundtracks you drop the needle on, his ability to command the attention of his listeners is unprecedented. Very few movie soundtracks are worth listening to on their own, and within the few dozen that have ever managed the grade, most of them were created by Morricone.
Zimmer went on to note how classical influences – the work of Bach and Mozart particularly – can be found in the score, concluding, “he uses both styles so well and gives it completely his own voice. Analyse any one of Morricone’s pieces, look at the craftsmanship, at the inventiveness – it is absolutely on par with Bach. He is the master.”
Over half a century on from the first release of Once Upon a Time in the West, it seems that Morricone passed on the baton to Zimmer for him to become the master of film scoring. The pair both remain amongst the most influential cinematic composers of all time.
Talking to Apple Music, Morricone once picked out some of those he is most proud of. He explained: “It is difficult for a composer to pick his own favourite tracks. In each of my compositions, I have always tried to give my best, pushing my own limits, trying to overcome them.” Highlighting that some of his favourite scores have been attached to box-office failures, he stated that with each score, he tried to make a body of work “independent from the film that it was created for”.
Morricone picked out The Red Tent by Mikhail Kalatozov as one of his favourite scores. Additionally, Morricone selected the score he made for Adrien Lyne’s controversial 1997 adaptation of Lolita as one of his favourites. Morricone couldn’t avoid mentioning The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, adding ‘The Ectascy of Gold’ to the playlist.
