Introduction
You will notice on our menu a small but important change which is a new tab for classical music. There will be two distinct areas in this category. #1 are classical composers such as Vaughan Williams, and Copland who have written works for film such as The 49th Parallel or The Red Pony. The Virgil Thomson works The Plow That Broke The Plain and The River are every bit as exciting a listen as a Max Steiner score! #2 will include classical works from film composers such as Herrmann, Rozsa, and Waxman as well as works that I feel you might have an interest in listening to such as Liadov's Enchanted Lake as an example. Works such as Enchanted Lake could easily have been written for a film had there been one.
Many of the golden age composers such as Korngold and Rozsa were equally at home with wonderful classical works as well as masterful film scores. There is no question in my mind that a Vaughan Williams or Aaron Copland write equally well for a film or the concert hall. Topics such as Woody Allen and his use of classical music in his films, the Hamlet recordings, and the use of classical music in cartoons, are just some of the different areas that we can explore together. Steiner, Waxman, and others learned the leitmotif writing technique from the master opera writer Wagner.
Classical music has always been a keen interest of mine in the 50 or so years that I have been listening to music. I know that the parallel to the golden film music is the reason why I find both so fascinating. Even works that aren´t written for film such as Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade, can conjure up all sorts of film situations and scenes in your mind as you listen to the wonderful melodies and orchestrations.
Some of the modern film composers of today such as John Williams and James Horner use their classical training to inspire some of their soundtrack writing. And while many scores of today have gotten away from the classical technique it is still the basis for some soundtracks. Your thoughts and comments are always welcome as we are all in this golden age journey together.
latest reviews
Little if anything at all would be known of these works had it not been for his native country of France archiving their public radio/television material, 5 of which were composed by Maurice Jarre over a period of time from 1951 to 1974 for a variety... read more
Gliere, unlike Shostakovich and Prokofiev who were condemned for their work, Reinhold caused little or no controversy during his lifetime. He was honored by the Communist regime during the 20th century with the People's Artist award in 1938 and was ... read more
For many years Naxos has released a best of classical music used in films from the previous year. On their website there is a tab that lists hundreds of classical works that have been used i... read more
One of the most popular classical works around the Christmas season is the wonderful ballet music to the Nutcracker composed in 1891-1892 by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Parts were used in Fantasia which drew much attention to the work making some of t... read more
A symphonic poem which takes its ideas from "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe, Silence was written in 1909-1910 when Nikolai was still a student at St. Petersburg Conservatory and as he put it going through a pessimestic tendency in his composing. Lif... read more