Modern Composers

[Coldfire]

So who is your favorite modern composer? Modern as in still alive and composing music.

Personally, I can't decide between John Williams and Hans Zimmer. Williams gains major points for composing the score for Star Wars, arguably one of the most recognizable in the world. Hell, I feel guilty not saying he's my favorite for that fact alone. But he's also done Indianna Jones, Superman, Jaws, Jurrasic Park, Harry Potter, and dozens of others. Zimmer on the other hand has freaking Gladiator, possibly my favorite score of all time. On top of that, he has done Pirates of the Carribean and The Dark Knight, all of which are freaking epic. He may be considerably younger than Williams, but I'd say he's already made a hell of a name for himself.

Really it comes down to Star Wars and Gladiator, and I just can't decided between the two. Also, I'm really stoked that I get to see Williams in concert next year. Gonna kick ass.

Anywho, who are your favorites?


Note: There is a difference between a composer and a musician. In this instance, I mean people who write music for interpretation and performance. So don't just list your favorite band or something.

[Enigmacookie]

Williams and Zimmer are both brilliant composers, I agree.

I do enjoy Jeremy Soule and Nobuo Uematsu as well. Just love Soule's music for Guild Wars and Oblivion and Uematsu is legendary for his FF music.

[Durandal]

I do enjoy Jeremy Soule and Nobuo Uematsu as well. Just love Soule's music for Guild Wars and Oblivion and Uematsu is legendary for his FF music.
I listen to the FF9 discs when I sleep :D .
While I only knew the name of Willians, I've heard the other stuff, and it is all good. Sadly I'm not that in the know of composers.

[Coldfire]

Also, forgot about something. Honorable mention goes out to Monty Norman & John Barry, for making the James Bond theme. The original may not be my favorite iteration of the song, but still, they started it. They rock.

Anywho, good mentions Enigma. Oblivion has one of my favorite scores for a game. Completly forgot about it.


EDIT: Holy hell, Jeremy Soule is a beast. Just looked him up to see what else he had done and..... wow. I can see why he has apparently been described as the "John Williams of video game music". The Elder Scrolls, Guild Wars, Kotor, Dawn of War, Icewind Dale, Baulders Gate, Dungeon Seige, Mark of Chaos, Company of Heroes.... the list goes on. And thats just since 2000.

[Dark Leviathan]

John Williams and Hans Zimmer are a given.

Others:
Klaus Badelt
Philip Glass
Jesper Kyd
Frank Klepacki
Basil Poledouris (died 2006, but still modern)
Harry Gregson-Williams
John Powell
Martin O'Donnell
Steve Jablonsky
Clint Mansell
Howard Shore
Michael Giacchino
Two Steps From Hell (Nick Phoenix & Thomas J. Bergersen)
Craig Armstrong
Philip Sheppard

[Mozric]

I'm going to have to put my name down in support of Nobuo Uematsu. Great stuff. And he really has quite a wide range, while a composer like John Williams just seems to chug along in the vein of Tzchikovski (not that that's not an accomplishment).

[Andon]

Nobuo Uematsu! Even though I can't pronounce his name.

[The Crimson Eye]

I'm surprised no one mentioned Danny Elfman (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Elfman) yet.
Composer of almost all of Tim Burton's scores, and many TV shows like the Simpsons or Tales from the Crypt.

[PyroSikTh]

I can't stand John Williams or most of Danny Elfman's stuff. It's all tends to be so typical/cheesy/over-the-top.
Hans Zimmer is good, but if you listen to the recent Batman Films alongside Pirates of the Caribbean, alongside Gladiator, alongside Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons...it all sounds very similar, and you could easily be listening to the soundtrack of a very long film. However, on their own merits, they're pretty good. I frequently listen to the Gladiator soundtrack and the Dark Knight soundtrack just leisurely

But...



