2018 IFMCA Award Winners Announcement

INTERNATIONAL FILM MUSIC CRITICS ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF 2018 IFMCA AWARDS; “SOLO” TAKES SCORE OF THE YEAR, MULTIPLE WINS FOR JOHN POWELL, JAMES NEWTON HOWARD

FEBRUARY 21, 2018 — The International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) announces its list of winners for excellence in musical scoring in 2018, in the 2018 IFMCA Awards.

The award for Score of the Year goes to British composer John Powell for his score for the Star Wars spin-off story “Solo,” which looked at the early life of the legendary rogue and intergalactic smuggler Han Solo. The film was directed by Ron Howard, and starred Alden Ehrenreich, Emilia Clarke, and Donald Glover. In describing the score, IFMCA members Asier Senarriaga and Óscar Giménez called Solo “a spectacular score that combines the classic ideas of Williams with the talent of Powell,” and proclaimed it “the score of the year,” while IFMCA member Jon Broxton – speaking about the score’s multitude of recurring character themes - said that the way Powell “incorporates all the thematic complexity into his score is masterful, but best of all is the way he allows them to develop organically; this is not just a rigid leitmotif score where mathematics trumps emotion. Instead, Powell engages in sensible and appropriate development, meaning that when the emotional outbursts do come, they pack a real wallop, and satisfy both the heart and the brain in equal measure.”

The score is also named Best Original Score for a Fantasy/Science Fiction/Horror Film, while John Williams’s contribution to the score, the standalone piece “The Adventures of Han,” is named Film Music Composition of the Year. These are the seventh and eighth IFMCA Award wins of Powell’s career; he previously won the Score of the Year award for “How to Train Your Dragon” in 2010.

James Newton Howard is named Composer of the Year, and takes home the award for Best Original Score for an Action/Adventure/Thriller Film for his work on the controversial Jennifer Lawrence Cold War spy thriller “Red Sparrow,” for which he wrote an astonishingly powerful classical overture for the film’s opening ballet sequence, as well as some intense action and suspense music. IFMCA member Mihnea Manduteanu described Red Sparrow as “beautiful and passionate” and “melodic and furious”. 

Howard’s other work in 2018 was just as outstanding, and included the second Harry Potter spinoff film “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald,” and the lavish fantasy “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms,” which was inspired by Tchaikovsky’s seminal ballet. IFMCA member Christian Clemmensen called Fantastic Beasts an “accomplished and mature fantasy score” which “sits comfortably with Howard's accomplished genre works and competes favorably for a place amongst 2018's best scores.” These are the ninth and tenth IFMCA Awards of Howard’s career. He previously received IFMCA Score of the Year honors in 2006 for “The Lady in the Water”. 

British composer Amelia Warner is named Breakthrough Composer of the Year for her enormously impressive mainstream debut work scoring the literary drama based on the life of the groundbreaking horror author “Mary Shelley”. IFMCA member Peter Simons said that Mary Shelley was “a wonderful score … mesmerizing … unlike anything I’ve heard in a long time, if ever. The use of synth and vocals over strings and piano is just exquisite. There is always something interesting going on, either melodically or aurally … it’s one of the most exciting scores of the year”.

The various other genre awards are won by Max Richter for his classically-inspired music for the historical drama “Mary Queen of Scots”; Marc Shaiman for his loving, nostalgic homage to Walt Disney and the Sherman Brothers on the comedy musical sequel “Mary Poppins Returns”; Mark McKenzie for his spectacularly beautiful, reverent score for the Mexican animated film “Max and Me”; and Pinar Toprak for her broad, adventurous, expansive orchestral score for the yacht-racing documentary “Tides of Fate”. With this win Toprak is now the only person with more than two IFMCA Award nominations to win every time she has been nominated – her previous wins were for “The Lightkeepers” (Comedy, 2010) and “The Wind Gods” (Documentary, 2011).

In the non-film categories, composer Christopher Lennertz wins the award for Best Original Score for a Television Series for his bold, exciting score for the rebooted version of the classic sci-fi series “Lost in Space,” while composer Bear McCreary wins the award for Best Original Score for a Video Game or Interactive Media for his thrilling score for the action adventure game “God of War”.

Burbank, California-based La-La Land Records is named Film Music Record Label of the Year in recognition of their ongoing excellence in restoring and releasing the most beloved film scores of the past. Acclaimed album producer Mike Matessino receives both Archival Awards: one for his work restoring and releasing John Williams’s classic score for the 1979 Frank Langella version of “Dracula” on the Varèse Sarabande label, and one for his work in putting together the lavish box set of John Williams’s three Harry Potter scores - “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,” and “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” – for La-La Land Records. Producer Robert Townson shares the award for Dracula, and album artist Jim Titus worked on both releases.

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FILM SCORE OF THE YEAR

• SOLO, music by John Powell

FILM COMPOSER OF THE YEAR

• JAMES NEWTON HOWARD

BREAKTHROUGH COMPOSER OF THE YEAR

• AMELIA WARNER

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DRAMA FILM

• MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS, music by Max Richter

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A COMEDY FILM

• MARY POPPINS RETURNS, music by Marc Shaiman

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ACTION/ADVENTURE/THRILLER FILM

• RED SPARROW, music by James Newton Howard

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A FANTASY/SCIENCE FICTION/HORROR FILM

• SOLO, music by John Powell

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ANIMATED FILM

• MAX AND ME, music by Mark McKenzie

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DOCUMENTARY

• TIDES OF FATE, music by Pinar Toprak

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A TELEVISION SERIES

• LOST IN SPACE, music by Christopher Lennertz

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A VIDEO GAME OR INTERACTIVE MEDIA

• GOD OF WAR, music by Bear McCreary

BEST ARCHIVAL RELEASE - NEW RELEASE OR NEW RECORDING OF AN EXISTING SCORE

• DRACULA, music by John Williams; album produced by Mike Matessino and Robert Townson; liner notes by Mike Matessino; art direction by Jim Titus (Varèse Sarabande)

BEST ARCHIVAL RELEASE – COMPILATION

• HARRY POTTER: THE JOHN WILLIAMS SOUNDTRACK COLLECTION; music by John Williams; album produced by Mike Matessino; liner notes by Mike Matessino; art direction by Jim Titus (La-La Land)

FILM MUSIC LABEL OF THE YEAR

• LA-LA LAND, MV Gerhard, Matt Verboys

FILM MUSIC COMPOSITION OF THE YEAR

• “The Adventures of Han” from SOLO, written by John Williams

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Find out more about the IFMCA Awards and the IFMCA at the official site.

2017 IFMCA Award Winners Announcement

INTERNATIONAL FILM MUSIC CRITICS ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF 2017 IFMCA AWARDS; “PHANTOM THREAD” TAKES SCORE OF THE YEAR, MULTIPLE WINS FOR MICHAEL GIACCHINO, BENJAMIN WALLFISCH

FEBRUARY 22, 2018 — The International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) announces its list of winners for excellence in musical scoring in 2017, in the 2017 IFMCA Awards.

The award for Score of the Year goes to British composer Jonny Greenwood for his score for critically acclaimed period drama “Phantom Thread,” directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, and starring Daniel Day-Lewis. In describing the score, IFMCA member Jon Broxton wrote that it was a “quite masterful score from Greenwood, one which gets deeply under the skin of the damaged, potentially dangerous, but nevertheless mutually fulfilling relationship at the center of the story. The abstract, impressionistic, modernistic textures perfectly capture the torment that both characters at times feel, as well as their willful and often unpleasant personalities. Then, when he opens up his orchestra and performs the Phantom Thread theme with glorious melodrama, or when he writes elegant romantic music for what should be the dreadful finale, the whole thing simply soars”. The score was also named Best Original Score for Drama Film; these are the first IFMCA Award wins of Greenwood’s career, him having previously been nominated for Breakthrough Film Composer of the Year in 2007 and Best Original Score for an Action/Adventure/Thriller Film for “Inherent Vice” in 2014.

Composer Alexandre Desplat is named Composer of the Year, him having written at least four outstanding works spanning multiple genres in the past year. His work in 2017 included director Guillermo del Toro’s critically acclaimed monster movie romance “The Shape of Water,” director Luc Besson’s epic space fantasy “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets,” director George Clooney’s satirical racial drama ‘”Suburbicon,” and the French-language comedy-drama “D”Après Une Histoire Vraie,” directed by Roman Polanski. IFMCA member James Southall said that The Shape of Water was “yet another from the top drawer of Desplat,” and went on to describe him as “one of the most consistently impressive film composers of the last couple of decades,” who has “managed to be so successful without having to water down his highly-distinctive musical voice at all”. IFMCA member Christian Clemmensen called Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets a “sonic marvel of extremely intelligent rendering” and an “unparalleled execution of orchestral textures” featuring “composition of demanding complexity.” Desplat received IFMCA Score of the Year honors in 2008 for “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”. This marks the third time Desplat has been named Composer of the Year, following his previous wins in 2017 and 2014.

Composer Michael Giacchino wins two awards - Film Music Composition of the Year and Best Original Score for a Fantasy/Science Fiction/Horror Film – both for his work on the third film in the blockbuster Planet of the Apes trilogy, “War for the Planet of the Apes”. IFMCA member James Southall said that War for the Planet of the Apes was “not just the best film music [Giacchino has] ever written” but that “the manner of the score, the construction of the dramatic narrative, [and] the very deliberate emotional prods … make it stand out as a special achievement”.

