Benjamin Mark Lasker Wallfisch (born 7 August 1979) is a British

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Def ...

, conductor, orchestrator, and producer of

film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to e ...

s. Since the mid-2000s, he has worked on over 75 feature films, including composing original scores for ''

Blade Runner 2049 ''Blade Runner 2049'' is a 2017 American neo-noir science fiction film directed by Denis Villeneuve and written by Hampton Fancher and Michael Green. A sequel to the 1982 film ''Blade Runner'', the film stars Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford, ...

'', '' Shazam!'', '' It'', '' It Chapter Two'', '' The Invisible Man'', '' Hidden Figures'' and ''

A Cure for Wellness ''A Cure for Wellness'' is a 2016 psychological neo-gothic horror film directed by Gore Verbinski and written by Justin Haythe, based on a story co-written by Haythe and Verbinski, who were both inspired by Thomas Mann's 1924 novel ''The Magic ...

''. In 2017, he was jointly nominated with

Pharrell Williams Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973) is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. Alongside close colleague Chad Hugo, he formed the hip hop and R&B production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom h ...

and Hans Zimmer for Best Original Score at the 74th Golden Globe Awards for his work on '' Hidden Figures'', and a BAFTA Award and

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

for ''

''. In 2020, he was nominated a
'Film Composer of the Year'
in the World Soundtrack Awards for the second consecutive year. Wallfisch's movies have made ove
$2.5 billion
in worldwide box office receipts, and in 2019 '' Variety'' inducted him into thei
‘Billion Dollar Composer’
series in recognition of this.

Early life

Wallfisch was born on 7 August 1979 in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, the son of Elizabeth Wallfisch (née Hunt), an Australian Baroque violinist, and Raphael Wallfisch, a British cellist. He is the eldest of their three children. His paternal grandparents are pianist Peter Wallfisch and cellist Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was a member of the Women's Orchestra of Auschwitz. They were Jewish emigrants from the city of Breslau (now

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, r ...

). His great-grandfather was the conductor Albert Coates.

Career

Composer of

Andy Muschietti Andrés Muschietti (; born August 26, 1973) is an Argentine filmmaker who achieved wide recognition with the 2013 film ''Mama'' which he made with Neil Cross and his sister, producer and screenwriter Barbara Muschietti, based on their three-mi ...

's '' It'' and '' It Chapter Two'',

David F. Sandberg David F. Sandberg (born 21 January 1981) is a Swedish filmmaker. He is best known for his collective no-budget horror short films under the online pseudonym ''ponysmasher'' and for his 2016 directorial debut '' Lights Out'', based on his 2013 a ...

's ''Shazam!'',

Leigh Whannell Leigh Whannell (; is an Australian screenwriter, actor, film producer, and film director. He is best known for writing films directed by his friend James Wan, including ''Saw'' (2004), ''Dead Silence'' (2007), '' Insidious'' (2010), and '' Insi ...

's '' The Invisible Man'' and co-composer of

Denis Villeneuve Denis Villeneuve (; born October 3, 1967) is a Canadian filmmaker. He is a four-time recipient of the Canadian Screen Award (formerly Genie Award) for Best Direction, winning for '' Maelström'' in 2001, '' Polytechnique'' in 2009, ''Incendies ...

's ''

'' (with Hans Zimmer), Benjamin Wallfisch has worked on over 75 feature films and received

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...

, BAFTA, 2x

GRAMMY The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

and

EMMY The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

nominations. He provided the score for Simon McQuoid's ''Mortal Kombat'' reboot film for

New Line Cinema New Line Cinema is an American film production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and is a film label of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as an independent film distribution company; later becoming a film studio after ...

/ Warner Bros. He is also set to compose the score to Andy Muschietti’s ''The Flash''. Other recent projects include Neil Marshall's ''Hellboy'', Academy Award Best Picture nominee, Ted Melfi's '' Hidden Figures'' (in collaboration with

and Hans Zimmer) and

's box office hit '' Annabelle: Creation''. On the invitation of Hans Zimmer, he contributed music based on Elgar's 'Enigma' Variations for Christopher Nolan's ''Dunkirk''. In recent years, Benjamin has also scored Gore Verbinski's ''

'', the

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Sp ...

produced short film ''Auschwitz'', directed by

James Moll James Moll is an American director and producer of film documentaries and television documentaries. His documentary work has earned him an Academy Award, two Emmys, and a Grammy. Moll's production company, Allentown Productions Inc., has bee ...

, James Marsh's '' King of Thieves'', starring Michael Caine, and

Steven Knight Steven Knight (born 1 April 1959) is a British screenwriter, film director and film producer. Knight wrote the screenplays for the films ''Closed Circuit'', '' Dirty Pretty Things'', and '' Eastern Promises'', and also wrote and directed the ...

's '' Serenity'', starring Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway. With over 25 albums of his music released to date, Benjamin has performed live in over 100 concerts worldwide, leading orchestras such as the

London Philharmonic The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Symphon ...

, Philharmonia,

Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic, commonly referred to as the LA Phil, is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at th ...

, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and the Sydney Symphony at venues including the

Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in America by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018. The Hollywood Bowl is known for its distin ...

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...

and

Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a Grade I li ...

. He has collaborated, recorded and performed his music with artists including

Lang Lang Lang Lang (; born 14 June 1982) is a Chinese pianist who has performed with leading orchestras in China, North America, Europe, and elsewhere. Active since the 1990s, he was the first Chinese pianist to be engaged by the Berlin Philharmonic, ...

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he hel ...

and Yuja Wang, and has over 50 concert music commissions to his name. He has collaborated three times with

, including a live performance at the 2015

Awards and recently partnered with Adele, arranging her 2017

performance of

George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the most significant cultural icons of the MTV generation and is one of the best-selling music ...

's ' ''Fast Love'''. A member of the BAFTA Academy since 2009, Benjamin was appointed an Associate of the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke ...

in 2014. In 2017, he was invited to join the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.''''

Personal life

Wallfisch resides in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

with his wife and daughter.

Discography

Film

As primary score composer

As composer of additional music

Television

Theatre

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wallfisch, Benjamin 1979 births 21st-century British conductors (music) 21st-century British male musicians 21st-century British pianists British male conductors (music) British male pianists English conductors (music) English film score composers English male film score composers English people of German-Jewish descent English pianists English record producers Living people Varèse Sarabande Records artists