Lalo Schifrin, the composer who wrote the and more than 100 other arrangements for film and television, died Thursday. He was 93.
Schifrinās son Ryan confirmed that Schifrin died due to complications from pneumonia. He died peacefully in his home in Los Angeles, surrounded by family.
The Argentine won four Grammys and was nominated for six Oscars, including five for original score for āCool Hand Luke,ā āThe Fox,ā āVoyage of the Damned,ā āThe Amityville Horrorā and āThe Sting II.ā
āEvery movie has its own personality. There are no rules to write music for movies,ā Schifrin . āThe movie dictates what the music will be.ā
He also wrote the grand finale musical performance for the World Cup championship in Italy in 1990, in which ā PlĆ”cido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti and JosĆ© Carreras ā sang together for the first time. The work became one of the biggest sellers in the history of classical music.
āThe most contagious tune ever heardā
Schifrin, also a jazz pianist and classical conductor, had a remarkable career in music that included working with Dizzy Gillespie and recording with Count Basie and Sarah Vaughan. But perhaps his biggest contribution was the instantly recognizable score to televisionās āMission: Impossible,ā which fueled the just-wrapped, decades-spanning
Written in the unusual 5/4 time signature, the theme ā Dum-dum DUM DUM dum-dum DUM DUM ā was married to an on-screen self-destruct clock that kicked off the TV show, which ran from 1966 to 1973. It was described as āonly the most contagious tune ever heard by mortal earsā by New Yorker film critic Anthony Lane and even hit No. 41 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1968.
Schifrin originally wrote a different piece of music for the theme song but series creator Bruce Geller liked another arrangement Schifrin had composed for an action sequence.
āThe producer called me and told me, āYouāre going to have to write something exciting, almost like a logo, something that will be a signature, and itās going to start with a fuse,āā Schifrin told the AP in 2006. āSo I did it and there was nothing on the screen. And maybe the fact that I was so free and I had no images to catch, maybe thatās why this thing has become so successful ā because I wrote something that came from inside me.ā
When director Brian De Palma was asked to take the series to the silver screen, he wanted to bring the theme along with him, leading to a creative conflict with who wanted to work with a new theme of his own. Out went Williams and in came who agreed to retain Schifrinās music.
Hans Zimmer took over scoring for the second film, and Michael Giacchino scored the next two. Giacchino told NPR he was a hesitant to take it on, because Schifrinās music was one of his favorite themes of all time.
āI remember calling Lalo and asking if we could meet for lunch,ā Giacchino told NPR. āAnd I was very nervous ā I felt like someone asking a father if I could marry their daughter or something. And he said, āJust have fun with it.ā And I did.ā
āMission: Impossibleā won Grammys for best instrumental theme and best original score from a motion picture or a TV show. In 2017, the theme was entered into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
U2 members Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. covered the theme while making the soundtrack to 1996ās first installment; that version peaked at No. 16 on the Billboard 200 with a Grammy nomination.
depicted a young Schifrin composing the theme at his piano while gaining inspiration through sips of the brandās Lipton Yellow Label. Musicians dropped from the sky as he added elements.
Early life filled with music
Born Boris Claudio Schifrin to a Jewish family in Buenos Aires ā where his father was the concertmaster of the philharmonic orchestra ā Schifrin was classically trained in music, in addition to studying law.
After studying at the Paris Conservatory ā where he learned about harmony and composition from the legendary Olivier Messiaen ā Schifrin returned to Argentina and formed a concert band. Gillespie heard Schifrin perform and asked him to become his pianist, arranger and composer. In 1958, Schifrin moved to the United States, playing in Gillespieās quintet in 1960-62 and composing the acclaimed āGillespiana.ā
The long list of luminaries he performed and recorded with includes Ella Fitzgerald, Stan Getz, Dee Dee Bridgewater and George Benson. He also worked with such classical stars as Zubin Mehta, Mstislav Rostropovich, Daniel Barenboim and others.
Schifrin moved easily between genres, winning a Grammy for 1965ās āJazz Suite on the Mass Textsā while also earning a nod that same year for the score of TVās āThe Man From U.N.C.L.E.ā In 2018, he was and, in 2017, the Latin Recording Academy bestowed on him one of its special trustee awards.
Later film scores included āTango,ā āRush Hourā and its two sequels, āBringing Down The House,ā āThe Bridge of San Luis Rey,ā āAfter the Sunsetā and the horror film āAbominable.ā
Writing the arrangements for Schifrin decided that the main character wasnāt in fact Clint Eastwoodās hero, Harry Callahan, but the villain, Scorpio.
āYou would think the composer would pay more attention to the hero. But in this case, no, I did it to Scorpio, the bad guy, the evil guy,ā he told the AP. āI wrote a theme for Scorpio.ā
It was Eastwood who handed him his honorary Oscar.
āReceiving this honorary Oscar is the culmination of a dream,ā Schifrin said at the time. āIt is mission accomplished.ā
Beyond film and TV
Among Schifrinās conducting credits include the London Symphony Orchestra, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the Israel Philharmonic, the Mexico Philharmonic, the Houston Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. He was appointed music director of Southern Californiaās Glendale Symphony Orchestra and served in that capacity from 1989-1995. Schifrin also wrote and adapted the music for āChristmas in Viennaā in 1992, a concert featuring Diana Ross, Carreras and Domingo.
He also combined tango, folk and classical genres when he recorded āLetters from Argentina,ā nominated for a Latin Grammy for best tango album in 2006.
Schifrin was also commissioned to write the overture for the 1987 Pan American Games, and composed and conducted the eventās 1995 final performance in Argentina.
And for perhaps one of the only operas performed in the ancient Indigenous language in 1988 Schifrin wrote and conducted the choral symphony āSongs of the Aztecs.ā The work premiered at with Domingo as part of a campaign to raise money to restore the siteās Aztec temple.
āI found it to be a very sweet musical language, one in which the sounds of the words dictated interesting melodies,ā Schifrin told The Associated Press at the time. āBut the real answer is that thereās something magic about it. ... Thereās something magic in the art of music anyway.ā
He's survived by his sons, Ryan and William, daughter, Frances, and wife, Donna.
Mark Kennedy, The Associated Press
