Brass Monkeys is a radio show that features brass playing in all its forms. From movie scores to jazz, blues to brass bands and classical to contemporary, you'll hear it all on Brass Monkeys.
Steve Szetey presents Brass Monkeys. You can catch his show on Sunday nights (Melbourne time) from 7pm-10pm on 94.5 KRRFM, as well as streaming online through kinglakerangesradio.org.
This blog accompanies the radio show and will provide a list of tracks played each week, as well as some added commentary.
But Billy Joel doesn't play any brass instruments.
Correct.
This will be the start of a series of programs this year where I look at well known rock and pop artists and feature those tracks that have brass playing.
A couple of years ago on the show I strung out a two hour show featuring Billy Joel, including jazz and brass band arrangements of his songs. I won't be doing that this time around. Just straight songs from the man himself.
1. Easy Money 2. Tell Her About It 3. Keeping the Faith - An Innocent Man (1983) 4. Zanzibar 5. Until The Night - 52nd Street (1978) 6. Scenes From An Italian Restaurant - The Stranger (1977) 7. Big Man On Mulberry Street 8. River Of Dreams - 2000 Years - Millennium Concert
At the start of the year we looked at the movie scores of Michael Giacchino composed for Pixar Studios, including The Incredibles, Up and Cars II. Tonight we look at some of his other movie scores. We wont be playing his music from either of the latest Star Trek movies, as we have a Star Trek show coming up.
1. Knife to A Gun Fight - Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011) 2. Super 8 Suite - Super 8 (2011) 3. Roar! - Cloverfield (2008) 4. John Carter Suite - John Carter (2012) 5. Go Speed, Go! 6. Casa Cristo - Speed Racer (2008) 7. End Credits Can Suck It! - Land of The Lost (2009)
-------------------------------------------------- Hour 3 (Brass Bands and Ensembles) 2014 Australian National Championships Test Pieces
Over the Easter weekend the Australian National Brass Band Championships will be on again, this time up in sunny Brisbane.
On the show tonight we'll run through the program, and also play a couple of test pieces.
1. A Malvern Suite (Ebbw Valley Brass) - The Nationals 2013 2. St Magnus (Yorkshire Building Society Band) - 2004 European Championships 3. Forest of Dean (Sun life Band) - Bourgeois (1994)
I'm taking a couple of weeks off, and will back with a new show on 27th April.
Hour 1 (Jazz and Contemporary Brass) Trumpet Magic - A Tribute to Rafael Mendez
For the first time on Brass Monkeys we will be featuring one album.
This album was released in 2006 and is a tribute to the legendary Mexican trumpet player Rafael Méndez.
The trumpet player is the current principal trumpet player of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Geoffrey Payne, and he is more than ably backed by said orchestra, under the direction of Jean-Louis Forrestier.
Sadly we cant play the entire album due to time considerations, but the tracks that we will be playing are:
1. Hejre Kati 2. Dance Of The Comedians 3. Bell Song From Lakme 4. Habanera from Carmen 5. Dance Boheme from Carmen 6. Czardas 7. Zigeunerweisen 8. Canto Moro 9. Plegaria Taurina 10. Farewell My Grenada 11. La Virgen De La Macarena
Next week, we will start our series looking at brass playing in popular songs of the last 30 to 40 years. We'll begin with brass used by American singer Billy Joel.
Hour 2 (Movie Scores) John Williams and Steven Spielberg in the 1990s
About 6 weeks ago we looked at the collaboration between John Williams and Stephen Spielberg in the 1980's which included the Indiana Jones movies, as well as E.T., Empire Of The Sun and Always. This week we look the continuation of this partnership in the 1990's.
1. The Banquet Scene 2. The Ultimate War - Hook (1991) 3. Journey to The Island 4. T-Rex Rescue & Finale - Jurassic Park (1993) 5. Main Theme - Schindler's List (1993) 6. The Long Road To Justice - Amistad (1997) 7. Hymn To The Fallen - Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Next week, we take another look at the works of Michael Giacchino, as we explore his works away from Pixar.
Hour 3 (Brass Bands and Ensembles) Philip Wilby (Part II)
Last week we looked at three major works composed by Philip Wilby that incorporated music from composers such as Paganini, Vivaldi and Mozart. This week we continue through his catalogue of major works for brass band.
