Gabriel Yared (

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

: غبريال يارد; born 7 October 1949) is a Lebanese-French

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 Defi ...

, best known for his work in French and American

cinema Cinema may refer to: Film * Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking ...

. Born in

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

, Yared scored the French films ''

Betty Blue ''Betty Blue'' (french: 37°2 le matin, lit=37.2°C in the morning) is a 1986 French erotic psychological drama film directed by Jean-Jacques Beineix, based on the 1985 novel ''37°2 le matin'' by Philippe Djian. The film stars Béatrice Dalle ...

'' and ''

Camille Claudel Camille Rosalie Claudel (; 8 December 1864 19 October 1943) was a French sculptor known for her figurative works in bronze and marble. She died in relative obscurity, but later gained recognition for the originality and quality of her work. The ...

''. He later worked on English-language films, particularly those directed by

Anthony Minghella Anthony Minghella, (6 January 195418 March 2008) was a British film director, playwright and screenwriter. He was chairman of the board of Governors at the British Film Institute between 2003 and 2007. He won the Academy Award for Best Directo ...

. He won an

Academy Award for Best Original Score The Academy Award for Best Original Score is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by t ...

and a

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 pres ...

for his work on ''

The English Patient ''The English Patient'' is a 1992 novel by Michael Ondaatje. The book follows four dissimilar people brought together at an Italian villa during the Italian Campaign of the Second World War. The four main characters are: an unrecognisably burne ...

'' (1996) and was nominated for both ''

The Talented Mr. Ripley ''The Talented Mr. Ripley'' is a 1955 psychological thriller novel by Patricia Highsmith. This novel introduced the character of Tom Ripley, who returns in four subsequent novels. It has been adapted numerous times for screen, including ''Purpl ...

'' (1999) and '' Cold Mountain'' (2003).

Life and career

When Yared was 7, his father sent him to an accordion teacher. Two years later Yared stopped his accordion lessons and started music theory and piano lessons. Although he was not necessarily a gifted pianist, Yared was interested in reading music. When Yared was 14, his piano teacher died and Yared replaced him as the organist of

Université Saint-Joseph Saint Joseph University of Beirut ( French: ''Université Saint-Joseph de Beyrouth'', abbreviated to and commonly known as "USJ") is a private Catholic research university located in Beirut, Lebanon, which was founded in 1875 by French Jesuit mis ...

. Yared used the university's library to read the works of Johann Sebastian Bach, Robert Schumann, and many other composers. This extensive reading inspired his first original composition, a piano waltz. Yared gained a degree in law and did not formally study music at the university level until he traveled to France in 1969 to attend the

École Normale de Musique de Paris The École Normale de Musique de Paris "Alfred Cortot" (ENMP) is a leading conservatoire located in Paris, Île-de-France, France. At the time of the school's foundation in 1919 by Auguste Mangeot, Alfred Cortot. The term ''école normale'' (Engl ...

as a non-registered student. There he learned the rules of music composition from

Henri Dutilleux Henri Paul Julien Dutilleux (; 22 January 1916 – 22 May 2013) was a French composer active mainly in the second half of the 20th century. His small body of published work, which garnered international acclaim, followed in the tradition of ...

. At the end of 1971, Yared went to Brazil to visit his uncle and was asked by the president of the World Federation of Light Music Festivals to write a song to represent the Lebanese in the

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

Song Festival. The song he composed went on to win first prize. While in Brazil, he also performed with a small orchestra. Yared subsequently said that his time in Brazil greatly influenced his work. In 1975, he arranged the album ''

Minacantalucio ''Minacantalucio'' is an album by Italian singer Mina, originally distributed back to back with album '' La Mina''. The title translates as ''Mina Sings Lucio'', referring to the album's consisting entirely of songs composed by Lucio Battisti (an ...

'' for the popular Italian singer Mina. He then went back to France, where he met and collaborated with the

Costa Brothers Costa may refer to: Biology * Rib (Latin: ''costa''), in vertebrate anatomy * Costa (botany), the central strand of a plant leaf or thallus * Costa (coral), a stony rib, part of the skeleton of a coral * Costa (entomology), the leading edge of ...

