Stanley Myers
Stanley Myers (6 October 1930 – 9 November 1993) was an English composer and conductor,[1] who scored over sixty films and television series, working closely with filmmakers Nicolas Roeg, Jerzy Skolimowski & Volker Schlöndorff.[2] He is best known for his guitar piece "Cavatina", composed for the 1970 film The Walking Stick and later used as the theme for The Deer Hunter.[3] He was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Film Music for Wish You Were Here (1987), and was an early collaborator with and mentor of Hans Zimmer.
Stanley Myers | |
|---|---|
| Background information | |
| Born | 6 October 1930 Birmingham, Warwickshire, England |
| Died | 9 November 1993 (aged 63) England |
| Genres | Film score |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, conductor |
| Associated acts | Hans Zimmer |
Biography
Myers was born in Birmingham, Warwickshire, England; as a teenager he went to King Edward's School in Edgbaston, a suburb of Birmingham.[4]
Myers wrote incidental music for television: for example, The Reign of Terror, a 1964 serial in the television series Doctor Who; the theme to All Gas and Gaiters; and the theme for the BBC's Question Time.[5][6]
He is known for composing music for the cult horror films House of Whipcord, Frightmare, House of Mortal Sin and Schizo for filmmaker Pete Walker.[7][8]
The Pink Floyd website credits the brass parts on their 1968 song Corporal Clegg to "The Stanley Myers Orchestra".[9]
Myers is best known for "Cavatina" (1970), an evocative guitar piece that served as the signature theme for Michael Cimino's 1978 film The Deer Hunter, and for which Myers won the Ivor Novello Award.[1] A somewhat different version of this work, performed by John Williams, had appeared in The Walking Stick. And yet another version had lyrics added. Cleo Laine and Iris Williams, in separate recordings as He Was Beautiful, helped to make "Cavatina" become even more popular.[1]
During the 1980s, Myers worked frequently with director Stephen Frears. His score for Prick Up Your Ears (1987) won him a "Best Artistic Contribution" award at the Cannes Film Festival.[10] He also scored the film Wish You Were Here[11] and several low budget features (Time Traveler, Blind Date, The Wind, Zero Boys) for director Nico Mastorakis, collaborating with Hans Zimmer.[1] He won another Ivor Novello Award for his soundtrack to The Witches in 1991.[4]
Myers died of cancer aged 63 in Kensington and Chelsea, London.[4][12]
Filmography
Film
1960s
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | Kaleidoscope | Jack Smight | |
| 1967 | Ulysses | Joseph Strick | |
| Separation | Jack Bond | ||
| 1968 | The Night of the Following Day | Hubert Cornfield | |
| No Way to Treat a Lady | Jack Smight | Composed with Andrew Belling | |
| Otley | Dick Clement | ||
| 1969 | Man on Horseback | Volker Schlöndorff | Composed with Peter Sandloff |
| Two Gentlemen Sharing | Ted Kotcheff | ||
| Age of Consent | Michael Powell | Composed with Peter Sculthorpe |
1970s
1980s
1990s
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Ladder of Swords | Norman Hull | |
| The Witches | Nicolas Roeg | Nominated- Saturn Award for Best Music | |
| Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead | Tom Stoppard | ||
| 1991 | Voyager | Volker Schlöndorff | |
| Cold Heaven | Nicolas Roeg | ||
| 1992 | Claude | Cindy Lou Johnson | |
| Sarafina! | Darrell Roodt | Final film score |
Television
References
- Colin Larkin, ed. (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Concise ed.). Virgin Books. pp. 887–8. ISBN 1-85227-745-9.
- "Stanley Myers". BFI.
- "Stanley Myers: The Deer Hunter". Classic FM. 22 August 2014.
- Nicolas Roeg, Obituary: Stanley Myers, The Independent, Saturday, 13 November 1993
- "Stanley Myers". TV.com. CBS Interactive.
- "The Deer Hunter and Other Themes". iTunes.apple.com.
- "Uneasy Dreams". Books.google.co.uk. p. 129.
- "House of Whipcord (1974)". Bfi.org.uk.
- "Musicians (Studio)". Pink Floyd Music (1987) Limited. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
- "Historical Dictionary of British Cinema". Books.google.co.uk.
- Maslin, Janet (July 24, 1987). "Wish You Were Here (1987) FILM: 'WISH YOU WERE HERE'". The New York Times.
- "Findmypast.com". Archived from the original on August 31, 2009.
External links
- Stanley Myers at the British Film Institute
- Stanley Myers on IMDb