1. Dove Descending (Yorkshire Building Society Band) - Kings of Europe (2004) 2. The New Jerusalem (Tertnes Brass) - Norwegian Brass Band Championships (1999) 3. Jazz (Grimethorpe Colliery Band) - From Sonnets to Jazz (1997)
Next week we are going to be looking at some of the test music for the upcoming Australian National Brass Band Championships, to be held in Brisbane over Easter.
Hour 1 (Jazz and Contemporary Brass) Wynton Marsalis
photography: Jost L. Knaepen
Wynton Marsalis is a trumpet player who is equally at home in both jazz and classical music genres. He has been awarded 9 Grammys in both and has also been awarded for a Pulitzer Prize For Music.
Born in New York City in 1961, Wynton is part of a gifted music family that includes his father, Ellis Marsalis Jnr (pianist) and brothers Branford (saxophonist), Delfayo (trombonist) and Jason (drummer).
Wynton Marsalis has been featured as a soloist or jointly with other artists in over 100 albums. This first program on Marsalis' music seeks to only dip into the different genres that he plays. Later in the year we will look at Marsalis's works in a bit more depth.
1. Tiger Rag (with Mark O'Connor's Hot Swing Trio) - In Full Swing (2003) 2. Hickory Dickory Dock - Winton Marsalis The Majesty of The Blues (1989) 3. Pachelbel: Canon In D (with English Chamber Orchestra) - Baroque Music For Trumpets (1990) 4. Arban: Fantaisie Brillante (with Eastman Wind Ensemble) 5. Rimsky-Korsakov: Tsar Saltan - The Flight Of The Bumblebee (with Eastman Wind Ensemble) - Carnaval (1990)
6. New Orleans Bump - Standard Time, Vol. 6: Mr. Jelly Lord (1999) 7. Layla (with Eric Clapton) - Wynton Marsalis & Eric Clapton Play the Blues (Live from Jazz At Lincoln Center) (2011)
Next week, another we turn our attention to another trumpet player - Maynard Ferguson.
Miklós Rózsa was born in Hungary, trained in Germany and lived in England, USA, Italy and France. Whilst he has composed a substantial body of "serious" and concert works, he is best known for his work in cinema, having composed scores for almost 100 movies, including a number of blockbusters in 1940s, 50s and 60s.
He was nominated for 13 Academy Awards, and won 3, with Spellbound (1946), A Double Life (1948) and Ben-Hur (1960).
1. El Cid - Fanfare & Entry Of The Nobles 2. El Cid March - El Cid (1961) 3. Overture - Ben-Hur (1959) 4. Triumphal March - Quo Vadis (1951) 5. Challenge & Finale - Ivanhoe (1952) 6. King of Kings - King of Kings (1961) 7. Suite from "Sahara" - Sahara (1943) 8. The Thief of Baghdad Suite: I. Overture - The Thief of Baghdad (1940)
9. Tribute to a Bad Man: Suite - Tribute to a Bad Man (1956) 10. Finale - Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982)
Next week, another composer of legendary status. Elmer Bernstein, with a look at some of his best known movies scores over his 51 year career. with over 200 films and TV shows to choose from, the selection will be difficult. I think Ghost Busters, The Magnificent Seven and To Kill a Mockingbird will feature on the show.
Kenneth Downie has composed over 50 pieces over the last 40 years. Born in Glasgow in 1946, he was started his working life as a musician before going into the jewellery business in 1976. 22 years later he returned to his musical roots with the acceptance of an invitation by David King to become the first ever composer in residence to the Yorkshire Building Society Band.
His piece St Magnus was recently chosen as the test piece for both the 2014 Australian National Brass Band Championships (A Grade) as well as the 2014 UK Regional Contests (Championship Section). St Magnus will be featured on our show in a few weeks' time.
1. The Victor (Melbourne Staff Band) 2. The Joy of Loving Hearts (Melbourne Staff Band) - Chronicles (2011) 3. King Of Heaven (Melbourne Staff Band) - Fiesta! (2007) 4. Dance Fever (Yorkshire Building Society Band) 5. My Father's World (Yorkshire Building Society Band) - Vitae Lux (1999) 6. Rhapsody on 'The Isle of Mull' (Yorkshire Building Society Band) - Hymn of the Highlands (2002) 7. The Piper o' Dundee (Sheona White with Yorkshire Building Society Band) - The Voice of the Tenor Horn (2000) 8. Spirit of Celebration (Yorkshire Building Society Band) - European Championships 1998
Next week we look at some of the major works of another celebrated composer of brass band music, Philip Wilby.
