Which composer wrote the music for the 2005 film Pride & Prejudice?

Dario Marianelli wrote the music for the 2005 film Pride & Prejudice.

Marianelli composed the film’s original score for director Joe Wright’s feature debut, adapting Jane Austen’s 1813 novel. The music uses piano prominently, reflecting the characters’ emotional interior lives and the period’s musical culture. French pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet performed the piano parts with the English Chamber Orchestra.

The score was influenced by the early piano sonatas of Ludwig van Beethoven, which Marianelli and Wright discussed as an artistic reference point. Some pieces were written before filming because actors had to perform at pianos on screen. The soundtrack also includes music inspired by the late eighteenth century, including dance cues and military marches.

A common mix-up is confusing Marianelli with Rachel Portman, who composed the score for the 1996 film Emma, or Patrick Doyle, who scored the 1995 film Sense and Sensibility. Marianelli’s work earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score and began a long collaboration with Wright.