Film Score Friday 5/19/00
by Lukas Kendall
John Barry will be conducting the orchestra for a giant event planned
in London next Friday, May 26, 7:30PM, "Britain Salutes Elizabeth
Taylor." Here's the press release that was going around:
Britain Salutes Elizabeth Taylor Friday 26 May 2000 7:30 pm - Tickets
available
Tickets: £100, £50.00, £30.00, £20.00
Elizabeth Taylor will be in attendance at this star-studded spectacular
event featuring major artists performing songs from famous films and musicals
accompanied by an orchestra conducted by legendary John Barry. Artists
currently confirmed include Charles Aznavour, Tony Bennett, Andrea Bocelli,
Lesley Garrett, Jamiroqui, Ute Lemper, Reba McEntire, Marti Pellow, Deborah
Harry and Martine McCutcheon plus many more surprise guests. Also invited
are a host of performers from film and theatre who have been relevant in
Liz's life and career.
All net profits will be donated to the Red Hot AIDS Charitable Trust
and the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation.
Line up is subject to change.
FOR TICKET DETAILS RING THE BOX OFFICE 020 7589 8212
Presented by the Red Hot AIDS Trust
John Scott's Auguries of Innocence, a new piece for trumpet, soloists,
choir and organ, will be performed on Sunday, May 21 at the Church of the
Lighted Window Chancel Choir, 4PM, in La Canada, California. Call 818-790-1185
for more information.
BBC Online are soliciting questions for a Jerry Goldsmith interview.
Questions can be submitted at www.bbc.co.uk/cult.
Maltin 2CD Set
Q Records has released Critic's Choice: Leonard Maltin Presents the
Best Movie Themes of the '90s, a 2-CD collection of 20 themes selected
by the popular film historian, author and Entertainment Tonight correspondent.
Maltin also contributes the CD's extensive liner notes.
The selections were recorded from the original scores and performed
by the 75-piece City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, featuring the 40-member
Kuhn Choir. Film composer David Michael Frank supervised the recordings.
- 1. Critic's Choice Theme David Michael Frank (3:31)
- 2. Titanic Suite James Horner (13:52)
- 3. Basic Instinct ("And Unending Story") Jerry Goldsmith
(7:27)
- 4. Maverick Suite Randy Newman (8:20)
- 5. The Firm ("Main Title," "Ray's Blues") Dave
Grusin (8:17)
- 6. Ed Wood Main Title Howard Shore (5:16)
- 7. Shakespeare in Love Suite Stephen Warbeck (7:16)
- 8. Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas Orchestral Suite Danny
Elfman (7:24)
- 9. The Mask of Zorro Suite James Horner (7:14)
- 10. Saving Private Ryan ("Hymn to the Fallen") John Williams
(6:24)
CD2
- 1. First Knight Suite Jerry Goldsmith (12:22)
- 2. Fast, Cheap & Out of Control ("Eternal Future II")
Caleb Sampson (4:11)
- 3. As Good as It Gets Hans Zimmer (3:12)
- 4. The English Patient Gabriel Yared (4:25)
- 5. American Beauty ("Dead Already," "Any Other Name")
Thomas Newman (7:30)
- 6. Braveheart ("End Credits") James Horner (8:56)
- 7. Life Is Beautiful Nicola Piovani (4:05)
- 8. Rainmaker ("End Credit/Cues") Elmer Bernstein (6:26)
- 9. The Lion King Orchestral Suite Elton John/Tim Rice/Hans Zimmer (9:00)
- 10. Schindler's List John Williams (15:08)
Williams Clarinet Concerto CDR
See yesterday's
column.
From: Martin Nadeau <nadeama@videotron.ca>
Just an additional information on your article on the John Williams
clarinet concerto:
While mp3.com is advertising it as a CD, it is actually a CD-R.
There is no mention of the orchestra performing the concerto, although
it says that the performance is conducted by John Williams. It is a live
recording. (The only documented performance of the work I have discovered
was the April 1991 premiere by the Riverside County Philharmonic under
the direction of Williams.)
David Blumberg's (the producer of the CD) page on MP3.com says that
the work is performed by the "Bohemian Symphony Orchestra" conducted
by John Williams.
David Blumberg is also the agent of Michele Zukovsky, who is soloist
on the CD and for whom the concerto was written.
From: JJ Hinrichs <hinrichs@worldnet.att.net>
In response to Jeff Eldridge's comments about the Williams CDR:
I just have to say that the CDR floating is the worst sounding disc
I have heard. Some bootlegs have better sound. Mr Eldridge calls it adequate.
