Page 776 - Liverpool Philharmonic 22-23 Season Coverage Book
P. 776
11 April 2023
Obituary
Christopher Gunning obituary
Composer best known for creating the theme music for the popular and
long-running ITV series Poirot
Guy Rickards
The composer Christopher Gunning, who has died aged 78 of renal cancer, operated
with equal assurance in both the film and television world and the classical symphonic
tradition. The music for which he is most widely known is that for ITV’s long-running
series Agatha Christie’s Poirot, starring David Suchet, for which he won a Bafta in 1989
and created incidental music for some 40 of the episodes.
Gunning recalled that he wrote three candidate melodies for the ubiquitous signature
tune for the producer Brian Eastman to consider; the third option was picked as best
combining the spirit of the late 1920s and 30s with the slightly darker side of the
Belgian detective’s character. The theme was played by the jazz saxophonist Stan
Sulzmann in numerous variations across the series.
In the 1970s Gunning had found success writing music for advertising, including the
global Martini campaign (“the Right One”), for which he won three Clio awards,
and Black Magic chocolates. From the 80s to 2014, he composed music for many
successful TV productions and films.