Composer Benjamin Wallfisch also wins two awards - Best Original Score for an Action/Adventure/Thriller Film and Best Original Score for a Documentary – for two very different works. Director Gore Verbinski’s “A Cure for Wellness” is a Gothic thriller which draws on European classical traditions to generate its creepy atmosphere, while “Mully” is an inspirational documentary about the life of Charles Mully, a Kenyan business tycoon who gave away his fortune to start the Mully Children's Family, the largest children's rescue, rehabilitation and development organization in Africa. Wallfisch’s score blends rich, beautiful orchestral themes with influences from traditional East African music. IFMCA member Ley Bricknell described “A Cure for Wellness” as “totally compelling” with “an overwhelming sense of fear and madness”.

Cypriot composer George Kallis is named Breakthrough Composer of the Year for his stellar work writing three enormously impressive scores in 2017: the children’s fantasy “Albion: The Enchanted Stallion,” the historical drama “The Black Prince,” and the Russian fantasy epic “Posledni Bogatyr/The Last Warrior,” all of which impressed members of the IFMCA with their scope and creativity. The various other genre awards are won by Christopher Willis his Russian-inspired music for the satirical comedy “The Death of Stalin”; and Theodore Shapiro for his anarchic but wonderfully sincere score for the animated super hero parody “Captain Underpants: The First Epic Adventure”.

In the non-film categories, composers Bruce Broughton, John Debney, Joel McNeely, and Andrew Cottee jointly win the award for Best Original Score for a Television Series for their magnificent work on the Fox sci-fi series “The Orville,” while Spanish composer David García Díaz wins the award for Best Original Score for a Video Game or Interactive Media for his moving score for the adventure–puzzle video game “Rime,” in which players are compelled to solve environmental puzzles across five large levels that represent the five stages of grief.

Burbank, California-based La-La Land Records is named Film Music Record Label of the Year in recognition of their ongoing excellence in restoring and releasing the most beloved film scores of the past. British label Tadlow Records and producer James Fitzpatrick are honored with the award for Best New Release, Re-Release or Re-Recording of an Existing Score for their lavish new recording of Miklós Rózsa’s classic 1959 score “Ben-Hur,” which IFMCA member Craig Lysy described as “the most thematically complex and melodically rich film score ever penned by the hand of man” … “a superb recording and the crowning glory of the Golden Age”. Finally, Oakland, California-based Intrada Records and producer Douglass Fake wins the award for Best Film Music Compilation Album for their superb release “Captains Courageous: The Franz Waxman Collection”, a compilation of outstanding themes by the great German composer of the 1940s and 50s.

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COMPLETE LIST OF WINNERS

SCORE OF THE YEAR - PHANTOM THREAD, music by Jonny Greenwood

COMPOSER OF THE YEAR - ALEXANDRE DESPLAT

BREAKTHROUGH COMPOSER OF THE YEAR - GEORGE KALLIS

FILM MUSIC COMPOSITION OF THE YEAR - “End Credits” from WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES, music by Michael Giacchino

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DRAMA FILM - PHANTOM THREAD, music by Jonny Greenwood

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A COMEDY FILM - THE DEATH OF STALIN, music by Christopher Willis

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ACTION/ADVENTURE/THRILLER FILM - A CURE FOR WELLNESS, music by Benjamin Wallfisch

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A FANTASY/SCIENCE FICTION/HORROR FILM - WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES, music by Michael Giacchino

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ANIMATED FILM - CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS: THE FIRST EPIC MOVIE, music by Theodore Shapiro

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DOCUMENTARY - MULLY, music by Benjamin Wallfisch

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR TELEVISION - THE ORVILLE, music by Bruce Broughton, John Debney, Joel McNeely, and Andrew Cottee

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A VIDEO GAME OR INTERACTIVE MEDIA - RIME, music by David García Díaz

BEST NEW RELEASE, RE-RELEASE OR RE-RECORDING OF AN EXISTING SCORE -

BEN-HUR, music by Miklós Rózsa; The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra & Chorus conducted by Nic Raine; album produced by James Fitzpatrick; liner notes by Frank K. De Wald; album art direction by James Fitzpatrick, Gareth Bevan, and Nic Finch (Tadlow)

BEST FILM MUSIC COMPILATION ALBUM -

CAPTAINS COURAGEOUS: THE FRANZ WAXMAN COLLECTION, music by Franz Waxman; album produced by Douglass Fake; liner notes by Frank K. De Wald; album art direction by Kay Marshall and Joe Sikoryak (Intrada)

FILM MUSIC RECORD LABEL OF THE YEAR - LA-LA LAND RECORDS, MV Gerhard and Matt Verboys

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The International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) is an association of online, print and radio journalists who specialize in writing and broadcasting about original film, television and game music.

Since its inception the IFMCA has grown to comprise over 65 members from countries such as Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America.

Previous IFMCA Score of the Year Awards have been awarded to Jóhann Jóhannsson’s “Arrival” in 2016, John Williams’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” in 2015, Hans Zimmer’s “Interstellar” in 2014, Abel Korzeniowski’s “Romeo & Juliet” in 2013, Mychael Danna’s “Life of Pi” in 2012, John Williams’s “War Horse” in 2011, John Powell’s “How to Train Your Dragon” in 2010, Michael Giacchino’s “Up” in 2009, Alexandre Desplat’s “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” in 2008, Dario Marianelli’s “Atonement” in 2007, James Newton Howard’s “Lady in the Water” in 2006, John Williams’s “Memoirs of a Geisha” in 2005 and Michael Giacchino’s “The Incredibles” in 2004.

For more information about the International Film Music Critics Association go to www.filmmusiccritics.org , visit our Facebook page, follow us on Twitter @ifmca, or contact us at press@filmmusiccritics.org.

International Film Music Critics Association Winners Announced!

INTERNATIONAL FILM MUSIC CRITICS ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF 2016
IFMCA AWARDS; “ARRIVAL” TAKES SCORE OF THE YEAR, JUSTIN HURWITZ AND “LA
LA LAND” WINS THREE OTHERS


FEBRUARY 23, 2016 — The International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA)
announces its list of winners for excellence in musical scoring in 2016, in the 2016 IFMCA
Awards.

The award for Score of the Year goes to Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson for his work
on the critically acclaimed science fiction drama “Arrival,” directed by Denis Villeneuve,
starring Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner. IFMCA member Jon Broxton said that
“Jóhannsson’s approach to solving the film’s musical problems [is] absolutely fascinating, and
the way he was able to musically convey some of the film’s more challenging cerebral ideas
involving language and communication is astonishingly accomplished,” while IFMCA member
Daniel Schweiger said that Jóhannsson “brilliantly captures both a sense of wonder and fear
with beholding the mind-boggling, verbally-scrambled unknown, as whale cry motifs join with
alternately moaning and chattering voices, backed by a strong orchestral sound that serves as
a powerful universal musical translator in a way that’s both harmonically understandable,
and profoundly strange.” This is the first IFMCA Award win of Jóhannsson’s career, him
having previously been nominated for Best Original Score for a Drama Film for “The Theory
of Everything” in 2014.

Composer Michael Giacchino is named Composer of the Year for the second year in a row,
having written four outstanding works spanning multiple genres in the past year. His work
in 2016 included the action-packed Marvel comic book fantasy film “Doctor Strange,” the
socially aware Disney animated film “Zootopia,” the third installment of the rebooted Star
Trek franchise “Star Trek Beyond,” and the score for the first of the Star Wars spinoff films,
“Rogue One”. IFMCA member James Southall called “Rogue One” “a very impressive
achievement indeed,” while IFMCA member Christian Clemmensen described “Doctor
Strange” as “a mystical, optimistic, and smart superhero score with an alluring primary
identity and generally excellent combination of electronic and ethnic accents with standard
orchestral and choral elements.” This marks the fourth time Giacchino has been named
Composer of the Year, following his previous wins in 2004, 2009, and 2015.

Composer Justin Hurwitz won three awards – Breakthrough Composer of the Year, Best
Original Score for a Comedy Film, and Film Music Composition of the Year – all for his work
on the massively popular and critically acclaimed musical comedy-drama “La La Land”
directed by Damian Chazelle, starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone. “La La Land” is only
the second full theatrical score of Hurwitz’s career, and for it he wrote a jazz-inspired
orchestral score, and half a dozen original songs (with songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin
Paul), the melodies of which flow through the majority of the underscore. IFMCA member
Mihnea Manduteanu called “La La Land” “delightful and playful” and claimed that it captures
“what it means to fall in love, to play, to dream,” while IFMCA member Jon Broxton heralded
the score as “a masterpiece”.

The various other genre awards are won by Abel Korzeniowski for his music for the darkly
stylish revenge drama “Nocturnal Animals”; Christopher Young for his wildly exciting action
score for the Chinese historical adventure “Xi You Ji Zhi: Sun Wukong San Da Baigu Jing [The
Monkey King 2]”; James Newton Howard for his score for lush and whimsical fantasy score
for the Harry Potter prequel “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”; Laurent Perez del
Mar for his evocative, emotional music for the French animated film “La Tortue Rouge [The
Red Turtle]”; and Panu Aaltio for his wonderful music for the Finnish nature documentary
“Järven Tarina [Tale of a Lake]”.

