Biographical Information
Hans Florian Zimmer was born September 12th, 1957 in Frankfurt, Germany, and moved to London, England as a teenager. He began taking piano lessons as a child, but soon quit, because he disliked the formality and discipline in such lessons. His mother was a musician, and his father an inventor (who unfortunately died when Zimmer was young). Zimmer managed to combine these two professions, and made radically innovative modifications to their piano at home, hinting at his later ability to be innovative, and especially to match and enhance the (visual) mood set by movies which he later worked on.
Zimmer's official musical career began in 1970, when he joined up with an amateur band; Krakatoa. He played mainly keyboard, but also worked synthesizers. He also worked with "The Buggles", and was a part of their 1979 hit "Video Killed the Radio Star". Zimmer's career began to take off, and he worked with various bands, mainly producing and synthesizing.
While writing advertising jingles and continuing to synthesize, Zimmer partnered with experienced film composer Stanley Myers, with whom he co-founded London–based "Lillie Yard" recording studio. They worked on fusing together the sound of a traditional orchestra and other electronic instruments, and applying this to writing scores for films such as "Moonlighting" (1982), and "Insignificance" (1985). Zimmer eventually broke off his partnership with Myers, and his first solo film score was "Terminal Exposure" (1987). Zimmer had his first taste of success on the world stage when he was the score producer for "The Last Emperor" (1987), and won the Academy Award for Best Original Film Score!
Zimmer's career then took off as he composed scores for major hollywood films, including "Rain Man" (1988), "Driving Miss Daisy" (1989), "The Lion King" (1994) and many, many others. More recently he has composed scores for the "Pirates of the Carribean" series, "The Dark Knight" series, and the "Sherlock Holmes" series. Zimmer is currently considered among the premier film and media composers, and lives in Los Angeles, California with his wife and four children.
Zimmer's official musical career began in 1970, when he joined up with an amateur band; Krakatoa. He played mainly keyboard, but also worked synthesizers. He also worked with "The Buggles", and was a part of their 1979 hit "Video Killed the Radio Star". Zimmer's career began to take off, and he worked with various bands, mainly producing and synthesizing.
While writing advertising jingles and continuing to synthesize, Zimmer partnered with experienced film composer Stanley Myers, with whom he co-founded London–based "Lillie Yard" recording studio. They worked on fusing together the sound of a traditional orchestra and other electronic instruments, and applying this to writing scores for films such as "Moonlighting" (1982), and "Insignificance" (1985). Zimmer eventually broke off his partnership with Myers, and his first solo film score was "Terminal Exposure" (1987). Zimmer had his first taste of success on the world stage when he was the score producer for "The Last Emperor" (1987), and won the Academy Award for Best Original Film Score!
Zimmer's career then took off as he composed scores for major hollywood films, including "Rain Man" (1988), "Driving Miss Daisy" (1989), "The Lion King" (1994) and many, many others. More recently he has composed scores for the "Pirates of the Carribean" series, "The Dark Knight" series, and the "Sherlock Holmes" series. Zimmer is currently considered among the premier film and media composers, and lives in Los Angeles, California with his wife and four children.