Michael Kamen

Michael Kamen
Michael Kamen, 1993
Background information
Birth name	Michael Arnold Kamen
Born	April 15, 1948 New York, New York, United States
Died	November 18, 2003 (aged 55) London, England, United Kingdom
Genres	Film score
Occupation(s)	Composer, orchestral arranger, orchestral conductor, songwriter, session musician
Instruments	Oboe, piano
Years active	1967–2003

Michael Arnold Kamen (April 15, 1948 – November 18, 2003) was an American composer (especially of film scores), orchestral arranger, orchestral conductor, songwriter, and session musician.^[1]

Biography

Early life

Michael Arnold Kamen was born in New York City, the second of four sons. His father, Saul Kamen, was a dentist, and his mother, Helen, was a teacher.^[2]

While attending the The High School of Music & Art in New York City, Michael Kamen became friends with Martin Fulterman (later known as Mark Snow, who composed the theme music for The X-Files among other projects). While studying the oboe, he formed a rock-classical fusion band called New York Rock & Roll Ensemble, together with classmates Fulterman and Dorian Rudnytsky. The group performed in white tie (not tuxedos), as typically worn by classical musicians. In the middle of the concert, Fulterman and Kamen would play an oboe duet. The group backed up friend and classmate Janis Ian in a concert at Alice Tully Hall in late 1967.

After graduating from high school, Kamen attended The Juilliard School, in Manhattan, New York City.^[1]

Kamen's early work concentrated on ballets, before extending to Hollywood with the score for The Next Man in 1976, and then to pop and rock arranging, collaborating with Pink Floyd on their album, The Wall.^[1]

Career in popular music

Kamen became a highly-sought arranger in the realms of pop and rock music. His contemporaries in this field included Academy Award winner Anne Dudley, Richard Niles, and Nick Ingman. His successes include his work with Pink Floyd, David Gilmour and Roger Waters^[3] (he is one of the few people to have been invited to work with both former Pink Floyd members, after their acrimonious split), as well as Queen (orchestration on Who Wants To Live Forever), Eric Clapton (on Edge of Darkness), Roger Daltrey, Aerosmith (live orchestral version of Dream On for MTV), Tom Petty, Bon Jovi, David Bowie, Bryan Ferry, Eurythmics, Queensrÿche, Rush, Metallica (on the song "Nothing Else Matters" and their live album, S&M), Def Leppard, Herbie Hancock, Tim Curry, The Cranberries, Bryan Adams, Jim Croce, Coldplay, Sting, and Kate Bush. For Bush, Kamen delivered an orchestral backing for "Moments of Pleasure" from The Red Shoes album, substantially building upon a simple piano theme Bush had composed. In this instance, and many others, he conducted the orchestra personally for the recording. In 1984, two years after moving to London,^[4] Kamen had similarly heightened the effect of a pop recording for the Eurythmics "Here Comes the Rain Again", that score relying as much on his compositional skills as his arranging talents.

In 1990, Kamen joined many other guests for Roger Waters' performance of The Wall in Berlin, and lead the National Philharmonic Orchestra during the 24 Nights sessions with Eric Clapton the following year.

Lenny Kravitz recorded a cover of "Fields of Joy" on his 1991 CD Mama Said that Michael had co-written with Hal Fredricks.

In 2002, Kamen took part in the Concert for George as strings conductor.

Kamen had a successful partnership with Bryan Adams and R.J. Lange composing scores and songs. The ballad "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" for the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves was the number one song of that year worldwide. Other songs were "All For Love" for the movie "The Three Musketeers" in 1993, and "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?" the song from the film "Don Juan DeMarco," in 1995.

Film and television career

Kamen wrote eleven ballets, a saxophone concerto and an electric guitar concerto (with Japanese guitarist Tomoyasu Hotei as a soloist). Additionally, he wrote a commissioned work, "Quintet," for the Canadian Brass. He also provided scores for the films such as The Dead Zone, For Queen and Country, Polyester, Brazil, Someone To Watch Over Me, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, The Three Musketeers, Highlander, X-Men, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Licence to Kill, the Lethal Weapon series, the first three films of the Die Hard series, Mr. Holland's Opus, The Iron Giant, Splitting Heirs, Frequency, and many others. To this day the overture from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves is used by Morgan Creek Productions for its logo, and also by the Walt Disney Company on their opening DVD promos, while New Line's corresponding theme is the opening segment of a track from Highlander. He also scored both the From the Earth to the Moon and Band of Brothers series on HBO. The trailer for the 2008 Disney/Pixar release WALL-E featured Kamen's "Central Services / The Office" from his score to Brazil (1985).

