Maurice Jarre
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| Maurice Jarre | |
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| Born | Maurice-Alexis Jarre 13 September 1924 Lyon, France  |
| Years active | 1952-2001 |
Maurice Jarre (born in Lyon, France, 13 September 1924) is a French composer and conductor. Although he has composed several concert works, he is best known for his film scores for motion pictures, particularly those of David Lean: Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Doctor Zhivago (1965), and A Passage to India (1984). All three of these scores won Academy Awards. Other notable scores of his include The Message (1976), Dead Poets Society (1989) and Ghost (1990). He has had a star in Hollywood since 2001. [1]
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[edit] Early life
Jarre started studying music at a late age, unlike many of his fellow musicians. He first enrolled in the engineering school at the Sorbonne. However, he decided to pursue his education in music instead. He left the Sorbonne, against his father's will, and enrolled at Conservatoire de Paris to study composition, harmony and chose percussion as his major instrument. He became the Théâtre National Populaire director, and recorded his first movie score in France in 1951. [2]
[edit] Film scoring
In 1961 Jarre musical life experienced a major turn when the movie producer Sam Spiegel asked him to write the score of Lawrence of Arabia for which he won his first Academy Award .[3] He followed with a great success in "Doctor Zhivago", that earned him his second Academy Award.
Jarre continued making movie scores that earned him several awards and recognition. He scored by Luchino Visconti's The Damned (1969), John Huston'sThe Man Who Would Be King (1975).
He was again nominated for an Academy award for scoring The Message (aka Mohammad, Messenger of God) in 1976 for the director and producer Moustapha Akkad. He followed with Top Secret! (1984), Julia and Julia (1987), Dead Poets Society (1989), for which he won a British Academy Award, and Jacob's Ladder (1990).
His television work includes the score for the miniseries Jesus of Nazareth (1977), directed by Franco Zeffirelli, Shogun (1980), and the theme for PBS's Great Performances.
In 1990 Jarre was again nominated for an Academy Award scoring the supernatural love story / thriller Ghost. His music for the final scene of the film is based on "Unchained Melody" composed by fellow film composer Alex North.
[edit] Other works
His other works include the music for Witness, his passionate love theme from Fatal Attraction, and the moody electronic soundscapes of After Dark, My Sweet. His score for David Lean's Ryan's Daughter (1970), set in Ireland, completely eschews traditional Irish music styles, owing to Lean's preferences. The song 'It was a Good Time' from Ryan's Daughter went on to be recorded by musical stars such as Liza Minnelli who used it in her critically acclaimed television special Liza With a Z as well as others during the 1970s. In the 80s, Jarre turned his hand to science fiction, with scores for Enemy Mine (1985) and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985). The latter is written for full orchestra, augmented by a chorus, four grand pianos, a pipe organ, digeridoo, fujara, a battery of exotic percussion and three ondes Martenot (which feature in several of Jarre's other scores, including Lawrence of Arabia, Jesus of Nazareth and The Bride).
Now officially retired, Jarre scored his last film in 2001, a TV movie about the Holocaust entitled Uprising.
[edit] Music Style
Jarre wrote mainly for orchestras, but began to favor to synthesized music in the 1980s, mostly for practical rather than aesthetic motivations, many critics feel.[citation needed] Jarre denies this and has pointed out that his electronic score for Witness was actually more laborious, time-consuming and expensive to produce than an orchestral score. Jarre's electronic scores from the 80s also include Fatal Attraction, The Year of Living Dangerously and No Way Out. A number of his scores from that era also feature electronic/acoustic blends, such as Gorillas in the Mist, Dead Poets Society and Jacob's Ladder.
His most famous works to date include the broad unique Lawrence of Arabia and the Russian-flavoured "Lara's Theme" from Doctor Zhivago.
Also wrote the music to the 1966 film "Grand Prix" Starring James Garner and Yves Montand and directed by John Frankenheimer.
[edit] Private Life
Jarre has been married four times.
He is the father of Jean Michel Jarre, a French composer who is one of the pioneers in the electronic music field. His youngest son Kevin is a screenwriter, with credits on such movies as Tombstone and Glory.
[edit] Awards and nominations
[edit] Academy Awards
He has been nominated for nine Academy Awards, and has won three:
- Nominated for Best Music, Original Score for: Ghost
- Nominated for Best Music, Original Score for: Gorillas in the Mist
- Nominated for Best Music, Original Score for: Witness
- Won the 1984 Academy Award for Original Music Score for the film A Passage to India
- Nominated for Best Music, Original Score for: The Message
- Nominated for Best Music, Song for: The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean for the song "Marmalade, Molasses & Honey"
- Won the 1965 Academy Award for Best Music, Score - Substantially Original for: Doctor Zhivago
- Nominated for Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment for: Les Dimanches de ville d'Avray
- Won the 1962 Academy Award for Best Music, Score - Substantially Original for: Lawrence of Arabia
[edit] Grammy Award
Jarre won the 1967 Grammy Award for Album of Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special for Doctor Zhivago.
[edit] Other awards
- British Academy Awards, 1989, Best Original Music Score for Dead Poets Society
- Golden Globe, 1995, Best Original Score for A Walk in the Clouds
