Film (movie) Music

[vandermolen]

A recent acquisition and a good one. 



A fairly 'standard' programme to be sure but Morton Gould is always good in type of repertoire and the LSO is dependably brilliant.  Part of the interest is that this was originally on the Varese label and was the 1st "digital" recording of the Star Wars excerpts from just a year after the soundtrack was recorded.  The downside is rather glassy/brash early DDD recording but still a great programme from my point of view....

Looks like a great disc. My first ever LP featuring the music by Vaughan Williams (purchased when I was still at school) was conducted by Morton Gould:

[Roasted Swan]

Looks like a great disc. My first ever LP featuring the music by Vaughan Williams (purchased when I was still at school) was conducted by Morton Gould:

That LP is downloadable as FLAC from KlassicHaus here;

https://klassichaus.us/Music-by-Vaughan-Williams-and-Coates.php

I have it and it sounds very good.  The Tallis is genuinely excellent - beautifully played and still sounding fine for a recording made nearly 60 years ago!  Gould was a genuinely impressive conductor good across a wide range of repertoire (much like Bernard Herrmann).  But like Herrmann he was notoriously prickly and also had the bad luck to be pidgeon-holed as a "light" composer/conductor.  He was much more than that - a fine all round musician.  Infamously Bernstein rarely (never?) programmed his music during his time in New York which given their similar backgrounds is just odd.  Hard not to put it down to professional rivalry/jealousy....

[W.A. Mozart]

The Prince of Egypt (1998) - Score with images - Best parts of the suite (Hans Zimmer)

The animated film "Prince of Egypt" (1998) was nominated in 1999 for the Oscar "Best Original Musical Or Comedy Score". The music has been composed by Hans Zimmer.

The video, which contains a selection of the best parts of the suite, is structured as follows:
00:00 Burning Bush
09:05 Desert Montage
14:47 Chariot Race
17:52 Epilogue Final [main theme and final climax]

[W.A. Mozart]

The film "The Red Violin" (1998) won the Oscar "Best Original Score" in 2000. The music has been composed by John Corigliano.

The video, which contains a selection of the best parts of the suite, is structured as follows:
00:00 Oxford. Coitus Musicalis; Victoria's Departure [main theme]
04:42 Vienna. Kaspar's Audition; Journey to Vienna
07:24 Oxford. Pope's Betrayal
10:27 Shanghai. People's Revolution; Death of Chou Yuan
13:45 Cremona. Death of Anna
15:32 Anna's Theme [final reprise of the main theme with climax]

[vandermolen]

That LP is downloadable as FLAC from KlassicHaus here;

https://klassichaus.us/Music-by-Vaughan-Williams-and-Coates.php

I have it and it sounds very good.  The Tallis is genuinely excellent - beautifully played and still sounding fine for a recording made nearly 60 years ago!  Gould was a genuinely impressive conductor good across a wide range of repertoire (much like Bernard Herrmann).  But like Herrmann he was notoriously prickly and also had the bad luck to be pidgeon-holed as a "light" composer/conductor.  He was much more than that - a fine all round musician.  Infamously Bernstein rarely (never?) programmed his music during his time in New York which given their similar backgrounds is just odd.  Hard not to put it down to professional rivalry/jealousy....

Interesting thanks. Apparently Stravinsky walked out of a performance of Bernstein's 'Jeremiah Symphony' (a work I greatly admire) and Bernstein walked out of a concert of music by Alan Hovhaness. I wonder if this was an example of psychological projection.

[vandermolen]

Now playing:

[VonStupp]

Ralph Vaughan Williams
49th Parallel
BBC Concert Orchestra - Martin Yates

The opening and closing musical idea is a whole lot of fun! I have heard it in its choral and pipe organ guise as The New Commonwealth; not sure about orchestral.
VS

[relm1]

Starting at 2:19 of this clip, that moment is so hauntingly beautiful.  Full of so many emotions of nostalgia, as if for just a moment, all the universes answers are within reach and the meaning of life itself is about it be revealed to you.
What a piece of music! It makes me yearn for memories long gone.

[Cato]

Now playing: Miklos Rozsa: Ben-Hur

I think I became a Classicist because I saw this movie on the BIG screen (Filmed in 70 mm) in 1959!

And I also developed my interest in Classical Music because of Rozsa's evocative score!


I happened to crank this up today on the old "Victrola":


David Shire: Return to Oz

[Roasted Swan]

I think I became a Classicist because I saw this movie on the BIG screen (Filmed in 70 mm) in 1959!

And I also developed my interest in Classical Music because of Rozsa's evocative score!


I happened to crank this up today on the old "Victrola":


David Shire: Return to Oz

I bought the DVD of "Return to Oz" in a Charity Shop for £1 because of praise for Shire's score rather than admiration for the film but I've still not watched it(!)  What is your opinion on the score/film?  I like Shire's music - especially his Musical Theatre collaborations with Richard Maltby.

[Cato]

I bought the DVD of "Return to Oz" in a Charity Shop for £1 because of praise for Shire's score rather than admiration for the film but I've still not watched it(!)  What is your opinion on the score/film? I like Shire's music - especially his Musical Theatre collaborations with Richard Maltby.

I bought the DVD of "Return to Oz" in a Charity Shop for £1

That was a deal!   

