Marcus

Al, thank you so much! Best, Marcus

Shot ugly? I think Spielberg's and Kaminski's visuals are about as stunning, well-conceived and beautifully executed cinematographic work as anything I've ever seen... And simply marvellously "thought-out", on so many levels. The craftsmanship of it is profoundly deep. And completely informed by the narrative; it's really a great example of form and content being one and the same. I am afraid I don't understand where you're coming from...

Glad to see you like it too!

I haven't seen Superman Returns yet, but I was watching Richard Donner's Superman a few nights ago, and I found myself once again quite moved by how innocent film making seemed to still be back then. Sure, some scenes might be a little "dated" by today's standards, but that's really neither here nor there... The beautiful naivete of the flying sequence... I am deeply saddened by this aesthetic's implausability in contemporary film. Steven Spielberg is one of the very few current directors who has retained a great sense of traditional drama, of economy and of, -there's that word again-, innocence. This is certainly off topic, but one of the great surprises of "Munich" (which is an absolute masterpiece), was just how unashamed it was to let its (gorgeous) music be a real part of the narrative, and not just sonic props, which is what we usually get to hear in most contemporary films...

Corigliano thinks very highly of Williams. He liked Goldsmith a lot too. And Rosenmann.

I have to say, from studying Williams' scores very closely, that the one word that strikes me is "economy": There's very little on the page, and only what needs to be there. There are some tutti moments, as in "Across the Stars", where Williams pulls a "Tchaikovsky", but I find this to be very effective. Also, I think in general, Williams has about as much inner voice activity as the music can bear without losing clarity. Check out the violin concerto, 1st and 3rd movements. I really always feel that his doublings have a very clear purpose, and wouldn't have wanted them changed in the least, as it would have sacrificed the effect he obviously desired. Let us not forget that Williams is a more experienced composer and orchestrator than most classical and leonized composers throughout history. He knows what he wants and how to get it.

It is a marvellous and very beautiful score, and perfect for both the deep tragedy and very humane and non-violent heroism of the film.

This thread is bringing back a lot of wonderful memories from my early childhood... I had a huge crush on Arcee! (I generally fell for animated female characters, frequently non-human...) Who wrote the original theme? I want to say that I read somewhere that it was written by Wendy Carlos, but that seems a little unlikely... I would actually love to see the original theme brought back for this.

Thank you for posting this! It gives a very definite answer to the initial question. And a profoundly true answer it is.

For supremely nostalgic reasons, I'm actually quite excited about this. What was the name of that pink female sports car? She was pretty hot...

Yes, and he is probably one of the only composers left in Hollywood to be doing this. Mostly because he is a better and more experienced orchestrator than the other orchestrators working in the industry today. Occasionally, cues (especially smaller cues) will bypass a scoring crew entirely, and parts will simply be extracted from Williams' sketches.

"The Days Between" is a siciliana, and is in 6/8 and 3/4. A waltz is traditionally in 3/4, but sometimes one can "phrase" a waltz in other meters. "The Ballroom Scene" (which is magnificent!) is in 4/4 initially. The second half (from the B-theme and on) is in 3/8. The return of the A-theme is either duplets over three, or triplets over two, but the overall feel can be said to be that of a waltz (minus the initial thematic statements).

Yes, I have been very lucky indeed... I am forever grateful for the helpful and very insightful advice and observations he offered.

Yes, Williams has a large so-called "scoring crew". But they are only blowing up his very detailed sketches to full size scores, and aren't (as ageneral rule ) adding anything, and certainly not without his supervision. Williams is ALL Williams.

Contact Hal Leonard. They have it available for rental only. VERY expensive, unfortunately...

