Latest news with #LaloSchifrin
Gizmodo
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Gizmodo
‘X-Files' Composer Mark Snow Dies at Age 78
Mark Snow, the composer for a number of TV shows including The X-Files and its spinoff series Millennium, passed away on Friday, according to Variety. He was 78 and is the latest TV and film composer to pass away, preceded by Mission: Impossible's Lalo Schifrin at the end of June. Born August 26, 1946 as Martin Fulterman, Snow began his career working with other composers to do background music for the 1975-1976 series The Rookies and 1976's The Boy in the Plastic Bubble. Over the decades, his career spanned television (Blue Bloods, Pee-Wee's Playhouse), film (Jake Speed, Disturbing Behavior), and even video games (Urban Assault, Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain). His genre-specific credits include DC shows Birds of Prey and the first six seasons of Smallville. His final project was the 2020 X-Men film New Mutants. When it comes to The X-Files, Snow was friends with the show's executive producer R.W. Goodwin, who repeatedly advocated for Snow to series creator Chris Carter. He was brought on after three auditions, and the show's second episode 'Deep Throat' marked his debut as a solo act and introduced his theme song. At the time, the theme—whose whistle effect was inspired by The Smiths' 'How Soon is Now?'—was second in the charts for weeks in the UK and France. During the show's initial run, Snow was nominated and won several awards for his compositions in general and for specific episodes like 'Paper Hearts' and its initial series finale, 'The Truth.' Between that and his other work, he was a 15-time Emmy nominee throughout his career and won the ASCAP Golden Note award in 2005 for 'his unprecedented success as one of the most versatile and popular composers in television and film.' 'Another loss,' said TV and video game composer Bear McCreary. 'Mark Snow's legacy will forever be connected to his iconic work on The X-Files, but he also crafted memorable music for many other series. I chatted with him at length several times about our approaches to work and life. He was always charming and friendly.' Sean Callery, composer of Fox's 24, remembered Snow for 'giving the most inspiring and intelligent feedback when listening to the work of other young artists (myself included),' he told Variety. 'His limitless talent and boundless creativity was matched only by the generosity he bestowed upon other composers who sought his guidance. He combined his decades of experience with the encouragement that composers cultivate: to trust in themselves, embrace their own unique voice, and learn to rely on their own instincts. And he did so with a humor and self-deprecation that made his wisdom all the more enduring.' Snow is survived by his wife Glynnis, and their daughters and grandchildren. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what's next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
RNZ News
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- RNZ News
Twentieth-century film music styles: A long generational shift
Music commentator Dave Wilson looks at the work of Lalo Schifrin, an Argentine composer who died at the age of 93 this week and may best be remembered for creating the theme to Mission Impossible. Dave joins Kathryn to talk about how his style of film music rejected the boundaries around jazz and classical music and had an impact far beyond the projects her wrote for. Dave Wilson is a saxophonist, clarinetist, composer, and interdisciplinary scholar, a Senior Lecturer in Music at the New Zealand School of Music-Te Koki. To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
Daily Mail
29-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Legendary Mission: Impossible composer Lalo Schifrin dies aged 93
The legendary composer who wrote the Mission: Impossible theme song has passed away at the age of 93. Lalo Schifrin died inside his Los Angeles home on Thursday from complications with pneumonia, his son, Ryan, confirmed. He was surrounded by his loved ones. Schifrin was a jazz pianist and classical conductor and had a remarkable career in music that included working with Dizzy Gillespie and recording with Count Basie and Sarah Vaughan. His biggest contribution was the instantly recognizable score to television's Mission: Impossible, which fueled the just-wrapped, decades-spanning feature film franchise led by Tom Cruise. Schifrin originally wrote a different piece of music for the theme song but series creator Bruce Geller liked another arrangement Schifrin had composed for an action sequence. 'The producer called me and told me: 'You're going to have to write something exciting, almost like a logo, something that will be a signature, and it's going to start with a fuse,'' Schifrin told the AP in 2006. 