Hour 1 (Jazz and Contemporary Brass) Nils Landgren
Last week we introduced the versatility if Swedish trombonist, Nils Landgren, through recordings of the Nils Landgren Funk Unit. But Nils enjoys performing in a variety of genres, not just funk. Tonight, we look at some of his other recordings, as a a soloist as well as collaborating with others.
1. Love The One You're With (with Joe Sample) 2. Get Out Of My Life Woman (with Joe Sample) - Creole Love Call (2005)
3. Sentimental Journey 4. I Will Survive - Sentimental Journey (2002) 5. Backpolska (with Jonas Knutsson) - New Eyes on Baroque (2013)
6. Den Blomstertid Nu Kommer (The Flowerseason Is Coming) - Gotland (1996)
7. Eleanor Rigby (with Johan Norberg) 8. Stomp (with Johan Norberg) - Chapter 2 (1989)
9. Norwegian Fox Trot (with Esbjörn Svensson) 10. The Farewell (Esbjörn Svensson) - Layers of Light (2001)
11. Red Horn - The First Unit (2001)
February almost seemed like the month of trombone music, with both Nils and Wycliffe Gordon previously. We'll move back to the trumpet next week, with a versatile American who plays in a variety of genres, and a member of a very talented musical family, Wynton Marsalis.
Hour 2 (Movie Scores) Video Games Music by Score Composers
Having two boys interested in all the latest offerings from X Box (and getting involved in some of the games myself), you can't help but notice the significant production values of some of these games. An no wonder, as video games is big business, with some games achieving greater sales than most movies released. Grand Theft Auto V, released last year, grossed over $1 billion in sales in its first 3 days.
Given that the purpose of music in these video games is the same as for movies (to enhance the emotional journey of the participant), the producers of these block buster games bring on some of the best composers to write music for them.
Tonight we will feature 5 composers that have successfully composed for both movies and for video games.
Hans Zimmer (with Lorne Balfe) 1. Opening Titles 2. Deadline - Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009)
Brian Tyler 3. Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag Main Theme 4. The High Seas 5. Men of War 6. Batten Down The Hatches - Assassins Creed IV: Black Flag (2013)
7. Need For Speed: The Run 8. That Is Impossible - Need For Speed: The Run (2011)
9. Far Cry 3 - Far Cry 3 (2012)
Michael Giacchino 10. Operation Market Garden - Medal of Honor: Frontline (2002)
11. MoH: Allied Assault (Main Theme) - Medal of Honor: Vanguard (2007) Ramon Djawadi 12. Heroes Aboard - Medal of Honor (2010)
I think there is still a lot of area to explore with this particular genre, but we'll let it go for the moment.
Coming up next week, we're going back in time to feature some of the works of one of the legendary score composers of the 1930s - 1980's, Miklós Rózsa.
Hour 3 (Brass Bands and Ensembles) Classical and Operatic Overtures (Part II)
As mentioned last week, when researching music for last week's show about Classical and Operatic Overtures arranged for brass bands, I found music to cover at least two shows. So here is Part II.
1. Festival Overture (CWS Glasgow Band) - European Championships (1998) 2. Nabucco Overture (Fodens Courtois Band) - Centenary Brass (1999) 3. Academic Festival Overture (Black Dyke Band) - Symphonic Brass (2007) 4. Overture - Le Corsair (Leyland Band) - Master Brass Vol 14 – 2003 All England Masters Champions 5. The Bartered Bride - Overture (The Black Dyke Mills Band) - Slavonic Brass (1992) 6. Henry V Overture (Fairey FP (Music) Band) - Enigma (2004)
Next week we look at works by composer Kenneth Downie.
Hour 1 (Jazz and Contemporary Brass) Nils Landgren Funk Unit
Nils Landgren is a Swedish R&B funk and
jazz trombone player. He began playing drums at the age of six, before
at last discovering the trombone at 13.
By his own reckoning he has been on more than 500 albums, as a soloist, as part of Nils Landgren Funk Unit, or as a sessional player. He has performed with people and groups as diverse as ABBA, Ray Parker Jnr., Herbie Hancock, saxophonist Eddie Harris and Maceo Parker.
Landgren tours regularly. In the next few months you can see him perform in Sweden, Germany, France and Switzerland.
Tonight's show will feature his group Nils Landgren Funk Unit.
1. Walk Tall 2. You Dig 3. Cannonball - Paint It Blue (1996) 4. Slowfoot 5. Brazos River Breakdown 6. Freak U - Licence to Funk (2007) 6. Money, Money, Money 7. Super Trouper 8. Dancing Queen - Funky ABBA ( 2004)
Next week will feature some of Nils Landgren's solo works.
