The Theory of Everything

The Theory of Everything (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the score album composed by Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson to the 2014 film of the same name released on 4 November 2014 by Back Lot Music. The score relies on neo-classical themes more than "the decades' respective earmark sounds of the British invasion", punk music and synthpop, while including "[Jóhannsson's] signature blend of acoustic instruments and electronics". The music was acclaimed by critics, and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score, alongside receiving nominations Academy Award for Best Original Score, a BAFTA Award for Best Film Music, a Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Score and a Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media. Development Jóhann Jóhannsson scored music for The Theory of Everything, as he and the director James Marsh lived in Copenhagen and was a music consultant in his documentary Project Nim (2011). According to Jóhannsson, "the music had to be timeless. Time is a huge motif in the film, which is colorful, and the music had to reflect that." As such, he relied on piano as the chief instrument (played primarily by Tom Poster) to express the emotions of Hawking and Jane as "it is a very expressive instrument, but it is precise. It has a mathematical-like quality, which reflects the core of the film." The score further had few electronic instruments that are confined to few cues, but primarily relies on orchestra and electronic music. He usually tend to combine orchestral music with electronics for other films, and process it a lot to create a more intricate sound. Whereas, for The Theory of Everything, the score is "much more of a pure orchestral expression". Even in the few cues, the electronics were purely acoustic sounds that are processed and not real electronic music, and he did not use synthesisers for the score. He did not created demos for the film score, though he had detailed demos playing for the film, while the orchestration happen at the same time. The score was recorded at Abbey Road Studios with a 65-piece orchestra from the Hollywood Studio Symphony performing. The pianos were, however recorded at Air Studios due to scheduling conflicts as Abbey was not available for the piano session. The scoring began in late-January 2014 and concluded during that May 2014 in a three month process, while Jóhannsson also scored for the Chinese film Blind Massage.