Jürgen Knieper (born 14 March 1941) is a German

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 ...

composer. Born in

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...

, he was educated at Berlin's State High School of Music.

Career

He began working for director Wim Wenders with his 1972 film '' The Goalkeeper's Fear of the Penalty''. For Wenders' 1975 film '' The Wrong Move'', Knieper won the German Film Award for Best Music. Wenders turned to Knieper again for the music of his 1987 film ''

Wings of Desire ''Wings of Desire'' (, ; ) is a 1987 romantic fantasy film written by Wim Wenders, Peter Handke and Richard Reitinger, and directed by Wenders. The film is about invisible, immortal angels who populate Berlin and listen to the thoughts of its ...

''. Knieper assumed harps and violins would suffice for a score for a film about angels, until he saw a cut of the film. Seeing the angels were discontent, he wrote a different score employing a choir, voices and whistling. Musicologist Annette Davison argued this score includes elements of Eastern European and Orthodox Christian music. In 1990, he was nominated for the

European Film Award for Best Composer The European Film Award for Best Composer is one of the awards presented by the European Film Academy. It was first presented as a Special Jury Award in 1998 received by Yuri Khanon for the music of '' Days of Eclipse''. A set of nominees was pre ...

for ''

December Bride ''December Bride'' is an American sitcom that aired on the CBS television network from 1954 to 1959. It was adapted from the original CBS radio network series of the same name that aired from June 1952 through September 1953. Overview ''De ...

''.

Filmography

His films include: *'' The Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick'' (1972) *''

The Scarlet Letter ''The Scarlet Letter: A Romance'' is a work of historical fiction by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne, published in 1850. Set in the Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony during the years 1642 to 1649, the novel tells the story of Hester Prynne, ...

'' (1973) *'' The Wrong Move'' (1975) *''

The American Friend ''The American Friend'' (german: Der amerikanische Freund) is a 1977 neo-noir film by Wim Wenders, adapted from the 1974 novel ''Ripley's Game'' by Patricia Highsmith. The film features Dennis Hopper as career criminal Tom Ripley and Bruno Ganz as ...

'' (1977) *'' Germany, Pale Mother'' (1980) *''

Christiane F. – We Children from Bahnhof Zoo ''Christiane F.'' (german: Christiane F. – Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo, italic=yes, ) is a 1981 German biographical drama film directed by Uli Edel that portrays the descent of Christiane Felscherinow, a bored 13-year-old growing up in mid-19 ...

'' (1981) *'' Room 666'' (1984) *''

River's Edge ''River's Edge'' is a 1986 American crime drama film directed by Tim Hunter, written by Neal Jimenez, and starring Crispin Glover, Keanu Reeves, Ione Skye Leitch, Daniel Roebuck and Dennis Hopper. It follows a group of teenagers in a Norther ...

'' (1987) *''

Paint It Black "Paint It Black" is a song recorded in 1966 by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. A product of the songwriting partnership of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, it is a raga rock song with Indian, Middle Eastern, and Eastern European in ...

'' (1989) *''

'' (1990) *'' Lisbon Story'' (1994) *''

Tuvalu Tuvalu ( or ; formerly known as the Ellice Islands) is an island country and microstate in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. Its islands are situated about midway between Hawaii and Australia. They lie east-nor ...

'' (1999)

References

1941 births German film score composers Living people Musicians from Karlsruhe Varèse Sarabande Records artists {{germany-composer-stub