@William said:
I haven't checked out the Zimmer strings so I shouldn't have said that. I will check them out. I really appreciate Simon Raven's input, as he is a brilliant composer and performer.
William, I read the comment as coming from a "Zimmer opposer". I used to not be a big fan of Zimmer and his music many years ago, but I have learnt that he is not just an "orchestral pop song writer" I can dismiss as inferior and non-worthy. That he is actually one of (if not the one) Hollywoods most visionary and innovative composers, always striving to come up with a new, suitable musical universe for his movies. That isn't what I think he did in the 90's, but sometimes (often) you are also just hired to do a job, and you don't get much saying in musical style. So seeing where he has taken his scores in the 00's and onwards I can't blame him.
He is not a typical classical composer like John Williams, which I think is an absolute genius, I guess that here, John Williams is scoffed at as well, so let's just for arguments sake choose say that Zimmer is no Dvorak, Beethoven or Sibelius either - or if those guys are too mainstream too, pick any obscure, genius composer you want. Zimmer is something different, but that doesn't make his talent less. It is just different. Sound and sound design is at least as important in his scores as the compositions.
Anyway, a lot could be said on that topic. But just to clarify what Zimmer Strings is, and the visionary man behind it (together with the SF gang of course). That this was not meant as a classical string library. Why on earth would you do 60 cellos ensemble if that was the point!
I regard it as yet another great tool at my disposal, that I have hardly had any use for yet though. But hopefully some project will call for it as it has a special sound and organic feeling to it, especially the non-typical articulations. The standard staccatos/sustains are a bit hit and miss I think - some are useful, some are not.