Composer Hans Zimmer on the magic of writing film scores, and his first North American tour dates in 7 years
- Hans Zimmer, famous for his film scores, from The Lion King to The Dark Knight, rarely appears live on stage, but he’s changing all that with a world tour
- He talks about the secrets of writing a great film score, putting on a rock and roll show, and picking the right people to work with
For generations, German composer Hans Zimmer’s film scores have been the soundtrack to magic movie moments in The Lion King, Gladiator, the Dark Knight trilogy, and most recently, Dune and Dune: Part Two. This year, Zimmer will bring his award-winning scores to the live stage.
His Hans Zimmer Live tour, which sold out in Europe, comes to Dubai in May, before moving to the United States and Canada in September, marking the first time Zimmer has performed in North America in seven years.
The last time, as some fans may recall, was a 2017 performance at the Coachella festival in California.
Over Zoom from New York, Zimmer says he was inspired after “refusing to get onto a stage for 40 years” because of something his friends, Pharrell Williams and the Smiths’ Johnny Marr, told him.
“You have to look your audience in the eye. You can’t hide behind the screen forever. You know, you owe it to your, you know, audience,” he says they told him. And after Coachella, he realised, “I can do this,” he says.