Icelandic Hildur Gudnadottir wrote the music for “Joker” and “Chernobyl” and was nominated for an Oscar: what do we know about her
Hildur Gudnadottir
This year, the film "Joker" (Joker) became the record holder for the number of nominations for the Oscar-2020, which will be held in Los Angeles this Sunday. One of 11 potential awards for the film could go to 37-year-old Hildur Gudnadottir, the composer and cellist who wrote the Joker soundtrack. Hildur herself does not strive for world fame, leads a quiet life and quietly collects awards in a piggy bank – at the moment there are already statuettes with Grammy, Emmy, Golden Globe, BAFTA and a prize from the Venice Film Festival. allforwomen.inform.click invites you to get to know Hildur Gudnadottir better.
Childhood
Hildur Gudnadottir was born on September 4, 1982 in Reykjavik, Iceland. The future of the girl was a foregone conclusion, because she grew up in a musical family: her mother Ingveldur was an opera singer, her father Gudni Farnsson was a composer and clarinetist. From early childhood, parents instilled in Hildur and her younger brother Thoraridn (since 2008 he is the lead singer of the rock band Agent Fresco) a love of music.
While still at school, Hildur began playing the cello (Hildur’s mother sold her car to buy her daughter’s first musical instrument), and then received her first musical education at the music academy of her hometown. At the age of 10, Hildur, together with her mother, played her first professional concert – the performance took place in a restaurant.
Playing a musical instrument and classical music fascinated the young Gudnadottir so much that she did not stop there and took a course at the Icelandic Academy of Arts.
By the way, Gudnadottir is convinced that her origin greatly influenced her approach to creativity and performance style:
Hildur Gudnadottir
Moving to Germany and the first steps to success
Having completed his studies at home, full of creative plans, Hildur decides to move to Germany. Here she enters the Berlin University of the Arts, where she studies for several years. During the years of study in Berlin, the girl maintained close contact with her compatriots and collaborated with the Icelandic musical groups Múm, Throbbing Gristle, Pan Sonic, Hauschka, The Knife and many others. At that moment, Hildur rethought her attitude towards classical music.
Gudnadottir shared in an interview with The Guardian.
At the beginning of the 2000s, Hildur began her path to success: in 2005, together with the group Mr. Schmuck’s Farm released the EP Good Sound, and the following year they recorded their debut solo compilation Mount A, however, they did it under the pseudonym Lost in Hildurness.
In general, 2006 turned out to be very fruitful for Hildur: she begins to collaborate with such famous musicians as Ben Frost, Nico Muhly and Johan Johannsson.
Work as a film composer
In 2011, Hildur Gudnadottir first tried herself as a film composer – she writes music for the horror film "Bleeding" (The Bleeding House). The debut turned out to be successful: after it, Hildur writes music for the films "Hostages" and "The Oath", and also records his parts on the cello for the films "The Revenant", "Arrival" and many others. In parallel with his work on feature films, Hildur also writes music for documentaries and manages to release solo albums.
In 2018, Hildur Gudnadottir wrote the music for the film with a biblical story "Mary Magdalene" (Mary Magdalene), in which the main role was played by Joaquin Phoenix. It was one of Gudnadottir’s first major works, for which she was awarded at the annual Asia Pacific Film Awards.
"Chernobyl" and "Joker"
2019 has become a truly significant year for Hildur. First, Gudnadottir acted as a composer for the popular HBO mini-series Chernobyl. This collaboration was highly acclaimed by the American Television Academy, resulting in Hildur being awarded an Emmy for her musical score for an episode of the show titled "Please Remain Calm".
For her work on Chernobyl, Gudnadottir also received a Grammy Award for Best Original Score Recorded for Visual Performance.
– Hildur told about the work on the soundtrack for Chernobyl.
2019 also saw the premiere of the Joaquin Phoenix-starring superhero movie Joker, for which Gudnadottir wrote the title theme Call Me Joker and several other compositions that perfectly reflect the mood of the main character.
In an interview, Gudnadottir told where she got her inspiration from while working on the Joker:
For The Joker, Hildur has already won three prestigious film awards: her work was appreciated at the 76th Venice International Film Festival, the Golden Globe and the BAFTA award.
Gudnadottir even managed to make history: she became the first female composer in the history of the Golden Globes to win the award for best music in a film. Many fans are convinced that Hildur’s treasury of awards will soon replenish again, because she is one of the favorites for the upcoming Oscar 2020.
Despite the fact that Hildur in a short time became the favorite of Hollywood directors who dream of working with her, she continues to live in Berlin and lead her usual measured lifestyle. At the same time, Gudnadottir clarifies that he can stop writing music for films if he suddenly loses interest in this:
Hildur Gudnadottir with husband Sam Slater
Personal life
Hildur Gudnadottir prefers not to advertise his personal life. From the rare conversations of the cellist with the press, it is known that she is married, has a son and lives in Berlin with her family. Gudnadottir’s wife’s name is Sam Slater, he works as a music producer.
Hildur also has a very close relationship with her brother – they are always in touch and often work together at the studio on the next musical projects.
Hildur Gudnadottir with husband Sam Slater
Hildur Gudnadottir with colleagues
Hildur Gudnadottir with husband Sam Slater