playnext.fm

Headliner Radio

In The Box E29: Hildur Guðnadóttir: Scoring The Bride

·59 min·5 clips
Oscar-winning composer Hildur Guðnadóttir reveals how Iceland's supportive yet isolated music community shaped her, before she moved to Berlin.
The episode features an interview with Hildur Guðnadóttir, an Icelandic composer and cellist who has won an Oscar, Grammy, and BAFTA. She begins by reflecting on her upbringing in Iceland, describing its supportive music community but also its isolating geography, which led her to move to Berlin. Guðnadóttir discusses formative collaborations in Berlin with friends like Jóhann Jóhannsson and Dustin O'Halloran, emphasizing how deep musical friendships enable almost telepathic communication. She explains that music is a form of communication and self-understanding for her, leading naturally into film scoring via an initial interest in theater. Guðnadóttir recounts winning the Oscar for Joker in 2020, noting the surreal timing just before COVID lockdowns made it feel like a fever dream. She expresses cautious optimism about increasing opportunities for female composers but wishes progress was faster. The conversation shifts to her recent film work, including 28 Years Later Part Two, which she scored without hearing Young Fathers' music for Part One, and The Bride, directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal. For The Bride, she describes recording a classical orchestra through amplifiers to blend punk and classical elements. Guðnadóttir also discusses her technical workflow, preferring Cubase for film scoring due to its MIDI environment and supportive team. She announces her return to live performance after a decade, with a concert at the Barbican featuring music from her album 'Where To From?' and older unperformed works. Upcoming projects include the film 'Enemy' with A24, starring Austin Butler and Jeremy Allen White, and a theater production of 'Electra and Persona' with Cate Blanchett and Nina Hoss.

As heard by us

A patient conversation about finding a personal route into stories with history already written into them.

The conversation frames the composer's move from Iceland to Berlin as both practical and personal. Iceland's close music community clearly left a mark, but touring from a more isolated home base meant early flights, connections, and the gradual pull of a city better placed for…

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

Press play for a composer tracing the pull of Iceland, the practicality of Berlin, and the unusual puzzle of working on 28 Years Later almost completely in the dark.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →
Listen to the show on
Apple PodcastsSpotify
Play clips from this episodeMore from Headliner Radio