[Thor Joachim Haga]

Alright, first of all it’s important to stress that Zimmer shouldn’t be judged on orchestral chops. That’s not what he’s about (you don’t judge Bob Dylan by how well he writes techno music either). He mostly uses orchestra for colouring. That being said, I would still recommend a largely orchestral score like THE HOUSE OF THE SPIRITS to you. Sumptously romantic and kinda dark. In a similar vein would be INVINCIBLE.

It’s a shame you don’t go for ethnic colouring, because that is – IMO – where Zimmer is at his very best. BEYOND RANGOON, for example, is one of my top 10 scores of all time.

There’s a lot of variation, modulation and polyphony in THE THIN RED LINE. It’s more minimalist/suggestive than ethnic, really. It’s usually a score liked by those who generally don’t like Zimmer.

There are also the light drama scores, which are again quite orchestral. SPANGLISH and EVERLASTING PEACE were mentioned; I’d also mention NINE MONTHS and AS GOOD AS IT GETS in that vein.

Alright, those are some recommendations. It’s tricky, because your “don’t” list basically included everything that makes Zimmer Zimmer.