''Interstellar: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'' is the

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' ...

composed by

Hans Zimmer Hans Florian Zimmer (; born 12 September 1957) is a German film score composer and music producer. He has won two Academy Awards, Oscars and four Grammy Awards, Grammys, and has been nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards, Emmys and a Tony Awar ...

to the 2014 film '' Interstellar'' directed by

Christopher Nolan Christopher Edward Nolan (born 30 July 1970) is a British-American filmmaker. Known for his lucrative Cinema of the United States, Hollywood blockbusters with complex storytelling, Nolan is considered a leading filmmaker of the 21st century. ...

. Zimmer had previously scored Nolan's ''The Dark Knight'' film trilogy and ''

Inception ''Inception'' is a 2010 science fiction action film written and directed by Christopher Nolan, who also produced the film with Emma Thomas, his wife. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a professional thief who steals information by infiltr ...

''. The soundtrack garnered critical acclaim. Prior to its digital release, it was nominated for an Academy Award and Original Score at the Hollywood Music in Media Awards. The soundtrack was released on November 17, 2014 via the

WaterTower A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towers often operate in conju ...

label.

Temple Church Organ, London, UK - Diliff

Critical response

The score received critical acclaim. Reviewing for ''

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'', Nicholas Barber felt, "Hans Zimmer's music makes the film seem even more colossal than it would otherwise: Zimmer invokes the original meaning of 'pulls out all the stops', rattling our teeth with reverberating pipe-organ chords." Scott Foundas, a chief film critic at ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', stated, "Hans Zimmer contributes one of his most richly imagined and inventive scores, which ranges from a gentle electronic keyboard melody to brassy, Strauss-ian crescendos. Many critics have noted distinct similarities between the score and the work of

Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...

, especially ''

Koyaanisqatsi ''Koyaanisqatsi'' (), also known as ''Koyaanisqatsi: Life Out of Balance'', is a 1982 American experimental film, experimental non-narrative film directed and produced by Godfrey Reggio with music composed by Philip Glass and cinematography by R ...

'' (1982). However, despite ''Interstellars near-identical central melody and instrumentation, few have criticized Zimmer when drawing the comparison. ''

Time Out London ''Time Out'' is a global magazine published by Time Out Group. ''Time Out'' started as a London-only publication in 1968 and has expanded its editorial recommendations to 328 cities in 58 countries worldwide. In 2012, the London edition becam ...

''s Dave Calhoun exclaimed, "Listen to unnerving silence as well as Hans Zimmer's organ-heavy score!" Tim Robey of ''

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'' felt "With the vast sounds of a composer set loose on his grandest ever assignment. But it relies less on

Straussian Leo Strauss (, ; September 20, 1899 – October 18, 1973) was a German-American political philosopher who specialized in classical political philosophy. Born in Germany to Jewish parents, Strauss later emigrated from Germany to the United States. ...

majesty à la ''

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

'' than something rather more pointed: the hypnotic, metronomically surging, and oddly sacred homage Zimmer gives us to ''Koyaanisqatsi'', by Philip Glass." Todd McCarthy, reviewing for ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'', praised it as, "soaring, sometimes domineering and unconventionally orchestrated wall-of-sound score"

Richard Corliss Richard Nelson Corliss (March 6, 1944 – April 23, 2015) was an American film critic and magazine editor for ''Time''. He focused on movies, with occasional articles on other subjects. He was the former editor-in-chief of ''Film Comment' ...

of ''

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'' called it "pounding organ score". Jeremy Aspinall of ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...

'' called the score subtle but evocative. Critic Jeffrey M. Anderson for ''

The San Francisco Examiner The ''San Francisco Examiner'' is a newspaper distributed in and around San Francisco, California, and published since 1863. Once self-dubbed the "Monarch of the Dailies" by then-owner William Randolph Hearst, and flagship of the Hearst Corporat ...

'' writes, "rumbling and thundering sound effects and music". At ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'', Donald Clarke wrote that "Hans Zimmer slumps on the biggest pipe organ in town". For

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, Chris Klimek stated that Zimmer's gives a church-organ score.

Joe Morgenstern Joe Morgenstern (born October 3, 1932) is an American writer and retired film critic. He wrote for ''Newsweek'' from 1965 to 1983, and then for ''The Wall Street Journal'' from 1995 to 2022. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 2005. Morgen ...

for ''

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'' felt that "At one point the orchestral churnings of Hans Zimmer's score suggest something epic under way". American film critic

Peter Travers Peter Joseph Travers (born ) is an American film critic, journalist, and television presenter. He reviews films for ABC News and previously served as a movie critic for ''People'' and ''Rolling Stone''. Travers also hosts the film interview prog ...

at ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' noted, "thrilling images ''oomphed'' by Hans Zimmer's score, and you'll get the meaning of "‘rock the house.‘" For ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', Liam Lacey stated, "Throughout, Hans Zimmer's music throbs obtrusively, occasionally fighting with the dialogue for our attention." "As usual, Nolan's frequent collaborator Hans Zimmer has come up with a score that fits the impossible dimensions of the film, and the music adds tremendously to the excitement", said critic Rene Rodriguez, writing for ''

The Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and headquartered in Doral, Florida, a city in western Miami-Dade County and the Miami metropolitan area, several miles west of Downtown Miami.The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' commented, "Hans Zimmer's basso profundo organ-music score and pummeling sound effects." Steven Biscotti of ''Soundtrack.net'' too praised the soundtrack stating, "Hans Zimmer has created a close to perfect musical canvas for those extremely dedicated to the audio experience. The compositional technique on the album may turn off a few, as it is different than Zimmer's recent offerings. However, for those that stick with the album, they will see it 'not go gentle into that good night.' Zimmer's Interstellar rages!" and awarded a perfect five out of five stars. In response to criticisms about the music being too overpowering and at times drowning out the dialogue, Nolan told The Hollywood Reporter: "Many of the filmmakers I’ve admired over the years have used sound in bold and adventurous ways. I don’t agree with the idea that you can only achieve clarity through dialogue. Clarity of story, clarity of emotions—I try to achieve that in a very layered way using all the different things at my disposal—picture and sound." Jonathan Broxton of Movie Music UK acclaimed the album, stating, "The orchestration choices, especially the stripped down ensemble and the use of the pipe organ, shows a composer not afraid to think outside the box, and find unique solutions to the musical problems his film presents, and the emotional content of the score is high, but not overwhelming", and summarised with, "It's an absolute lock for an Oscar nomination, and is one of the best scores of 2014."

Tangerine Circus Tangerine Circus is a Mexican progressive rock band from Mexico City, Mexico. They evolved from a metal-oriented style in their early years, to become one of Mexico's most promising progressive acts of the 2010s. History Origins (2006–2009) ...

's guitarist Francesc Messeguer cited the score and the film as one of his top 5 favorite albums and films, respectively. In his in-depth musical analysis, Mark Richards of Film Music Notes concludes: "Rather than simply being associated with a certain character or group of characters, Zimmer’s themes tend to emphasize the emotions a particular character or group is feeling at various points in the film. ..Interstellar has at its core an emotional story of love between a father and his daughter. Appropriately, Hans Zimmer places the Murph and Cooper theme front and center in the score .. Of course, since the film also includes some riveting action sequences, the score does make use of an action theme, but in typical Zimmer style, this theme serves two different functions as it is also the familial love theme. ..And Zimmer also captures Interstellar’s focus on the wonder of the natural world in a separate theme. Thus, the score provides an effective glue for the film by drawing emotional links between various events, character motivations, and visual spectacles that might otherwise seem rather disconnected."

Track listing

Standard edition

Deluxe edition bonus tracks

Illuminated Star Projection edition

Vinyl Edition (Standard)

MovieTickets.com bonus track

Personnel credits

Credits adapted from CD liner notes. ;All music composed by

*Producers:

, Hans Zimmer, Alex Gibson *Soundtrack album producers:

Chris Craker Chris Craker (born 1959 in Bromley, Kent, England), studied the clarinet at the Royal Northern College of Music from 1977–1981. He had a successful career as a clarinetist, playing with orchestras including the London Symphony, the Royal Philh ...

, Hans Zimmer, Christopher Nolan *Supervising music editor: Alex Gibson *Music editor: Ryan Rubin *Music consultant: Czarina Russell *Sequencer programming: Andrew Kawczynski, Steve Mazzaro *Music production services: Steven Kofsky *Technical score engineer: Chuck Choi *Technical score engineer: Stephanie McNally *Technical assistants: Jacqueline Friedberg, Leland Cox *Digital instrument design: Mark Wherry *Supervising orchestrator:

Bruce Fowler Bruce Lambourne Fowler (born July 10, 1947) is an American trombonist and composer. He played trombone on many Frank Zappa records, as well as with Captain Beefheart and in the Fowler Brothers Band. He composes and arranges music for movies, an ...

*Orchestrators: Walt Fowler, Suzette Moriarty, Kevin Kaska, Carl Rydlund, Elizabeth Finch, Andrew Kinney *Orchestra conducted by Gavin Greenaway,

Richard Harvey Richard Allen Harvey (born 25 September 1953) is an English composer and musician. Originally of the mediaevalist progressive rock group Gryphon, he is best known now for his film and television soundtracks. He is also known for his guitar co ...

