Niki Reiser (born 12 May 1958) is a Swiss film score composer and flautist. He is considered one of the most outstanding film composers of the German-speaking countries, winning the

German Film Award The German Film Award (), also known as Lola after its prize statuette, is the national film award of Germany. It is presented at an annual ceremony honouring cinematic achievements in the Cinema of Germany, German film industry. Besides being ...

five times. His debut was in 1986 the score for the film '' Du mich auch'', directed by

Dani Levy Dani Levy (born 17 November 1957) is a Swiss filmmaker, theatrical director, screenwriter and actor. Biography Levy was born to a Jewish family in Switzerland in 1957.

, for whom he has composed all further scores. He had his breakthrough with the music for the film '' Beyond Silence'', directed by

Caroline Link Caroline Link (born 2 June 1964) is a German TV and film director and screenwriter. She is best known for directing critically acclaimed Beyond Silence, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, and for dir ...

in 1996.

Biography

Niki Reiser was born in 1958 in

Reinach, Aargau Reinach () is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Kulm (district), Kulm in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Aargau in Switzerland. History Scattered neolithic items indicated that the area around Reinach has ...

in Switzerland, the son of a pastor and a nurse. Before he came to

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

age twelve, where he has lived since, he spent four years in

Schaffhausen Schaffhausen (; ; ; ; ), historically known in English as Shaffhouse, is a list of towns in Switzerland, town with historic roots, a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in northern Switzerland, and the capital of the canton of Schaffh ...

. In addition to classical flute lessons a child, he invented his own melodies on the piano. In his youth he played in several bands, composed pieces for them and for theater performances at school. In the 1970s, Reiser studied classical music with an emphasis on flute in Basel. From 1980 to 1984 he studied in Boston at the

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...

jazz and classical music with a focus on film music. From 1984 to 1986, Reiser lived partly in Europe, mostly in Switzerland, where he continued his studies in composition in Basel. In workshops in the U.S., he met

Ennio Morricone Ennio Morricone ( , ; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, Orchestration, orchestrator, conductor, trumpeter, and pianist who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 film score, scores for cinema and televisi ...

and

Jerry Goldsmith Jerrald King Goldsmith (February 10, 1929July 21, 2004) was an American composer, conductor and orchestrator with a career in film and television scoring that spanned nearly 50 years and over 200 productions, between 1954 and 2003. He was consid ...

who influenced his music. During this time he composed his first pieces for movies. During this period he also toured as a jazz flutist with the ensemble ''People'', which he had co-founded. In 1986, Reiser moved back to Europe where he met the film director

Dani Levy Dani Levy (born 17 November 1957) is a Swiss filmmaker, theatrical director, screenwriter and actor. Biography Levy was born to a Jewish family in Switzerland in 1957.

. He composed the music for his first film ''Du mich auch''. The film was a surprising success throughout Europe and was nominated for the Golden Camera at the

Cannes International Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around t ...

in 1987. This encounter started a lasting friendship, resulting in Reiser composing the music for all of Levy's films. At that time Reiser joined the klezmer band Kolsimcha as a flutist, and composed several pieces for the group. On two world tours he played with the band in

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

and at the

Montreux Jazz Festival The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annu ...

, among others. When Reiser realised that it was impossible to be a flutist and a composer at the same time, he concentrated on composition. In addition to working with Levy, he also composed for

, whom he met in 1996. His breakthrough came with the music for her movie ''Beyond Silence''. For her film '' Nowhere in Africa'', Reiser studied

African music The continent of Africa is vast and its music is diverse, with different regions and nations having many distinct musical traditions. African music includes the genres like makwaya, highlife, mbube, township music, jùjú, fuji, jaiva ...

in Nairobi. The influences of indigenous Kenyan music can be seen in the score he composed for the film. In addition to cinema and TV films, he also wrote music for the theater. In 2008 he worked again for Link for '' A Year Ago in Winter''. The score won both the

Preis der deutschen Filmkritik Preis is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Alfred Preis (1911–1993), Austrian architect * Ellen Preis (Ellen Müller-Preis) (1912–2007), German-born Austrian Olympic champion foil fencer * Mary Louise Preis (born 1941) ...

