Marcus

Any music that is good, which means that I tend to listen to mostly great classical music (there's plenty of not-so-great classical music too). But I love all kinds of music. As for film scores, I only really listen to a select few composers, like Korngold, Herrmann, Rosza, Waxman and Goldsmith. And John Williams, first and foremost. I'm mostly saddened by the decline in the art of film scoring (at least in Hollywood), but by the same token even more enthusiastic when I hear something new that shows promise. Goldenthal comes to mind. Early McNeely, perhaps...

Drugs are hardly "otherworldly"... I'm sorry for my lack of humor on the subject, but I'm looking at this from the point of view of a person who's been in a relationship with a woman who went to rehab twice, for cocaine and heroin, and I really refuse to see drugs as anything but a scourge and a tragedy.

I think Williams' personality, integrity and artistic sincerity would thankfully preclude him from ever being caught up in the scenarios mentioned above. As for the death of a beloved, I'm sure such a tragedy affected Williams as deeply as it would any other human being, and I'm equally sure that one would trade all one's wins to redeem such a loss in a heartbeat.

Congratulations, Congratulations!! Salutations, and all my best wishes, Marcus

Hooray for Elgar! What a wonderful and very underrated composer! Happy Birthday!

When asked: How do you write music, Tchaikovsky replied "Sitting down". Mozart said: "I write music like the sow pisses". The process is on one level very simple, on the other, more complex. When I work on a commission, I sit down, and I write the music, which "comes to me", as they say, and effortlessly. Now, the next step is to be vigilant about your ideas, and filter them. Certain things will emerge that I might revise upon later inspection, or deem less appropriate for the task at hand. The ideas come from the music we've digested as listeners and studiers of music, and from the experience we've had as artists and craftsmen. Generally, it gets easier and easier, but you also get more and more critical... I can always write music, and at the same level of technical quality. The other qualities are somehow more elusive, and depend on "form" (good days&bad days) and talent. I find that I like to work at the piano, but most often, I come up with my basic material away from it. It is great, however, to listen to the ambience of an idea in the room, the "decay" of the music, so to speak, and I find it more enjoyable to do this with the music at my fingertips. Most composers I know tend to work in a relatively similar way, with individual variations, and my guess is that Williams does too.

Gkgyver, I completely respect that you like Shore as much as you do. But Williams is in an entirely different category, speaking now as a professional looking at both men's talent, technique and achievements. Shore simply doesn't possess the skill or refinement or knowledge that is Williams'. John Williams easily ranks with Prokofiev. Shore with James Newton Howard. Which isn't bad at all for what it is, but it's a very different league.

I humbly disagree. Separated from the film, Shore's score loses most of its impact, and Williams' doesn't. The reason is as obvious as it is undemocratic: Williams is a great, classical composer, and Shore is an average film composer. I I find this most poignantly illustrated by orchestra's reaction to these scores: I have only heard negative feedback as far as "LotR" is concerned, and only enthusiastic remarks with Williams and "Star Wars". "LotR" does not belong in the concert hall.

I would just like to say that "Binary Sunset" is easily one of the single most effective and beautiful moments in film music history. "LOTR" has no such moment. "Binary Sunset" is why I became a composer.

Gkgyver: I can see your mind is made up! Shore's work on "LOTR" may or may not be exceptional in its thematic coherency, but it lacks so much in terms of sheer musical qualities, as far as HOW the music is developed. Williams, being an infinately greater composer than Shore, has so many more layers to his thematic development.

Gkgyver: "Star Wars" comes to mind, as far as trilogies with more complex character development in terms of musical score...

Boston Pops! Although I love LSO, there's something about Williams' recordings with the pops that just captures a certain aspect of his music so well.

What a silly, silly list... I am glad to see that Williams got as much recognition as he did, though. But Shore? And for LOTR, which is not even high calibre writing? Then again, Zimmer shouldn't be on the list at all. Good someone had the sense to vote for Shostakovich and Walton. Was Prokofiev on there? No Herrmann?? And Goldsmith at the very last? Uninformed readers,I guess...

I really love "Ghost Train". And the lyrical theme is truly beautiful. I love those "profound destiny" themes of his. And it really is related to "Anakin's Theme", as it should be. It just shows how Williams responds to these majestic ideas, of inevitable "larger than life" fates. I can't wait to see the episode in question; it seems like a very touching Spielberg story, a sort of "Old Man's" version of "E.T."