*Score recorded at Lyndhurst Hall, Air Studios and Temple Church, London *Score recorded by Geoff Foster, Alan Meyerson *Score mixed by Alan Meyerson *Score mix assistant: John Witt Chapman *Additional engineering: Christian Wenger, Seth Waldmann, Daniel Kresco *Assistant to Hans Zimmer: Cynthia Park *Studio manager for Remote Control Productions: Shalini Singh *Contractor: Isobel Griffiths *Sampling team: Ben Robinson, Taurees Habib, Raul Vega *Music preparation: Booker T. White *Music librarian: Jill Streater *Score mixed at Remote Control Productions, Santa Monica, California ;Air Studios sessions *Air Studios bookings: Alison Burton Booth *Reader: Chris Craker *Pro Tools recordist at Lyndhurst Hall: Chris Barrett *Pro Tools recordist in Studio 1: Laurence Anslow ;Temple Church session *Pro Tools recordist at Temple Church: John Prestage *Assistant / Abbey Road Mobile: John Barrett *Assistant / Abbey Road Mobile: Jon Alexander *Technical engineer: Dan Cole *Technical engineer: Matt Kingdon *Booth reader: Steve Mazzaro *Scoring session photography: Jordan Goldberg *Executive in charge of music for Warner Bros. Pictures: Paul Broucek *Executive in charge of music for Paramount Pictures: Randyspendlove *Executive in charge of Watertower Music: Jason Linn *Art direction and soundtrack coordination: Sandeep Sriram *Music business affairs executive: Lisa Margolis ;Featured musicians *Ambient music design: Mario Reinsch *Pipe organ:

Roger Sayer Roger Sayer is an English organist and Director of Music at the Temple Church in central London. He was previously Organist and Director of Music at Rochester Cathedral. Sayer began his musical career as a chorister in Portsmouth and then studied ...

*Piano: Hans Zimmer *Violin:

Ann Marie Simpson Ann Marie Calhoun ( Simpson; born May 26, 1979) is an American classically trained violinist who has performed as a bluegrass and rock musician in a number of prominent acts, including Jethro Tull, Steve Vai, Widespread Panic, Dave Matthews Ba ...

*Steel guitar: Chas Smith *Tuned percussion:

Frank Ricotti Frank Ricotti (born 31 January 1949) is an English jazz vibraphonist and percussionist. Early life and education Ricotti was born in London, England. His father was a drummer. Bill Ashton, founder of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra (NY ...

*Harp:

Skaila Kanga Skaila Kanga (born in India) is a harpist and Professor Emerita of Harp at the Royal Academy of Music in London. After winning a Junior Exhibition to the Royal Academy of Music for piano, she switched to harp studies at age 17. She studied wit ...

*Synth programming: Hans Zimmer *Leader of the firsts: Thomas Bowes *Leader of the seconds: Roger Garland *First cellist:

Caroline Dale Caroline Dale (born 1965) is a widely recorded British cellist who currently plays principal cello for the English Chamber Orchestra and London Metropolitan Orchestra. She has also performed music for numerous films and played with a wide range ...

*First French horn:

Richard Watkins Richard Watkins (born 1962) is a horn player. He performs as a concerto soloist and chamber music player. He was Principal Horn of the Philharmonia Orchestra from 1985 to 1996, a position he relinquished to devote more time to his solo career ...

*First viola: Peter Lale *Bass: Mary Scully ;Woodwinds *Choir:

London Voices London Voices is a London-based choral ensemble founded by Terry Edwards (1939-2022) in 1973. In its early years, it also incorporated the London Opera Chorus and London Sinfonietta Voices and Chorus. In 2004, Ben Parry, became co-director of the ...

*Choirmasters:

Ben Parry Ben Parry is a retired American soccer Defender (association football), defender who played professionally in the USISL. Youth In 1993, Parry graduated from North Stanly High School where he was an All State soccer player. He attended UNC Cha ...

Terry Edwards Terry Edwards (born 10 August 1960) is an English musician who plays trumpet, flugelhorn, saxophones, guitar and keyboards. Biography Edwards gained a degree in music from the University of East Anglia in 1982, where he was also a founding me ...

*String quartet: Rita Manning, Emlyn Singleton, Bruce White, Tim Gill *Piano quartet: Simon Chamberlain, Dave Arch, John Lenehan, Andy Vinter *Flute 1: Karen Jones *Flute / Piccolo 2: Helen Keen *Flute / Piccolo 3: Paul Edmund-davies *Flute / Piccolo / Alto 4: Anna Noakes *Flute / Alto 5: Rowland Sutherland *Flute / Alto 6: Siobhan Grealy *Oboe 1: David Theodore *Oboe 2: Matthew Draper *Oboe / Cor anglais 3: Jane Marshall *Oboe / Cor anglais 4: Janey Miller *Clarinet 1: Nicholas Bucknall *Clarinet 2: Nick Rodwell *Clarinet/Bass clarinet – C extension 3: Martin Robertson *Clarinet/Bass clarinet – C extension 4: Duncan Ashby *Clarinet/Eb contrabass clarinet 5: Dave Fuest *Clarinet/Bb contrabass clarinet 6: Alan Andrews *Bassoon 1: Richard Skinner *Bassoon 2: Lorna West *Bassoon/Contrabassoon 3: Rachel Simms *Bassoon/Contrabassoon 4: Gordon Laing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control 2014 soundtrack albums Hans Zimmer soundtracks WaterTower Music soundtracks