Michael Giacchino turns 50 Kim Østenfor Spildrejorde Michael Giacchino’s rise in Hollywood has been nothing short of meteoric. Starting off writing video game scores in the mid 90’s, he has progressed to become one of Hollywood’s most sought after composers. He started off by writing the first orchestral video game score for a PlayStation game with 1997’s The Lost World, which accompanied the Steven Spielberg movie of the same name. In 1999 he worked with J.J. Abrams for the first time, on the hit TV show Alias. In 2004 he also came on board on Abrams’ popular new series Lost. They have forged a strong friendship and when Abrams went on to feature films with Mission Impossible 3 in 2006, Giacchino also came along. His first feature film score however, was for Brad Bird’s animated movie The Incredibles in 2004. The score, with its’ jazzy 60’s sound and reminiscent of John Barry’s James Bond-scores, was very well received and cemented Giacchino’s relationship with Pixar. Since then, Giacchino has been a regular collaborator with Pixar, writing scores for movies like Ratatouille (his first Academy Award nominated score), Cars 2, Inside Out, and Up!, the latter landing Giacchino his first Oscar during the 2010 Academy Awards. He has also quickly become a go-to guy for big, thematic orchestral scores, something that at times seems like is a dying breed in Hollywood. This has landed him scoring assignments such as Star Trek, Mission Impossible, Jurassic World, Rogue One, Dr. Strange, the two latest Planet of the Apes-movies, and most recently Spider-Man: Homecoming. He has forged strong relations with directors such as previously mentioned J.J. Abrams and Brad Bird, Colin Trevorrow, Pete Docter, Andrew Stanton and Matt Reeves. This year Michael Giacchino turns 50. To celebrate this talented and prolific composer, Avex Classics International is arranging a spectacular concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Conducted by Ludwig Wicki, who knows Giacchino well from working with him on Jupiter Ascending as well as Star Trek Live to projection, the Cinematic Sinfonia orchestra and the English Chamber Choir will perform pieces that span Giacchino’s 20 years in Hollywood. Michael Giacchino will attend and also conduct parts of the concert. No birthday celebration is complete without your close friends, so Abrams, Bird, Trevorrow and Reeves, in addition to Rogue One director Gareth Edwards and Lost-director Carlton Cuse have all also announced their plans to come to London. This will be a night to remember with huge orchestral swells, intimate, melodic solos, and a magical and emotional journey through the musical world of Michael Giacchino. We’ve assembled a small Spotify playlist to get you introduced to this world of musical wonder. Please note that this does not necessarily reflect what pieces will be played at the concert, but serves as a good introduction to Giacchino’s music and as a demonstration of his diversity and talent. Michael Giacchino at 50 will be held at the Royal Albert Hall on October 20th. Tickets are still available at the web sites of the Royal Albert Hall.