'So I did it and there was nothing on the screen. And maybe the fact that I was so free and I had no images to catch, maybe that's why this thing has become so successful - because I wrote something that came from inside me.' When director Brian De Palma was asked to take the series to the silver screen, he wanted to bring the theme along with him, leading to a creative conflict with composer John Williams, who wanted to work with a new theme of his own. Out went Williams and in came Danny Elfman, who agreed to retain Schifrin's music. Hans Zimmer took over scoring for the second film, and Michael Giacchino scored the next two. Giacchino told NPR he was hesitant to take it on, because Schifrin's music was one of his favorite themes of all time. 'I remember calling Lalo and asking if we could meet for lunch,' Giacchino told NPR. 'And I was very nervous - I felt like someone asking a father if I could marry their daughter or something. And he said, 'Just have fun with it.' And I did.' Mission: Impossible won Grammys for best instrumental theme and best original score from a motion picture or a TV show. In 2017, the theme was entered into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Schifrin has composed more than 100 arrangements for film and TV. The Argentine won four Grammys and was nominated for six Oscars, including five for original score for Cool Hand Luke, The Fox, Voyage of the Damned, The Amityville Horror and The Sting II. 'Every movie has its own personality. There are no rules to write music for movies,' Schifrin told The Associated Press in 2018. 'The movie dictates what the music will be.' He also wrote the grand finale musical performance for the World Cup championship in Italy in 1990, in which the Three Tenors - Plácido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti and José Carreras - sang together for the first time. The work became one of the biggest sellers in the history of classical music. Schifrin was born Boris Claudio Schifrin to a Jewish family in Buenos Aires, where his father was the concertmaster of the philharmonic orchestra. Schifrin was classically trained in music, in addition to studying law. After studying at the Paris Conservatory, where he learned about harmony and composition from the legendary Olivier Messiaen, Schifrin returned to Argentina and formed a concert band. Gillespie heard Schifrin perform and asked him to become his pianist, arranger and composer. In 1958, Schifrin moved to the United States, playing in Gillespie's quintet in 1960-62 and composing the acclaimed Gillespiana. The long list of luminaries he performed and recorded with includes Ella Fitzgerald, Stan Getz, Dee Dee Bridgewater and George Benson. He also worked with such classical stars as Zubin Mehta, Mstislav Rostropovich, Daniel Barenboim and others. Schifrin moved easily between genres, winning a Grammy for 1965's Jazz Suite on the Mass Texts while also earning a nod that same year for the score of TV's The Man From U.N.C.L.E. In 2018, he was given an honorary Oscar statuette and, in 2017, the Latin Recording Academy bestowed on him one of its special trustee awards. Later film scores included Tango, Rush Hour and its two sequels, Bringing Down The House, The Bridge of San Luis Rey, After the Sunset, and the horror film Abominable. Writing the arrangements for Dirty Harry, Schifrin decided that the main character wasn't in fact Clint Eastwood's hero, Harry Callahan, but the villain, Scorpio. 'You would think the composer would pay more attention to the hero. But in this case, no, I did it to Scorpio, the bad guy, the evil guy,' he told the AP. 'I wrote a theme for Scorpio.' It was Eastwood who handed him his honorary Oscar. 'Receiving this honorary Oscar is the culmination of a dream,' Schifrin said at the time. 'It is mission accomplished.' Among Schifrin's conducting credits include the London Symphony Orchestra, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the Israel Philharmonic, the Mexico Philharmonic, the Houston Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. He was appointed music director of Southern California's Glendale Symphony Orchestra and served in that capacity from 1989-1995. Schifrin also wrote and adapted the music for Christmas in Vienna in 1992, a concert featuring Diana Ross, Carreras and Domingo. He also combined tango, folk and classical genres when he recorded Letters from Argentina, nominated for a Latin Grammy for best tango album in 2006. Schifrin was also commissioned to write the overture for the 1987 Pan American Games, and composed and conducted the event's 1995 final performance in Argentina. And for perhaps one of the only operas performed in the ancient Indigenous language of Nahuatl, in 1988 Schifrin wrote and conducted the choral symphony 'Songs of the Aztecs.' The work premiered at Mexico's Teotihuacan pyramids with Domingo as part of a campaign to raise money to restore the site's Aztec temple. 'I found it to be a very sweet musical language, one in which the sounds of the words dictated interesting melodies,' Schifrin told The Associated Press at the time. 'But the real answer is that there's something magic about it. 'There's something magic in the art of music anyway.' He's survived by his sons, Ryan and William, daughter, Frances, and wife, Donna.