I don't think a recording that requires me to turn the volume to maximum
on my stereo in order to hear the loud passages is adequate.
And mp3.com's packaging is amateurish at best. Lord knows what it
cost them to license the work for release, but a little more care should
have gone into it. I've done better work with my personal CDR inserts done
in black & white. There are no notes whatsoever about the work, other
than the names of the composer, conductor, orchestra and soloist. What
inspired, or who commissioned Williams piece? Give me a little background
about it. The back cover's track titles appear as if they were run through
a laser printer, and the front cover, with its lightning, suggests a fierce,
bombastic Williams piece. The Clarinet Concerto is neither fierce nor bombastic.
In fact, it's rather dull and uninspriring. And I'm a HUGE fan of Williams'
other concert works.
In short, this is a CD to be avoided by all but the most hardcore
Williams nut. Wait for an enterprising label like Sony Classical or Deutsche
Grammophon to release it, with excellent sound.
As an added bonus, the disc wreaks havoc on my Windows 98 system.
Disney CD Reviews
See
the column earlier this week.
From: "Humphries, Betsy " <Betsy.Humphries@turner.com>
Thank you for unearthing Kirk Henderson's articles regarding the
scores of Disney's Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan. So many film score
fanatics are also sci-fi fans that we sometimes neglect the outstanding
compositions found in animated films. The Alan Menken years have caused
many of us to forget the delightful music from older Disney fare (including
Cinderella, Lady and the Tramp and the non-animated Mary Poppins). Personally,
I've never held the new Disney movies in very high regard -- their hummable
tunes aside, the ghastly portrayal of gender and history has always left
me with a sense of horror. Thanks for reminding me what the Disney films
of my youth were like!
From: Jackie Holstein <stanleykubrick70@mindspring.com>
Thanks so much for giving some reviews on some of Disney's older
soundtracks. Better late than never.
Now I wonder how much my 101 Dalmatians CD is now worth. It was
as far as I know featured at DISNEY STORES as an item you got free if you
pre-ordered the VHS tape. I could have cared less for the videotape- I
grabbed the CD and was on my way. Randy Thornton was in charge of this
restoration as with many others. CD has 20 Tracks - 56:43 mins long. The
back cover art work looks great also since it doesn't have astupid barcode
labled on it at all. As far as I can tell I got this CD in 1998 or early
1999.
Well thought I would mention that to the fans.
Nice Letter
From: M. Haasch, SASU9999@aol.com
I have yet to purchase any of your CDs. You're releasing them left
and right, and once I get my job, 'wooohh' boy. Finally I can have a fairly
good Rosenman collection without Robocop 2. Not to mention all the Goldsmith
stuff you've released. I'm even tempted to get Taking of Pelham, even though
I barely heard of any Shire stuff outside of 2010. All I can say is keep
up the good work, and soon us score freaks will be satisfied musical gluttons
instead of the starving folks looking for a good sounding expanded Indiana
Jones and the Last Crusade. To restate my blathering: you people work miracles.
God bless
See last Friday's announcement of our Beneath
the Planet of the Apes CD.
MP3 Soundtracks
From: al_foster@t-online.de (Al Foster)
Maybe I'm not the first one to suggest this; if so, please forgive
me for bringing it up again.
With all the expanding possibilities of the internet, how about
that: Why can't the film (or music) company of a given movie just put its
score online as mp3's? If it is too expensive to release it as a regular
CD (re-use fees, low prospective sales numbers etc.), why not make it available
for a particular download fee, which could very well equal the cost of
a "normal" or "Collector's Edition" CD? Every bit of
the score could then be downloaded, or only the parts suiting every single
collector's personal tastes (e.g. a special price offer for only main and
end titles). Everybody could make their own CD version out of it, in any
sequence of choice: chronological, concert style etc! The artwork could
easily be downloaded as well. Wake up, people, this is SOUNDTRACK-ON-DEMAND!
Hey, there are books-on-demand, right? Print your personal copy when you
want it. No big, risky editions anymore. "The future is now",
they say... Why not with film music? Isn't this an idea worthy of some
discussion?
I'm sure it is an idea that almost all soundtrack fans would like, and
an idea that record companies would find very difficult to pull off. But
this is the future and there's a lot of turmoil in record circles now trying
to figure out what will happen. We'll have to wait and see.
Gladiator
From: "Bob Bryden" <bryden@interlynx.net>
Warning! Major Spoilers Ahead in This Letter!
