By Rob Levy,Special to the Post-Dispatch

Copyright stltoday

Special to the Post-Dispatch

One of cinema’s premier composers, Hans Zimmer has provided the score to box-office hits such as “Inception,” “Gladiator,” “Wonder Woman 1984,” “Interstellar,” “Dunkirk” and the Batman Dark Knight films. His scores for “The Lion King” and “Dune” (the 2021 film) garnered him two Academy Awards. He also has won three Golden Globes.

Zimmer’s style embraces both the modern and the classical. Mixing synthesized electronics, layered sonic textures and the use of nontraditional instruments, he is a master of using music to establish a mood.

Now, cinephiles and music lovers alike can experience Hans Zimmer’s music at “The World of Hans Zimmer: A New Dimension,” which synchronizes scenes from the films with the emotional gravitas of classical music live at the Chaifetz on Sept. 24.

Presented and curated by Zimmer himself, the concert features Grammy-nominated maestro Matt Dunkley holding the baton with a live orchestra and guest soloists performing alongside projected film sequences.

“I think the genius of Hans Zimmer as a composer is that he tells stories with his music,” Dunkley says. “Each concert suite that we have chosen has an ebb and flow that represents the score, which is hard to do when you’re playing these 10 or 15-minute suites. You’re picking out these little moments from a score that could be two hours long,” he says.

A collaborator with Zimmer for over two decades, Dunkley has worked on over 200 movies and with many pop icons, including Sam Smith, U2, Dua Lipa, Johnny Marr and Billie Eilish. He also has conducted concerts with the London Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and others.

“I was contacted because the previous conductor, Gavin Greenaway, who is also a friend of mine, felt that he had done enough touring for a while,” Dunkley says about how he joined the tour. “Since I have worked with Hans, I was a natural fit to take over. So, I joined the autumn tour in Europe, and I didn’t screw it up too much because they asked me back.”

Once on the tour, Dunkley got to work on selecting the music that would be performed.

“I talked about it with Hans and the production unit. Together we developed an interesting program that takes audiences on a journey through 40 years of his film scores,” Dunkley says. “We chose a diverse repertoire of his work, including early scores from ‘Driving Miss Daisy’ and ‘The Rock’ all the way up to ‘No Time to Die’ and the second ‘Dune’ movie,” Dunkley says.

Onstage Dunkley will be accompanied by 60 musicians from 18 countries. Special guests include the Odessa Orchestra and the Nairobi Chamber Chorus. The evening will feature guest performances from South African vocalist Nokukhanya Dlamini, Lebanese singer Carla Shamoun, flamenco guitarist Amir John Haddad and Israeli soprano Gan-ya Ben-gur Akselrod amongst others.

“Interestingly, people like Hans, Bernard Herrmann (a film composer who worked extensively with Hitchcock), or other film conductors are telling stories the same way Brahms, Mozart or Beethoven did. The most successful film composers, people like Hans, John Williams and Ennio Morricone, were people who told a story. Their music is profound and beautiful. It stands out in a concert hall or in an arena,” Dunkley says.

“There aren’t that many composers who can do that, which is why we’re doing The World of Hans Zimmer, because his music speaks to people.”

Looking ahead to his visit to St. Louis the maestro emphasized the excitement that he and his fellow musicians have about performing Hans Zimmer’s music for new audiences.

“Everybody gives 100%: the band, our singers and the orchestra. They go for it. We are all aware that the majority of the audience is hearing this music put together for the first time.”

While mixing movies and music every night seems like a lot of fun, for Dunkley and his fellow musicians playing “The World of Hans Zimmer” comes with challenges.

“You’ve always have to be on your A-game. You’ve got to be rested because it’s like climbing a mountain every night. Nobody has an easy ride in the show. It’s very challenging to play, but that’s great because good musicians love that challenge. But we all really love the show, and I think that comes across in the music,” he says.

Dunkley also wants audiences to leave the concert on a high note.

“There’s a joie de vivre about the performance. We hope (audiences) leave knowing what an incredible thing live music is and that they’ll go and see other film music or classical music concerts and won’t fear it. They’ll see how accessible it is and discover what an emotional and visceral experience it is of seeing an orchestra and soloist playing live with no safety net.”