Jacques Dutronc Jacques Dutronc (born 28 April 1943) is a French singer, songwriter, guitarist, composer, and actor. He married singer Françoise Hardy on 30 March 1981 and together they have a son (manouche jazz) guitarist Thomas Dutronc, born 1973); they sep ...

Françoise Hardy Françoise Madeleine Hardy (; born 17 January 1944) is a French former singer and songwriter. Mainly known for singing melancholic sentimental ballads, Hardy has been an important figure in French pop music since her debut, spanning a career of ...

Charles Aznavour Charles Aznavour ( , ; born Shahnour Vaghinag Aznavourian, hy, Շահնուր Վաղինակ Ազնավուրեան, ; 22 May 1924 – 1 October 2018) was a French-Armenian singer, lyricist, actor and diplomat. Aznavour was known for his dist ...

Mireille Mathieu Mireille Mathieu (; born 22 July 1946) is a French singer. She has recorded over 1200 songs in eleven languages, with more than 122 million records sold worldwide. Biography and career Early years Mireille Mathieu was born on 22 July 1946 in A ...

, and numerous other musicians. This was a prolific period for the composer and he wrote nearly 3,000 pieces over a span of about six years. His contributions included a number of radio and TV jingles, such as TF1 news jingles and an episode on the series ''In the Tracks of''.

Film scores

Yared is best known for his collaborations with the late

. His first collaboration with Minghella was the 1996 film ''

'', which was highly acclaimed and won him an Oscar for Best Original Score. He composed the scores for all of Minghella's subsequent films and the music for the television series ''

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency ''The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency'' is a series of novels by Alexander McCall Smith set in Botswana and featuring the character Mma Precious Ramotswe. The series is named after the first novel, published in 1998. Twenty-two novels have been p ...

'', co-created by Minghella and

Richard Curtis Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis (born 8 November 1956) is a New Zealand-born British screenwriter, producer and film director. One of Britain's most successful comedy screenwriters, he is known primarily for romantic comedy films, among them '' ...

. Aside from his work with Minghella, Yared scored a number of other films, including ''

'' (1986), ''

Map of the Human Heart ''Map of the Human Heart'' (also called ''Carte du Tendre'' and ''La Carte du Tendre''; released in the Philippines as ''War Dragon'') is a 1992 film by New Zealand director Vincent Ward. The script for ''Map of the Human Heart'' was written by ...

'' (1992), '' City of Angels'' (1998), ''

Message in a Bottle A message in a bottle (abbrev. MIB) is a form of communication in which a message is sealed in a container (typically a bottle) and released into a conveyance medium (typically a body of water). Messages in bottles have been used to send distres ...

'' (1999), '' Autumn in New York'' (2000), ''

The Next Best Thing ''The Next Best Thing'' is a 2000 American comedy-drama film directed by John Schlesinger (his final feature film before his death in 2003) about two best friends who have a child together and a custody battle years after. Starring Madonna, Ruper ...

'' (2000), ''

Possession Possession may refer to: Law * Dependent territory, an area of land over which another country exercises sovereignty, but which does not have the full right of participation in that country's governance * Drug possession, a crime * Ownership * ...

'' (2002), and '' Bon Voyage'' (2003). He had a notable collaboration with

René Laloux René Laloux (; July 1929 – 14 March 2004) was a French animator, screenwriter and film director. Biography He was born in Paris in 1929 and went to art school to study painting. After some time working in advertising, he got a job in a psychi ...

in the late 1980es on Gandahar and ''How Wang-fo was saved'' produced at the

SEK Studio Korean April 26 Animation Studio () is a state-owned North Korea, North Korean animation studio, based in Othan-dong, Central District (Pyongyang), Central District, Pyongyang. History The studio started operations in September 1957, as 4.26 C ...