I read with some amusement a fairly brutal assessment of Zimmer's
score for Gladiator at your site the other day. I say with some amusement
because I am not a Zimmer fan. I have loathed his contributions to most
films over the past decade or so. I'm kind of a purist. (Collecting and
loving film scores since 1960!) I have found Zimmer outrageously devoid
of imagination - until 'Thin Red Line'. He made me feel with that film
that he had 'almost arrived' at his own approach even though it was somewhat
derivative as well (using Ives' 'Unanswered Question' etc.) I sort of liked
'Crimson Tide' as well, although if you listen really closely you will
hear that there is actually a derivation of THE STAR WARS THEME in that
score!!! (By the way, I am a musician myself with 15 or so original albums
under my belt - most of them collector's items right now.)
I know I am not alone in being very excited (but also gunshy) concerning
the release of Gladiator. Those of us who hanker back to the days of the
REAL epics have eagerly anticipated it's release. Well....let it suffice
to say this...the film opened Friday...I have seen it every day since Friday.
(I'm working on going again today, but it looks doubtful.) I took two groups
of people back on Saturday and Sunday! The film absolutely blew me out
the door. I don't really understand some of the tentative reviews and opinions
I've heard. This film is a godsend. I watched the laser of 'Fall of the
Roman Empire' last week to prime myself (also to ready myself for disappointment)
but I can heartily declare - Gladiator is a film I've been waiting for
decades to see! By the way - I've also been doing my homework, the history
of Gladiator is much like FORE in that facts are condensed - but the tone
of Gladiator is identical to Gibbons description of Marcus Aurelius' and
Commodus' - both their reigns and their personalities. The only glaring
poetic license taken with history with both films is that, while Commodus
did have a rival 'general' or ten - he did not die in gladiatorial combat
but was drugged and strangled in his sleep by his servants. I cut Hollywood
the slack because the dramatic license works so brilliantly. All of the
10 or so people I saw the film with thus far were unanimous in their amazement
at the film. 'Overwhelming' was a word I heard frequently! Performances
and script - and tone were dazzling. Now to Zimmer. This Zimmer non-fan
is now convinced there is real hope for him. (Lest we forget that some
of the greatest Hollywood composers spent their first decade doing some
pretty shallow stufff - Tiomkin, A.Newman come to mind.) I acknowledge
again that he has been highly derivative - but it's all perfect for the
film and I think that's what counts. There IS a theme that sounds lifted
right out of 'Last of the Mohicans'. There IS a motif that smacks too uncomfortably
of '1492-Conquest of Paradise'. But Zimmer's sense of drama is impeccable.
His battle music is the best I've heard in ages. The use of human voice
and 'ethnic' sounds is unparalleled. (As in Fellini's Satyricon, again
- at least Rome sounds like a FOREIGN - EVEN ALIEN PLACE to our western
sensibility!) I love this film like no other (since 'Last of the Mohicans')
and Zimmer's score is the perfect counterpoint to the visuals - and it
makes for a truly inspiring/entertaining CD listen as well. (How many recent
soundtrack CD's can hold your attention for a whole hour!?) Anyway, thanks
for reading this. I think somebody needs to acknowledge how moving, awe-inspiring
and refreshing Gladiator is.
From: Matt Barry, Bigbearmdb@aol.com
Just had to add to the other days assessment of the abominal misappropriation
of great classical music in Hans Zimmer's rip-off fest GLADIATOR. First
of all, I think the review nailed every single plaigarized motif to a T,
save one. I saw the film tonight, and cringed when I heard Henryk Gorecki's
Symphony No. 3 under the new title "Am I Not Merciful?"
I was so looking forward to this score... and for the life of me,
now that I have heard it, I can't imagine why.
From: Joeorndorff@cs.com
I may be able to forgive Hans Zimmer for quoting (or re-interpretting)
Prokofiev, Wagner & Holst for various scenes of "Gladiator".
But, did anyone notice that the war-chant of the Germanic tribes in in
opening battle sequence was lifted directly from the 1964 move "Zulu"
? Obviously, a temp-track left in place. For all the bucks that were spent
on accurately re-creating Roman battle scenes, this is a gross oversight
IMHO.
P.S.: It would be great to have the "Zulu" war chants,
isolated from music & dialog on CD.
Well, the above letters pretty much cover every opinion or weird observation
on this one....
Parting Links
See this fan site on Dreamworks for an interview with Hans Zimmer regarding
Gladiator, by Jawad Mir: http://www.spielberg-dreamworks.com/gladiator/interviews/Hans_Zimmer.htm
Go here for a shot
of Jeff Bond, Dolph Lundgren and Lukas Kendall on the set of Mr. Lundgren's
upcoming film, "Captured."
MailBag@filmscoremonthly.com
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