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 ...

composer. Born in

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...

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

Career

He began working for director

Wim Wenders Ernst Wilhelm "Wim" Wenders (; born 14 August 1945) is a German filmmaker and photographer, who is a major figure in New German Cinema. Among the honors he has received are prizes from the Cannes Film Festival, Cannes, Venice International Film ...

with his 1972 film ''

The Goalkeeper's Fear of the Penalty ''The Goalkeeper's Fear of the Penalty'' () is a 1972 German-language detective film, directed by Wim Wenders. It is also known as ''The Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick''. It was adapted from the novel with The Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalt ...

''. For Wenders' 1975 film ''

The Wrong Move ''The Wrong Move'' ( – "False Movement") is a 1975 German road movie directed by Wim Wenders. This was the second part of Wenders' "Road Movie trilogy, ''Road Movie'' trilogy" which included ''Alice in the Cities'' (1974) and ''Kings of the Roa ...

'', Knieper won 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 ...

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 hu ...

''. 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 pres ...

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 ''Dec ...

''.

Filmography

His films include: *''

The Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick ''The Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick'' () is a 1970 short novel by the Austrian Nobel Prize winning writer Peter Handke. It was adapted into a 1972 film with the same title, directed by Wim Wenders. See also * 1970 in literature * Austria ...

'' (1972) *''

The Scarlet Letter ''The Scarlet Letter: A Romance'' is a historical novel 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, who concei ...

'' (1973) *''

'' (1975) *''

The American Friend ''The American Friend'' () is a 1977 neo-noir film written and directed by Wim Wenders, adapted from the 1974 novel '' Ripley's Game'' by Patricia Highsmith. It stars Dennis Hopper as career-criminal Tom Ripley and Bruno Ganz as Jonathan Zimmerman ...

'' (1977) *'' Germany, Pale Mother'' (1980) *'' Christiane F. – We Children from Bahnhof Zoo'' (1981) *'' Room 666'' (1984) *'' River's Edge'' (1987) *''

'' (1987) *''

Paint It Black "Paint It Black" is a song 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 influences and lyrics ...

'' (1989) *''

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

Tuvalu Tuvalu ( ) is an island country in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean, about midway between Hawaii and Australia. It lies east-northeast of the Santa Cruz Islands (which belong to the Solomon Islands), northeast of Van ...

'' (1999)

References

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