Marcus

Greetings! I felt compelled to contribute since you brought Kurt Vonnegut into this, an artist not often spoken of in the same breath as John Williams, but certainly one who wrote succinctly and lucidly about the craft of writing. Which is what this is all about. First: Congratulations! You're on the right track! The kind of work/study ethic you've described, is precisely the effort needed to begin to aspire towards the kind of technical proficiency displayed by John Williams. It will likely take years and years and years to get there. But don't let that discourage you! Ravel used to say about Mozart: "I will never reach that level of mastery, but I go to work every morning just to see how close I can get" (and Ravel was no slouch!). In other words, there's good and even great music to be written at any level of proficiency. I think what Vonnegut referred to with "as close to the end as possible" deals mostly with literary form. So literally: Begin your narrative as close to the end of the story as possible (don't waste your reader's time). One could find several musical analogies to this statement, but I would personally opt for the analogy of stringency of musical material. Don't try to say to much, but rather focus on clarity in the presentation and development of a limited amount of material. As to deciphering all of Williams' various techniques and devices: There are no short cuts, no one simple discovery; it took Williams decades to build that arsenal, and it takes a long time to analyze, digest and internalize them (and even longer to make them "your own"). I started writing music seriously at 17, and everything up until my early-to-mid-twenties I would really consider juvenilia. Pretty much everything I wrote as an undergrad, and most of what I wrote as a grad student, I've now discarded (let's say all in all maybe 50-70 works).I am writing this to give an idea of the kind of effort ("sustained effort", as Williams once put it) it took me. I'm now going on 35, and I still look at each new Williams score as an opportunity to learn. I feel "initiated" enough not to perceive the technicalities as "hocus pocus" (a Vonnegut reference, for those who'll catch it), but I'm still thrilled by the infinite subtleties and playful elegance of it all, as well as the deeply compassionate way Williams responds as a musical dramatist. Perhaps there's also a link to Vonnegut in this: Both artists are profound humanists. I've always been a "pen&paper" composer, and remain uneducated in the field of digital engraving (to the chagrin of some of my commissioners, but thankfully, my publisher usually takes care of it). I can't objectively say whether or not this has given me any advantages, but I will say this: As a method, there's half a millennium's worth of precedence for its success, which ought to count for something. So, summing up my undoubtedly too long-winded response: Keep studying (as time goes by, and as you apply yourself, you'll find that more and more "secrets" naturally reveal themselves to you; certain peculiarities of craft sometimes seem to bypass one's analytical faculties, entering one's vocabulary in a practical manner first, only later to become part of one's cognitive apparatus), keep writing, and keep keeping at it! All best, Marcus

Oh, how I wish I could hear this! My smart phone is unfortunately not living up to its description in its attempt to listen to the HSO broadcast...

Given that it consists entirely of major chords, I think even its most militaristic statements carry positive connotations. Its (non antagonistic) use as counterpoint to Leia's theme in the end credits confirms the extramusical association.

Fabulous score, with two of the greatest musical death scenes of all time.

I still enjoy 4331! But for very taxing programs, I am all for including assistants. I've never had the privilege of an oversized section, but obviously more people per part adds a fullness that can help bring out broad cantilenas, add pitches to the harmonies, and alleviate what might otherwise prove to be very straining work for the musicians (similar to using two harps to help ease the amount of footwork involved, as well as having access to more than seven pitches at a time). Personally, I've had a lot of fun working with reduced number of players, and finding good and balanced slim versions of sections. In my recent "Hate Songs" for mezzo soprano and orchestra (Pasi&Mikko: The Finnish Chamber Orchestra will be doing this with Jukka Pekka Saraste at his festival in Ekenes in August), I only employed 2 horns, 1 trumpet and 1 trombone, as well as only 6 woodwinds (2121). It's often more a question of voicing, and of how you design the surrounding textures and sonorities.

Ticheli's response surprises me. I'd imagine someone like John Corigliano or John Adams would feel differently. Not to suggest that such is the case, but I have noticed a tendency for a more dismissive/less generous attitude from colleagues who aren't that high up on the "food chain", or rather: the more esteemed and secure, the more generous they are likely to be. So many composers of more traditionally oriented concert music wish they had not only the popularity Williams enjoys, but also his means of communicating so explicitly and directly with a broader audience. This popularity is then erronously assumed to stem from an inherent inferiority, a "negative" simplicity in the writing itself. Conversely, less popular music, less celebrated composers, will at times be deemed more "worthy" simply for their lack of appeal. This is pure snobbery, and absolute nonsense. Gershwin, Copland, Bernstein and Williams are all vastly different figures, with public personas and artistic legacies differing to such an extent that only in the broadest possible view may we really connect them (I agree that comparisons can be made, although I would perhaps substitute Copland for Duke Ellington). Gershwin and Williams are perhaps the two composers whose music is the most widely known and appreciated (and Bernstein for West Side Story), whereas Copland is iconic simply as the very image of the American Composer (especially for Americans; for Europeans that distinction might belong to Charles Ives). One would be hard pressed to find anyone else among contemporary American composers who would be better or even as qualified as Williams to embody the current continuation of this legacy, if we are to look for a legacy of not only artistic merit, but also cultural impact.

