Leith Hill Place

Hans Zimmer


Hans Zimmer is perhaps the best-known contemporary composer of film scores and has worked on over 150 films. Born in Frankfurt in Germany, Zimmer received little formal training in music but from an early age was excited by music and how sounds can be re-shaped through new technologies. His mother was a musician who took him to classical concerts from an early age. His father, a scientist and engineer encouraged his sense of experimentation. Zimmer has discussed cheering his mother by playing the piano after his father’s early death. The young Zimmer attended boarding school in Switzerland and then, in his teens, enrolled at Leith Hill Place School (which later expanded into Hurtwood House School in Dorking). During the second world war his mother had fled the Nazis and spent time in England, which perhaps explains the move to a boarding school in the Surrey Hills. He has collaborated with directors including Ridley Scott and Christopher Nolan. His work has ranged from the score for Thelma and Louise and Gladiator, The Lion King (1994) Dune, No Time to Die and several of the Batman and Pirates of the Caribbean franchises. Zimmer also writes music for television series including Planet Earth II, Blue Planet II and The Crown as well as for several video games. In the 2000s Zimmer began touring the world with live stadium shows that showcase his huge catalogue of music. Leith Hill Place retains strong musical connections and hosts concerts during the summer months.


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