In television, Kamen composed music for two series of The Manageress produced by Glenn Wilhide at Zed Productions for Channel 4, but perhaps his best known work was on the 1985 BBC Television serial Edge of Darkness, on which he collaborated with Eric Clapton to write the score. The pair were awarded with a British Academy Television Award for Best Original Television Music for their work and performed the main movie theme with the National Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall of London in 1990 and 1991. In 1994, Kamen conducted an orchestration of The Who's music for Roger Daltrey's 50th birthday concert series entitled A Celebration: The Music of Pete Townshend and The Who which was subsequently released on CD and DVD. He also worked with heavy metal band Metallica, on a two-day concert that was held in Berkeley, California, with the San Francisco Symphony. A recording of the concert, titled S&M, debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 and went multi-platinum in 2001. The same year Kamen and Metallica won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance for one of S&M compositions, "The Call of Ktulu".^[5]

Kamen was nominated for two Academy Awards and won three Grammy Awards, two Golden Globes, two Ivor Novello Awards, an Annie Award and an Emmy.

Later years

His involvement with Mr. Holland's Opus, a film about a frustrated composer who finds fulfillment as a high school music teacher, led Kamen to create The Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation in 1996. The foundation supports music education through the donation of new and refurbished musical instruments to underserved school and community music programs and individual students in the United States. In 2005 the foundation created an emergency fund for schools and students affected by Hurricane Katrina.

In 1999, Kamen and the San Francisco Symphony constructed and performed a concert with thrash metal band Metallica.^[6] This concert was released as a live album on DVD, VHS and CD, under the title S&M (an acronym for "Symphony and Metallica"). In 2001 and 2002, Kamen performed with David Gilmour at Gilmour's semi-unplugged shows at the Royal Festival Hall, playing piano and cor anglais. The 2001 concert and highlights from 2002 were released as a DVD as David Gilmour in Concert.

In 2002, Kamen, along with Julian Lloyd Webber, Dame Evelyn Glennie, and Sir James Galway launched the Music Education Consortium in the UK. The consortium's efforts led to the injection of £332 million for music education in the UK. He was also commissioned to write a piece for the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

His last recorded work appeared on Bryan Adams's album Room Service where he played the oboe and wrote the orchestration to "I Was Only Dreamin'". Kamen had also completed the charts for accompaniment to two songs on Kate Bush's album Aerial, which was released in April 2005.

Death

Kamen was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1997. He died in London, England from a heart attack on November 18, 2003, at the age of 55.^[1]

Legacy

In 2004, when Annie Lennox accepted the Academy Award for Best Original Song (her composition "Into the West" from The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King), she dedicated her achievement to the memory of Kamen.

The 2004 films First Daughter and Boo, Zino & the Snurks (also known as Back to Gaya), which he was working on at the time of his death, were dedicated to his memory.

David Gilmour's 2006 album On an Island was dedicated in his and longtime Pink Floyd manager Steve O'Rourke's memories.