Loved the little tweaks in Williams' "Book Thief" suite. Although the music for "Gravity" does little for me, I'm very pleased to see Joe Trapanese on the podium! It seems like only yesterday we were at MSM (Manhattan School of Music) together, and knowing what a film music (and Williams!) fan he was, I'm sure this event must have been a great joy and triumph for him.

I'm truly saddened by this great loss. What an incredible actor, and what a beautiful portrayor of dignity and humanity in any character blessed by his gestalt. Dignity and humanity, by the way, aren't lost or surrendered by those struggling with addiction (whatever it may be), and I'm shocked by the callousness conveyed in a couple of posts here. I can hardly think of any circumstances at which death at 46 wouldn't be considered tragic. Quoth Kipling (and substitute "books" with "films"): "If I have given you delight by ought that I have done, Let me lie quiet in that night which shall be yours anon. And for the little, little span the dead are borne in mind, Seek not to question other than the books I leave behind." RIP Philip Seymour Hoffman

Amusing coincidence! It would of course be impossible -and impossibly boring- for composers to go about writing music this way; re-using and re-contextualizing already existing works. What happens, though, is this: Music is a shared language. Just like with any other common tongue, we inevitably end up uttering phrases (in this case: items of musical information) that have previously occured to other people, and will continue to do so as long as we have cultures to share and participate in. But this was certainly amusing, as far as coincidences go!

As beautiful as Shostakovich's 2nd Piano Concerto is (written for his son Maxim's graduation recital, btw), it's no more an "influence" on Williams' Book Thief finale than any other medium high range piano cantilena from a Mozart concerto, or similar fare. You will probably find literally dozens -if not hundreds- of similar examples. It just happens to be a range where the piano sings beautifully. What's really special about that Williams finale, though, is the gorgeous blend of piano, harp and vibraphone timbres, eschewing the more standardized string accompaniment.

Saddened by the news of Kilar's passing. A truly wonderful composer; may he rest while his works keep living restlessly!

David Raksin's rebuttal is really quite a delightful read: lucid, eloquent, poignant and even witty. In contrast, Stravinsky comes across as bloated, narcissistic and self-serving, and curiously out of touch not only with film music, but with the entire history of music!

Ah, interesting question! And certainly pertaining to one of my favorite aspects of Williams' harmonic writing. I can't think of any one single "culprit" here, but similar hybrids and harmonic conglomerates exist, although to my knowledge not with the same kind of "fluency": Messiaen's polymodality sometimes explores similar terrain, in terms of triadic structures embellished by modally unrelated sonorities (but they are still typically limited to Messiaen's modalities). And if we allow bi- and poly-modal and -tonal writing to account for some of these, I suppose one could argue that precedence can be found in anything from Bartok to Britten... Still, there's a uniqueness to Williams' particular structures, and I suppose they have to do mostly with context, but also with some of his intervallic and sonoric preferences: The example mentioned above is a good case in point. The way I see it, there are actually several "Williams-isms" at play here: The harmonic embellishment in and of itself is strikingly "williams-esque", as is the tonal tension between the implied G (Lydian) major tonality and the Eb minor chord. What I find interesting, is how much "character" each harmonic segment has. It seems to me that Williams would employ some of his trademark sets (0-8-11, 0-2-5 etc.) "regardless" of or in conjunction with a broader harmonic context; he treats them almost as individual colors, not mere harmonic extensions.

Congratulations! What a lovely anniversary to celebrate!

Oh, unquestionably. Although I enjoy the use of typewriter for "Atonement"'s opening sequence. @Blume: Sadly -yes, to a certain degree...

I personally find "The Book Thief" vastly superior to even the best efforts of most other composers likely to have been assigned such a gig.

