Jean-Pascal Beintus
Encyclopedia
Jean-Pascal Beintus is a French composer. Born in Toulouse, France in 1966, he studied double bass
and composition at the conservatories of Nice
, Lyon
and Paris
during the 1980s. When John Eliot Gardiner
created the Lyon Opéra Orchestra in 1983, he selected Beintus as a founding double bass
player. His first work, Samskara, was for double bass and chamber orchestra.
In 1996 Kent Nagano
, then music director
of the Opéra de Lyon, recognized Jean-Pascal Beintus' talents as composer and began to commission works from him. Since then, he has written music for nearly every type of ensemble, and for theatre
, concert hall and film
.
Recent commissions have come from the Berlin Philharmonic (He's Got Rhythm: Homage to George Gershwin
), the Russian National Orchestra
(Wolf Tracks and Peter and the Wolf
), the Hallé Orchestra (Couleurs Cuivres), the Berkeley Symphony (Berkeley Images, Luna Tree and Bremen Town Musicians), the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra
(Kobe Symphony, which was featured on David Benoit
's 2005 release, Orchestral Stories, on Peak Records), Orchestre de Paris
(Cordes et Lames), the State of California (Manzanar: An American Story), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(Nature Suite), and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin
(Le Petit Prince).
Jean-Pascal Beintus' film work includes the original score of the Leonardo DiCaprio
film The 11th Hour
, as well as orchestrating Alexandre Desplat
’s scores for Syriana
and Golden Globe-winning score of The Painted Veil
and also The Queen
, Chéri
, Coco avant Chanel
, Fantastic Mr. Fox
, The Twilight Saga: New Moon and Roman Polanski
's The Ghost Writer.
As of 2010, the Internet Movie Database
lists him as working on the following film
s: The Special Relationship
, The Tree of Life, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 and Part 2
and Tamara Drewe.
A recording of Jean-Pascal Beintus' "Wolf Tracks" featuring Bill Clinton
, Mikhail Gorbachev
and Sophia Loren
as narrators received a 2004 Grammy Award
. Antonio Banderas
narrated the Spanish version, released in 2007.
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
and composition at the conservatories of Nice
Nice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
, Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
and Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
during the 1980s. When John Eliot Gardiner
John Eliot Gardiner
Sir John Eliot Gardiner CBE FKC is an English conductor. He founded the Monteverdi Choir , the English Baroque Soloists and the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique...
created the Lyon Opéra Orchestra in 1983, he selected Beintus as a founding double bass
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
player. His first work, Samskara, was for double bass and chamber orchestra.
In 1996 Kent Nagano
Kent Nagano
__FORCETOC__Kent George Nagano is an American conductor and opera administrator. He is currently the music director of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal and the Bavarian State Opera.-Biography:...
, then music director
Music director
A music director may be the director of an orchestra, the director of music for a film, the director of music at a radio station, the head of the music department in a school, the co-ordinator of the musical ensembles in a university or college , the head bandmaster of a military band, the head...
of the Opéra de Lyon, recognized Jean-Pascal Beintus' talents as composer and began to commission works from him. Since then, he has written music for nearly every type of ensemble, and for theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
, concert hall and film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
.
Recent commissions have come from the Berlin Philharmonic (He's Got Rhythm: Homage to George Gershwin
George Gershwin
George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
), the Russian National Orchestra
Russian National Orchestra
The Russian National Orchestra premiered in Moscow in 1990.It was the first Russian orchestra to perform at the Apostolic Palace, Vatican and in Israel....
(Wolf Tracks and Peter and the Wolf
Wolf Tracks and Peter and the Wolf
Wolf Tracks and Peter and the Wolf was a 2005 album that combined the orchestral composition Peter and the Wolf by Sergei Prokofiev with a 2002 composition, Wolf Tracks, which had its score written by French composer Jean-Pascal Beintus and text written by Walt Kreamer...
), the Hallé Orchestra (Couleurs Cuivres), the Berkeley Symphony (Berkeley Images, Luna Tree and Bremen Town Musicians), the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra
Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra
The Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra is the nation's leading symphony orchestra and a resident company of the Cultural Center of the Philippines , located on Manila's shoreline...
(Kobe Symphony, which was featured on David Benoit
David Benoit
David Benoit, is an American jazz fusion/smooth jazz pianist, composer and producer from Los Angeles, California. He has been nominated for five Grammy Awards...
