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All the people who work for these kind of big studio productions are obliged to Non-Disclosure Agreement, so it's perfectly understandable they cannot go into details. It's great that Conrad Pope is sharing pictures and comments about his involvement, though. I think it's very kind on his part to take time to read and reply to almost anyone who writes to him asking questions (which sometimes are closer to bothering!). He's a true gentleman.

So I came back a couple of hours ago from London where we had our meeting and a concert. It was a blast, truly. Much better than I expected. If you get a chance to catch a performance near you, by any means, go. But even if you don't all those performances in two countries might not be the end, as Elfman has reportedly a list of places all around the world that he'd like to visit. In a way having less to do with the format of orchestral concerts and having a broader appeal. But in a good sense. The performance presented every single Burton/Elfman feature film. Only few of them in a shorter main title format known from films/albums. Indeed most of the scores were presented in a longer suite like medleys (not completely unlike Friday's Titanic and Avatar in Vienna). There was no talking during the performance, no introductions. Just pure music, one piece after the other with titles been shown on the screen above (along with Tim Burton drawings and some shots from films). Lydia Kavina, a renowned thereminist (known from a lot of Howard Shore's works) along with BBC Concert Orchestra and 45-piece choir, the ensemble filled an entire stage of Royal Albert Hall. As an overture they played main titles from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (with Kavina's solos) which segued directly into two suites from Pee-Wee's Big Adventure and Beetlejuice in longer forms. What's interesting about all those suites is that they are not a verbatim translations of music heard on albums and you can hear certain changes in orchestrations here and there. For example, Corpse Bride suite consisted of main titles music which was followed by Victor's piano solos. And that part was expanded considerably, leaning towards Elfman's writing from Serenada Schizophrana's first movement. And what followed was a choral sections from Wedding Song (which I absolutely adore). These kind of changes appear elsewhere as well. For a example Batman/Batman Returns contained the waltz arranged accompanied by chorus. The rest of this suite consisted of the main title, Batmobile scene, then the mentioned waltz, followed by Penguin and Catwoman themes from the second film's end credits, the segment from Birth of Penguin, his death scene and then finale from the first film. A boy soprano led suite from Sleepy Hollow (with completely different arrangements to those heard on soundtrack album) was one of the more low-key performances, similarly to Big Fish and Dark Shadows (of which they performed the prologue sequence). But that is a good thing, the concert was very well structured with the music being presented in a varied and entertaining way. Each score had its own unique "thing" and thus they didn't blend into one. One of the surprisingly entertaining elements was a resurrection scene from Frankenweenie performed to a scene from the film (with no sound) Only a couple of scores were represented with their main titles: Charlie, Mars Attacks! (which the audience loved), Alice In Wonderland and Planet of the Apes. That last work was originally supposed to be performed with 10 guys walking onto stage while stomping and playing different percussive instruments. It proved to be impossible, largely due to the size of stage. And the pieces ended up being a mixture of live orchestral percussion and synth overlay known from the soundtrack album. The final longer orchestral suite was Edward Scissorhands, clear fan favourite judging from the audience reactions. And probably one of the strongest and fulfilling pieces. Among the pieces performed were main titles, cookie's factory, the insane violin solos from Edward the Barber, and The Grand Finale. After that, the orchestra played some orchestral passages from The Nightmare Before Christmas while Danny Elfman walked onto the stage and performed Jack's Lament, What's This? (played live to the scene), Sally's Song (guest performed, to the audience's surprise by Helena Bonham-Carter) and Jack's Obsession, Poor Jack. Elfman, clearly stressed out by his first performance in years, got better and better with each minute. He didn't just sing the songs, the performed Jack's character on stage. And the audience loved every second of it. It's interesting his voice hasn't changed a whole lot since the films' release. The final piece of the evening was (already mentioned) Alice's Theme. The only difference to the album version was that the chorus was joined by boy soprano, to make words more understandable (I would imagine). It was a boisterous and fittingly grand way to finish the concert. Elfman performed one more song (Oogie Boogie's Song) as an encore and the concert was over to a lengthy standing ovation. Elfman said only one sentence: Thank you for providing me with what may be the best moment of my life. I'm not exactly sure whether Royal Albert Hall is the best place to perform this type of music, as the detail in louder parts became somewhat lost, sound was slightly inconsistent throughout performance, but that's probably largely due to the venue. But the energy was there regardless, so that's just a minor issue. I'm sure the show will get better and better with each evening. And also the audience wasn't exactly the type of crowd that comes to orchestral performances, as they start to clap when a familiar pieces starts. But then again, Danny Elfman never had a huge respect for academia and, as a consequence, their savoir-vivre rules so maybe it was only fitting people showed their enthusiasm in a more natural way. It's just a pity that overwhelmed the music in a few spots. Before the concert some of us (Thor, Jim Ware, fommes and some really lovely people from FSM and maintitles.net) met up in a restaurant and were joined for a little bit by none other than Richard Kraft, who answered some of our questions and teased the performance. After the performance most of us went for some drinks and that was indeed quite lovely. As I said, I would go and see it again. In fact I'm tempted to attend Thursday performance in Birmingham, but that depends on a few things (transport being one of them). Karol

Not true. Hans Zimmer actually exists. Wish Hans Zimmer was just an idea.