In the non-film categories, composer Ramin Djawadi wins the award for Best Original Score
for a Television Series for his magnificent work on the sixth series of the critically acclaimed
HBO fantasy drama “Game of Thrones,” while composer Austin Wintory wins the award for
Best Original Score for a Video Game or Interactive Media for the second year in a row, this
time for his work on the meditative, dream-like undersea adventure game “Abzû”.

Oakland, California-based Intrada Records is named Film Music Record Label of the Year in
recognition of their ongoing excellence in restoring and releasing the most beloved film
scores of the past. They were also honored with the award for Best New Archival Release -
Re-Release or Re-Recording of an Existing Score for their lavish expanded release of Elmer
Bernstein’s classic 1956 score “The Ten Commandments,” which IFMCA member Craig Lysy
described as “one of the finest [scores] ever written and a glorious example of Golden Age film

scores”. Finally, Burbank, California-based La La Land Record and producer Mike Matessino
wins the award for Best New Archival Release – Compilation for their superb re-mastered
release of “The John Williams Jurassic Park Collection”, a compilation of the timeless 1990s
dinosaur adventure scores “Jurassic Park” and “The Lost World”.


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COMPLETE LIST OF WINNERS


FILM SCORE OF THE YEAR
Arrival, music by Jóhann Jóhannsson


COMPOSER OF THE YEAR
Michael Giacchino


BREAKTHROUGH COMPOSER OF THE YEAR
Justin Hurwitz


FILM MUSIC COMPOSITION OF THE YEAR
“Epilogue” from La La Land, music by Justin Hurwitz


BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DRAMA FILM
Nocturnal Animals, music by Abel Korzeniowski


BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A COMEDY FILM
La La Land, music by Justin Hurwitz


BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ACTION/ADVENTURE/THRILLER FILM
Xi You Ji Zhi: Sun Wukong San Da Baigu Jing [The Monkey King 2], music by
Christopher Young


BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A FANTASY/SCIENCE FICTION/HORROR FILM
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, music by James Newton Howard


BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ANIMATED FEATURE
La Tortue Rouge [The Red Turtle], music by Laurent Perez del Mar


BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DOCUMENTARY
Jarven Tarina [Tale of a Lake], music by Panu Aaltio


BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A TELEVISION SERIES
Game of Thrones, music by Ramin Djawadi


BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A VIDEO GAME OR INTERACTIVE MEDIA
Abzû, music by Austin Wintory


BEST NEW ARCHIVAL RELEASE - RE-RELEASE OR RE-RECORDING OF AN EXISTING SCORE
The Ten Commandments, music by Elmer Bernstein; album produced by Douglass Fake and Roger Feigelson; liner notes by Frank K. De Wald; album art direction by Joe
Sikoryak (Intrada)


BEST NEW ARCHIVAL RELEASE - COMPILATION
The John Williams Jurassic Park Collection, music by John Williams; album produced by Mike Matessino; liner notes by Mike Matessino; album art direction by Jim Titus (La-La Land)


FILM MUSIC RECORD LABEL OF THE YEAR
Intrada Records, Douglass Fake, Roger Feigelson



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The International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) is an association of online, print
and radio journalists who specialize in writing and broadcasting about original film,
television and game music.

Since its inception the IFMCA has grown to comprise over 65 members from countries such
as Australia, Belgium, Canada, Chile, China, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the
Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom,
and the United States of America.

Previous IFMCA Score of the Year Awards have been awarded to John Williams’s “Star
Wars: The Force Awakens” in 2015, Hans Zimmer’s “Interstellar” in 2014, Abel
Korzeniowski’s “Romeo & Juliet” in 2013, Mychael Danna’s “Life of Pi” in 2012, John
Williams’s “War Horse” in 2011, John Powell’s “How to Train Your Dragon” in 2010, Michael
Giacchino’s “Up” in 2009, Alexandre Desplat’s “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” in
2008, Dario Marianelli’s “Atonement” in 2007, James Newton Howard’s “Lady in the Water”
in 2006, John Williams’s “Memoirs of a Geisha” in 2005 and Michael Giacchino’s “The
Incredibles” in 2004.


For more information about the International Film Music Critics Association go to
www.filmmusiccritics.org , visit our Facebook page, follow us on Twitter @ifmca, or contact
us at press@filmmusiccritics.org.

INTERNATIONAL FILM MUSIC CRITICS ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF 2015 IFMCA AWARDS

INTERNATIONAL FILM MUSIC CRITICS ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF 2015 IFMCA AWARDS; JOHN WILLIAMS WINS THREE AWARDS FOR STAR WARS

FEBRUARY 18, 2015 — The International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) announces its list of winners for excellence in musical scoring in 2015, in the 2015 IFMCA Awards.

The award for Score of the Year goes to composer John Williams for his work on the massively popular and successful epic science fiction fantasy “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” from director J. J. Abrams. IFMCA member James Southall said that “the Force remains strong in John Williams and long may it continue” and called the score “glorious,” while IFMCA member Christian Clemmensen called the score “a powerfully melodic and excitingly complex piece of grand artistry from an era of greatness that only John Williams in top form could deliver.” “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” is also named Best Score for a Fantasy/Science Fiction/Horror Film, and wins the Film Music Composition of the Year award for the film’s conclusive end credits suite, “The Jedi Steps and Finale”. These are the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth IFMCA Awards of Williams’s career, and it marks the third time he has been awarded Score of the Year, after “Memoirs of a Geisha” in 2005, and “War Horse” in 2011.

Composer Michael Giacchino is named Composer of the Year, having written four outstanding works spanning multiple genres in the past year. His work in 2015 includes scoring the emotional Disney/Pixar film “Inside Out,” which is also named Best Score for an Animated Film; the ambitious science fiction adventure “Jupiter Ascending,” which was nominated in multiple genres including Score of the Year; the fantastical adventure “Tomorrowland,” which was nominated for Film Music Composition of the Year; and the massively successful action-adventure “Jurassic World,” which built on John Williams’s score for the first film featuring genetically modified dinosaurs running amok in a lavish theme park. IFMCA member Karol Krok called “Inside Out” “enjoyable and endearing,” while IFMCA member Charlie Brigden said that “Jurassic World” “displays just how much of a command [Giacchino] has over a modern symphony”. These are the thirteenth and fourteenth IFMCA Awards of Giacchino’s career, and it marks the third time he has been named Composer of the Year, following his previous wins in 2004 and 2009.

The IFMCA’s ongoing recognition of emerging talent in the film music world this year spotlights Italian composer Maurizio Malagnini, who is named Breakthrough Composer of the Year. Malagnini has been working primarily in world of British television since he first emerged onto the scene in 2010, writing scores for popular shows such as “Muddle Earth,” “The Body Farm,” “The Paradise,” and “Call the Midwife,” but really impressed IFMCA members this year with his first major film score for a new version of the classic Peter Pan story, “Peter & Wendy”.  IFMCA member Jon Broxton called “Peter & Wendy” “undoubtedly one of the best scores of 2015”, while IFMCA member Peter Simons described the score as being “so infectious, so colourful, playful and utterly charming”.

The various other genre awards are won by James Horner for the epic Chinese-language drama “Wolf Totem”; Douglas Pipes for the mischievous and malevolent Christmas comedy “Krampus”; Joe Kraemer for the exciting retro action score for “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation”; and Steven Price for his music for the BBC nature documentary “The Hunt”.

In the non-film categories, Argentine composer Federico Jusid wins the award for Best Original Score for a Television Series for the third year in a row, this time for his astonishing score for the Spanish historical TV drama “Carlos, Rey Emperador,” the sequel to the multi-award winning “Isabel,” while composer Austin Wintory wins the award for Best Original Score for a Video Game or Interactive Media for his groundbreaking work on “Assassin’s Creed” Syndicate”, a score which not only includes classical dances used as action cues, but also a number of original ‘murder ballads’ penned in collaboration with Australian musical comedy group Tripod.

Oakland, California-based Intrada Records is named Film Music Record Label of the Year in recognition of their ongoing excellence in restoring and releasing the most beloved film scores of the past, while film music historian and writer Jon Burlingame wins the Archival Compilation award for the wonderful box set of music from the original 1960s “Mission: Impossible” he produced for La-La Land Records. Interestingly, both the Archival Re-Release and Re-Recording categories are won by different versions of Bernard Herrmann’s 1976 score for the psychological thriller “Obsession” – firstly, the outstanding release of the original score tracks by French label Music Box Records and producers George Litto, Laurent Lafarge, and Cyril Durand-Roger; and secondly, the magnificent re-recording of the entire score by the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Nic Raine, and produced by James Fitzpatrick for Tadlow Music.

Finally, the IFMCA has decided to bestow a rare Special Award on the late James Horner, for his classical work “Pas de Deux”. The piece is a double concerto for violin, cello, and orchestra, and was commissioned by the Norwegian brother/sister musical duo Mari Samuelsen and Hakon Samuelsen. The work was released through Mercury Classics and Universal Music in May 2015, and represented the first of several anticipated major excursions into pure classical music – what would have been a new and exciting phase in the composer’s musical career, especially since his first, abortive attempts in the late 1970s and early 1980s failed to ignite the public’s imagination. Sadly, with the composer’s tragic death in a plane crash in June, it also represents ‘what might have been,’ and this award is intended to be a tribute in recognition the composer’s life and work, and all the great unheard music that died with him.

