Favorite composer(s) who made their big breakthough after the year 2000?

[JNHFan2000 2,957]

So who's yours? And what the score that really made you notice them and what's your favorite score of the composer?

 

Feel free to mention the ones I forgot because there are just to many.

 

For me the Top 3 would be:

Bear McCreary with Outlander (quite late) amd his best score I think is Godzilla or Masters Of The Universe.

 

Michael Giacchino with The Incredibles. And I love JW: Fallen Kingdom

 

John Powell with Chicken Run. And my favorite score of his would be How To Train Your Dragon 2. It's very personal to me and it means a lot. One of my all time favorites.

[ddddeeee 247]

Probably Abel Korzeniowski. I took notice when everyone was going nuts for Romeo and Juliet and worked backwards from there. Penny Dreadful quickly became my favourite TV show score when it came out shortly after.

[Edmilson 7,434]

Powell, Desplat and Gia, with McCreary following close.

 

14 minutes ago, ddddeeee said:

Penny Dreadful quickly became my favourite TV show score when it came out shortly after.

Indeed, PD is a wonderful score. One of the best for a TV show from the last decade.

[Mephariel 451]

Favorite: Bear McCreary

 

Tier 2: 

Nicholas Britell, Michael Giacchino, Ramin Djawadi, George Kallis, John Powell

 

Tier 3:

Alexandre Desplat, Steven Price, Lorne Balfe, Daniel Pemberton, Benjamin Wallfisch, Tom Holkenborg

 

Tier 4:

Pinar Toprak, Brian Tyler, Ross & Reznor, Mica Levi, Clint Mansell 

 

[Groovygoth666 663]

Michael Giacchinno was an easy pick. Lost was the first time his music caught my attention, and I still feel that there are few tv show's that can come anywhere close to it. Up and the Star Trek reboot really stood out but it wasn't till Dawn of the Planet of the Ape's that I really noticed his works and have enjoyed most of them. Although sometimes it feels like he's trying a little too hard to emulate Williams, even when not working in an established Williams franchise, his scores always manage to have something unique to them. The others have either scored film's I've seen but didn't stand out or I've not watched so can't really comment.

[Tom Guernsey 2,283]

John Powell by a margin. Chicken Run was probably the first score by him that I really loved (even though it’s co-written with HGW) and I was disappointed that Julian Nott didn’t get the gig having scored all of the Wallace and Gromit shorts (and I’m still a bit annoyed they felt the need to get Hans involved in the feature that Nott did score but I digress…). Listening back to Chicken Run I’m still firmly of the view that JP probably contributed the most interesting thematic material and had the stronger influence on the overall tone of the score. I can only imagine how the Narnia scores might have turned out done by JP as I can’t remember much HGW’s work on them (and I do like HGW).

 

Unlike, say Michael Giacchino who would probably have been my first pick a decade ago, JP has got better and better in his writing whereas MG has got broader and clunkier. Sure JP perhaps writes too many notes but his orchestration, thematic material and the intricacy of his writing is superb. His writing is ambitious in its detail and he has worked hard to ensure his ability matches his ambition. I really hope he does get some more non-animated films to score that allow him to write the kind of thematic orchestral film music we all love but for now I’ll take what I can get as he rarely disappoints.  

[Raiders of the SoundtrArk 2,433]

John Powell is my favourite on that list, closely follow by Giacchino and his Pixar's score mainly (I'm a big fan of Ratatouille and Up) then I really like McCreary, Beck and Göransson (not after Black Panther though)

 

I think the list really miss one of my favourite 2000 breakthrough which is Steve Jablonsky and his formidable score of Transformers. I would also add Max Richter (Mary Queen of Scots, Ad Astra...), Andrew Cottee (The Orville), Natalie Holt, Kevin Kiner and Gordy Haab

[Once 605]

The scores that made me take notice of my favourites on the list were;

 

Alexandre Desplat: The Golden Compass (2007), Fanastic Mr. Fox (2009) and The King's Speech (2010).

John Powell: The Road to El Dorado (2000), Shrek (2001), Robots (2005) and Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006)

Michael Giacchino: The Incredibles (2004), Ratatouille (2007), Star Trek (2009) and Up (2009).