Possibly one of the most underrated movie score composers around at the moment, Desplat is a prolific composer, in both Hollywood as well as in his native country, France. He has been nominated for 6 Academy Awards, 6 Golden Globe Awards (won one), 6 BAFTA Awards (won one), 7 Cesar Awards (won three) and 5 Grammy Awards (won one).
Tonight's program simply serves as an introduction to his vast body of work. Expect a few more programs featuring this composer in the future.
1. Mr Fox In the Fields Medley 2. Finale - Fantastic Mr Fox (2009)
3. Sky Battle 4. Fireplaces Escape 5. Destroying the Locket - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I (2010)
6. Opening Titles 7. Heilbronn Mine - The Monuments Men (2014)
8. Main Title 9. Finale - Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium (2007)
10. Philomena 11. Confession - Philomena (2013)
12. Calling the Guardians 13. Oath of the Guardians - Rise of the Guardians (2012)
14. Battle With the Tartars 15. Ice Bear Combat - The Golden Compass (2007)
Next week we look at video game music and uncover those written by well known movie score composers. You may be surprised as to who will feature on the show.
Hour 3 (Brass Bands and Ensembles) Classical and Operatic Overtures
A lot of well known music in the classical genre has been transposed for brass bands over the years. Tonight's program looks at the Overture, both in symphonic and operatic form as the length of these works can sometimes fit well as either major works or entertainment items for brass bands.
1. Russlan And Ludmilla - Overture (Fodens Band) - Brass in Concert (2001) 2. The Hebrides Overture - Fingal's Cave (Black Dyke Band) - Essential Dyke Volume 7 (2007) 3. La Forza del Destino Overture (Soli Brass) - WMC 2001 Brass Band CD 2 (2001) 4. William Tell - Overture (Grimethorpe Colliery Band) - Classic Brass (1989)
5. Overture - The Marriage of Figaro (Black Dyke Mills Band) - European Championships (1991)
6. 1812 Overture (BAYV Cory Band) - European Championships (2003)
I found more than enough music here for a couple of programs. Next week, we'll continue with this theme.
Hour 1 (Jazz and Contemporary Brass) Wycliffe Gordon
In my opinion Wycliffe Gordon is one of the most versatile and influential jazz trombone (as well as trumpet, tuba, piano, didgeridoo, strings) players (he also sings) around in the USA at the moment. He is no stranger to our shores, having been a guest of the Melbourne International Festival of Brass on at least two occasions.
1. It's All Right With Me (with John Allred) 2. The Preacher (with John Allred) - Head to Head (2002) 3. The Battle Hymn Of The Republic - The Gospel Truth (2000) 4. When The Saints Go Marching In - In The Cross (2004)
5. Great Big Wall (Emily Asher) - Dreams May Take You (2012)
6. Sweet Georgia Brown - The Search (2000) 7. Georgie On My Mind - Standards Only(2006) 8. Undecided (with Marty Erickson) - You and I (2008) 9. Brass Glory (Kenny Carr) - Sound The Alarm (2004)
Next week, we stay with trombones as we feature Swedish funk and jazz player, Nils Landgren.
Hour 2 (Movie Scores) John Williams and Steven Spielberg in the 1980s
John Williams has been working with Steven Spielberg since The Sugarland Express in 1974. There has been so much great music composed as part of this collaboration, that I have chosen to start off with looking at their joint projects in the 1980's. During this time there were 6 movies that Williams scored for Spielberg, including the one of the best action trilogies of all time, a score featuring in the top 10 scores of all time, as well as a relatively unknown one.
1. Bicycle Chase - E.T. The Extra Terrestrial (1982) 2. Follow Me/ Dorinda's Sol Flight - Always (1989) 3. Toy Planes, Home and Hearth 4. Exsultate Justi - Empire of The Sun (1987) 5. Desert Chase 6. The Miracle of the Ark - Raiders of The Lost Ark (1981) 7. Anything Goes 8. Slave Children's Crusade - Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) 9. Finale & End Credits - Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
Next week we play music from French composer Alexandre Desplat.
There wouldn't be many brass bands in the world that don't have a work or two by British composer Goff Richards in their repertoire. Although he passed away in 2011 his original compositions and arrangements of well known tunes will endure.