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COMPLETE LIST OF WINNERS

FILM SCORE OF THE YEAR
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens, music by John Williams

COMPOSER OF THE YEAR
• Michael Giacchino

BREAKTHROUGH COMPOSER OF THE YEAR
• Maurizio Malagnini

FILM MUSIC COMPOSITION OF THE YEAR
• “The Jedi Steps and Finale” from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, music by John Williams

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DRAMA FILM
• Wolf Totem, music by James Horner

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A COMEDY FILM
• Krampus, music by Douglas Pipes

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ACTION/ADVENTURE/THRILLER FILM
• Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation, music by Joe Kraemer

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A FANTASY/SCIENCE FICTION/HORROR FILM
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens, music by John Williams

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ANIMATED FEATURE
• Inside Out, music by Michael Giacchino

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DOCUMENTARY
• The Hunt, music by Steven Price

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A TELEVISION SERIES
• Carlos, Rey Emperador, music by Federico Jusid

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A VIDEO GAME OR INTERACTIVE MEDIA
• Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate, music by Austin Wintory

BEST NEW ARCHIVAL RELEASE - RE-RELEASE OF AN EXISTING SCORE
• Obsession; music by Bernard Herrmann, album produced by George Litto, Laurent Lafarge, and Cyril Durand-Roger, liner notes by Daniel Schweiger, album art direction by David Marques (Music Box)

BEST NEW ARCHIVAL RELEASE - RE-RECORDING OF AN EXISTING SCORE
• Obsession; music by Bernard Herrmann, performed by the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra cond. Nic Raine, album produced by James Fitzpatrick, liner notes by Christopher Husted, album art direction by Matthew Wright and Damien Doherty (Tadlow)

BEST NEW ARCHIVAL RELEASE - COMPILATION
• Mission: Impossible – The Television Scores; music by Various Artists, album produced by Jon Burlingame, liner notes by Jon Burlingame, album art direction by Joe Sikoryak (La-La Land)

FILM MUSIC RECORD LABEL OF THE YEAR
• Intrada Records, Douglass Fake, Roger Feigelson

SPECIAL AWARD
• Pas de Deux, classical work by James Horner, commissioned by violinist Mari Samuelsen and cellist Hakon Samuelsen

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The International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) is an association of online, print and radio journalists who specialize in writing and broadcasting about original film, television and game music.

Since its inception the IFMCA has grown to comprise over 65 members from countries such as Australia, Belgium, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America.

IFMCA Announces 2014 Award Winners

INTERNATIONAL FILM MUSIC CRITICS ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF 2014 IFMCA AWARDS; HANS ZIMMER, ALEXANDRE DESPLAT TAKE TOP HONORS

FEBRUARY 19, 2014 — The International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) announces its list of winners for excellence in musical scoring in 2014, in the 2014 IFMCA Awards.

The award for Score of the Year goes to composer Hans Zimmer for his work on the Christopher Nolan-directed epic science fiction odyssey “Interstellar”. IFMCA member James Southall called the score “one of the most impressive creations of Zimmer’s career” and felt that the film “inspired him to create something unusually personal and about which he is understandably proud,” while IFMCA member Kaya Savas called Interstellar “one of Hans Zimmer’s finest accomplishments as a composer”. This is the third IFMCA Award of Zimmer’s career, and the first time he has been awarded Score of the Year.

French composer Alexandre Desplat was named Composer of the Year, for his astonishingly accomplished work on a half dozen scores spanning multiple genres; his work in 2014 included the blockbuster monster movie “Godzilla,” director Wes Anderson’s quirky comedy “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” the critically acclaimed biopic of British code breaker Alan Turing “The Imitation Game,” and the George Clooney-directed WWII drama “The Monuments Men,” all of which were nominated in their respective genre categories. The score for “The Grand Budapest Hotel” was also named Best Score for a Comedy Film. These are the tenth and eleventh IFMCA Awards of Desplat’s career, and it marks the fourth time he has been named Composer of the Year, following his previous wins in 2006, 2007, and 2010.

The IFMCA’s ongoing recognition of emerging talent in the film music world this year spotlights British composer Mica Levi, who was named Breakthrough Composer of the Year. Levi, who is best known as a singer/songwriter with her band Micachu & The Shapes, impressed IFMCA members with her debut score for the art-house science fiction drama “Under the Skin”. IFMCA member Alan Rogers called “Under the Skin” “a complex and carefully thought out score”.

Composer John Powell wrote the IFMCA’s Film Music Composition of the Year, “Flying With Mother,” and won the Best Animation Score award, both for his work on “How to Train Your Dragon 2”. In talking about Powell’s score, IFMCA member Jon Broxton noted that “anyone who loved the first score in this series will surely have the same reaction here, and anyone who loves good, old-fashioned, proper orchestral music, written by a composer who knows what he’s doing, performed by an ensemble of musicians at the top of their game, and containing an overwhelmingly positive sense of life, joy and enthusiasm will love it too.”

The various other genre awards were won by Marco Beltrami for director Tommy Lee Jones’s dark, bleak Western drama “The Homesman”; Christopher Young for the epic Chinese action adventure “The Monkey King”; James Newton Howard for Disney’s re-imagining of the classic Sleeping Beauty fantasy “Maleficent”; and Danny Elfman for his music for the political documentary “The Unknown Known”.

In the non-film categories, Argentine composer Federico Jusid won the award for Best Original Score for a Television Series for the second year in a row for his outstanding work on the third season of the Spanish historical TV drama “Isabel,” while composers Geoff Knorr, Griffin Cohen, Michael Curran and Grant Kirkhope won the award for Best Original Score for a Video Game or Interactive Media for their stellar work on “Sid Meier’s Civilization: Beyond Earth”.

La-La Land Records won the Film Music Record Label of the Year category for the fifth straight year, solidifying their position at the top of the list of labels specializing in lovingly restoring the greatest film music of the past. However, both Archival categories were won by releases from Oakland, California-based Intrada Records and producer Douglass Fake; firstly, in the Re-Release or Re-Recording category, for their landmark release of the classic 1954 score for “On the Waterfront” by Leonard Bernstein; and, secondly, in the Compilation category, for their wonderful box-set of the legendary recordings Elmer Bernstein made for the Ava label between 1962 and1965, which include his masterwork scores for films such as “Walk on the Wild Side,” “The Carpetbaggers,” “The Caretakers,” “Baby the Rain Must Fall,” and “To Kill a Mockingbird”.

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COMPLETE LIST OF WINNERS

FILM SCORE OF THE YEAR
Interstellar, music by Hans Zimmer

COMPOSER OF THE YEAR
Alexandre Desplat

BREAKTHROUGH COMPOSER OF THE YEAR
Mica Levi

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DRAMA FILM
The Homesman, music by Marco Beltrami

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A COMEDY FILM
The Grand Budapest Hotel, music by Alexandre Desplat

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ACTION/ADVENTURE/THRILLER FILM
The Monkey King [Xi You Ji: Da Nao Tian Gong], music by Christopher Young

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A FANTASY/SCIENCE FICTION/HORROR FILM
Maleficent, music by James Newton Howard

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ANIMATED FEATURE
How to Train Your Dragon 2, music by John Powell

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DOCUMENTARY
The Unknown Known, music by Danny Elfman

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A TELEVISION SERIES
Isabel, music by Federico Jusid

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A VIDEO GAME OR INTERACTIVE MEDIA
Sid Meier’s Civilization: Beyond Earth, music by Geoff Knorr, Griffin Cohen, Michael Curran and Grant Kirkhope

BEST ARCHIVAL RELEASE OF AN EXISTING SCORE – RE-RELEASE OR RE-RECORDING
On the Waterfront; music by Leonard Bernstein, album produced by Douglass Fake, liner notes by Frank K. DeWald, album art direction by Joe Sikoryak (Intrada)

BEST ARCHIVAL RELEASE OF AN EXISTING SCORE – COMPILATION
The Ava Collection; music by Elmer Bernstein, album produced by Douglass Fake, liner notes by Douglass Fake, album art direction by Joe Sikoryak (Intrada)

FILM MUSIC RECORD LABEL OF THE YEAR
La-La Land Records, MV Gerhard and Matt Verboys

FILM MUSIC COMPOSITION OF THE YEAR
“Flying With Mother” from How to Train Your Dragon 2, music by John Powell

#######################################

The International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) is an association of online, print and radio journalists who specialize in writing and broadcasting about original film, television and game music.

Since its inception the IFMCA has grown to comprise over 60 members from countries such as Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America.

Previous IFMCA Score of the Year Awards have been awarded to Abel Korzeniowski’s “Romeo & Juliet” in 2013, Mychael Danna’s “Life of Pi” in 2012, John Williams’s “War Horse” in 2011, John Powell’s “How to Train Your Dragon” in 2010, Michael Giacchino’s “Up” in 2009, Alexandre Desplat’s “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” in 2008, Dario Marianelli’s “Atonement” in 2007, James Newton Howard’s “Lady in the Water” in 2006, John Williams’s “Memoirs of a Geisha” in 2005 and Michael Giacchino’s “The Incredibles” in 2004.

For more information about the International Film Music Critics Association go to www.filmmusiccritics.org , visit our Facebook page, follow us on Twitter @ifmca, or contact us at press@filmmusiccritics.org.

2014 IFMCA Official Nominees

The International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) announces its list of nominees for excellence in musical scoring in 2014, for the 11th annual IFMCA Awards. The most nominated composers are American James Newton Howard and Frenchman Alexandre Desplat.