New York Times
28-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Lalo Schifrin, 93, Dies; Composer of ‘Mission: Impossible' and Much More
Lalo Schifrin, the Grammy-winning Argentine-born composer who evoked the ticking, ominous suspense of espionage with his indelible theme to the television series 'Mission: Impossible' as well as scored movies like 'Cool Hand Luke,' 'Bullitt' and 'Dirty Harry,' died on Thursday in Los Angeles. He was 93. His wife, Donna, said the cause of his death, in a hospital, was complications of pneumonia. Mr. Schifrin had a startlingly diverse career as a composer, arranger and conductor in a wide range of genres — from classical to jazz to Latin to folk to rock to hip-hop to electronic to the ancient music of the Aztecs. He conducted symphony orchestras in London and Vienna, and philharmonic orchestras in Tel Aviv, Paris and Los Angeles. He arranged music for the Three Tenors. He provided what The Washington Post called the music of 'rebellious cool' for Paul Newman, Steve McQueen and Clint Eastwood. But the prolific Mr. Schifrin, who wrote more than 100 film and television scores, was best known for 'Mission: Impossible.' Interpretations of his propulsive theme have also been featured in the eight movies in the 'Mission: Impossible' series, starring Tom Cruise, which began in 1996. Like John Williams, whose many compositions for film include the theme from 'Jaws,' Mr. Schifrin was a master of creating jittery unease and peril. Both composers worked with a recognizable style and a distinct purpose. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Daily Mail
28-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Legendary Mission: Impossible composer dies aged 93
The legendary composer, who wrote the Mission: Impossible score, has passed away at the age of 93. Lalo Schifrin died inside his Los Angeles home on Thursday from complications with pneumonia, his son, Ryan, confirmed. He was surrounded by his loved ones. Schifrin was a jazz pianist and classical conductor and had a remarkable career in music that included working with Dizzy Gillespie and recording with Count Basie and Sarah Vaughan. His biggest contribution was the instantly recognizable score to television's Mission: Impossible, which fueled the just-wrapped, decades-spanning feature film franchise led by Tom Cruise. Schifrin originally wrote a different piece of music for the theme song but series creator Bruce Geller liked another arrangement Schifrin had composed for an action sequence. 'The producer called me and told me: 'You're going to have to write something exciting, almost like a logo, something that will be a signature, and it's going to start with a fuse,'' Schifrin told the AP in 2006. 'So I did it and there was nothing on the screen. And maybe the fact that I was so free and I had no images to catch, maybe that's why this thing has become so successful - because I wrote something that came from inside me.' When director Brian De Palma was asked to take the series to the silver screen, he wanted to bring the theme along with him, leading to a creative conflict with composer John Williams, who wanted to work with a new theme of his own. Out went Williams and in came Danny Elfman, who agreed to retain Schifrin's music. Hans Zimmer took over scoring for the second film, and Michael Giacchino scored the next two. Giacchino told NPR he was hesitant to take it on, because Schifrin's music was one of his favorite themes of all time. 'I remember calling Lalo and asking if we could meet for lunch,' Giacchino told NPR. 'And I was very nervous - I felt like someone asking a father if I could marry their daughter or something. And he said, 'Just have fun with it.' And I did.' Mission: Impossible won Grammys for best instrumental theme and best original score from a motion picture or a TV show. In 2017, the theme was entered into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Schifrin has composed more than 100 arrangements for film and TV. The Argentine won four Grammys and was nominated for six Oscars, including five for original score for Cool Hand Luke, The Fox, Voyage of the Damned, The Amityville Horror and The Sting II. 