 

I got introduced to them because I saw the films, then later started seeking out their scores solely based on their names.

[Thor 7,494]

John Powell really "broke through" with FACE/OFF in 1997, so I wouldn't count him, personally.

 

While Desplat had his international breakthrough post-millennium, he had a pretty successful career in France in the 90s, for example with his Audiard collaborations. So depends on how you define breakthrough, I suppose.

 

Although I personally discovered Christophe Beck with his work for the F/X series (then as Jean-Christophe), I think it's fair to say that his big breakthrough was the BUFFY series in the 90s. Again someone I wouldn't count in this context.

 

But anyway....I suppose of the composers on that list, my favourite would be Benjamin Wallfisch at the moment.

[Stark 312]

I would argue that Powell got his big break in the 90’s, barring him I do like all the remaining options but I must rate Pemberton and Gorannsson above the others.

[Edmilson 7,434]

Maybe change the name of the poll to "Favorite composers who made their big breakthrough in commercial Hollywood cinema after the late 90s"?

[Bespin 8,480]

It ain't nothing but it's growing!

 

[Jay 37,349]

Better get the Deluxe Edition of HTTYD before its gone

[Knight of Ren 789]

I would say Powell with his Dragons trilogy, which are some of my favorite scores ever, and they really mean so much to me.

 

And also Giacchino, because what he did with Lost still astonishes me, and then his work in Pixar and some others I feel it's just great, even though he gets a lot of hate in here.

 

Others worth mentioning would be McCreary who is consistently entertaining, and Goransson, which has created some of my favorite scores of the past couple of years, including Creed, Black Panther, and obviously The Mandalorian, which is fantastic.

[Bespin 8,480]

I woud love to name my favourite composers of the 21st century, but they're all ghostwriters... they are unknown and never credited... So, that's it.

 

[Bayesian 1,363]

Desplat is probably my favorite of the group, and Godzilla and Moonrise Kingdom my gateway scores. It was a lovely bonus to discover later on how much respect he has for JW and how he still writes all his own music. 
 

After him, it’s a tough call, but I put my vote in for Britell. Succession was the way I discovered him, and Cruella confirmed him as a new favorite. His writing style is interesting, in that he seems hardly interested in writing more than a couple minutes’ worth of music at a time and there’s usually precious little in the way of B themes or thematic development…but the moods he can evoke are wonderful. His material is unusually hypnotic.

 

After him, Powell and Beck. I need to listen to more Beck. 

[blondheim 1,157]

I would argue Clint Mansell really hit prominence with Requiem For A Dream. He would perhaps be my pick. I also wouldn't count some of these options, definitely Powell who had done a few big projects by 2000.

[bruce marshall 1,315]

Powell number one.

Interesting.

I guess because he did a STAR WARS film

😎

I have two scores by:

Giachinno

Price

 

One score:

Mccreary

Gorannson

Hildur*

Trimek*

Reznor*

 

Three scores by:

Desplat

Powell

 

Seven scores by:

Dwajadi

but

It's for two tv programs.

 

Can't really decide

 

But , it shows new talent is emerging

!

[Koray Savas 2,251]

If we’re going just based on when we discovered them, Desplat.

 

I was already a Powell and Giacchino fan in the 90s. 

[Thor 7,494]

Again, Powell should never have been in this poll. Perhaps people here are too young to remember, but FACE/OFF was a big 'buzz' film in 1997. 11th most grossing film that year, and lots of (deserved) raves for John Woo's first proper Hollywood film. So was the score in film music circles. I remember lots of discussions about who this Powell guy was, his similarity to Zimmer (at the time) in contrast with his different background (he wasn't originally that enthused about film music).

 

Lots of buzz about ENDURANCE (one of my favourites of his) and ANTZ too, before the mega hit CHICKEN RUN in 2000.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

It's ok to fudge it a couple of years IMO

[bruce marshall 1,315]

2 hours ago, Thor said:

Again, Powell should never have been in this poll. Perhaps people here are too young to remember, but FACE/OFF was a big 'buzz' film in 1997. 11th most grossing film that year, and lots of (deserved) raves for John Woo's first proper Hollywood film. So was the score in film music circles. I remember lots of discussions about who this Powell guy was, his similarity to Zimmer (at the time) in contrast with his different background (he wasn't originally that enthused about film music).