Howard received seven nominations, including nods for Score of the Year, Composer of the Year,
Best Action/Adventure/Thriller score, and Best Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Horror score, all of which were split between his two main works of 2014: the action adventure sequel “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part I,” and Disney’s reimagining of the Sleeping Beauty story, “Maleficent”. Howard also received an unprecedented three nominations in the Film Music Composition of the Year category, including one for the song “The Hanging Tree,” which he co-wrote with Jeremiah Fraites and Wesley Schultz of The Lumineers, and Hunger Games book series author Suzanne Collins, and which was performed by the film’s lead actress, Jennifer Lawrence.

Desplat received six nominations: for Score of the Year, two for Best Drama score, Best Comedy
score, Best Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Horror score, and overall Composer of the Year. Desplat’s work in 2014
comprised several outstanding works, notably the blockbuster monster movie “Godzilla,” director
Wes Anderson’s quirky comedy “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” the critically acclaimed biopic of
British code breaker Alan Turing “The Imitation Game,” and the George Clooney-directed WWII
drama “The Monuments Men”.

Below is the complete list of nominees and you can read the the full, official press release here.


FILM SCORE OF THE YEAR

• The Grand Budapest Hotel, music by Alexandre Desplat
• How to Train Your Dragon 2, music by John Powell
• Interstellar, music by Hans Zimmer
• Maleficent, music by James Newton Howard
• The Monkey King [Xi You Ji: Da Nao Tian Gong], music by Christopher Young



COMPOSER OF THE YEAR

• Marco Beltrami
• Alexandre Desplat
• James Newton Howard
• John Powell
• Hans Zimmer



BREAKTHROUGH COMPOSER OF THE YEAR

• Alexander Cimini
• Gustavo Dudamel
• Mica Levi
• Matthew Llewellyn
• John Paesano



BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DRAMA FILM

• The Homesman, music by Marco Beltrami
• The Imitation Game, music by Alexandre Desplat
• The Liberator [Libertador], music by Gustavo Dudamel
• The Monuments Men, music by Alexandre Desplat
• The Theory of Everything, music by Jóhann Jóhannsson



BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A COMEDY FILM

• Cantinflas, music by Roque Baños
• The Grand Budapest Hotel, music by Alexandre Desplat
• A Million Ways to Die in the West, music by Joel McNeely
• Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, music by Alan Silvestri
• Wishin’ and Hopin’, music by Matthew Llewellyn



BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ACTION/ADVENTURE/THRILLER FILM

• The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part I, music by James Newton Howard
• Inherent Vice, music by Jonny Greenwood
• The Maze Runner, music by John Paesano
• The Monkey King [Xi You Ji: Da Nao Tian Gong], music by Christopher Young
• No God No Master, music by Nuno Malo



BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A FANTASY/SCIENCE FICTION/HORROR FILM

• Autómata, music by Zacarías M. de la Riva
• Godzilla, music by Alexandre Desplat
• The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, music by Howard Shore
• Interstellar, music by Hans Zimmer
• Maleficent, music by James Newton Howard



BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ANIMATED FEATURE

• Asterix: The Land of the Gods [Astérix: Le Domaine des Dieux], music by Philippe Rombi
• The Boxtrolls, music by Dario Marianelli
• How to Train Your Dragon 2, music by John Powell
• Son of Batman, music by Frederik Wiedmann
• Tarzan, music by David Newman



BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DOCUMENTARY

• Ballet Boys, music by Henrik Skram
• Bears, music by George Fenton
• Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, music by Alan Silvestri
• Hidden Kingdoms, music by Ben Foster
• The Unknown Known, music by Danny Elfman



BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A TELEVISION SERIES

• Fargo, music by Jeff Russo
• Gunshi Kanbei, music by Yūgo Kanno
• Isabel, music by Federico Jusid
• The Leftovers, music by Max Richter
• Penny Dreadful, music by Abel Korzeniowski



BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A VIDEO GAME OR INTERACTIVE MEDIA

• Assassin’s Creed: Unity, music by Chris Tilton and Sarah Schachner
• The Banner Saga, music by Austin Wintory
• Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2, music by Óscar Araujo
• Sid Meier’s Civilization: Beyond Earth, music by Geoff Knorr, Griffin Cohen, Michael Curran
and Grant Kirkhope
• World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor, music by Russell Brower, Neal Acree, Clint Bajakian,
Sam Cardon, Craig Stuart Garfinkle, Edo Guidotti and Eímear Noone



BEST ARCHIVAL RELEASE OF AN EXISTING SCORE – RE-RELEASE OR RE-RECORDING

• The Abyss; music by Alan Silvestri, album produced by Nick Redman and Robert Townson,
liner notes by Julie Kirgo, album art direction by Robert Townson and Bill Pitzonka (Varèse
Sarabande)

• Empire of the Sun; music by John Williams, album produced by Mike Matessino, liner notes by
Mike Matessino, album art direction by Jim Titus (La-La Land)

• Lair; music by John Debney, additional music by Kevin Kaska, album produced by Dan
Goldwasser and John Debney, liner notes by Jeff Bond, album art direction by Dan Goldwasser
(La-La Land)

• The Lion King; score by Hans Zimmer, songs by Elton John and Tim Rice, album produced by
Randy Thornton, liner notes by Hans Zimmer and Don Hahn, album art direction by Lorelay
Bové (Disney)

• On the Waterfront; music by Leonard Bernstein, album produced by Douglass Fake, liner
notes by Frank K. DeWald, album art direction by Joe Sikoryak (Intrada)



BEST ARCHIVAL RELEASE OF AN EXISTING SCORE – COMPILATION

• The Ava Collection; music by Elmer Bernstein, album produced by Douglass Fake, liner notes
by Douglass Fake, album art direction by Joe Sikoryak (Intrada)

• Batman: The Animated Series Volume 3; music by Shirley Walker, Carlos Rodriguez, Peter
Tomashek, Todd Hayen, Harvey R. Cohen, Michael McCuistion, Lars Clutterham, Stuart
Balcomb, Mark Koval, Lolita Ritmanis, Richard Bronskill, Tamara Kline, Carl Johnson, Steve
Chesne and James Stemple, album produced by John Takis and Neil S. Bulk, liner notes by John
Takis, album art direction by Dan Goldwasser (La-La Land)

• Elmer Bernstein: The Wild Side; music by Elmer Bernstein, performed by Big Band de
Canarias feat. Esther Ovejero, Kike Perdomo and Sara Andon, album produced by Robert
Townson and Kike Perdomo, liner notes by Robert Townson, album art direction by Robert
Townson and Bill Pitzonka (Varèse Sarabande)

• Henry Mancini: The Classic Soundtrack Collection; music by Henry Mancini, album produced
by Didier C. Deutsch and Mark G. Wilder, liner notes by Didier C. Deutsch, album art direction
by Chris Mancini and Edward O’Dowd (Legacy/Sony)

• The Naked Gun Trilogy; music by Ira Newborn, album produced by Dan Goldwasser and Neil
S. Bulk, liner notes by Daniel Schweiger, album art direction by Dan Goldwasser (La-La Land)



FILM MUSIC RECORD LABEL OF THE YEAR

• Intrada Records, Douglass Fake and Roger Feigelson
• La-La Land Records, MV Gerhard and Matt Verboys
• Moviescore Media, Mikael Carlsson
• Quartet Records, Jose M. Benitez
• Varèse Sarabande, Robert Townson



FILM MUSIC COMPOSITION OF THE YEAR

• “Flying With Mother” from How to Train Your Dragon 2, music by John Powell
• “The Hanging Tree” from The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part I, music by Jeremiah Fraites,
Wesley Schultz and James Newton Howard, lyrics by Suzanne Collins
• “Maleficent Flies” from Maleficent, music by James Newton Howard
• “Maleficent Suite” from Maleficent, music by James Newton Howard
• “Tsunami” from Exodus: Gods and Kings, music by Harry Gregson-Williams


Read the full Press Release at the official IFMCA Site.

2013 IFMCA Award Winners

INTERNATIONAL FILM MUSIC CRITICS ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES WINNERS; COMPOSERS FROM POLAND, SPAIN, DOMINATE


FEBRUARY 20, 2014 — The International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) announces its list of winners for excellence in musical scoring in 2013. This year’s awards have a real international flavor, with the top awards going to composers primarily from Poland and Spain, but also from France, Japan and Argentina.

The award for Score of the Year goes to Polish composer ABEL KORZENIOWSKI for his beautiful score for director Carlo Carlei’s new cinematic version of the classic Shakespeare story of tragically doomed love, ROMEO AND JULIET. IFMCA member Christian Clemmensen called the score an “epic romance”, and felt that the film “inspired greatness out of the right composer”, while IFMCA member Jon Broxton said that Korzeniowski “is a composer who is not afraid to bring out the deeper sentiments in a film through his music, and it’s so refreshing to hear music from a man who so clearly understands what good film music can achieve”.

Korzeniowski was also named Composer of the Year, having not only scored Romeo and Juliet, but also the surreal fantasy ESCAPE FROM TOMORROW, which underscored the story of a man gradually losing his grip on reality while visiting a theme park with a soaring satire of traditional Disneyland music. The score for Romeo and Juliet was also named Best Score for a Drama Film. These are the second, third and fourth IFMCA awards for Korzeniowski, who previously won the Drama Score award for A SINGLE MAN IN 2009.