'Every movie has its own personality. There are no rules to write music for movies,' Schifrin told The Associated Press in 2018. 'The movie dictates what the music will be.' He also wrote the grand finale musical performance for the World Cup championship in Italy in 1990, in which the Three Tenors - Plácido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti and José Carreras - sang together for the first time. The work became one of the biggest sellers in the history of classical music. Schifrin was born Boris Claudio Schifrin to a Jewish family in Buenos Aires - where his father was the concertmaster of the philharmonic orchestra - Schifrin was classically trained in music, in addition to studying law. After studying at the Paris Conservatory - where he learned about harmony and composition from the legendary Olivier Messiaen - Schifrin returned to Argentina and formed a concert band. Gillespie heard Schifrin perform and asked him to become his pianist, arranger and composer. In 1958, Schifrin moved to the United States, playing in Gillespie's quintet in 1960-62 and composing the acclaimed Gillespiana. The long list of luminaries he performed and recorded with includes Ella Fitzgerald, Stan Getz, Dee Dee Bridgewater and George Benson. He also worked with such classical stars as Zubin Mehta, Mstislav Rostropovich, Daniel Barenboim and others. Schifrin moved easily between genres, winning a Grammy for 1965's Jazz Suite on the Mass Texts while also earning a nod that same year for the score of TV's The Man From U.N.C.L.E. In 2018, he was given an honorary Oscar statuette and, in 2017, the Latin Recording Academy bestowed on him one of its special trustee awards. Later film scores included Tango, Rush Hour and its two sequels, Bringing Down The House, The Bridge of San Luis Rey, After the Sunset, and the horror film Abominable. Writing the arrangements for Dirty Harry, Schifrin decided that the main character wasn't in fact Clint Eastwood's hero, Harry Callahan, but the villain, Scorpio. 'You would think the composer would pay more attention to the hero. But in this case, no, I did it to Scorpio, the bad guy, the evil guy,' he told the AP. 'I wrote a theme for Scorpio.' It was Eastwood who handed him his honorary Oscar. 'Receiving this honorary Oscar is the culmination of a dream,' Schifrin said at the time. 'It is mission accomplished.' Among Schifrin's conducting credits include the London Symphony Orchestra, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the Israel Philharmonic, the Mexico Philharmonic, the Houston Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. He was appointed music director of Southern California's Glendale Symphony Orchestra and served in that capacity from 1989-1995. Schifrin also wrote and adapted the music for Christmas in Vienna in 1992, a concert featuring Diana Ross, Carreras and Domingo. He also combined tango, folk and classical genres when he recorded Letters from Argentina, nominated for a Latin Grammy for best tango album in 2006. Schifrin was also commissioned to write the overture for the 1987 Pan American Games, and composed and conducted the event's 1995 final performance in Argentina. And for perhaps one of the only operas performed in the ancient Indigenous language of Nahuatl, in 1988 Schifrin wrote and conducted the choral symphony 'Songs of the Aztecs.' The work premiered at Mexico's Teotihuacan pyramids with Domingo as part of a campaign to raise money to restore the site's Aztec temple. 'I found it to be a very sweet musical language, one in which the sounds of the words dictated interesting melodies,' Schifrin told The Associated Press at the time. 'But the real answer is that there's something magic about it. ... There's something magic in the art of music anyway.' He's survived by his sons, Ryan and William, daughter, Frances, and wife, Donna.