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

Cassandra Clare Judith Lewis (née Rumelt; born July 27, 1973), better known by her pen name Cassandra Clare, is an American author of young adult fiction, best known for her bestselling series The Mortal Instruments (series), ''The Mortal Instruments''.'' Per ...

reported in August 2012 that Yared was tapped to compose the score for '' The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones''. However, he was eventually replaced on the project by

Atli Örvarsson Atli Örvarsson (; born 7 July 1970) is an Icelandic film score composer. Atli's credits include composing and orchestrating music for some of Hollywood's biggest projects, including the Pirates of the Caribbean series, ''Angels & Demons'', '' ...

''Troy'' soundtrack

In 2004, Yared's score for the film ''

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in prese ...

'' was rejected less than a month before the film's opening as a result of the poor reception by a

test screening A test screening is a preview screening of a movie or television show before its general release to gauge audience reaction. Preview audiences are selected from a cross-section of the population and are usually asked to complete a questionnaire or ...

audience. The test audience were said to have found Yared's music too "brassy and bold".

James Horner James Roy Horner (August 14, 1953 – June 22, 2015) was an American composer. He was known for the integration of choral and electronic elements, and for his frequent use of motifs associated with Celtic music. Horner's first film score was i ...

, the composer of the scores for such films as ''

Braveheart ''Braveheart'' is a 1995 American historical drama film directed and produced by, and starring Mel Gibson. Gibson portrays Sir William Wallace, a late-13th century Scottish warrior who led the Scots in the First War of Scottish Independence ag ...

'' and ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United ...

'' was then hired to create a replacement score in less than four weeks. Yared expressed his dismay at the score's rejection in an open letter which was posted on his website. He said that the score which the test audience had heard was not yet finished and mixed properly, and that the studio had given him no opportunity to alter his score in light of the audience's reaction.

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

still owns the rights to Yared's ''Troy'' score and an official recording is not currently available and may never be (although selections from the score were briefly posted on Yared's website and private promotional CD). Film score critic Christian Clemmensen of

Filmtracks.com Filmtracks.com is a modern film score review website created and maintained by its sole reviewer, Christian Clemmensen. Since the launch of Filmtracks in 1996, the website has reviewed nearly two-thousand soundtracks dating as far back as 1954, t ...

felt that Yared's work for ''Troy'' was far superior to what Horner had written, giving Horner's score a 3-star rating and Yared's a 5-star rating, saying that it was "outstanding," and called it the "pinnacle of Yared's career."

Ballet scores

Yared created the score to the narrative ballet ''Raven Girl'' choreographed to the Royal Ballet by Wayne McGregor after the story by Audrey Niffenegger.

Selected filmography

*''

Sauve qui peut (la vie) ''Every Man for Himself'' () is a 1980 drama film directed, co-written and co-produced by Jean-Luc Godard that is set in and was filmed in Switzerland. It stars Jacques Dutronc, Isabelle Huppert, and Nathalie Baye, with a score by Gabriel Yared. ...

'' (1980) Music *'' La Lune dans le caniveau'' (1983) Music *''

Dangerous Moves ''Dangerous Moves'' (french: La Diagonale du fou) is a 1984 French-language film about chess, directed by Richard Dembo, produced by Arthur Cohn, starring Michel Piccoli, Alexandre Arbatt, as well as Liv Ullmann, Leslie Caron, and Bernhard W ...

'' (1984) Music *''

Le téléphone sonne toujours deux fois!! ''Le téléphone sonne toujours deux fois !!'' (, ''The Telephone Always Rings Twice'') is a 1985 French comedy film directed by Jean-Pierre Vergne. Premise Marc Elbichon, private detective, investigates about a mysterious serial killer who si ...

'' (1985) Music *'' 37°2 le matin etty Blue' (1986) Music *''

Beyond Therapy ''Beyond Therapy'' is a play by Christopher Durang. Synopsis This farcical comedy focuses on Prudence and Bruce, two Manhattanites who are seeking stable romantic relationships with the help of their psychiatrists, each of whom suggests their p ...

'' (1987) Music *''

Agent trouble ''Agent trouble'' is a French films of 1987, 1987 France, French film directed by Jean-Pierre Mocky and starring Catherine Deneuve. It is based on the novel ''The Man Who Loved Zoos'' by Malcolm Bosse. Dominique Lavanant won the César Award for ...

