“Mission: Impossible” composer: Grief for Lalo Schifrin

The world of film music has lost one of its greatest masters: Lalo Schifrin, the legendary composer of the “Mission: Impossible” theme, died on Thursday at the age of 93 of the consequences of pneumonia. . His son Ryan Schifrin that his father died “peaceful” on Thursday morning.

The pianist, composer, arranger and conductor born in Argentina shaped the film music with his style, jazz, rock and classic orchestration into an unmistakable sound. He experienced his heyday in the 1960s and 1970s when he created compositions that are now considered a classic.

The “Mission: Impossible” topic in the unusual 5/4 tact launch Schifrin brought not only two of his five Grammy Awards, but also imperishable fame. The melody, originally written for the TV series of the same name with Peter Graves (1926-2010), found worldwide awareness again by the eight Tom Cruise films from 1996. Variations in his composition can be heard in all films.

Born on June 21, 1932 in Buenos Aires as the son of the concert master of the local Philharmonie, Schifrin showed extraordinary talent early on. During his studies at the Paris Conservatory from 1952, his conviction strengthened that the boundaries between classical music and jazz were artificial and would have to be overcome. His career took up decisive impetus in 1958 when he moved to the USA and worked as a pianist and arranger for jazz legend Dizzy Gillespie (1917-1993) from 1960 to 1962.

In 1963 he took him to Hollywood, where he initially composed for television productions such as “The Alfred Hitchcock Hour”. His breakthrough was achieved with the French thriller “Les Félins” (1964). This was followed by unforgettable soundtracks to cult films such as “The Standing”, “Bullitt” and “Dirty Harry”. Schifrin was also responsible for the title topics for “Starsky & Hutch” and “Mannix”.

Although Schifrin was nominated six times for the Oscar, he only received an honor Oscar of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2018. At the award ceremony, Clint Eastwood (95), for which he had composed eight film music, honored his “unique musical style, his compositional integrity and his influential contribution to the art of film music”.

According to “Variety”, Lalo Schifrin leaves his wife Donna as well as three children and four grandchildren.