Booklet.pdf

Our producer, Christopher Nolan, once described Hans Zimmer as

“someone who had faced huge odds and emerged unscathed”. The

more I work with Hans the more I realize that these odds are often

of his own construction. He is beyond being someone who likes a

challenge – he is someone who actually creates reckless wagers for

himself and then accepts them - perhaps subconsciously realizing them

to be a necessary part of the search for a new sound and new kind of

evocative music. And he keeps succeeding beyond anyone’s realistic

expectations.

Actually, I know he would. Or (at a much earlier stage) even iddle

about constructively with the nature or motivation of the characters

themselves – those very characters who later inspire and infuse their

own musical themes – he is a key part of the ilm-making team from the

very beginning.

For this Superman, Man of Steel, Hans has managed to create a

supremely American score. Perhaps we Europeans fall in love with

“Truth, Justice and the American Way” with all the extra enthusiasm of

a long-distance romance – maybe with a higher level of commitment

than those born into the relationship. While avoiding the speciic and

lubricious emotionality of rock and roll on the one hand and the corn

ields of Aaron Copland on the other, this is a score for an America

both modern and timeless, both realistic and optimistic. An ideal and

a reality. And for a Superman we can greet as a true hero and in whom

we can believe with all our hearts.

Someone else might wonder one day what twelve of the best drummers

in the world would sound like all playing simultaneously in a space

designed for a symphony orchestra – using not only rock drum kits

but tympani and ield drums as well. But such a person would likely be

neither inclined (nor able) to pick up the phone and make it happen. I

suppose other music fans amongst us might be curious as to whether

eight pedal steel guitars playing all the elements of a classical string

section in unison (or as close to unison as that idiosyncratic instrument

will allow) might produce genius or cacophony - a uniquely new metallic

orchestra or an extremely expensive musical pun (Men of Steel) - but

Hans is the only person I know who would actually make those bets;

and then win.

PETER ASHER

March 2013

For those of us along for the ride, watching Pharrell Williams and

Jason Bonham learn drum licks from each other in a roomful of their

peers, or hearing EDM icon Junkie XL then transform that drum cue

into an unexpected and stunning version of the rhythm and the few

magic notes Hans provided is all a bonus. Variously inspired by his

admiration for musicians ranging from Zeppelin to Elgar, by hearing

noises already in the sound effects or by hearing the magic notes of a

priceless Stradivarius on loan to a violinist friend (the amazing Ann Marie

Calhoun) there is a new idea every day. Inventing a hammered electric

12 string part so unusual it took 3 people at once to play it (virtuoso

guitarist George Doering, legendary producer Steve Lipson and me)

or commissioning maverick instrument designer/sculptor/performer

Chas Smith to create and play huge new throbbing instruments out

of steel and titanium. Some ideas seem wildly implausible and some

breathtakingly simple (often a couple of notes or a new chord change

will do) but we all stumble forward as best we can and suddenly we

look back and something quite wonderful (and wholly original) has

been built.

Hans is as much a producer as he is a composer – indeed sometimes

I think he would rather iddle about with the EQ and compression on

each kick drum for a few days than actually get down to composing.

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