The IFMCA’s ongoing recognition of emerging talent in the film music world this year spotlights Bordeaux, France native LAURENT EYQUEM, who was named Breakthrough Composer of the Year. Having made his film music debut just five years ago in 2008, Eyquem impressed the IFMCA greatly with two spectacular scores in 2013: director Ronald Maxwell’s epic civil war drama COPPERHEAD, and a biopic of the great South African civil rights leader WINNIE MANDELA, starring Jennifer Hudson and Terrence Howard. Eyquem’s emotional orchestral music for these projects really struck a chord with the IFMCA membership.

Spanish composer ROQUE BAÑOS wrote the IFMCA’s Film Music Composition of the Year, and won the Best Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Horror score award for his astonishingly brutal, violent, brilliant orchestral music for the remake of the horror classic EVIL DEAD. Employing huge orchestral and choral forces, as well as the eerie tones of an air raid siren, Baños’s score is a wonderful example of the best in contemporary horror movie scoring, and the composition of the year – “Abominations Rising” – is a tour-de-force of power, intensity, and musical excellence. This is the first IFMCA Award win for Baños, who was previously nominated for his score TORRENTE 4: LETHAL CRISIS in 2011.

The various other genre awards were won by THEODORE SHAPIRO for director Ben Stiller’s globetrotting comedy-drama THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY; Spanish composer VÍCTOR REYES for the ingenious classical music thriller GRAND PIANO; Japanese composer JOE HISAISHI for his warm score for director Hayao Miyazaki’s anime film THE WIND RISES; and CONRAD POPE for his exquisite music for the artistic documentary TIM’S VERMEER.

In the non-film categories, Argentine composer FEDERICO JUSID won the award for Best Original Score for a Television Series for his outstanding work on the most recent season of the Spanish historical TV drama ISABEL, while French composer OLIVIER DERIVIÈRE won the award for Best Original Score for a Video Game or Interactive Media for his creative, unconventional score for the reality-altering REMEMBER ME.

La-La Land Records won the Best Archival Release of an Existing Score – Compilation award for their superb work on Michael Kamen, Eric Clapton and David Sanborn’s classic action scores in the LETHAL WEAPON series, released in a lavish 4-CD set by producers Neil S. Bulk and MV Gerhard. They also continued their monopoly of the Film Music Record Label of the Year category, winning for the fourth straight year, and solidifying their position at the top of the list of labels specializing in lovingly restoring the greatest film music of the past.

Finally, conductor Nic Raine and producers James Fitzpatrick and Luc Van de Ven won the Best Archival Release of an Existing Score – Re-Release or Re-Recording award for their outstanding re-recording of one of Jerry Goldsmith’s once-lost 1980s action scores, THE SALAMANDER. The IFMCA also chose to present a special award to Welsh composer and orchestrator LEIGH PHILLIPS, who worked with the label on The Salamander. With the original recordings lost and virtually no sheet music to work with, Phillips faithfully re-created the score by ear, watching the film over and over again in order to fully understand Goldsmith’s music. As a result of his diligence, technique and dedication – as well as the subsequent performance by the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra - this long-desired work has finally been made available to collectors.

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THE WINNERS

FILM SCORE OF THE YEAR
• Romeo and Juliet, music by Abel Korzeniowski

FILM COMPOSER OF THE YEAR
• Abel Korzeniowski

BREAKTHROUGH FILM COMPOSER OF THE YEAR
• Laurent Eyquem

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DRAMA FILM
• Romeo and Juliet, music by Abel Korzeniowski

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A COMEDY FILM
• The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, music by Theodore Shapiro

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ACTION/ADVENTURE/THRILLER FILM
• Grand Piano, music by Víctor Reyes

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A FANTASY/SCIENCE FICTION/HORROR FILM
• Evil Dead, music by Roque Baños

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ANIMATED FEATURE
• The Wind Rises, music by Joe Hisaishi

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
• Tim's Vermeer, music by Conrad Pope

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A TELEVISION SERIES
• Isabel, music by Federico Jusid

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A VIDEO GAME OR INTERACTIVE MEDIA
• Remember Me, music by Olivier Deriviére

BEST ARCHIVAL RELEASE OF AN EXISTING SCORE - RE-RELEASE OR RE-RECORDING
• The Salamander, music by Jerry Goldsmith; re-recording conducted by Nic Raine; album produced by James Fitzpatrick; liner notes by Frank K. De Wald; album art direction by Paul de Blieck, Johan van den Broeck and GINKO DIGI (Prometheus/Tadlow)

BEST ARCHIVAL RELEASE OF AN EXISTING SCORE – COMPILATION
• Lethal Weapon Soundtrack Collection, music by Michael Kamen, Eric Clapton and David Sanborn; album produced by Neil S. Bulk and MV Gerhard; liner notes by Jeff Bond; album art direction by Jim Titus (La-La Land)

FILM MUSIC RECORD LABEL OF THE YEAR
• La-La Land Records, MV Gerhard and Matt Verboys

FILM MUSIC COMPOSITION OF THE YEAR
• “Abominations Rising” from Evil Dead, music by Roque Baños

SPECIAL AWARD
• The Salamander, score reconstruction by Leigh Phillips

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The International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) is an association of online, print and radio journalists who specialize in writing and broadcasting about original film, television and game music.

Since its inception, the IFMCA has grown to comprise over 60 members from countries as diverse as Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America.

Previous IFMCA Score of the Year Awards have been awarded to Mychael Danna’s LIFE OF PI in 2012, John Williams’ WAR HORSE in 2011, John Powell’s HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON in 2010, Michael Giacchino’s UP in 2009, Alexandre Desplat’s THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON in 2008, Dario Marianelli’s ATONEMENT in 2007, James Newton Howard’s LADY IN THE WATER in 2006, John Williams’ MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA in 2005 and Michael Giacchino’s THE INCREDIBLES in 2004.

For more information about the International Film Music Critics Association visit filmmusiccritics.org or facebook.com/ifmca, follow us at twitter.com/IFMCA, or contact us at press@filmmusiccritics.org.

The IFMCA Announces its 2012 Winners!

INTERNATIONAL FILM MUSIC CRITICS ASSOCIATION HONORS MULTIPLE FILMS; “LIFE OF PI” TAKES SCORE OF THE YEAR BUT DESPLAT, ELFMAN, GIACCHINO, NEWMAN, VELÁZQUEZ, WILLIAMS ALSO WIN

FEBRUARY 21, 2013 — The International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) announces its list of winners for excellence in musical scoring in 2012. Unlike in previous years, where one score has taken multiple victories, the main film prizes are split equally between 11 different movies and composers, the greatest spread in IFMCA history.

The award for Score of the Year goes to Canadian composer MYCHAEL DANNA for his score for director Ang Lee’s vivid shipwreck drama LIFE OF PI. Danna’s dramatic and beautiful score made use of a large number of Indian musical elements in addition to a traditional western orchestra, capturing through music one the film’s key ideas, the collision of different cultures to form the large, ethnic melting pot from which the lead character, Pi Patel, originates. This is the first Score of the Year award from the IFMCA for Golden Globe winner and double-Oscar nominee Danna, who had never previously been nominated in this category, although he did receive five previous nominations in genre categories for scores such as BEING JULIA, THE NATIVITY STORY and THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS.

Hollywood A-lister DANNY ELFMAN was named Film Composer of the Year for his outstanding body of work in 2012, during which he composed music for such popular and successful films as DARK SHADOWS, FRANKENWEENIE, HITCHCOCK. MEN IN BLACK III, PROMISED LAND and SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK. Elfman’s music in 2012 ran the gamut of styles and genres, from the soft rock of Silver Linings Playbook to the Gothic atmospherics of Dark Shadows and Frankenweenie, to the subtle Bernard Herrmann echoes of Hitchcock, cementing his position as one of the most versatile and sought-after composers working today. This is the second Composer of the Year Award Elfman has received from the IFMCA, having previously been similarly honored for his work in 2008.

The IFMCA’s ongoing recognition of emerging talent in the film music world this year spotlights 37-year-old Colorado-born composer NATHAN JOHNSON, who was named Breakout Composer of the Year for his unconventionally percussive music for the acclaimed sci-fi thriller LOOPER. To create the film’s unique aural atmosphere Johnson took a standard small orchestra, featuring mainly strings and piano, and augmented them with a massive array of sampled sounds and processed percussion effects, ranging from trash can lids, an oscillating fan, and gunfire to hammered PVC tubes and fire alarms. The end result is cacophonous, unsettling, but weirdly fascinating music that somehow manages to bring together these seemingly random and incoherent musical collisions of sounds into a propulsive, exciting score.

Spanish composer FERNANDO VELÁZQUEZ wrote the IFMCA’s Film Music Composition of the Year – “The Impossible Main Title” from director Juan Antonio Bayona’s film THE IMPOSSIBLE, which tells the story of a family caught up in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Velázquez’s main title is an overwhelming emotional powerhouse, capturing both the tragedy of the situation and the sense of desperation felt by the family concerned. The score was recorded by the excellent string section of the London Metropolitan Orchestra at the historic Abbey Road Studios, and has been praised by numerous mainstream film critics as one of the outstanding elements of the film. This is the first IFMCA Award win for Velázquez, who was previously nominated for his scores EL ORFANATO (THE ORPHANAGE) in 2007 and GARBO: EL ESPÍA in 2009.
The various genre awards were won by JOHN WILLIAMS for director Steven Spieberg’s historical drama LINCOLN, WALTER MURPHY for the raucous comedy TED, THOMAS NEWMAN for his work on the near-universally lauded James Bond film SKYFALL, MICHAEL GIACCHINO for the epic Edgar Rice Burroughs space adventure JOHN CARTER, ALEXANDRE DESPLAT for the whimsical fantasy animation RISE OF THE GUARDIANS, and Finnish composer PANU AALTIO for his music for the beautiful nature documentary METSÄN TARINA.