Film scores

Year	Title	Director	Studio(s)	Notes
1976	The Next Man	Richard C. Sarafian	Allied Artists Pictures Corporation	N/A
1977	Stunts	Mark L. Lester	New Line Cinema	N/A
1980	S*H*E	Robert Michael Lewis	A.E.C. Filmproduktions	N/A
1981	Venom	Piers Haggard	Paramount Pictures	N/A
1982	Pink Floyd – The Wall	Alan Parker Gerald Scarfe	Goldcrest Film International Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer	Collaboration with Pink Floyd and Bob Ezrin.
1983	The Dead Zone	David Cronenberg	Lorimar Film Entertainment Paramount Pictures (US/Canada) De Laurentiis Entertainment Group (International)	Soundtrack released by Milan Records. Performed by the National Philharmonic Orchestra and recorded at EMI Studio, London.
1985	Brazil	Terry Gilliam	Embassy Pictures Columbia Pictures	Performed by the National Philharmonic Orchestra. Soundtrack released by Milan Records.
	Lifeforce	Tobe Hooper	Cannon Films TriStar Pictures	Additional music only; Majority of score by Henry Mancini. Expanded score released by BSX Records.
	Edge of Darkness	Martin Campbell	BBC	TV miniseries. Composed with Eric Clapton. Won a BAFTA Award for Best Original Television Score.
1986	Highlander	Russell Mulcahy	Cannon Films 20th Century Fox (US) Thorn EMI Screen Entertainment (International)	Performed by the National Philharmonic Orchestra. Most songs of the movie are in the Queen album A Kind of Magic. To date, no official soundtrack was released. However, bootleg releases of the score exist and some cues are included in the Highlander: The Scores compilation.
	Mona Lisa	Neil Jordan	HandMade Films Island Pictures	Soundtrack released by Columbia Music.
	Amazing Stories	various	Amblin Entertainment Universal Television	TV Series. Episode « Mirror, Mirror » only.
1987	Lethal Weapon	Richard Donner	Silver Pictures Warner Bros.	Composed with Eric Clapton and David Sanborn. Soundtrack released by Warner Bros. Records.
	Adventures in Babysitting	Chris Columbus	Touchstone Pictures Silver Screen Patterns III	N/A
	Suspect	Peter Yates	TriStar Pictures	Soundtrack released by Varèse Sarabande.
	Someone to Watch Over Me	Ridley Scott	Columbia Pictures	N/A
1988	Die Hard	John McTiernan	Silver Pictures Gordon Company 20th Century Fox	Performed by the Hollywood Studio Symphony. Soundtrack released by Varèse Sarabande in 2002.
	The Raggedy Rawney	Bob Hoskins	HandMade Films Virgin	Soundtrack released by Silva Screen.
	The Adventures of Baron Munchausen	Terry Gilliam	Allied Filmmakers Columbia Pictures	Soundtrack released by Warner Bros. Records
1989	Renegades	Jack Sholder	Morgan Creek Productions Interscope Communications Universal Pictures	Soundtrack released by Intrada Records.
	Licence to Kill	John Glen	Eon Productions Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer United Artists	Performed by the National Philharmonic Orchestra. Soundtrack released by MCA Records
	Road House	Rowdy Herrington	Silver Pictures United Artists	Soundtrack released by Intrada Records.
	Lethal Weapon 2	Richard Donner	Silver Pictures Warner Bros.	Composed with Eric Clapton and David Sanborn. Soundtrack released by Warner Bros. Records.
1990	Cold Dog Soup	Alan Matter	HandMade Films Anchor Bay Entertainment	N/A
	Die Hard 2	Renny Harlin	Silver Pictures Gordon Company 20th Century Fox	Performed by the Los Angeles Motion Picture All-Stars Orchestra. Soundtrack released by Varèse Sarabande.
	The Krays	Peter Medak	Parkfield Entertainment Rank Film Distributors	Soundtrack released by Parkfield Music.
1991	Nothing but Trouble	Dan Aykroyd	Warner Bros.	N/A
	Hudson Hawk	Michael Lehmann	Silver Pictures TriStar Pictures	Soundtrack released by Varèse Sarabande.
	Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves	Kevin Reynolds	Morgan Creek Productions Warner Bros.	The score was orchestrated by a record-breaking total of 13 people. Soundtrack released by Polydor Records. Nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Original Score The song « (Everything I Do) I Do It For You » was also nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe.
	Company Business	Nicholas Meyer	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer	Soundtrack released by Intrada Records.
	Let Him Have It	Peter Medak	British Screen Productions	Soundtrack released by Virgin Records.
	The Last Boy Scout	Tony Scott	Geffen Pictures Silver Pictures Warner Bros.	Soundtrack released by La-La Land Records.
1992	Two-Fisted Tales	Richard Donner Tom Holland Robert Zemeckis	Carolco Pictures	Television film. Segment « Showdown ».
	Tales from the Crypt	various	Home Box Office	TV Series. 4 episodes.
	Shining Through	David Seltzer	20th Century Fox	Soundtrack released by RCA.
	Lethal Weapon 3	Richard Donner	Silver Pictures Warner Bros.	Composed with Eric Clapton and David Sanborn. Soundtrack released by Warner Bros. Records
	Blue Ice	Russell Mulcahy	M&M Productions	N/A
1993	Splitting Heirs	Robert Young	Universal Pictures (US/Canada) United International Pictures (International)	N/A
	Last Action Hero	John McTiernan	Columbia Pictures	Soundtrack released by Columbia Music.
	Wilder Napalm	Glenn Gordon Caron	TriStar Pictures	N/A
	The Three Musketeers	Stephen Herek	Walt Disney Pictures Caravan Pictures	Soundtrack released by Walt Disney Records.
1995	Circle of Friends	Pat O'Connor	Savoy Pictures Cineplex Odeon Films The Rank Organisation	Soundtrack released by Warner Bros. Records.
	Don Juan DeMarco	Jeremy Leven	New Line Cinema	Performed by the London Metropolitan Orchestra. Soundtrack released by A&M Records. Nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Original Score. The song « Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman ? » was also nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe.
	Die Hard with a Vengeance	John McTiernan	Cinergi Pictures 20th Century Fox (US/Japan) Touchstone Pictures (International)	Soundtrack released by RCA Victor.
	The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies	Chuck Workman	American Film Institute (AFI) Silver Pictures Home Box Office	N/A
	Stonewall	Nigel Finch	Strand Releasing	N/A
	Mr. Holland's Opus	Stephen Herek	PolyGram Filmed Entertainment Interscope Communications Hollywood Pictures (US/Canada) Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (International)	Performed by the Seattle Symphony Orchestra and the London Metropolitan Orchestra. Soundtrack released by Decca Records.
1996	Jack	Francis Ford Coppola	Hollywood Pictures American Zoetrope	Soundtrack released by Hollywood Records.
	101 Dalmatians	Stephen Herek	Walt Disney Pictures Great Oaks Productions	Soundtrack released by Walt Disney Records.
1997	Inventing the Abbotts	Pat O'Connor	Fox 2000 Pictures Imagine Entertainment 20th Century Fox	N/A
	The Heart Surgeon	Audrey Cooke	BBC	TV Movie.
	Remember Me?	Nick Hurran	Talisman Productions Channel Four Films	N/A
	Event Horizon	Paul W. S. Anderson	Golar Productions Impact Pictures Paramount Pictures	Performed by the London Metropolitan Orchestra. Soundtrack released by London Records.
	The Winter Guest	Alan Rickman	Capitol Films Fine Line Features	Soundtrack released by Varèse Sarabande.
1998	The Avengers	Jeremiah S. Chechik	Warner Bros.	Rejected score due to last-minute re-editing. Replaced by Joel McNeely.
	From the Earth to the Moon	various	Home Box Office	TV Series 3 episodes. Nominated for an Emmy Award.
	Lethal Weapon 4	Richard Donner	Silver Pictures Warner Bros.	Composed with Eric Clapton and David Sanborn. Soundtrack released by La-Land Records
	What Dreams May Come	Vincent Ward	Interscope Communications PolyGram Filmed Entertainment (through Universal Pictures)	Performed by the London Metropolitan Orchestra. Soundtrack released by Decca Records.
1999	The Iron Giant	Brad Bird	Warner Bros. Feature Animation Warner Bros.	His first and only score for an animated movie. Performed by the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. Soundtrack released by Varèse Sarabande.
2000	Frequency	Gregory Hoblit	New Line Cinema	N/A
	X-Men	Bryan Singer	Marvel Entertainment Group 20th Century Fox	Soundtrack released by Decca Records.
2001	Band of Brothers	various	Home Box Office	TV miniseries. Soundtrack released by Sony Classical
2003	Open Range	Kevin Costner	Beacon Pictures Touchstone Pictures	Performed by the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. Soundtrack released by Hollywood Records.
2004	Against the Ropes	Charles S. Dutton	Paramount Pictures	N/A
	First Daughter	Forest Whitaker	Regency Enterprises New Regency Davis Entertainment 20th Century Fox	The movie is dedicated to him. As he did not finish writing this score when he died, Blake Neely completed the remaining score.
	Back To Gaya	Leonard Fritz Krawinkel Holger Tappe	Ambient Entertainment	The movie is dedicated to him.
	The Incredibles	Brad Bird	Pixar Animation Studios Walt Disney Pictures	Died midway through production.