'' (1987) Music *''

L'homme voilé ''L'homme voilé'' (also known as ''The Veiled Man'') is a 1987 Lebanese-French drama film written and directed by Maroun Bagdadi. The film was entered into the main competition at the 44th Venice International Film Festival, 44th edition of the ...

'' (1987) Music *'' Gandahar'' (1987) Music (not in US dubbed version ''

Light Years A light-year, alternatively spelled light year, is a large unit of length used to express astronomical distances and is equivalent to about 9.46 trillion kilometers (), or 5.88 trillion miles ().One trillion here is taken to be 1012 ...

'') *''

'' (1989) Music *''

Clean and Sober ''Clean and Sober'' is a 1988 American drama film directed by Glenn Gordon Caron and starring Michael Keaton as a real estate agent struggling with a substance abuse problem. This film served as Keaton's first dramatic departure from comedies. Th ...

'' (1988) Music *'' Une nuit à l'Assemblée Nationale'' (1988) *''

Romero The name Romero is a nickname type of surname for a Roman or an Italian. The name was originally derived from the Latin word Romaeus and the Greek word Romaios, which mean Roman. #A person on a religious journey or pilgrimage from Rome (possibly t ...

'' (1989) Music *'' Les 1001 Nuits'' (1990) Music *''

Vincent & Theo ''Vincent & Theo'' is a 1990 biographical drama film about the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890) and his brother Theo (1857–1891), an art dealer. While Vincent van Gogh's artworks are now famous, he was essentially unrecognised in ...

'' (1990) Music *''

The King's Whore ''The King's Whore'' (french: La putain du roi, it, La puttana del re) is a 1990 drama film directed by Axel Corti and starring Timothy Dalton. It was entered into the 1990 Cannes Film Festival. Plot Set in the 17th century, an Italian noblem ...

'' (1990) Music *''

Tatie Danielle ''Tatie Danielle'' (Auntie Danielle) is a 1990 French black comedy film directed by Étienne Chatiliez. It features Tsilla Chelton as Auntie Danielle Billard. Tagline ''"Vous ne la connaissez pas encore, mais elle vous déteste déjà."'' ("Yo ...

'' (1991) Music and theme song "The Complaint of the Old Bitch" (sung by

Catherine Ringer Catherine Ringer (, born 18 October 1957 in Suresnes, France) is a French singer, songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist, dancer, choreographer, actress, and co-founder of the pop rock group Les Rita Mitsouko. She is also the daughter of ...

) *'' L'Amant he Lover' (1992) Music *''

La Fille de l'air ''La fille de l'air'' is a 1992 French film directed by Maroun Bagdadi. Cast * Béatrice Dalle as Brigitte * Hippolyte Girardot as Philippe * Jean-Claude Dreyfus as Marcel * Catherine Jacob as Rose * Thierry Fortineau as Daniel * Roland Bert ...

'' (1992) Music *''

'' (1993) Music *''

'' (1996) Original Music *'' City of Angels'' (1998) Music and Orchestrations *''

'' (1999) Music and Orchestrations *''

'' (1999) Music, Orchestrations and songs *'' Autumn in New York'' (2000) Composed and Conductor *''

'' (2000) Music, Conductor and Orchestrations *''

'' (2002) Composer, Conductor and Orchestrations *'' Bon voyage'' (2003) Music *'' Cold Mountain'' (2003) Composed and Orchestrations *'' Sylvia'' (2003) Composer *'' Shall We Dance?'' (2004) Music *''

'' (2004) Composed and Orchestrated (Music Rejected from Final Film) *''

Das Leben der Anderen ''The Lives of Others'' (german: link=no, Das Leben der Anderen, ) is a 2006 German drama film written and directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck marking his feature film directorial debut. The plot is about the monitoring of East Berlin ...

'' (2006) Music *'' Azur and Asmar'' (2006) Music *''

Breaking and Entering Burglary, also called breaking and entering and sometimes housebreaking, is the act of entering a building or other areas without permission, with the intention of committing a criminal offence. Usually that offence is theft, robbery or murder ...

'' (2006) Music (with

Underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld. ...