You are absolutely right, Mark. Publicist! Here are my arguments: "Escape From The City" is an almost solely atmospheric cue. But for being a cue that almost never rises dynamically above 'mp', it is quite brilliant to maintain a dramatic interest throughout mre then nine minutes of music. Orchestrationally, it is beautifuly crafted, and sonorically and harmonically, I find the slight hints of the "Prologue" clusters (and other dense harmonic content) very interesting. It is also nicely shaped, roughly in a sort of ABA + coda. I also like the duality between the soft female choral textures and the low and ominous male (sub-) vocal writing. As for "The Geenhouse Effect", well, this cue actually contains my favorite passage from "Minority Report", the haunting electric harpsichord solo at ca. 3.45. Most of this cue is atmospheric too, but, again, wonderfully orchestrated, and with harmonies that I personally can't get enough of (I love transcribing these cues). But the passage I find so haunting is the one mentioned above. It has this almost mythical ancient quality to it, and underscores the point of the dialogue at that point brilliantly (how all things only wish for their own survival, and will do anything to achieve it, when forced). I think what gives it this mythical, ancient quality to me, is the combination of its great simplicity and great complexity: harmonically, it shifts between two simple chordalities (i and iv/ Abm and Dbmaddb6), but melodically we hear both natural 2 and b2 against the tonic, and maj7, min7 and b9 against the subdominant, which gives the music a sense of sounding familiar and new at the same time. It also has a quality of musical "truthfulness" or "authenticity", qualities Williams' music is constantly imbued with.

Oh, I see... I didn't know that. "The Twilight of Neo", then...

Definately music, and quite good!

By that same token, make a convincing case why they are not.

Do you mean Wagner's "Twilight of the Gods" (Götterdämmerung)?

My guess is, the ancient Greeks. In more recent history, Monteverdi and Schütz. It has been well established from Carl Maria von Weber on. The closest thing to a musical term is really "mixed choir". But for extramusical connotations, I'd go with "religioso" or "drammatico".

I don't think any of those scores can possibly be characterized as less than great, by any standard. "Minority Report" is, I think, one of Williams' most underrated efforts, and very complex and compelling. With one of the most beautifully scored "love-scenes" I have ever seen (where Anderton watches the holograms of his son and then his wife). It is a magnificent score!

I think it is best to write the dynamic you would want in a normal acoustic environment, meaning a 'mf' in a good trumpet range will still be quite resonant, depending on its sonic surroundings. In tuttis, however, I think one can be a little bit more lax, as a conductor should address any balance issues that may arise depending on the hall. As for orchestrations, I think your rule of thumb should be to only use what you need, and don't double something just for the sake of doing it. Rests are fine, especially for brass players. They like to breathe too. The horns are wonderful doublers, melodically and harmonically, and a typical Williams device is to have them supported by one solo trumpet, for more definition and clarity. You don't need them with your trombones unless that is the color you're after. They can sometimes be an interesting option for low brass writing, though, as they offer a much more somber (but less focused) sound. Usually, chances are slim that your horns will cover a trumpet.I would be careful to write too low for them, unless you want that dark sound. Also, it can be dangerous to write consistently very high for extended periods of time. Be kind and considerate, and your orchestrations will benefit greatly from it!

By style, I mean simply a set of techniques and preferances. Although Williams has covered a vast array of musical styles and textures, they all stem from the same fundamental "style", which I am prepared to discuss in great detail, should anyone be interested.

Also, I have no problem comparing Williams and Boulez as composers strictly in terms of craftsmanship. I don't care what the music was written for! It would be absurd, for instance, to deem Williams a "B" composer simply based on the medium he serves. Music is music, and craft is craft. Anything else would be silly and snobbish. Boulez is a fine orchestrator, though. But the whole post-Webernistic school is really a parenthesis in the history of music. I wouldn't take it too seriously..

I am afraid that you misunderstand where I'm coming from here. Since roughly the 30's, and steadily more from WWII on, "avant-garde" (frontline) has been synonymous with a modernist (non-traditional) artistic/ aesthetic outlook. I'm looking at this from the point of view of a classically trained professional composer who is tired of the absence of great craft in most contemporary music (and art in general), and who is thrilled to find it alive and well in the works of Williams, be it film- or concert music. Of course one wouldn't compare a soundtrack to a symphony. But to other theatrical and stage works, perhaps? I find Boulez terribly overrated, by the way, both as a composer and a conductor.