3 ms·

Personally I listen to the likes of Hans Zimmer, Jesper Kyd, Garath Coker, Ramin Djawadi, Michael Giacchino, etc when I'm looking for orchestral/symphonic instr

by dwd 7y ago

Personally I listen to the likes of Hans Zimmer, Jesper Kyd, Garath Coker, Ramin Djawadi, Michael Giacchino, etc when I'm looking for orchestral/symphonic instrumental music. I don't think you could call them studio musicians - which was how John Williams started out (working for Mancini) but I can't imagine them fitting what is considered "classical" at the Guardian.

tunesmith 7y ago
With those composers, I think it depends on if you are listening to music that is intended to stand alone, or if it was originally intended to support a film work. Even there the line can get a little blurry. There is music by John Williams that is definitely on the classical concert circuit, like the Emperor Theme, but even then the form is different than what you hear in the film. I believe Zimmer has some music lifted out that stands alone. But even then, music still might only make it to Pops concerts rather than the standard repertoire. Another example, I used to listen to Elfman's original Batman soundtrack a lot - but you can tell it's much more wandering and moody than standard classical music. But just because a piece of music is programmatic doesn't mean it's not classical. Beethoven's 6th symphony is a great example. If you go back and watch Disney's original Fantasia, that's a good example of the difference between music that supports film, versus music that stands alone - in Fantasia's case, the film was structured to support the music. There's definitely good classical music out there that has a pleasing "sweep" to it like film music. Maybe sometime get out the headphones, sit back, and listen to the first movement of Sibelius' 5th symphony. I like the Bernstein version most.
- dwd 7y ago
  I think were Prokofiev, Dvorak, Wagner, etc around thee days they would probably be writing film soundtracks. I find William's The Asteroid Field to be the pinnacle of musical storytelling. It hooks into the action (tight and fast through the chase scenes and then soars with the escape) but is also interleaved with each character's motif. The soundtrack version stands alone very well. On the video game side: Garath Coker's Ori and the Blind Forest is quite cohesive and listenable without knowing anything about the game. Spotify can take you down some interesting rabbit holes of discovery.

by dwd 7y ago

tunesmith 7y ago

With those composers, I think it depends on if you are listening to music that is intended to stand alone, or if it was originally intended to support a film work. Even there the line can get a little blurry. There is music by John Williams that is definitely on the classical concert circuit, like the Emperor Theme, but even then the form is different than what you hear in the film. I believe Zimmer has some music lifted out that stands alone. But even then, music still might only make it to Pops concerts rather than the standard repertoire. Another example, I used to listen to Elfman's original Batman soundtrack a lot - but you can tell it's much more wandering and moody than standard classical music. But just because a piece of music is programmatic doesn't mean it's not classical. Beethoven's 6th symphony is a great example. If you go back and watch Disney's original Fantasia, that's a good example of the difference between music that supports film, versus music that stands alone - in Fantasia's case, the film was structured to support the music. There's definitely good classical music out there that has a pleasing "sweep" to it like film music. Maybe sometime get out the headphones, sit back, and listen to the first movement of Sibelius' 5th symphony. I like the Bernstein version most.

dwd 7y ago
I think were Prokofiev, Dvorak, Wagner, etc around thee days they would probably be writing film soundtracks. I find William's The Asteroid Field to be the pinnacle of musical storytelling. It hooks into the action (tight and fast through the chase scenes and then soars with the escape) but is also interleaved with each character's motif. The soundtrack version stands alone very well. On the video game side: Garath Coker's Ori and the Blind Forest is quite cohesive and listenable without knowing anything about the game. Spotify can take you down some interesting rabbit holes of discovery.