and the

Deutscher Filmpreis The German Film Award (), also known as Lola after its prize statuette, is the national film award of Germany. It is presented at an annual ceremony honouring cinematic achievements in the Cinema of Germany, German film industry. Besides being ...

of 2009. Reiser has his studio in Basel's Gundeldingerfeld. He is on the board of the

Deutsche Filmakademie The Deutsche Filmakademie is a German independently run organization with a focus on filmmaking. History The academy was founded in 2003 in Berlin, on the initiative of Helmut Dietl, Bernd Eichinger, and Ulrich Felsberg. It initially compris ...

since its inception in 2003.

Awards

As of 2012, Reiser was awarded the German film prize

five times. In 2005, he was the 12th recipient of the Rheingau Musik Preis, as "a composer who repeatedly and majestically succeeds in meeting the particular dramaturgical needs entailed by film scores, and thus suffusing each individual work with its own unique sound". * 1997

Bayerischer Filmpreis The Bavarian Film Awards () are film awards given to German films in the state of Bavaria, awarded by the state government. Background and description The Bavarian Film Awards have been awarded annually since 1979 by the state government of Bav ...

for '' Beyond Silence'' * 1997 Deutscher Filmpreis for ''Beyond Silence'' * 1999 Deutscher Filmpreis for '' Meschugge'' and ''

Annaluise & Anton ''Annaluise & Anton'' () is a 1999 German family film based on the eponymous children's book by Erich Kästner. A previous version '' Anna Louise and Anton'' was made in 1953. Cast * - Annaluise * - Anton * Juliane Köhler - Bettina Pogge ...

'' * 2001 Film music prize of the SUISA foundation for ''Cold Is the Evening Breeze'' * 2002 Deutscher Filmpreis for '' Nowhere in Africa'' * 2004

for ''The Flying Classroom'' * 2005 Deutscher Filmpreis for ''

Alles auf Zucker! ''Alles auf Zucker!'' () is a German comedy film, released internationally in 2004. It can be seen as part of the " Ossi- Wessi" confrontation within Germany. Directed by Dani Levy, the cast includes Henry Hübchen, Hannelore Elsner, Udo S ...

'' * 2005 Rheingau Music Prize * 2008 Bayerischer Filmpreis for ''Liebesleben'' * 2009 Preis der deutschen Filmkritik for '' A Year Ago in Winter'' * 2009 Deutscher Filmpreis for ''A Year Ago in Winter'' * 2011 Film music prize of the SUISA foundation ''Promising the Moon''

Filmography

* 1986: '' Du mich auch'' – directed by Anja Franke, Dani Levy * 1986: ''Die Nacht der lebenden Schäffchen'' (short film) – directed by Walder, Zago * 1989: '' RobbyKallePaul'' – directed by Dani Levy * 1989: ''Abgeschleppt'' – directed by Dani Levy * 1992: '' I Was on Mars'' – directed by Dani Levy * 1993: '' Anna annA'' – directed by Jürgen Brauer, Greti Kläy * 1994: '' Nobody Loves Me'' – directed by

Doris Dörrie Doris Dörrie (; born 26 May 1955) is a German film director, producer and author. Early life and education Born in Hanover, Dörrie completed her secondary education there in 1973. The same year, she began a two-year attendance in film studies ...

* 1994: ''Wilder Hunger'' (short film) – directed by Hercli Bundi * 1995: ''Surprise!'' (short film) – directed by Veit Helmer * 1995: ''

Silent Night "Silent Night" () is a popular Christmas carol, composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr in Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. It was declared an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO The United Nations Educati ...

'' – directed by Dani Levy * 1996: '' Beyond Silence'' – directed by Caroline Link * 1996: ''

Liebling vergiß die Socken nicht Liebling (German language, German for "darling") may refer to: Music * Liebling (album), ''Liebling'' (album), a 1999 album by Andreas Johnson People * A. J. Liebling, an American journalist for ''The New Yorker'' * Alison Liebling (born 196 ...