In the non-film categories, British composer MURRAY GOLD won the award for Best Original Score for a Television Series for his outstanding work on the most recent season of the classic BBC science fiction show DOCTOR WHO, while composer AUSTIN WINTORY won the award for Best Original Score for a Video Game or Interactive Media for his score for the groundbreaking game JOURNEY, which earlier this year made history by being the first Video Game score nominated for a Grammy.

La-La Land Records won the Best Archival Release of an Existing Score award for their magnificent release of Jerry Goldsmith’s classic 1979 score STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE, newly re-mastered and re-released in a lavish 3-CD set. They also continued their monopoly of the Film Music Record Label of the Year category, winning for the third straight year, and solidifying their position at the top of the list of labels specializing in lovingly restoring the greatest film music of the past.

Finally, conductor Nic Raine and producers James Fitzpatrick and Luc Van de Ven won the Best Archival Re-Recording of an Existing Score award for the monumental re-recording of Miklós Rózsa’s score for the epic 1951 film QUO VADIS?, which featured stellar performances from the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra.

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THE WINNERS

FILM SCORE OF THE YEAR
• LIFE OF PI, music by Mychael Danna

FILM COMPOSER OF THE YEAR
• DANNY ELFMAN

BREAKOUT COMPOSER OF THE YEAR
• NATHAN JOHNSON

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DRAMA FILM
• LINCOLN, music by John Williams

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A COMEDY FILM
• TED, music by Walter Murphy

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ACTION/ADVENTURE/THRILLER FILM
• SKYFALL, music by Thomas Newman

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A FANTASY/SCIENCE FICTION/HORROR FILM
• JOHN CARTER, music by Michael Giacchino

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ANIMATED FEATURE
• RISE OF THE GUARDIANS, music by Alexandre Desplat

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
• METSÄN TARINA, music by Panu Aaltio

FILM MUSIC COMPOSITION OF THE YEAR
• “The Impossible Main Title” from THE IMPOSSIBLE, music by Fernando Velázquez

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A TELEVISION SERIES
• DOCTOR WHO, music by Murray Gold

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A VIDEO GAME OR INTERACTIVE MEDIA
• JOURNEY, music by Austin Wintory

BEST ARCHIVAL RELEASE OF AN EXISTING SCORE
• STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE, music by Jerry Goldsmith; album produced by Didier C. Deutsch, Mike Matessino, Bruce Botnick, MV Gerhard, Matt Verboys and David C. Fein; liner notes by Jeff Bond and Mike Matessino; album art direction by Jim Titus (La-La Land)

BEST ARCHIVAL RE-RECORDING OF AN EXISTING SCORE
• QUO VADIS?, music by Miklós Rózsa; conducted by Nic Raine; album produced by James Fitzpatrick and Luc Van de Ven; liner notes by Frank K. DeWald; album art direction by GINKO DIGI (Prometheus/Tadlow)

FILM MUSIC RECORD LABEL OF THE YEAR
• LA-LA LAND RECORDS, MV Gerhard, Matt Verboys

Read more at the official site of the IFMCA

International Film Critics Association (IFMCA) 2012 Award Nominees Announced

INTERNATIONAL FILM MUSIC CRITICS AWARD NOMINATIONS REVEAL MOST OPEN RACE IN YEARS, WITH MULTIPLE NOMINATIONS FOR DANNA, DESPLAT, VELÁZQUEZ, WILLIAMS

FEBRUARY 7, 2013 — The International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) announces its list of nominees for excellence in musical scoring in 2012. The largest numbers this year are, for the most part, split evenly between four composers, all of whom received four nominations: MYCHAEL DANNA, ALEXANDRE DESPLAT, FERNANDO VELÁZQUEZ and veteran composer JOHN WILLIAMS.

The nominations for Danna, Velázquez and Williams were each for a single score – director Ang Lee’s vivid shipwreck drama LIFE OF PI, director Juan Antonio Bayona’s harrowing tsunami drama THE IMPOSSIBLE [LO IMPOSIBLE] and director Steven Spielberg’s look at the last months of the life of Abraham LINCOLN, respectively.

Desplat’s nominations were for his body of work in 2012 which included writing IFMCA Award-nominated music for the quirky comedy MOONRISE KINGDOM, the storybook animation RISE OF THE GUARDIANS, and the contemporary war thriller ZERO DARK THIRTY, as well as for the 1970s espionage thriller ARGO, the realistic French romantic drama RUST AND BONE [DE ROUILLE ET D’OS], the Italian satirical comedy REALITY, and the French-language biopic CLOCLO.

The other nominees for Film Score of the Year are the ambitious sci-fi drama CLOUD ATLAS by Tom Tykwer, Johnny Klimek and Reinhold Heil (two nominations), and director Peter Jackson’s epic fantasy prequel THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY by Howard Shore (two nominations).

Danna, Desplat, Velázquez and Williams are also short-listed for Film Composer of the Year along with DANNY ELFMAN, who enjoyed a stellar year composing music for such popular and successful films as DARK SHADOWS, FRANKENWEENIE, HITCHCOCK. MEN IN BLACK III, PROMISED LAND and SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK.

The IFMCA recognizes emerging talent in the film music world, and this year is no exception. The nominees in the Breakout Composer of the Year category include young Spanish composer ZELTIA MONTES for her work on the Spanish feature drama VILAMOR; composer DAN ROMER and composer/director BENH ZEITLIN for their captivating bluegrass-flavored score for the critically acclaimed BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD; JOSEPH TRAPANESE for his work on the animated TV show TRON: UPRISING; NATHAN JOHNSON for his unconventionally percussive music for the acclaimed sci-fi thriller LOOPER; and composer/conductor NIC RAINE, a long time associate of the late John Barry and contributor to Silva Screen and Tadlow Music’s series of re-recordings, who has begun to establish his own musical voice through his score for the German-language thriller WIR WOLLTEN AUFS MEER.

As it has in previous years, the IFMCA takes pride in honoring composers from across the film music world; this year’s international nominees include French composer Philippe Rombi for his work on director François Ozon’s thriller DANS LA MAISON, Finnish composer Panu Aaltio for the beautiful nature documentary score METSÄN TARINA, UK-based Portuguese composer Miguel d’Oliveira’s score for the BBC documentary SHAKESPEARE & US, Argentinean composer Federico Jusid’s music for the Spanish TV series ISABEL, and Japanese composer Naoki Sato’s contribution to the Japanese TV series PRICELESS.

Several composers are receiving their first ever IFMCA Award nominations this year, including JON BRION (Paranorman, Animation), ROBERT FOLK (There Be Dragons – Secretos de Pasión, Drama), PASCAL GAIGNE (Los Mundos Sutiles, Documentary), GRANT KIRKHOPE (Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, Video Game), WALTER MURPHY (Ted, Comedy), FREDERIK WIEDMANN (Green Lantern: The Animated Series, Television), and the team from Blizzard Entertainment led by RUSSELL BROWER and NEAL ACREE (World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria, Video Game).

The International Film Music Critics Association will announce the winners of the 9th IFMCA Awards on February 21, 2013.

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THE NOMINEES

2012 Film Categories

FILM SCORE OF THE YEAR

• CLOUD ATLAS, music by Tom Tykwer, Johnny Klimek and Reinhold Heil
• THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY, music by Howard Shore
• THE IMPOSSIBLE, music by Fernando Velázquez
• LIFE OF PI, music by Mychael Danna
• LINCOLN, music by John Williams

FILM COMPOSER OF THE YEAR

• MYCHAEL DANNA
• ALEXANDRE DESPLAT
• DANNY ELFMAN
• FERNANDO VELÁZQUEZ 
• JOHN WILLIAMS

BREAKOUT COMPOSER OF THE YEAR

• NATHAN JOHNSON
• ZELTIA MONTES
• NIC RAINE
• DAN ROMER & BENH ZEITLIN
• JOSEPH TRAPANESE

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DRAMA FILM

• ANNA KARENINA, music by Dario Marianelli
• THE IMPOSSIBLE, music by Fernando Velázquez
• LIFE OF PI, music by Mychael Danna
• LINCOLN, music by John Williams
• THERE BE DRAGONS - SECRETOS DE PASIÓN, music by Robert Folk

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A COMEDY FILM

• MOONRISE KINGDOM, music by Alexandre Desplat
• SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN, music by Dario Marianelli
• THE SESSIONS, music by Marco Beltrami
• SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK, music by Danny Elfman
• TED, music by Walter Murphy

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ACTION/ADVENTURE/THRILLER FILM

• THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, music by James Horner
• DANS LA MAISON, music by Philippe Rombi
• THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, music by Hans Zimmer
• SKYFALL, music by Thomas Newman
• ZERO DARK THIRTY, music by Alexandre Desplat

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A FANTASY/SCIENCE FICTION/HORROR FILM

• CLOUD ATLAS, music by Tom Tykwer, Johnny Klimek and Reinhold Heil
• THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY, music by Howard Shore
• JOHN CARTER, music by Michael Giacchino
• PROMETHEUS, music by Marc Streitenfeld, additional music by Harry Gregson-Williams
• SINISTER, music by Christopher Young