's 2005 release, Orchestral Stories, on Peak Records), Orchestre de Paris
Orchestre de Paris
The Orchestre de Paris is a French orchestra based in Paris. The orchestra performs most of its concerts at the Salle Pleyel.-History:In 1967, following the dissolution of the Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, conductor Charles Munch was called on by the Minister of Culture,...
(Cordes et Lames), the State of California (Manzanar: An American Story), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
(Nature Suite), and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin
Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin
The Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin is an orchestra based in Berlin, Germany. It was founded in 1946 by American occupation forces as the RIAS-Symphonie-Orchester . It was also known as the American Sector Symphony Orchestra...
(Le Petit Prince).
Jean-Pascal Beintus' film work includes the original score of the Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio is an American actor and film producer. He has received many awards, including a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his performance in The Aviator , and has been nominated by the Academy Awards, Screen Actors Guild and the British Academy of Film and Television...
film The 11th Hour
The 11th Hour (film)
The 11th Hour is a 2007 documentary film, created, produced and narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio, on the state of the natural environment. It was directed by Leila Conners Petersen and Nadia Conners and financed by Adam Lewis and Pierre André Senizergues, and distributed by Warner Independent...
, as well as orchestrating Alexandre Desplat
Alexandre Desplat
Alexandre Michel Gérard Desplat is a French film composer. He has received four Academy Award nominations, five BAFTA nominations, five Golden Globe nominations, winning a Golden Globe for his work on The Painted Veil in 2006, and two Grammy nominations. In 2011, Desplat won his first British...
’s scores for Syriana
Syriana
Syriana is a 2005 geopolitical thriller film written and directed by Stephen Gaghan, and executive produced by George Clooney, who also stars in the film with an ensemble cast. Gaghan's screenplay is loosely adapted from Robert Baer's memoir See No Evil...
and Golden Globe-winning score of The Painted Veil
The Painted Veil (2006 film)
The Painted Veil is a 2006 Chinese-American drama film directed by John Curran. The screenplay by Ron Nyswaner is based on the 1925 novel of the same title by W. Somerset Maugham...
and also The Queen
The Queen (film)
The Queen is a 2006 British drama film directed by Stephen Frears, written by Peter Morgan, and starring Helen Mirren as the title role, HM Queen Elizabeth II...
, Chéri
Cheri (film)
Chéri is a 2009 drama film directed by Stephen Frears. Starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Rupert Friend, it is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by French author Colette...
, Coco avant Chanel
Coco avant Chanel
Coco Before Chanel is a 2009 French film directed by Anne Fontaine, about the early life of the famed French fashion designer Coco Chanel....
, Fantastic Mr. Fox
Fantastic Mr. Fox (film)
Fantastic Mr. Fox is a 2009 American stop-motion animated film based on the Roald Dahl children's novel of the same name. This story is about a fox who steals food each night from three mean and wealthy farmers. The farmers are fed up with Mr Fox's theft and try to kill him, so they dig their way...
, The Twilight Saga: New Moon and Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski is a French-Polish film director, producer, writer and actor. Having made films in Poland, Britain, France and the USA, he is considered one of the few "truly international filmmakers."...
's The Ghost Writer.
As of 2010, the Internet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
lists him as working on the following film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
s: The Special Relationship
The Special Relationship (film)
The Special Relationship is a 2010 American-British political film directed by Richard Loncraine from a screenplay by Peter Morgan. It is the third film in Morgan's informal "Blair trilogy", which dramatizes the political career of British Prime Minister Tony Blair , following The Deal and The...
, The Tree of Life, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 and Part 2
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 is a 2011 epic fantasy film directed by David Yates and the second of two films based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. It is the eighth and final instalment in the Harry Potter film series, written by Steve Kloves and produced by David...
and Tamara Drewe.
A recording of Jean-Pascal Beintus' "Wolf Tracks" featuring Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
, Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...
and Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren, OMRI is an Italian actress.In 1962, Loren won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Two Women, along with 21 awards, becoming the first actress to win an Academy Award for a non-English-speaking performance...
as narrators received a 2004 Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
. Antonio Banderas
Antonio Banderas
José Antonio Domínguez Banderas , better known as Antonio Banderas, is a Spanish film actor, film director, film producer and singer...
narrated the Spanish version, released in 2007.