Jóhann Jóhannsson, 'The Theory Of Everything' Composer, Is Dead At 48

Jóhann Jóhannsson, Academy Award-nominated movie composer, passed away on Friday, Feb. 9, in his home in Berlin for reasons still unknown.

His representatives from Redbird Music Management confirmed his death on a post on Facebook this weekend.

"It is with profound sadness that we confirm the passing of our dear friend Jóhann," the post read. "We have lost one of the most talented and brilliant people who we had the privilege of knowing and working with. May his music continue to inspire us."

He is survived by his parents, his sisters, and his daughter.

Life And Work

Jóhannsson, 48, won a Golden Globes for his work in The Theory of Everything, the award-winning biopic depicting the story of Stephen Hawking and his diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS. The movie starred Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones.

He was also nominated for Best Original Score at last year's Golden Globes for his work in the sci-fi movie Arrival.

For his work with the Academy Award-nominated movie directed by Denis Villeneuve, the movie composer experimented by using voices as instruments.

"I knew that I wanted to use voices as one of the prime instruments in the score of a film that is primarily about language and communication," he explained to The Guardian. "But I wanted to use the voice in a different way, so I worked with an ensemble called Theatre Of Voices. They're masters of both early music and contemporary music, so have a very good command of exotic vocal techniques. I worked with Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe; he is not academically trained, but his voice is an amazing, powerful and flexible instrument."

Before his death, Jóhannsson was also signed up to work on upcoming movies Mandy, The Mercy, and Mary Magdalene.

Apart from movies, the Icelandic composer also had a career as a solo artist. His first solo album, Englabörn, was released in 2002. He also created music for theater, dance, and television.

Jóhannsson was set to perform at Primavera Sound festival in Barcelona later this year.

Tribute

Famous movie personalities have paid tribute to the renowned movie composer.

"Johann was a gentleman. He was a brilliant collaborator with a wholly unique approach to sound and music," said Mother! director Darren Aronofsky. "This is a terrible loss."

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