60 Second Guide to Hildur Guðnadóttir

Hildur Guðnadóttir is an Icelandic musician and composer born in 1982. A classically trained cellist, she has found herself in the spotlight for her film and television scores including the HBO miniseries Chernobyl from 2019, which won her a Primetime Emmy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Grammy Award. 2019 was an excellent year for the composer, as her score for the thriller film Joker won her an Academy Award for Best Original Score, as well as a Golden Globe and BAFTA for Best Original Music. She is noteworthy for being the first solo female composer to win both awards. Remarkably, she has won a combined total of fourteen awards just for Chernobyl and Joker.
The difference between the two scores is noteworthy, too. In Chernobyl, the composer uses actual nuclear power plant sounds to create her disturbing, avant-garde score. In Joker, the beautifully haunting music depicts the tragic nature of the lead character’s narrative.

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