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The Official Miklos Rozsa Thread


SteveMc

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One of my favourite film composers, period. Such a distinctive voice whose music stands on its own two feet separated from the film. I love the whole breadth of his works from the epics to his more intimate works and concert hall output.

 

A fantastic smaller scale Rózsa from the film Providence:

 

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Every legitimate film music fan has an appreciation for ol' Miklos. He's not my favourite Golden Age composer, but he's obviously up there. I'm particularly fond of the religious scores -- and the religious pastiche/psalm elements of those scores rather than the brass and action stuff.

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19 minutes ago, Thor said:

Every legitimate film music fan has an appreciation for ol' Miklos. He's not my favourite Golden Age composer, but he's obviously up there. I'm particularly fond of the religious scores -- and the religious pastiche/psalm elements of those scores rather than the brass and action stuff.

 

Looking forward to Tadlow's re-recording of King of Kings, or, even better, a re-release of the original recording!

 

Teaser of what's coming in 2019:

 

 

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6 minutes ago, publicist said:

He also wrote a splendid Violin Concerto

So splendid in fact that Billy Wilder wanted him to adapt parts of it for his score for The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes. :)

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Indeed it is. The Tadlow re-recording is a superb one. I am glad they reprinted a limited batch of it recently.

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19 minutes ago, Richard said:

(sigh) Rozsa's score for STAR TREK: II, is one of the greatest scores never written.

Fortunately, they were able to get Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev and Britten to cover that one.

 

Karol

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2 minutes ago, Richard said:

I'm serious, @Jurassic Shark.

Meyer offered ST:II, to Rozsa, who turned it down, flat.

 

Wow, didn't know that. I've changed my reaction to your post accordingly. :sarcasm:

 

Was JW ever offered to score a Star Trek film?

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Fun fact: Did you know that Leonard Bernstein's debut concert with the New York Philharmonic (as a substitute for Bruno Walter) included a performance of Miklos Rozsa's "Theme, Variations and Finale, Op.13":

 

 

https://archives.nyphil.org/index.php/artifact/71509682-511b-4ba3-8df5-e6f37af19d3d

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2 hours ago, Fal said:

I thought it was SW...

Considering that Rozsa wrote the score for Meyer's Time After Time, it would make sense that he would offer Rozsa ST II.

I do believe some of SW was temp tracked to Rozsa, though. 

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14 minutes ago, Steve McQueen said:

Considering that Rozsa wrote the score for Meyer's Time After Time, it would make sense that he would offer Rozsa ST II.

I do believe some of SW was temp tracked to Rozsa, though. 

 

Correct, and yes (along with Holst, Stravinsky and Walton, among others).

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Rozsa's Young Bess bears a certain resemblance to The Throne Room.  Would definitely seem to be at least an inspiration.

It is a very lovely piece, indeed.  Should be performed, and often. 

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5 minutes ago, Steve McQueen said:

Rozsa's Young Bess bears a certain resemblance to The Throne Room.  Would definitely seem to be at least an inspiration.

It is a very lovely piece, indeed.  Should be performed, and often. 

This one features one of the best uses of Dies Irae plainchant ever. A very subtle one too.

 

Karol

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This FSM thread mentions the SW thing: http://www.filmscoremonthly.com/board/posts.cfm?threadID=8538&forumID=1&archive=1

 

Also a member here (Morn?) had a signature with a quote from Rozsa about that very matter.

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3 hours ago, Richard said:

That's dang good stuff, but the inspiration for THE THRONE ROOM, is probably, CROWN IMPERIAL.

 

I always thought that, musically, the final sequence from SW was semi-inspired by the Battle in the Air from Battle of Britain, so the soft Throne Room music comes from the Orb and Sceptre march which Walton recycled in that score:

 

 

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Yeah, you're right, Loert, I was thinking of ORB AND SCEPTRE.

CROWN IMPERIAL is more "SUPERMAN". Could Lucas have heard MARCH TO THE MUSEUM?

 

THE PRIVATE LIFE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES is a great work, from a painfully, and bitterly butchered film. It's now out on Blu, but it's only about 125 minutes. I'm still thinking of getting it, if only for Stephens and Blakely. I'd give good money to see the full version of this.

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13 hours ago, publicist said:

Here's a more impressionist bit - what else could it be? - from Vincente Minnelli's exquisite 'Lust for Life':

 

 

 

Quite a work.  Beauty, passion, instability.  Perfect for the film, and perfect on its own.

I am in particular awe of the strings here.  I can't really think of a film composer whose string work is as good as Rozsa's.  Williams comes very close, but I seem to feel that Rozsa's strings are fuller, that they have more weight and majesty to them.

Any thoughts on why this is? 

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1 hour ago, Steve McQueen said:

I am in particular awe of the strings here.  I can't really think of a film composer whose string work is as good as Rozsa's. 

 

Waxman probably, who also had a very erudite, academical way of writing for strings. I am certain that it has a lot to do with an affinity for the string section and its 'singing' quality. I often find the orchestration device of accompanying brass (you know, trumpets or horns blaring away alongside) - also in Williams' case - often too Hollywood-vulgar and am quite happy when they just use strings and woodwinds.

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22 minutes ago, Omen II said:

I was lucky enough to be at this concert and the hall shook when the organ played.  It was quite magnificent!  Miklos Rozsa wrote so well for the whole orchestra.

 

 

Wow.  Perfect example of how music can transport you to another dimension.

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36 minutes ago, Richard said:

What year was this, Omen, and what else was played?

 

It was a BBC Proms concert entitled Hollywood Rhapsody in 2013.  Details of the programme are here and they also played the Ride to Dubno from Franz Waxman's Taras Bulba as an encore.  I've been to a lot of concerts, but this one was definitely one of the best I have ever attended.

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Rozsa's fiery and beautiful Piano Concerto.  A favorite of mine, has echoes of Bartok, but definitely in Rozsa's own voice.

This recording has a great deal of static, but it is Rozsa conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra.

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Totally missed this thread. Some great music here.

 

I know his violin concerto was mentioned, but his concert work had some really great repertoire. Love his concerto for strings:

 

He just knew how to write for strings, and had such a vibrant and colourful sense of harmonic maneuvering. It's hard to imagine that film music once regularly had such accomplished composers at its helm.

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Beautiful and transporting from the very first chord.  A sound world like no other. Without a doubt a true master with the strings.

The question to be asked is why Rozsa's concert works are not widely celebrated or performed by the great orchestras.  A pity, really.   

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On 28.2.2018 at 6:18 PM, Steve McQueen said:

Beautiful and transporting from the very first chord.  A sound world like no other. Without a doubt a true master with the strings.

The question to be asked is why Rozsa's concert works are not widely celebrated or performed by the great orchestras.  A pity, really.   

 

Because regular concertgoers are very conservative and repertoire beyond 1920 already seems too exotic (Rózsa is not alone in his fate). 

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Ah, I see I've misread the post.

 

Yeah, I would agree. Repertoire beyond the early-mid 1900s have a harder time surviving regular concert season programming, unless you're a superstar like John Adams, and even then, its slim pickings. 

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