Gabriel Yared
You may not know him, but you have probably heard him: Gabriel Yared has become one of the most prolific – and honored – film composers of our time. Born in 1949 in Beirut, Yared learned music on his own. After studying law in Lebanon, Yared went to Paris in 1969 and became a non-registered student at the Ecole Normale de Musique for his first formal music classes. A two-week planned visit to his uncle in Brazil turned into a stay of one and a half years. While in Brazil, Yared was asked to write a song to represent Lebanon for the Rio “Maracanazhino” Song festival: his composition won third prize. Forming a small orchestra of six musicians, Yared wrote during the day and played the songs at night in a nightclub. With a plan to return to Brazil, a short visit to France again turned into a longer stay, this time for good. First in a song writing team with Georges and Michel Costa, and then on his own, Yared began to churn out jingles for radio and television, including the TF1 News program’s theme. He became a go-to film composer after he was hired by Jean-Luc Godard to score Sauve Qui Peut (la vie). Since then, Yared’s compositions have been heard in numerous films, including Betty Blue (1986), Camille Claudel (1989), Vincent and Theo (1990), Tatie Danielle (1991), The Lover (1992), Map of the Human Heart (1993), City of Angels (1998), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Possession (2002), Cold Mountain (2003), Sylvia (2003), Shall We Dance (2004), Breaking and Entering (2006). His score for The English Patient won an Oscar.
