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Posted: |
Feb 20, 2017 - 12:12 PM
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By: |
Howard L
(Member)
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The body and the mind are distinct, and while yes, an artist whose body is failing him can easily fall into a despair that's reflected in his work, and the ravages of chemotherapy or radiation treatments can exhaust him, but don't confuse physical frailty with mental weakness.
I don't think the changes in Goldsmith's style over the years were due to any one thing--when I asked him about it he said, "The movies changed." Tastes changed, the way he worked (due to technology) probably changed, an Goldsmith got older and eventually got sick.
Thank you, gentlemen, for putting things in perspective. No subtext required, just reasonableness.
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Posted: |
Feb 20, 2017 - 12:47 PM
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By: |
SchiffyM
(Member)
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Sure,, illness may not impact the mind and creativity, but film composing is done on a schedule with deadlines and composers generally have (or had) to write two or two and a half minutes of music per day in order to meet their deadlines, and if you don't have the energy to work 12 hours a day, or if pain is affecting your ability to concentrate, I would think that would be a factor in how much music you write or its complexity. I don't think the changes in Goldsmith's style over the years were due to any one thing--when I asked him about it he said, "The movies changed." Tastes changed, the way he worked (due to technology) probably changed, an Goldsmith got older and eventually got sick.
I completely agree. My only point was that uptempo music may be more of an athletic endeavor to perform (and thus hard for somebody who is not well), but composing it is just notes on a page. (Not that it's easy to do anything when you're ill. But a slow piece and a fast piece are both just notation.)
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Sure,, illness may not impact the mind and creativity, but film composing is done on a schedule with deadlines and composers generally have (or had) to write two or two and a half minutes of music per day in order to meet their deadlines, and if you don't have the energy to work 12 hours a day, or if pain is affecting your ability to concentrate, I would think that would be a factor in how much music you write or its complexity. I don't think the changes in Goldsmith's style over the years were due to any one thing--when I asked him about it he said, "The movies changed." Tastes changed, the way he worked (due to technology) probably changed, an Goldsmith got older and eventually got sick.
I completely agree. My only point was that uptempo music may be more of an athletic endeavor to perform (and thus hard for somebody who is not well), but composing it is just notes on a page. (Not that it's easy to do anything when you're ill. But a slow piece and a fast piece are both just notation.)
Just notes on a page, but there are a lot more of them in a uptempo action piece, and my understanding is that it takes considerably more physical labor to write out furious runs of sixteenth notes with multiple layers of complex counterpoint than it does to tie together whole notes for multiple measures. Not that slower music isn't just as demanding from a creative or intellectual standpoint, but writing a Total Recall instead of a Star Trek: Insurrection is going to mean producing many, many more sheets of music for the same number of minutes.
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Posted: |
Feb 20, 2017 - 9:17 PM
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By: |
Mike_J
(Member)
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Jerry may not have been able to finish Looney Tunes: Back in Action, but "exuberance and complexity" describes it perfectly, and that was the last thing he wrote that we know of. Its energy level is around that of the young John Powell, so how about we all just keep that in mind before referring to the "decline" of a 75 year old individual with cancer.
I'm not objecting to anything you're saying here, but I'm also not sure what the point you're making is, exactly. Composing is not the same as performing. A frail person can write down notes of a scherzo as easily as he can write down notes of a dirge. To put it another way, there's no reason a paraplegic artist can't paint a child skipping down the street. Or, for that matter, no reason a twenty year old composer can't compose an elegy. The body and the mind are distinct, and while yes, an artist whose body is failing him can easily fall into a despair that's reflected in his work, and the ravages of chemotherapy or radiation treatments can exhaust him, but don't confuse physical frailty with mental weakness. A good friend of mine is going through terrible chemotherapy right now, and she's too weak to drive or shop, but she's every bit as sharp-witted as ever.
Well, I can speak with some authority because I am going through chemotherapy at the moment.
Let me tell you, it absolutely does affect your mind and massively so. Whether it is the chemo itself or the various other mediation you have to take to go with it, there is no question it has an impact on mental acuity. Since I started treatment in December, I have noticed my concentration has been massively affected not just in my job but even on things like driving and basic chores. I've never been a "scatty" person but I currently find myself doing all sorts of loony things like today for example I poured OJ into my coffee cup instead of a glass. The other day I looked for coffee in the fridge. And work-wise, things that I found easy before are now very hard work and I have to concentrate far more than ever on basic tasks.
So this coupled with the physical drain of the treatment and the cancer itself, it's hardly any wonder Goldsmith's output would have been affected. And he was a lot older than I am when his cancer hit. It's not mental weakness but it is a mental reaction.
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