Jóhann Jóhannsson Obituary

Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson, who was nominated for an Oscar and won a Golden Globe for The Theory Of Everything in 2015, died in Berlin on Friday at the age of 48. The cause is not yet known.

Although an accomplished solo musician with several studio albums, starting with Englabörn in 2002, it was his relatively recent move into scoring films that brought Jóhann Jóhannsson significant international success and awards recognition.

In 2016, Jóhannsson was nominated for an Academy Award for his score to Denis Villeneuve’s Sicario, and received Golden Globe and Grammy nominations for Villeneuve’s Arrival. This relationship continued with Blade Runner 2049, though he ultimately left the project, and last year he worked on Darren Aronofsky’s Mother! but much of it was replaced.

However, Jóhannsson recently scored Panos Cosmatos’ Mandy, which premiered at Sundance last month, and is credited alongside Hildur Guðnadóttir for Garth Davis’ biblical biopic Mary Magdalene, which is set for release in March.

Jóhannsson’s manager, Tim Husom, said in a statement: “I’m so very sad. Today, I lost my friend who was one of the most talented musicians and intelligent people I knew. We came a long way together.”