) *'' 1408'' (2007) Music *''

Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky ''Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky'' is a 2009 French romantic drama film directed by Jan Kounen. It was chosen as the Closing Film of the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, and was shown on 24 May 2009. ''Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky'' is based on the 2 ...

'' (2009) Original music *'' Amelia'' (2009) Original music *''

The Hedgehog ''The Hedgehog'' (''Le Hérisson'') is a French film directed by Mona Achache, loosely based on the novel ''The Elegance of the Hedgehog'' by Muriel Barbery. Made in 2008, the film was released in theatres in 2009. Plot Paloma is an 11-year-o ...

'' (2009) Original music *'' The Tourist'' (2010) Original music - Score rejected; replaced by

James Newton Howard James Newton Howard (born June 9, 1951) is an American film composer, music producer and keyboardist. He has scored over 100 films and is the recipient of a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, and nine nominations for Academy Awards. His film scores ...

. The movie does carry his track "Dance in F" *''

In the Land of Blood and Honey ''In the Land of Blood and Honey'' ( bs, U zemlji krvi i meda) is a 2011 war drama film written, produced, and directed by Angelina Jolie and starring Zana Marjanović, Goran Kostić, and Rade Šerbedžija. The film, Jolie's first commercial rel ...

'' (2011) Original music *''

A Royal Affair ''A Royal Affair'' ( da, En kongelig affære) is a 2012 drama film directed by Nikolaj Arcel, starring Mads Mikkelsen, Alicia Vikander and Mikkel Følsgaard. The story is set in the 18th century, at the court of the mentally ill King Christian VI ...

'' (2012) Co-composed with Cyrille Aufort *''

Haute Cuisine ''Haute cuisine'' (; ) or ''grande cuisine'' is the cuisine of "high-level" establishments, gourmet restaurants, and luxury hotels. ''Haute cuisine'' is characterized by the meticulous preparation and careful presentation of food at a high pri ...

'' (French original title: Les Saveurs du Palais)(2012) Original music *''

Belle du Seigneur ''Belle du Seigneur'' is a 1968 novel by the Swiss writer Albert Cohen. Set in Geneva in the 1930s, the narrative revolves around a Mediterranean Jew employed by the League of Nations, and his romance with a married Swiss aristocrat. The novel is ...

'' (2012) Original Music *'' A Promise'' (2013) *'' The Prophet'' (2014) Original music *'' By the Sea'' (2015) Original music *'' Chocolat'' (2016) *''

It's Only the End of the World ''It's Only the End of the World'' (french: Juste la fin du monde) is a 2016 drama film written, edited and directed by Xavier Dolan. The film is based on the play of the same name by Jean-Luc Lagarce and stars Gaspard Ulliel, Nathalie Baye, Mario ...

'' (2016) *'' The Promise'' (2016) *''

The Death and Life of John F. Donovan ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' (2018) *'' Judy'' (2019)

Awards and nominations

Yared has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Score on three occasions. He won for ''

'' in 1996. He was also nominated for ''

'' (1999) and '' Cold Mountain'' (2003), but lost to

John Corigliano John Paul Corigliano Jr. (born February 16, 1938) is an American composer of contemporary classical music. His scores, now numbering over one hundred, have won him the Pulitzer Prize, five Grammy Awards, Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition, an ...

and

Howard Shore Howard Leslie Shore (born October 18, 1946) is a Canadian composer and conductor noted for his film scores. He has composed the scores for over 80 films, most notably the scores for ''The Lord of the Rings'' and ''The Hobbit'' film trilogies. ...

, respectively. He has also received three Golden Globe and three BAFTA nominations for the same films, and won both awards for ''

''. He has been nominated for two Grammy Awards, again winning for ''

''.

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yared, Gabriel 1949 births Living people Musicians from Beirut French film score composers French male film score composers Lebanese film score composers Saint Joseph University alumni French music arrangers French people of Lebanese descent École Normale de Musique de Paris alumni Golden Globe Award-winning musicians Grammy Award winners European Film Awards winners (people) Best Original Music Score Academy Award winners Best Original Music BAFTA Award winners Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Varèse Sarabande Records artists