Tim Greiving

Kris Bowers performs onstage during Soundcheck: A Netflix Film and Series Music Showcase on Nov. 4, 2019 in Los Angeles, Calif. Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images hide caption

Composer James Newton Howard in 2008. Wim Lippens/Universal Pictures hide caption

Clint Mansell is the Grammy-nominated composer whose work on Requiem for a Dream jumpstarted a prolific and distinctive score career. Mike Palmer/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

Amanda Jones, a singer-songwriter turned film and TV composer, is the first African American woman to earn an Emmy nomination for original television score. Ian Spanier/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

A young Howard Ashman, photographed on the set of his musical Little Shop of Horrors. Disney hide caption

Rachel Portman was the first woman to win an Academy Award for best original score. Her latest album ask the river is her first not written for a film or stage production. Benjamin Ealovega/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

Adam Sandler plays jeweler Howard Ratner in the film Uncut Gems. The score is as shiny and cosmic as Ratner's life is messy and frantic. Julieta Cervantes/Courtesy of A24 hide caption

Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck in Warner Bros. Pictures, Village Roadshow Pictures and BRON Creative's Joker. Niko Tavernise/Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures hide caption

John Williams (left) and Anne-Sophie Mutter at a recording session at Sony Pictures Studios for Across the Stars available via Deutsch Grammophon. Prashant Gupta/Deutsche Grammophon hide caption

Hans Zimmer, Matt Jones of the Re-Collective Orchestra and conductor Nick Glennie-Smith at a scoring session for Disney's The Lion King. Alberto Rodriguez/Disney Enterprises, Inc. hide caption

Back in 1995, Pixar hired Newman because of his warm, Americana sound and his witty bite. Pamela Springsteen/Courtesy of the artist hide caption