Film Score Friday 7/27/01

Just a couple of items today...want to know why? I'm writing this from home Thursday night and some other items are on my computer at work, and I ain't driving back there tonight the way I usually do...more next Friday! I promise!

From: Val Vautier <vvautier@altavista.com>

Once again,you fellows,you never seem to amaze. I recieve my FSM copy, and there it is! Between Heaven and Hell & Soldier of Fortune! All that I can say is, Keep doing it! Mine those old 20th Archives! This is the stuff that I have taped off of the TV, long ago, and us old timers want whatever you can give us, warts and all! But seriously, what you are doing for film music RESTORATION will have an impact for decades to come. I thank all of you for your serious efforts in this endeavour.

Thank you! Our new CDs, the Friedhofer and also Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (Sawtell/Shefter) are now available.

Friedhofer was a magnificent musician and he is terribly underrepresented on disc...we're so thrilled to have been able to release these two scores.

From: fabrice <fabrice@hans-zimmer.com>

I'm writing to you just a report about the concert Jerry Goldsmith did in Monaco on Sunday, July 22 at 10PM.

First of all, the environment. The concert took place in the inside court of the Palace in presence of Prince Albert and Rainier the III. As it was my first Jerry Goldmsith concert (friends of mine saw him 6 times when I only saw -- but how great it was -- Hans Zimmer's concert in Gand), I was impressed. The orchestra was sitting on the stairs made with white stone as it has been restored. Lit with just a few spots, no wind passing by, the court of Monaco was going to be hyped tonight, the place to be. I will just mention to finish (but it was obvious) that everyone was dressed for the occasion.

Without making any noise, coming from nowhere, Jerry Goldsmith appeared wearing a white jacket and a white trouser along with his now famous white hair. Will he be giving us peace for our souls during one hour and a half? That's what I thought with the program he did. Classical Goldsmith I think.

Everything was made to entertain the classical audience of Monaco, used to more traditional moments.

From Star Trek First Contact to Mulan, from A patch of Blue to Small Soldiers, all we know about Jerry was played by The Philarmonic Orchestra of Monte Carlo.

As I had nothing to compare with, my friends told me that it was very good, but not better than the Royal Scottish concert for his birthday.

He also played Sunset Boulevard, Unchained Melody, High Noon (in reference to Grace Kelly playing in the movie), and Ben Hur.

For an introduction to the world of film composing, it was the best inhabitants of Monaco could have.

What a night I thought after that, remembering Goldsmith conducting the orchestra with what I would define as his kindness -- no brutality with this man I thought when he dedicated his concert to his wife (the second) because Monday the 23rd will be their 29th anniversary of marriage.

I could write a lot more but no words could describe what was happening this night.

From: "Dimitri Riccio" <dimricc@tin.it>

Dear boys, I'm Dimitri from Turin, Italy.

I write this because on the evening of Sunday the 22nd I attended a much anticipated Jerry Goldsmith concert in Montecarlo.

It was a special concert, since it's a premiere for old, conservative Europe (only London has film music concert again and again!) to see and listen to someone like Jerry Goldsmith and not the usual, boring Pavarotti, Muti, Marriner, and so on.

So we eagerly awaited this concert of the great, white-haired genius. And it was worth the wait!

We were inside the Prince Ranieri's Palace, in its courtyard, named Cour d'Honneur du Palais Princier.

It made a strange, great impression to see classic Goldsmith fans mixed with some of the richest people in the world and many of the most beautiful girls on Earth (we were in Montecarlo, don't forget!), together in line with their tickets in hand.

Then we saw, apart, under the courtyard's porch, Prince Ranieri di Monaco and his son Alberto, Grace Kelly's son of course, together waiting for the concert!

Cool!

Then the great Jerry entered and the music began.

The program consisted of:

Star Trek First Contact; Waxman's Sunset Boulevard suite; Medley of motion picture themes with Goldsmith's Sand Pebbles, Chinatown, Air Force One, A Patch of Blue, Poltergeist, Papillon, Basic Instinct; Wind & the Lion; Rozsa's Ben Hur (Love Theme & Parade of the Charioteers), Mulan End Credits, Tiomkin's High Noon suite (as a tribute to Ranieri's wife Grace Kelly, I suppose), The Russia House Theme, North's Unchained Melody, Small Soldiers & Gremlins and The Generals suite.

After an incredible, for old Europe, standing ovation, a really moved Goldsmith played two encores: Supergirl End Titles and The Russia House, once again, this time dedicated to his beloved wife, who was attending the concert with us all.

The Montecarlo Philharmonic played every piece very well, especially the Generals suite which galvanized everyone in attendance. The Prince and his son enjoyed the concert, clapping hands and smiling to each other.

And Goldsmith, now 72, was a real star, in very good shape, and thrilled, at the end, to have been so well accepted, and loved, by one of the most difficult and sophisticated audiences he ever faced.

A triumph!

Bravo Jerry and thanks for one of the greatest moment of my life.

From: "Kenneth McKell" <kenm@hotpop.com>
 

I am writing in regards to the chronological track listing both provided by James Luckard and posted on your website.

James wrote the following:

Track 10, which is called "Rouge City," does not, in fact, appear there in this form. The first half of the track is just a repeat of track 2, music not  heard anywhere else but in that scene, and the second half is the opening of "The Mecha World," as David and Joe fly out of Rouge City, but it crazily fades out just before the music reaches the climax as they find the weeping lion. In other words, track 10 is repetative and unnecessary.

After viewing A.I. at least four times, James should have known that his statement is not entirely true. While the first half of track 10 (Rouge City) is simply a reprise of track two (although not 100% -- compare the piano volumes, for example), part of the second half of track 10 IS used in the film, and I believe that the whole second half might actually be an alternate cue for the entrance to Rouge City.

In the movie, right after the Flesh Fair sequence, David and Gigolo Joe discuss in the forest how to get to Rouge City. During the discussion, I distinctly heard the bouncy, upbeat motif -- emphasized by ethnic percussion -- presented around 2:30 on track 10, perhaps symbolizing the upbeat personality of Gigolo Joe. The way the rest of the scene played out on film -- including the hitchhiking and entrance to Rouge City -- the music contained William's acknowledged quote of Strauss' "Der Rosenkavalier." However, the rest of track 10 on CD consists of a variation on track 1 (The Mecha World), which I believe could have fit in perfectly with that particular scene. The climax of track 10 is musically different than the climax of track 1, and well could have come at the exact moment the "gang" enters the mouth leading to Rouge City. Track 10 is definitely not repetative and unneccssary by any means, if you ask me.

All besides that, I appreciate Mr. Luckard's work. Why Williams arranges the tracks the way he does is beyond me...

From: "John Schuermann" <jsmusicsound@home.com>

In response to James Luckard's comments on AI:

Track 10 contains a different mix of the ABANDONED IN THE WOODS cue, with the piano mixed much more prominently. It's not a subtle difference.

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