Composer Michael Kamen dead...

Started by Find Your Magali, November 18, 2003, 10:00:40 PM

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Find Your Magali

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Michael Kamen, the Grammy-winning and Oscar-nominated composer who fused hard-rock riffs with classical styling in albums for Pink Floyd and provided music for the "Lethal Weapon" and "Die Hard" movies," has died at age 55.
   Kamen collapsed in his London home Tuesday from an apparent heart attack, according to his Los Angeles-based publicist, Jeff Sanderson.
   Kamen collaborated with a wide range of artists, from the London Philharmonic to Aerosmith, Metallica and jazz saxophonist David Sanborn.
   Although Kamen was classically trained and studied oboe at New York's Julliard School, the composer's distinctive long, curly hair and beard made him look more like a heavy-metal guitarist than a classical conductor.
   He was known for combining those two sensibilities. Among his most famous collaborations was on the orchestral arrangements in Pink Floyd's 1979 album "The Wall." He also worked with the band on the albums "The Final Cut" and "The Division Bell."
   Kamen's most recent Grammy win came in 2001, when he shared the award for best rock instrumental performance with Metallica for conducting the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra in the metal-rock band's song "The Call of Ktulu."
   He also won a Grammy in 1996 for best instrumental arrangement with "An American Symphony," which he derived from his work on the Richard Dreyfuss musical drama "Mr. Holland's Opus."
   His first Grammy was in 1992 for best pop instrumental performance for the theme music to "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves."
   In "Mr. Holland's Opus," Dreyfuss portrayed a passionate teacher who sacrificed his own ambitions to engage the imagination of his students through music. Inspired by the movie, Kamen established the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation in 1997 to raise money to make musical instruments available to the nation's children.
   Kamen worked with singer Bryan Adams to help craft the movie theme songs "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You" from "Robin Hood" and "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman" from "Don Juan DeMarco." He received Oscar nominations for co-writing those songs.
   Kamen also collaborated with such pop, jazz and rock stars as Sting, Rod Stewart, David Bowie and Eric Clapton.
   Kamen was born in New York City in 1948. He started learning to play the piano at age 2 and later added the guitar, clarinet and oboe. Among his parents' friends were the musicians Huddie Ledbetter and Pete Seeger, and he grew up listening to recordings of music by Bach and Gilbert and Sullivan.
   Kamen played folk-blues in a jug band while simultaneously studying oboe at Julliard, and later experimented with techno, disco and rock while writing pure classical music for ballet performances.
   Kamen is survived by his wife, two daughters, his father and three brothers.

Find Your Magali

Not listed in that story, I absolutely loved his score for "Band of Brothers." Just tremendous.

He also scored HBO's other epic miniseries, "From the Earth to the Moon"

RIP...

MacGuffin

That is shocking. While not one of my favorite composers, I do love his score for "Brazil".

R.I.P. :yabbse-cry:
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks

SHAFTR

I know him most from Metallica's S&M album.  RIP
"Talking shit about a pretty sunset
Blanketing opinions that i'll probably regret soon"

Finn

Typical US Mother: "Remember what the MPAA says; Horrific, Deplorable violence is okay, as long as people don't say any naughty words."

foray

Did he do the OST for The Piano or is that someone else?

foray
touch me i'm sick

MacGuffin

Quote from: forayDid he do the OST for The Piano or is that someone else?

foray

That was Michael Nyman.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks

NEON MERCURY

.. believe he did some inncredible work ffopr Floyd.on their FINAL CUT album...which is badass....

he will be missed....

TheVoiceOfNick

Heart attack... hrm... well, cocaine will do that to you.  RIP music dude.