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ANIMATED FEATURE

• BRAVE, music by Patrick Doyle
• FRANKENWEENIE, music by Danny Elfman
• PARANORMAN, music by Jon Brion
• RISE OF THE GUARDIANS, music by Alexandre Desplat
• SECRET OF THE WINGS, music by Joel McNeely

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

• KINGDOM OF PLANTS, music by Joel Douek, Freddy Sheinfeld and Elik Alvarez
• LOS MUNDOS SUTILES, music by Pascal Gaigne
• METSÄN TARINA, music by Panu Aaltio
• SAMSARA, music by Lisa Gerrard and Michael Stearns
• SHAKESPEARE & US, music by Miguel d’Oliveira

FILM MUSIC COMPOSITION OF THE YEAR

• “The Cloud Atlas Sextet for Orchestra” from CLOUD ATLAS, music by Tom Tykwer, Johnny Klimek and Reinhold Heil
• “The Impossible Main Title” from THE IMPOSSIBLE, music by Fernando Velázquez
• “John Carter of Mars” from JOHN CARTER, music by Michael Giacchino
• “Pi's Lullaby” from LIFE OF PI, music by Mychael Danna and Bombay Jayashri
• “The Peterson House and Finale” from LINCOLN, music by John Williams

Other 2012 Categories

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A TELEVISION SERIES

• DOCTOR WHO, music by Murray Gold
• DOWNTON ABBEY, music by John Lunn
• GREEN LANTERN: THE ANIMATED SERIES, music by Frederik Wiedmann
• ISABEL, music by Federico Jusid
• PRICELESS, music by Naoki Sato

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A VIDEO GAME OR INTERACTIVE MEDIA

• JOURNEY, music by Austin Wintory
• KINGDOMS OF AMALUR: RECKONING, music by Grant Kirkhope
• RESISTANCE: BURNING SKIES, music by Jason Graves and Kevin Riepl
• STARHAWK, music by Christopher Lennertz
• WORLD OF WARCRAFT: MISTS OF PANDARIA, music by Russell Brower, Neal Acree, Sam Cardon, Edo Guidotti and Jeremy Soule

BEST ARCHIVAL RELEASE OF AN EXISTING SCORE

• BEN-HUR, music by Miklós Rózsa; album produced by Lukas Kendall, Mike Matessino and Neil S. Bulk; liner notes by Jeff Bond and Frank K. DeWald; album art direction by Joe Sikoryak (Film Score Monthly)
• CONAN THE BARBARIAN, music by Basil Poledouris; album produced by Nick Redman and Douglass Fake; liner notes by Nick Redman; album art direction by Joe Sikoryak (Intrada)
• HOOK, music by John Williams; album produced by Didier C. Deutsch, Mark G. Wilder, MV Gerhard and Matt Verboys; liner notes by Daniel Schweiger; album art direction by Jim Titus (La-La Land)
• STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE, music by Jerry Goldsmith; album produced by Didier C. Deutsch, Mike Matessino, Bruce Botnick, MV Gerhard, Matt Verboys and David C. Fein; liner notes by Jeff Bond and Mike Matessino; album art direction by Jim Titus (La-La Land)
• STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES, music by Alexander Courage, George Duning, Jerry Fielding, Gerald Fried, Sol Kaplan, Samuel Matlovsky, Joseph Mullendore and Fred Steiner; album produced by Lukas Kendall, Neil S. Bulk, Jeff Bond, MV Gerhard, and Matt Verboys; liner notes by Jeff Bond; album art direction by Joe Sikoryak (La-La Land)

BEST ARCHIVAL RE-RECORDING OF AN EXISTING SCORE

• THE ADVENTURES OF DON JUAN/ARSENIC AND OLD LACE, music by Max Steiner; conducted by William Stromberg; album produced by William Stromberg, John Morgan and Anna Bonn; liner notes by James V. d’Arc, Ryan Brennan and Curt Hardaway; album art direction by Jim Titus (Tribute Film Classics)
• NOTRE DAME DE PARIS – THE MUSIC OF MAURICE JARRE, music by Maurice Jarre; conducted by Nic Raine; album produced by James Fitzpatrick; liner notes by James Fitzpatrick and Frank K. DeWald; album art direction by Damien Doherty (Tadlow)
• QUO VADIS?, music by Miklós Rózsa; conducted by Nic Raine; album produced by James Fitzpatrick and Luc Van de Ven; liner notes by Frank K. DeWald; album art direction by GINKO DIGI (Prometheus/Tadlow)
• THE RED HOUSE, music by Miklós Rózsa; conducted by Allan Wilson; album produced by Kevin Kaska and Douglass Fake; liner notes by Dan Robbins and Frank K. DeWald; album art direction by Joe Sikoryak (Intrada)
• WINGS, music by J.S. Zamecnik; conducted by Peter Boyer and Ira Hearshen; album produced by Dominik Hauser, Jeannie Gayle Pool, Dan Goldwasser, MV Gerhard and Matt Verboys; liner notes by Jeannie Gayle Pool; album art direction by Dan Goldwasser (La-La Land)

FILM MUSIC RECORD LABEL OF THE YEAR

• INTRADA RECORDS, Douglass Fake, Roger Feigelson
• LA-LA LAND RECORDS, MV Gerhard, Matt Verboys, Neil S. Bulk, Dan Goldwasser
• MOVIESCORE MEDIA, Mikael Carlsson
• QUARTET RECORDS, Jose M. Benitez
• TADLOW MUSIC, James Fitzpatrick

Read more about the IFMCA and past award winners 

International Film Music Critics (IFMCA) 2010 Winners

JOHN POWELL’S HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON IS NAMED
INTERNATIONAL FILM MUSIC CRITICS’ 2010 FILM SCORE OF THE YEAR

FEBRUARY 24, 2011 - The International Film Music Critics Association announces the winners of its seventh annual awards for excellence in musical scoring in 2010 with John Powell’s score for the animated film HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON topping the list, winning both Film Score of the Year and Best Score for an Animated Film. Alexandre Desplat receives three awards: Best Score for a Drama Film (THE KING’S SPEECH), Best Score for an Action/Adventure/Thriller Film (THE GHOST WRITER) and Composer of the Year.

Continuing their tradition to highlight lesser known but vital world talents, the Association awards the Breakout Composer of the Year to Portuguese composer Nuno Malo for AMÁLIA. Turkish composer Pinar Toprak wins Best Score for a Comedy Film for her score to the THE LIGHTKEEPERS. Rounding out the film categories are Best Score to a Fantasy/Science Fiction/Horror Film which goes to TRON: LEGACY by the French duo Daft Punk, Best Score for a Documentary Film winner is French composer Bruno Coulais for OCÉANS and American Danny Elfman’s “Alice Theme” from ALICE IN WONDERLAND wins Best Individual Composition.

In the non-film category, Bear McCreary wins his second award in a row in the Best Score for a Television Series, this year for Fox’s drama HUMAN TARGET (McCreary won last year for BATTLESTAR: GALACTICA). Kojima Productions’ CASTLEVANIA: LORDS OF SHADOW, with music by Óscar Araujo, wins Best Score for a Video Game or Interactive Media.

The Best Archival Release goes to the six-disc box set release of Alex North’s score to Stanley Kubrick’s SPARTACUS, which was Varèse Sarabande’s executive producer Robert Townson’s 1000th release for the label. Best Record Label of the Year goes to La-La Land Records, their first win in this category, for such notable 2010 expanded release soundtracks as BATMAN RETURNS, DRAGONSLAYER, PANIC IN THE YEAR ZERO and HOME ALONE.


2010 Film Categories


FILM SCORE OF THE YEAR
• HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON, music by John Powell

FILM COMPOSER OF THE YEAR
• ALEXANDRE DESPLAT

BREAKOUT COMPOSER OF THE YEAR
• NUNO MALO

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DRAMA FILM
• THE KING'S SPEECH, music by Alexandre Desplat

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A COMEDY FILM
• THE LIGHTKEEPERS, music by Pinar Toprak

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ACTION/ADVENTURE/THRILLER FILM
• THE GHOST WRITER, music by Alexandre Desplat

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A FANTASY/SCIENCE FICTION/HORROR FILM
• TRON: LEGACY, music by Daft Punk

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ANIMATED FEATURE
• HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON, music by John Powell

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
• OCÉANS, music by Bruno Coulais

FILM MUSIC COMPOSITION OF THE YEAR
• ALICE IN WONDERLAND – “Alice’s Theme” (Danny Elfman)

2010 Non-Film Categories

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR TELEVISION
• HUMAN TARGET, music by Bear McCreary

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A VIDEO GAME OR INTERACTIVE MEDIA
• CASTLEVANIA: LORDS OF SHADOW, music by Óscar Araujo

BEST ARCHIVAL RELEASE OF AN EXISTING SCORE
• SPARTACUS, music by Alex North (Varèse Sarabande) – Album Producer: Robert Townson; Liner Notes: Robert Townson; Album Art Direction: Robert Townson, Matthew Joseph Peak, Bill Pitzonka

FILM MUSIC RECORD LABEL OF THE YEAR
• LA-LA LAND RECORDS


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The International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) is an association of online, print and radio journalists who specialize in writing about original film and television music.

For more information about the International Film Music Critics Association, its members and the list of past awards, please visit http://www.filmmusiccritics.org or contact press@filmmusiccritics.org.