I have to say, tony69, that I find your statements puzzling... Have you looked at "Five Sacred Trees"? It is extremely concise in its development, and great evidence to the contrary of your statements. I also think we should rethink our ideas of what constitutes "anachronisms" and what "neoromanticism" is. Williams is neither "anachronistic" nor "neoromantic". We have to remember that he is one of the very few composers today to grow organically out of a tradition: His language is neither a conscious recollection of past styles nor a stagnant take on the romanticism of, say, the 1880's to the 1900's-1910's... He inherited tradition from his teacher Castelnuovo-Tedesco (who inherited it from Ildebrand Pizzetti and Respighi) and from composers such as Korngold, which you mention, and has added to that language constantly, and has been singularly successful in making every technical and "stylistic" addition his own. Schenkerian analysis is really not a tool to determine any other musical property than a general tendency of tonalities, and will not "prove" anything pertaining to the quality of Williams' writing. His orchestrations are better than Respighi's, better than Berlioz' and as good (but very different) as those of Ravel's. His doublings are very effective and very modern. And strikingly personal. There are no redundancies in his doublings; rather, he creates new "super-instruments" (like the "grand marimba" in the opening of "Catch Me If You Can" (marimba,pno,cl,vibes). You seem to suggest that a French-Russian- Italian( though not really) romantic-impressionistic aesthetic is somehow more "valid". Williams is one of the very greatest orchestrators known to me (and orchestration is something I take very seriously). As for "inversions" and other (very simple) developmental procedures, well, TAKE A CLOSER LOOK!!

I think it is fair to say that Zimmer, and with him MediaVentures, and with them, the current trend in Hollywood film scoring in general, -these are the most overrated composers working in film today, and some of the most overrated and over-paid musicians in history. Hollywood is lazy, artistically speaking, and in great decline (with a few notable exceptions).

Very true on all counts, JediWashington!! I've always found that the "elite" respects and admires John Williams greatly (John Corigliano, Yo-Yo Ma, Richard Danielpour, Andrew Litton, Gil Shaham, etc.), whereas "academia" will treat with scepticism anything that cannot be defended on purely analytical terms, and anything that does not adhere to a modernist conception of history and musical evolution. Williams will survive them all, though...

Williams is more of a household name than any other film composer in history. Maybe most of today's teenagers don't associate his name with his legendary music, but mature audiences certainly do. And we shouldn't forget that Williams is one of America's most internationally renowned and celebrated classical musicians. I think it is important to remember that Williams comes out of a classical tradition, after all, and as such belongs to a different ray of the "limelight" than, say, Zimmer or Elfman.

Because I find it very forgettable... It is well crafted, but not sufficiently lyrical (and it really aims to be a lyrical concerto). To be diplomatic, Kaska is a talented but somewhat "unfinished" composer, and not quite ready to "share the bill" with John Williams... His music is completely obliterated by the luminous company...

Considering the general decline in film music these past 15 years or so, I think one can claim with great validity that Goldsmith remained one of the absolute best practitioners of his craft in Hollywood.

The trumpet concerto is a wonderful piece, and so is the Essay for Strings. The recording and production isn't great, though, and I don't care for Sandoval's rendition of the piece. Now, if it had been Michael Sachs or Tim Morrison... Kevin Kaska's pieces are nice, but quite forgettable.

I LOVE this score!! It is extremely effective, and a very interesting departure from the first Poltergeist score. Some of the choral writing in particular ( the eerie breathing/moaning/whispering sounds with orchestra and synths) is incredibly terrifying. As a young child, I remember finding the music extremely frightening...

Jerry Goldsmith was one of the greatest there ever will be. Some of his most exceptional scores were penned relatively early in his (long) career, but his writing was consistently stellar. Always.

Greetings, and thank you for your comment! Corigliano continues to be a very important influence in my life and music. He seems to have the ability to make every piece he writes the "ideal" representation of itself, an ability I find incredibly impressive. I also like his approach to musical architecture, and his approach to the entire creative process. I must say, the lessons I've had with him have been absolutely fantastic! He is such a generous, intelligent and kind teacher, and truly one of the greatest composers alive today... I'm glad you like him too!