Hans Zimmer Receives The Max Steiner Award

Once a year the Vienna Concert Hall (Wiener Konzerthaus) turns into a hot spot for film and music fans, during the annual Hollywood in Vienna gala. This year, Sandra Tomek, the organizer and founder of Hollywood in Vienna invited one of the greatest to Vienna, Hans Zimmer.

The highlight of the concert was when The City of Vienna, through their City Council member for Cultural Affairs, Mr. Peter Hanke, bestowed Hans Zimmer with the Max Steiner Film Music Achievement Award, as a token for extraordinary accomplishments in the Film Music genre.

"The gala should really be named Vienna in Hollywood", said Mr. Zimmer. "Because without Vienna there would be no Hollywood as we know it. Max Steiner, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Stefan Zweig, Karl Kraus, Egon Schiele - those are the eyes through which we hear, without all of them, my story would not exist. This award is not my award, but it makes Max Steiner unforgotten. Let this award remind us of the dark times and of all those people that brought light into that darkness. That's the true Circle of Life". About the ORF Radio-Symphonie Orchestra and all musicians performing Hans Zimmer's music superbly, he said that "without all those people, there would only be silence in my life".

The audience celebrated Hans with long standing ovations and companions that worked with Hans throughout his career, such as Tom Cruise, Orlando Bloom, Ron Howard, Jerry Bruckheimer, Nancy Meyers, and Niki Lauda sent video greetings that were broadcast during the gala. Australian singer and Golden-Globe winner Lisa Gerrard (co-composer "Gladiator"), and many more performed for Hans. A special surprise was Opera Star Valentina Nafornita and her 20-minute interpretation of an opulent The Da Vinci Code Suite, together with the Choir Neue Wiener Stimmen.

The gala was moderated by Aleksey Igudesman and Austrian host Barbara Rett. The stunning visuals to the show once again were created by co-producer Michael Balgavy. Several Academy Award, Golden Globe and Emmy Winners were in the audience, such as playwright Peter Morgan, director Stefan Ruzowitzky, director Peter Dornhelm, and actress Sunnyi Meles.

The world-famous Hotel Imperial, which hosts guests and attracts popstars & actors since 1873 with imperial hospitality & service, and modern comfort was once again the host hotel.

Big thanks to the partners of Hollywood In Vienna: The City of Vienna, Vienna Tourist Board, Vienna Film Commission, Vienna Symphonic Library, Hotel Imperial, Austrian Airlines, Porsche Wien Mitte, ORF III, Interspot Filmproduktion, Habegger GmbH, U. S. Embassy of Austria, Wiener Konzerthaus, Licht ins Dunkel, Semmel Concerts Entertainment, MAC Cosmetics, Chopard, Coiffeur Sturmayr, Juergen Christian Hoerl, Gerstner Salons Privés, echo Medienhaus, Bösendorfer, Flughafen Wien-VIP Terminal, Ströck, Roberto Bar, Vamed and Blumen Dani.