Tuning in…
Tuning in…
Castaway
2 appearances
A film composer best known for scoring the James Bond series and Dances with Wolves, earning five Oscars.
On the island
Eight records
discussed during the interview but no specific quote given; the disc is inferred from the interview content about his Bond scores
mentioned as a score that worked well for the picture
mentioned as a score where the music was liked more than its fit to the picture
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Simon Rattle
It just struck me as being like nothing else I'd ever heard. It was like going into a state of shock listening to it.
Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Herbert von Karajan
I remember hearing that when I was very, very young, I doubt maybe four or five years old. And it's pretty obvious why one is struck by it. I mean, today we refer to that kind of an opening. In popular music, we refer to it as a hook.
Serenade for Strings in E major, Op. 22
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Herbert von Karajan
I think he must have been in some state of euphoria when he wrote this. It's one of the most delightfully joyful pieces of music, I think, ever written.
Symphony No. 9 (Adagio)Favourite
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Sir John Barbirolli
I had the good fortune to know John Barbaroli very well. He used to play my father's theatre every May ... and he used to come up afterwards to the house. My mother used to cook him ... Yorkshire ham and eggs ... and shadowy chem.
Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47
New York Philharmonic, conducted by Leonard Bernstein
There are certain recordings where you just know there was some some kind of magic that day in the studio ... every conceivable thing that should fall into place falls into place.
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Herbert von Karajan
He never came to composing until late in his life, you know. I think he wrote his first symphony when he was forty years old, which is very unusual.
Symphony No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 82
London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir Colin Davis
Sebelius is one of my favourite composers. I remember when I was a child watching ... Victor di Sabata conduct the ... rehearse the first ... symphony at my father's theatre.
Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18
Sviatoslav Richter, Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Herbert von Karajan
Well, this is obviously my favorite piano concerto. I I mean ... there's many, many, many piano concertos that I do love, but this is the piano concerto
In conversation
Presenter asks
1:43Do you have a real film [on a Movieola] in your studio, and are you running it backwards and forwards while you're working?
Yes, I have a movie elder in my my studio where I work and I have all the film There, so I can look at scenes as many times as I need.
Presenter asks
1:56Do you compose at the piano or at a desk?
At both.
Presenter asks
2:02How do you set about working on a score?
Well, the first half of the work is a kind of relaxed discipline and thinking about the overall concept, the orchestra, the shape of the orchestra. … And then the latter part of it, the actual really hard writing, is very disciplined. Like, you know, up at seven in the morning, start working at eight thirty, work all day until seven or eight in the evening.
Presenter asks
2:24And you always conduct the scores yourself?
The keepsakes
The book
John O'Donohue
a relatively new author. that I'm working with actually at the moment uh uh on on his first book which was called Anam Cara which is about the um the spirituality of the Celtic people. And he's written a new book called um Eternal Echoes, which he explores the longing to belong. in people.
Always, yes.
Presenter asks
2:34Apart from the awards and best-selling records and all the rest of it, which has been the score with which you've been most happy, which has satisfied you most?
Well, one can be satisfied on two levels. One is with just your liking for a score purely on the musical content level, and then the other level is that which really works for the picture. I think things like the knack um the Ipcrest file and Goldfinger, I think, worked very well for the pictures. There are other things, probably like the Chase, where I don't think it worked all that well for the picture, but I like the music probably more.
Presenter asks
0:31Is romanticism the essence of music for you?
It's what attracts me, yes. It's very fundamental and it's timeless and ... it's almost like your musical DNA, it just comes out that way, you know.
Presenter asks
5:56How young were you when you were first taken into cinemas?
My father lifted me up and carried me through into the back of the stalls. I must have been maybe two and a half, three, I guess. I just remember seeing this big black and white mouse on the screen ... and I was just stricken by [it].
Presenter asks
6:45Did working in cinemas teach you anything about audiences?
Absolutely, absolutely. I think that was probably one of the the greatest lessons one learned ... with the cinema, it's the same piece of celluloid. And you'd run the movie on Monday evening and you get a certain reaction and you go back on a Tuesday because you wanted to be a part of that reaction.
Presenter asks
10:30Was there one film that made you want to write music for films?
Well, I wanted to write it very early on, but ... the movie that really got to me on all kinds of levels was ... An American [in] Paris. I went in on the Monday evening and saw it, fell madly in love with Leslie [Caron]. And the music, it ... just transported you like nothing else
Presenter asks
20:18What happens when a director or head of studio doesn't like your music?
If you are not getting on with the director. You're best to get out of it. I did a movie, I was asked by Barbara Streisand, who's [directing] Prince of Tides ... I wrote this this main theme which she initially loved ... And then after a couple of weeks she decided, can we do something different? ... so I said, you know, this is this is getting joyless. You best find someone else. So I ... left.
Presenter asks
27:27How difficult was it for you composing [The Beyondness of Things] without a picture?
It was wonderful. I think it was Scott Fitzgerald said, I was right about what you know. So I thought I have certain memories that are very strong about certain things that have happened in my childhood or in London or in New York or wherever I've been ... Some of them are more profound than others and some of them are just mood pieces
“No, I think there are times when obviously music should not interfere and should be a secondary complement, but there are also times when music can take over with a very strong voice of its own and a very strong dramatic contribution of its own.”
“He can, and it depends how soon one is involved with the production. Certain sequences one can say to a director if you're involved early on in the scripting stages and make various suggestions that this should be a musical sequence. This is very helpful. But for the most part one finds oneself after the event.”
“I think he'll uh have certain ideas of what he wants. You have to then translate those ideas. … And it's usually a a contribution of both parts. Yes. And then you'll have to work out the exact length of a theme. It may be done to a matter of seconds.”
“Well, the first half of the work is a kind of relaxed discipline and thinking about the overall concept, the orchestra, the shape of the orchestra. The dramatics, what what part the music has to play dramatically, what it's going to do, what it's not going to do. And then the latter part of it, the actual really hard writing, is very disciplined.”
“Well, one can be satisfied on two levels. One is with just your liking for a score purely on the musical content level, and then the other level is that which really works for the picture.”
“I think when ... you're given an opportunity to write music for a movie like that, I think there's a great danger ... They played the scenery. And it becomes just big music for the sake of big music. So what I like to do is try to get into the heart and soul of the main characters.”
“the music is the last thing that happens to a movie, apart from dubbing, but all the actors have gone home. And it's the moment of truth. It's the director with the editor putting together what ... they're left with and ... choosing where the music goes ... So it's the best place to be if you want to learn anything about the ... filmmaking process.”
“I hated performing, really hated it.”