'' – directed by Tobias Meinecke * 1996: ''Halbe Herzen'' (short film) – directed by * 1997: ' – directed by Andreas Kleinert * 1998: '' Meschugge'' – directed by Dani Levy * 1998: ' – directed by

Hermine Huntgeburth Hermine Huntgeburth (born 13 November 1957) is a German film director producer and university lecturer. She is best known for her 2005 film '' The White Masai''. Background Huntgeburth grew up in a Catholic family of doctors with nine siblings ...

* 1999: '' Das Geheimnis der Sicherheit'' – directed by Dani Levy * 1999: ''

'' – directed by Caroline Link * 2000: ''Cold Is the Evening Breeze'' – directed by

Rainer Kaufmann Rainer Kaufmann (born 6 June 1959) is a German film director. He directed more than thirty films including '' The Pharmacist'' and ', a film about human trafficking. Selected filmography *'' Dann eben mit Gewalt'' (1993, TV film) — (based on ...

* 2000: '' Ein todsicheres Geschäft'' – directed by Matthias X. Oberg * 2001: ''

Heaven Heaven, or the Heavens, is a common Religious cosmology, religious cosmological or supernatural place where beings such as deity, deities, angels, souls, saints, or Veneration of the dead, venerated ancestors are said to originate, be throne, ...

'' (partly) – directed by

Tom Tykwer Tom Tykwer (; born 23 May 1965) is a German film director, producer, screenwriter, and composer. He is best known internationally for directing the thriller films ''Run Lola Run'' (1998), ''Heaven (2002 film), Heaven'' (2002), ''Perfume: The Sto ...

* 2001: '' Nowhere in Africa'' – directed by Caroline Link * 2001: ''

Heidi ''Heidi'' (; ) is a work of children's fiction published between 1880 and 1881 by Swiss author Johanna Spyri, originally published in two parts as ''Heidi: Her Years of Wandering and Learning'' () and ''Heidi: How She Used What She Learned'' ( ...

'' – directed by Markus Imboden * 2002: ' – directed by

Tomy Wigand (trading as Takara Tomy in Asia and Tomy elsewhere) is a Japanese toy company. It was established in 1924 by Eiichirō Tomiyama as , became known for creating popular toys like the B-29 friction toy and luck-based game Pop-up Pirate. In 200 ...

* 2002: ' – directed by Dani Levy * 2003: ''

Bouillabaisse Bouillabaisse ( , , ; ) is a traditional Cuisine of Provence, Provençal fish soup originating in the port city of Marseille. The word is originally a compound of the two Provençal verbs ('to boiling, boil') and ('to reduce heat', i.e. 'sim ...

'' – directed by Frank Papenbroock * 2004: ''

'' – directed by Dani Levy * 2004: '' Summer Storm'' – directed by

Marco Kreuzpaintner Marco Johann Kreuzpaintner (born 11 March 1977) is a German film director, screenwriter, showrunner and executive producer. He is known for his gay coming-of-age feature film ''Summer Storm (2004 film), Summer Storm'', the critical acclaimed Netfl ...

* 2005: '' The White Masai'' – directed by Hermine Huntgeburth * 2007: '' Love Life'' – directed by

Maria Schrader Maria Schrader (born 27 September 1965) is a German actress, screenwriter, and director. She directed the award-winning 2007 film ''Love Life'' and the 2020 Netflix miniseries '' Unorthodox'', for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Ou ...

* 2007: ''

My Führer – The Really Truest Truth about Adolf Hitler ''My Führer – The Really Truest Truth about Adolf Hitler'' () is a 2007 German black comedy film directed by Dani Levy. The setting is World War II, around New Year's of 1944. The film tells the story of Adolf Hitler and his preparation for a ...

'' – directed by Dani Levy * 2008: '' A Year Ago in Winter'' – directed by Caroline Link * 2009: '' Wedding Fever in Campobello'' – directed by * 2009: ' – directed by Vivian Naefe * 2010: ' – directed by Dani Levy * 2011: ' – directed by Hans Steinbichler

References

External links

Official website (in German)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Reiser, Niki 1958 births Living people People from Kulm District Swiss composers Swiss male composers Swiss film score composers Male film score composers Swiss flautists Berklee College of Music alumni