I would encourage you to listen even more closely! This is actually one of Williams' more densely developed scores, in terms of thematic and "interthematic" construction. Themes and motifs morph into one another at different times, often in very subtle ways, but I'd say the very opening piano figure -seemingly so "inconsequential"- is a really important clue (it pops up in all kinds of different guises). And of course, that initial piano theme is treated to a beautiful transformation in the Finale. I can pretty much assure you, given the motivic work-out this score actually is, that this was no rushed or unenthusiastic effort. But it is very subtle! How often does Williams really develop his themes, though? I felt that the themes in Williams's last non-Spielberg effort, Memoirs of a Geisha, were relatively static as well. Couldn't disagree more. Sayuri's Theme, to name just one, goes through a variety of developments. I don't think it's even harmonized until "Confluence." From the B section JW derives the motif in "Going to School." The theme is deconstructed in "A Dream Discarded." And of course there's a whole slew of interesting developments in the end credits piece. Actually the Dream Discarded (or the Handkerchief Scene as Williams himself calls it) is a development and deconstruction of the Chiyo's Theme rather than that of Sayuri's Theme. Yes, but Sayuri's Theme is in of itself a transformation of Chiyo's Theme! Isn't it wonderful?

@filmmusic: I tend to rate composers, not individual scores/pieces, and I also tend to take the long view of those composers that interest me. As such, I see John Williams ouvre more as one corpus, and one that I find continually engaging and instructive. Granted, there will be pieces that resonate more strongly with me than others, but its the continuity of voice and growth in all of these efforts that I find so compelling.

Wonderful! And again, it's interesting to note just how much detail goes into something like "The Foot Race" even for something so ephemeral; clearly, Williams seizes the opportunity to have fun on his own, as well as accompanying the on screen activities.

Wish I could be there!

Incanus, not "I" consider it not fresh, it just isn't, by any standard. I already said that i don't actually care about the originality factor of scores like this, so what i said is directed at the bigger picture of the issue, though this seems futile. I'm now officially in the BT haters camp! I'm sorry, but the arrogance of Publicist's response here is a bit too overwhelming not to comment on: @Publicist: This is your point of view, and you can claim no more absolute objectivity in it than for instance those who would find this score positively brimming with fresh ideas. Personally, I've already noted several fresh aspects to this score even from the snippets and those three full tracks; some hitherto unheard of, and others remarkable expansions upon techniques explored elsewhere. I have no idea what sort of knowledge you possess as far as compositional craft goes, but the bi-tonality of "Foot Race" was very striking to me, as are both the thematic and harmonic construction of the main theme, and the final "suite" is developed most unusually: Rather than merely a suite of material from the score, this particular piece is more of a kaleidoscope, with its recurring piano motif a sort of lens through which the music is observed (or "read"). I think there's much more to this score than meets the eye (or ear?), and I look forward to studying it very keenly. Style is naturally a given, and the superficial similarities to previous efforts is in my view precisely a sign of originality, not lack thereof! The origin being a true and profoundly clear musical voice, and indeed one with an extraordinary range. What really strikes me the most with Williams' score for "The Book Thief" so far, is the exact opposite of the sort of sedate attitude you seem to detect, Publicist. I don't hear stagnation. I hear an unyielding sense of wonder.

I do; My "Music for Orchestra" is about to be published, along with a Flute Concertino, an orchestral "Lullaby" and a Concerto for Saxophone & Orchestra; these are all from 2012. From 2011 there's a Triple Concerto for Violin, Viola, Cello & Orchestra. Predating these are a number of works, including a few occasional fanfares, a number of works for string orchestra, ranging from shorter pieces to a rather lengthy 1st Symphony, and a host of works I tend to consider juvenilia... The Flute Concertino will be released digitally next year, along with my "Shostakovich in memoriam" for cello & strings (which will also be issued separately on vinyl later this year). As soon as my website is up, I'll post some of these (although some are already available through other media).

Greetings, everyone, and thank you so much for your generous and supportive comments; they mean a lot to me! @Prometheus: All the works are published by Norsk Musikforlag (Norwegian Music Publishers); "Trauermusik" and "4 Memento Mori" should be available already, whereas the Cello Sonata will follow shortly (still reading proofs for the engraved score, which is very time consuming). @Blume: Thank you so much! I would recommend ordering directly from Grappa (the second link in my initial post) or perhaps from AllMusic.com, or one of the European Amazon pages (if the US one only offers a digital download). I'll look into it some more...

Thank you very much! The "Trauermusik" tuning is (bottom to top) A-E-C-A.

Greetings everyone, Just a couple of weeks ago, Norwegian contemporary classical label AURORA issued the first album to solely portray my chamber music. The centerpiece is my Sonata for Cello and Piano, written for two of Norway's finest virtuosi, cellist Johannes Martens and pianist Joachim Kwetzinsky. The sonata is complimented by two solo works, Trauermusik for scordatura (detuned) cello, and 4 Memento Mori for solo piano. I'm immensely proud of the stellar performances by Martens and Kwetzinsky captured on this disc, and urge you to check out their work: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Marcus-Paus-Trauermusik-Memento-Sonata/dp/B00FESKLJS http://www.grappa.no/en/aurora/marcus-paus/ Hope you'll enjoy! Cheers, Marcus