 

Lots of buzz about ENDURANCE (one of my favourites of his) and ANTZ too, before the mega hit CHICKEN RUN in 2000.

Thus Spake Thorazuthra!

😉

[GerateWohl 4,357]

And Dario Marianelli and Fernando Velázquez and Abel Korzeniowski are missing in the poll.

[Luke Skywalker 1,795]

Yeah exclude powell from this poll. 

 

 

Giacchino wins. 

[Disco Stu 15,495]

More like, if this is the best we got, we all lose.

[Anthony 572]

20 hours ago, Thor said:

Again, Powell should never have been in this poll. Perhaps people here are too young to remember, but FACE/OFF was a big 'buzz' film in 1997. 1

 

Depends how you look at it. Although Face/Off in 1997 was Powell's first big movie, and Incredibles in 2004 was Giacchino's, I'd still say their "big breakthroughs" for widespread acclaim happened the other way around: Giacchino in 2009 for Up, and Powell in 2010 with HTTYD - even though many of us here were listening to the both of them long before this.

[Jay 37,349]

^^ Yep

[Thor 7,494]

3 hours ago, Anthony said:

 

Depends how you look at it. Although Face/Off in 1997 was Powell's first big movie, and Incredibles in 2004 was Giacchino's, I'd still say their "big breakthroughs" for widespread acclaim happened the other way around: Giacchino in 2009 for Up, and Powell in 2010 with HTTYD - even though many of us here were listening to the both of them long before this.

 

Sorry, I can't see any scenario in which FACE/OFF is NOT considered the big breakthrough for Powell. I gave my reasons earlier. And even if you don't buy that, then CHICKEN RUN in 2000 definitely was. HTTYD does not constitute, in any shape or form, Powell's breakthrough. That's just absurd.

[Jay 37,349]

You missed his point.  Yes, us film score fans knew Giacchino before Up, and knew Powell before Dragon.  But general joe schmo didn't

 

Same with John Williams fans.  Film score fans already knew him from the disaster scores, or maybe Reivers, whatever else.  Joe Schmo didn't know him until Jaws

[Thor 7,494]

Joe Schmoe generally doesn't care about film music.

 

I believe the only way to measure a film composer's breakthrough is to measure the success of the film and the score, and the amount of 'buzz' he or she garners in film music fan or industry circles afterwards.

 

A 'breakthrough' is very different from 'breaking into the general public consciousness', which only very, very few film composers have managed (Morricone, Williams, Zimmer....).

[Luke Skywalker 1,795]

I thought with breakthrough meant first feature film... As in giacchino going from games and tv to cinema or powell from media ventures to working on his own name. 

[Thor 7,494]

3 minutes ago, Luke Skywalker said:

I thought with breakthrough meant first feature film...

 

For some people, that would be a breakthrough of sorts. But I took it for granted that what we meant here was the most common interpretation, i.e. industry breakthrough; the point at which one becomes a 'name' and a sought-after composer in the industry.

[LSH 968]

6 hours ago, Luke Skywalker said:

Giacchino wins. 

 

Thor-bait if I ever saw it.

 

Anyway, 

 

I have to side with Thor on the Powell thing here.

 

I remembered his name from Antz (1998). And I was only eight at the time. And we're talking a big DreamWorks animation feature that essentially competed with Pixar's similarly themed second release, A BUG'S LIFE, that same year.

 

That's enough to define a breakthrough in my eyes.

[bruce marshall 1,315]

The Thorian Dialectic

😄

7 hours ago, GerateWohl said:

And Dario Marianelli and Fernando Velázquez and Abel Korzeniowski are missing in the poll.

There names are too long to fit😉

[Koray Savas 2,251]

25 minutes ago, bruce marshall said:

The Thorian Dialectic

😄

You seem to have an odd obsession with Thor whenever he posts. 

[LSH 968]

5 minutes ago, Koray Savas said:

You seem to have an odd obsession with Thor whenever he posts. 

 

Thank god, I thought it was just me.

 

Has anyone actually met the maniac besides me?

[bruce marshall 1,315]

Which maniac?.

Thor or Me?

[Aliandra 90]

Jóhann Jóhannsson perhaps.