Clint Mansell


Leviathan is after my own heart. Clint Mansell is the single best film composer I've ever heard. He doesn't have a lot to his name, but what he does have is astounding, including the world-famous Requiem for a Dream which features in the large majority of film trailers and other adverts since 2000. He also wrote the score for my favourite film of all time - The Fountain.

Another good one is John Murphy. A lot of his stuff isn't all that fantastic, but he wrote the famous theme for 28 Days Later and some pretty nifty stuff for Sunshine too.

I also have to mention Philip Glass of course. I mean, who doesn't like a bit of Philip Glass?

[Dark Leviathan]

Another good one is John Murphy.
#-o Forgot to put him on my list, which is bad considering I've been listening to his work over the past few days.

I figured that it would be good idea to post up work by composers as well as talking about them.

John Murphy
[video:pwi1o14k]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQXVzg2PiZw[/video:pwi1o14k]

Klaus Badelt
[video:pwi1o14k]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXC6-3LsXzo[/video:pwi1o14k]

Michael Giacchino
[video:pwi1o14k]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Sd1pjWLh48[/video:pwi1o14k]

Philip Glass
[video:pwi1o14k]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIbhJy5l0Ig[/video:pwi1o14k]

Jesper Kyd
[video:pwi1o14k]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o63sEFxiqZw[/video:pwi1o14k]

[Condiret973]

Joe Hisaishi is a brilliant modern day composer.
Everytime I hear one of his pieces, it simply takes my breath away.

The soundtracks for Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke were simply beautiful.
[video:1qfto7iq]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H82QHiUvY5E[/video:1qfto7iq]
[video:1qfto7iq]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1ni1sVCgEk[/video:1qfto7iq]
and of course, Totoro's theme.
[video:1qfto7iq]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMS9QqLedxI[/video:1qfto7iq]

[The Crimson Eye]

Awesome videos, Condiret973.
Thanks for posting them.

[The Gnomesbane]

I do enjoy Hans Zimmer, but to me he is the Zoolander of movie music. He pretty much has one sound. Granted, it is awesome and epic in all his stuff, but as was said above, you could sometimes hear Gladiator alongside Pirates or whatnot and think it is all the same. For example:
Crimson Tide-
[video:1x6dtdu1]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0uwu43i38c[/video:1x6dtdu1]

Pirates-
[video:1x6dtdu1]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LZcMv0H1bI&feature=related[/video:1x6dtdu1]

Again, Zimmer is awesome, and I enjoy his music. He just doesn't ever change it much, which could be why it is enjoyable. It retains that epic feel.

Also want to give a shoutout to Marty O'Donnel. The Halo soundtrack is superb.

[Dark Leviathan]

Interestingly the first Pirate's soundtrack was mainly the work of Klaus Badelt, with Zimmer giving him a hand as it were. If you listen to their standalone work (Equilibrium is a good one for Badelt), and then go back to the Pirate's soundtrack, you can definitely identify parts that belong to one or the other.

[PyroSikTh]

Interestingly the first Pirate's soundtrack was mainly the work of Klaus Badelt, with Zimmer giving him a hand as it were. If you listen to their standalone work (Equilibrium is a good one for Badelt), and then go back to the Pirate's soundtrack, you can definitely identify parts that belong to one or the other.

But the Equilibrium soundtrack wasn't too great on it's own :P

[Dark Leviathan]

Bah, heresy! It is somewhat understated and repetitive in places, but it has some subtle gems in it, and it's a nice change from the sea of epic blockbuster soundtracks.

[PyroSikTh]

Bah, heresy! It is somewhat understated and repetitive in places, but it has some subtle gems in it, and it's a nice change from the sea of epic blockbuster soundtracks.

I'll give you that, but all-in-all, I'd rather just watch the film again. The best soundtracks are those that can be thoroughly enjoyed without the pictures as well. Equilibrium just doesn't do that for me.

[The Infernal Penguin]

I sure do heart Jeremy Soule, and you guys have put some great suggestions on this page, aside from the obvious Williams/Zimmer/Elfman! Spotify here I come next time I'm working.