Concert works

• Concerto For Saxophone (1990)
• 24 Nights (1991)
• Live In Hyde Park (1997)
• Guitar Concerto (with Tomoyasu Hotei) (1998)
• S&M (1999)
• The New Moon in the Old Moons Arms (2001)
• Quintet (Canadian Brass) (2002)

References

1. "Michael Kamen, 55, Award-Winning Composer". New York Times. November 20, 2003. Retrieved October 12, 2013.
2. "Kamen, Helen C. (nee Whitehorn)". New York Times. May 3, 2003. Retrieved October 5, 2013.
3. Mabbett, Andy (1995). The complete guide to the music of Pink Floyd. London: Omnibus. pp. 150p. ISBN 0-7119-4301-X.
4. https://www.theguardian.com/news/2003/nov/21/guardianobituaries.artsobituaries
5. Boucher, Geoff (January 4, 2001) Grammys Cast a Wider Net Than Usual. LA Times
6. Custodis, Michael. chapters "Film Music in Concert: Metallica mit Michael Kamen" and "Moment of Glory – The Scorpions und die Berliner Philharmoniker", in: Klassische Musik heute. Eine Spurensuche in der Rockmusik, Bielefeld transcript-Verlag 2009. ISBN 978-3-8376-1249-3

External links

• Official website
• Michael Kamen at Find a Grave
• Michael Kamen at the Internet Movie Database
• Film Composer Tributes – Michael Kamen
• Michael Kamen at Soundtrackguide.net
• Michael Kamen interview (in french) at UnderScores : Musique & Cinéma