Icelandic composer helped score ‘Theory of Everything’
Jóhann Jóhannsson began movie composing in 2000.
The film and avant-garde musical communities are mourning Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson, who was found dead Friday at age 48.
The Oscar-nominated composer, who helped score “The Theory of Everything” and “Arrival,” was found dead in his Berlin apartment, his manager Tim Husom confirmed.
“Today, I lost my friend who was one of the most talented musicians and intelli- gent people I knew,” Husom said in a statement, the Asso- ciated Press reported.
Police are investigating his cause of death, which is currently unknown, Rosalie Voss of Redbird Music Management told AP.
“We have lost one of the most talented and brilliant people who we had the priv- ilege of knowing and work- ing with,” a company statement reads. “May his music continue to inspire us.”
An electronic musician who began film composing in 2000, Jóhannsson became known for creating unique soundscapes by combining classical and experimental elements.
With 2014’s “The Theory of Everything,” which earned him a Golden Globe Award and an Oscar nomination, Jóhannsson broke into an elite group of composers.
He received a nother Oscar nomination for 2015’s “Sicario” and a Golden Globe nomination for 2016’s “Arrival.”
His upcoming work included the Nicolas Cage horror film “Mandy,” which screened at the Sundance Film Festival last month, and “The Mercy” starring Colin Firth and Rachel Weisz.
“I try to approach a project with a blank slate and just let things emerge,” he explained in a 2016 inter- view with the Guardian. “I start very early in the process because it takes a lot of time to work in this way. It takes time to find a mood and feel that has some char- acter and individuality, and is not weird for weirdness’s sake.”
Jóhannsson viewed his music as “a way of communicating very directly with people and with people’s emotions,” he said in a 2015 interview with the Talks.
“I try to make music that doesn’t need layers of complexity or obfuscation to speak to people. Music should resonate with people on an emotional level. That’s one of the criterions I use for an idea. Does it speak simply and directly without obfuscation and without being unnecessarily complex or obscure?
Jóhannsson also released several of his own studio albums, including his last, 2016’s “Orphée.”
“Goodbye dear Jóhann Jóhannsson,” German composer and musician Nils Frahm tweeted. “Thanks for all you brought into this world. You will be greatly missed by all of us.”
Director Darren Aronofsky, who worked with Jóhannsson on 2017’s “Mother!,” said in a statement to the Hollywood Reporter that Jóhannsson was “a brilliant collaborator with a wholly unique approach to sound and music. This is a terrible loss.”
Jóhannsson had also signed on to score t he upcoming HBO and Sky miniseries “Chernobyl.”