The score is wonderful, with several bags of tricks in the scoring: I think I described it once as "Aaron Copland has a party for Scott Joplin and Prokofiev which Penderecki crashes," and yet the score is still one by David Shire.

The movie is fairly dark, with Dorothy sent to a seemingly sane doctor who attempts to cure her depression and obsessive dreams with "electricity."

No singing or dancing in this one!  It has some funny moments, with a chicken named Billina acting as a Greek chorus.

It is based upon Books II and III of the original series of Oz stories: Dorothy again must go on a quest, and gathers helpers along the way.  But she is much more forceful this time, and cautious rather than timid.  I find the Tik-Tok character slows things down, but otherwise the movie is a favorite.

The opening scenes in Kansas, however, are absolutely brilliant!

And the score by David Shire is a marvel by itself.

Certainly it is worth the money you paid!  Have fun!

[Roasted Swan]

I bought the DVD of "Return to Oz" in a Charity Shop for £1

That was a deal!   

The score is wonderful, with several bags of tricks in the scoring: I think I described it once as "Aaron Copland has a party for Scott Joplin and Prokofiev which Penderecki crashes," and yet the score is still one by David Shire.

The movie is fairly dark, with Dorothy sent to a seemingly sane doctor who attempts to cure her depression and obsessive dreams with "electricity."

No singing or dancing in this one!  It has some funny moments, with a chicken named Billina acting as a Greek chorus.

It is based upon Books II and III of the original series of Oz stories: Dorothy again must go on a quest, and gathers helpers along the way.  But she is much more forceful this time, and cautious rather than timid.  I find the Tik-Tok character slows things down, but otherwise the movie is a favorite.

The opening scenes in Kansas, however, are absolutely brilliant!

And the score by David Shire is a marvel by itself.

Certainly it is worth the money you paid!  Have fun!

Happy Days! - thankyou

[vandermolen]

This is a fabulous two CD set. Maybe because I'm listening on my brand new amplifier (Cambridge Audio) the sound is incredible and this the most complete version of this hauntingly dark score:

[Roy Bland]

In this work Pino Donaggio employs a more advanced language

[relm1]

This is a fabulous two CD set. Maybe because I'm listening on my brand new amplifier (Cambridge Audio) the sound is incredible and this the most complete version of this hauntingly dark score:

I saw this performed in concert (maybe a 25 minute symphonic suite complete with the serpents).  What was most exciting to me was sitting right next to Goldsmith's family as it was a tribute concert!  His widow was very sweet and friendly, overjoyed at the reception.  Joel Goldsmith (a talented composer in his own right) sat right in front of me and seemed very sweet and engaging but sadly died a few months later.  I never met Jerry but he had a reputation for being cantankerous a bit like Bernard Herrmann, but I recall absolutely none of that from Joel or Carrie who seemed to genuinely delighted by Goldsmith's fans. 

[vandermolen]

I saw this performed in concert (maybe a 25 minute symphonic suite complete with the serpents).  What was most exciting to me was sitting right next to Goldsmith's family as it was a tribute concert!  His widow was very sweet and friendly, overjoyed at the reception.  Joel Goldsmith (a talented composer in his own right) sat right in front of me and seemed very sweet and engaging but sadly died a few months later.  I never met Jerry but he had a reputation for being cantankerous a bit like Bernard Herrmann, but I recall absolutely none of that from Joel or Carrie who seemed to genuinely delighted by Goldsmith's fans. 

How wonderful! I'm most jealous 

[Ian]

This is a fabulous two CD set. Maybe because I'm listening on my brand new amplifier (Cambridge Audio) the sound is incredible and this the most complete version of this hauntingly dark score:

Which amp did you get? I'm looking for a new amp & CD/SACD player but I don't really know where to start. The more I look, the more choices there are!
Currently the Sugden A21 and Musical Fidelity A1 amps have picked my interest but I have no idea if they are suitable for classical. Is there even such a thing?
I'm lost   

[vandermolen]

Which amp did you get? I'm looking for a new amp & CD/SACD player but I don't really know where to start. The more I look, the more choices there are!
Currently the Sugden A21 and Musical Fidelity A1 amps have picked my interest but I have no idea if they are suitable for classical. Is there even such a thing?
I'm lost   

Cambridge Audio AX R85
I'd recommend it as excellent value.

[Roasted Swan]

I think this might be an old list from Classic FM of "The 10 greatest Film Composers of ALL TIME" [my caps].  Probably if they called it "The 10 film composers we play most on Classic FM" it might be nearer the truth.  What is genuinely hilarious is that a list of this kind - contentious at the best of times - can include Howard Shore or Rachel Portman or Thomas Newman but miss off Korngold, Rozsa and Waxman to name but three.  Foolish me for letting these things irk me but they do.

[VonStupp]

Dmitri Shostakovich
Alone
Hamlet
Pirogov (ed. Atovmian)
The Gadfly
Counterplan
Sofia Perovskaya
The Great Citizen
Tale of the Silly Little Mouse (ed. Cornall)

Alexander Kerr, violin
Fay Lovsky, theremin
Concertgebouw - Riccardo Chailly

Chailly is an obvious proponent of Shostakovich, at least the light music. Shame I don't see anything from him of the symphonies or concertos.
VS