I'm a horse?

I hope Pope will mention Shore's name in passing when he recieves his Oscar for DOS...

Across the sea... Over the horizoooonnn... The ships have come to carry him hooooommmmeeee..... Sleep nooooooow...And dream of the ones who came before....

http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/robert-watts/27590/robert-watts-on-producing-star-wars-indiana-jones-and-more Some nice fresh insight in there and just an all round smashing interview, god bless his grizzled pro style and old school matter-of-factness

I love the aleatoric stuff and think its one of the most defining aspects of the LotR sound. I also find it one of the most fascinating components of modern concert music.

YES! And on several other pieces too. God, I have so much to share -- pictures, stories (for both Vienna and London) -- but I'll have to let it sink in first.

I think it gives it a old/classic movie theater feel..

"The idea was to be a symbol. Howard Shore could be anybody. That was the point"

I asked: So his answer is not really "Howard was not here," but it could go very close.

I was referring to the recent one of course! Whew! I was worried you were seriously out of the internet loop!

conrad pope also does that

heed the words of the great Bartok...

Competitions can be worthwhile, if you win. But that whole world has a set of its own politics and problems, and everything I've ever heard from composers, teachers, and my own instincts tells me to stay away from them.

You mean Em9#11#13? It reminds me of Debussy's 'tonal saturation' in Jeux. As an aside, I've always loved the hot, steamy sound of this signature chord, and wish it was used more during the trilogy. It's got one other appearance later in the film in the untitled R11P1 (dubbed 'System Ready') - it's the final chord, measure 12 to the end. Here Ludwig's suggestion about it being an extended chord really rings true. Here's the voicing: E in octaves then G-B-C#-D-F#-Bb.

Maybe Pope was with Plan 9 all along?

Danger motif for the Capulets!

I am sure Horner would not forget to invite him.

I'd like that. Hopefully Prokofiev does a cameo as well. Karol

Fix'd Fixed!

Another PIC: Jon Dante (trumpet from the NZSO)...put this on FB: THe RECORDINGS SESSIONS OF DOS FINISHED LAST NIGHT!!!! With Conrad Pope, conductor and orchestrator With PJ And ...yes... Conrad Pope is conducting the orchestra...

Hey hey hey! Some of us get a huge buzz out of knowing that this is the venue where DoS score is recorded and soon that floor will be flooded with musicians and Mr. Pope and Mr. Shore, all ready to make some musical magic happen. And you can clearly see a member of technical staff or some assistant wandering at the back right there!

Since it's October. I started my ShocktoberFest (for lack of a better word) of scores in chronological order of US release date. Wednesday Oct. 2nd... Planet Of The Apes (1968) - Jerry Goldsmith Halloween (1978) 20th Anniversary - John Carpenter Alien (Intrada) 2-CD - Jerry Goldsmith Thursday Oct. 3rd... John Carpenter's The Fog (1980) 2-CD Silva Screen - John Carpenter Friday The 13th (1980) (LLLR) - Harry Manfredini Friday The 13th Part 2 (LLLR) - Harry Manfredini Halloween II (1981) 30th Anniversary - John Carpenter In Association with Alan Howarth Friday Oct. 4th... Poltergeist (FSM) - Jerry Goldsmith Friday The 13th Part 3 (LLLR) - Harry Manfredini Halloween III: Season Of The Witch (25th Anniversary) - John Carpenter In Association With Alan Howarth Twilight Zone: The Movie (FSM) - Jerry Goldsmith Friday The 13th: The Final Chapter (LLLR) - Harry Manfredini Monday Oct. 7th...

What is it with this recent Goldsmith kick I've been on? Even with two JW scores on that list, my first instinct (and therefore my vote) was for The Mummy. Definitely a return to larger-scale stuff, and just a fantastic filling-out of an entertaining action yarn. - Uni

Randy Kerber, piano soloist on The Book Thief at Fox in LA pic.twitter.com/EkmcXScKzf

I'm so glad I was able to go to this in the end, it was a truly fantastic evening! So many highlights, but seeing and hearing Danny Elfman sing a selection of songs from A Nightmare Before Christmas as Jack Skellington (and the rapturous standing ovation he received from the packed Royal Albert Hall) is another thing off my bucket list. He looked genuinely moved by the audience response and thanked everyone for giving him "the best moment of his life." Bless!

with Steef playing David Hyde Pierce playing Conrad Pope!!! That's epic!!!

Kelsey grammer for Williams biopic, please!

His Reichenbach ep is great though

While travelling from Vienna to London: Memoirs of a Geisha Suite, War Horse, Lincoln, The Adventures of Tintin, 1st Violin Concerto, Angela's Ahes Suite (with narrator), War of the Worlds, Jaws (original album). All of that pretty much non-stop. Karol