David Hirschfelder David Hirschfelder

Born: 1960, Ballarat, Australia.

Biography:
Australian composer David Hirschfelder spent his early years immersed in music, and first began to express himself through his work with the jazz band Pyramid, which topped the bill at the Montreux Jazz Festival. He was a member of the Australian group Little River Band, and played keyboard on their albums 'The Net', 'Playing To Win' and 'No Reins'). He scored his first movie in 1987 - a touching documentary film entitled "Suzy's Story", chronicling the life of a woman dying of Aids, and went on to score a number of features and TV movies, including the highly successful "Strictly Ballroom" (1992) for which he won a BAFTA Award. The success of "Strictly Ballroom" led to more high-profile assignments, and Hirschfelder finally burst to international prominence in 1996 when he was Oscar-nominated for the original score and classical adaptations he wrote for the amazing film "Shine", about the life story of the mentally unstable virtuoso pianist David Helfgott. Since "Shine", Hirschfelder has scored the British romantic comedy "Sliding Doors" (1998) starring Gwyneth Paltrow, the critically acclaimed period piece "Elizabeth" (1998) about the life story of Elizabeth I (which bagged him a second Oscar nomination) and Diane Keaton's sentimental family drama "Hanging Up" (2000). He is the recipient of thirteen AFI Awards nominations (Australian Oscars), and continues to work steadily, having recently been involved in the hugely popular series of “BlackJack” Australian TV movies based on the crime novels by Gary McCaffrie and Shaun Micallef. Away from film music, Hirschfelder has released a non-soundtrack classical album entitled "Inside This Room" with Australian opera tenor David Hobson, and composed "Eternity", an eight-minute work for orchestra, choir and dance, for the Opening Ceremony at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

Reviews:
Australia, Elizabeth, Hanging Up, Shine and Sliding Doors

Filmography:
Australia (2008), The Children of Huang Shi (2008), Salute (2008), BlackJack: Ghosts (2007), Shake Hands With the Devil (2007), Aquamarine (2006), BlackJack: A Walk in the Park (2006), BlackJack: At the Gates (2006), BlackJack: Born Again (2006), BlackJack: Dead Memory (2006), Pancho and Lefty (2006), BlackJack: Ace Point Game (2005), BlackJack: In the Money (2005), Irresistible (2005), Kidnapped (2005), The Five People You Meet in Heaven (2004), BlackJack: Sweet Science (2004), Peaches (2003), The Wannabes (2003), Bootleg (2002), Standing Room Only (2002), Xanana: The Man The Nation (2001), Better than Sex (2000), Hanging Up (2000), The Weight of Water (2000), What Becomes of the Broken Hearted (1999), Elizabeth (1998), The Interview (1998), Sliding Doors (1998), Dating the Enemy (1996), Shine (1996), A Kid Called Troy (1995), Tunnel Vision (1995), Dallas Doll (1994), The Life of Harry Dare (1994), Strictly Ballroom (1992), Ratbag Hero (1991), Shadows of the Heart (1990), Skirts (1990), Never My Child (1989), Suzy's Story (1987).

Highest Grossing Films as at end of 2007 (adjusted for inflation):
Shine ($57.5m), Hanging Up ($47.4m), Elizabeth ($45.3m), Strictly Ballroom ($20.1m), Aquamarine ($19.9m), Sliding Doors ($17.9m).

Awards:
1998 Academy Awards - Nominee, Best Original Dramatic Score - Elizabeth
1996 Academy Awards - Nominee, Best Original Dramatic Score - Shine
1996 Golden Globes - Nominee, Best Original Score - Shine
1998 BAFTA Awards - Winner, Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music – Elizabeth
1992 BAFTA Awards - Winner, Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music - Strictly Ballroom
1996 BAFTA Awards - Nominee, Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music - Shine

Links:
Official Site

Aquamarine Better Than Sex Elizabeth Hanging Up Shine Sliding Doors Strictly Ballroom


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