1. Fanfare for a New Age (Brighouse & Rastrick Band)
2. Pops For Brass (Brighouse & Rastrick Band)
- The Best of Goff Richards (2005)
3. Barnard Castle ( Lyngby-Taarbæk Brass Band)
- Decade of Brass (1999)
4. James Bond Medley (Grimethorpe Colliery (UK Coal) Band)
- Movie Brass (2001)
5. Doyen (Halifax Concert Band)
- Halifax Concert Band (2008)
6. Oceans (Desford Colliery Band)
7. Russky Percussky (Desford Colliery Band)
- Making Tracks (1990)
8. Zorba's Dance (Buy As You View Cory Band)
- The Glory of Cory (2002)
Next week, we are going to look at some well known orchestral overtures, arranged from brass bands.
It's a little bit difficult to pigeon hole this five piece group that originated from Melbourne. i-Tunes has categorised them as Jazz, but that's not right. I like this quote from Drum Media:
"Are they acappella? A brass quartet? Jazz? Cabaret? Pop? All of the above, and more..."
Their line up has changed a couple of times over the years, but features trombone, tuba, saxophone and percussion. They can all sing as well. I won;t embarrass myself to try and name all the players, and I am unable to find a definitive line up online. I'm featuring music from three of their CDs tonight:
1. Doona Hog 2. Future Generations 3. Letter L 4. Tim Tam Slam 5. Tom - More (2005)
6. Grey Matter 7. Town Takes Cover 8. One For Me - Just Like This (2005) 9. Take The Time 10. Top O My Toungue 11. Ship Comes In 12. It's Falling Out 13. Truth Comes Out 14. Roofrack 15. 2 and a Dog - Take The Time (2007)
* Note the year of lease information comes from i-Tunes. I am pretty sure these are not actually correct.
Next week we play music from American Jazz Trombonist Wycliffe Gordon.
You may notice as we play through tonight's music that none of the nominated scores in this year's Academy Awards featured on my earlier show, where I played movie scores I thought highly of. It appears as though the music nominated is generally low key and laid back, rather than the large bombastic movie scores normally associated with Hans Zimmer, (mostly) John Williams et al.
In researching for the show tonight I was unable to find a release of the soundtrack for the movie Her. I did, however, find one song.
For your consideration:
1. Above Earth 2. The Void - Gravity (Steven Price)
Last Friday marked the firth Anniversary of the Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria. As someone who lives and works in one the areas most devastated by the fires, this date is particularly significant to me.
Back in 2012, in only my third show, I presented a 2 hour special program on the third Anniversary of Black Saturday. Tonight's show will be a slightly cut down version of that show.
We begin with a piece composed by John Pickard called Wildfire, that now forms part of a much larger work entitled Gaia Symphony. It is being performed by The Cory Band, from their 2002 album Wildfire.
The recordings for the rest of the program tonight were provided to me from the composer of the pieces, Mr Barry McKimm. Barry is a trumpet player formerly with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra who has also produced a number of works for brass band.
The first piece was actually commissioned by Footscray-Yarraville City Band in 1983, after the Ash Wednesday fires, and was performed by the band at, what is now know as, The Hamer Hall in 1984. Barry was kind enough to provide me with a number of recordings of this work. I have chosen for tonight the Wanganui City Silver Band performance.
The final piece is titled Lamentations and was commissioned by National Australia Brass in 2011. The piece massive in scale, running at a bit under an hour. It is based on this written work, Kinglake Undone, by Jordie Albiston.
For the 2012 show I played the piece in its entirety. For tonight's show I will play only the second and fourth movements of this five movement piece. This recording was from the performance by National Australia Brass in New South Wales in 2011.
Next week, we feature the music of composer Goff Richards.
UPDATE:
The fire activity today in Victoria has been described as the worse since Black Saturday. As I type this now, there are Emergency alerts right throughout the State, including many areas close to home.
Out of respect for thoseaffected by today's fire activity this part of the show will now be postponed until a later date. I am busy trying to put together a new program. Tune in at 9:00 to hear what it will be.
I first became a fan of Vince Jones in the late 1980's thanks to a couple of friends of mine. This Australian singer, trumpet/flugel player, composer was probably at the height of his career at that stage. With a number of great CDs having been released, he and James Morrison would have been the two highest profile Australian brass players (of any genre) at that time.
Jones still performs regularly, as his website indicates, and also teaches part time at the Australian National University, according to Wikipedia.
1. Watch What Happens 2. When I Fall In Love - Watch What Happens (1982)
3. On The Brink Of It 4. Boys On The Corner - On The Brink Of It (1985)
5. If You're Goin To The City 6. Jettison - It All Ends Up In Tears (1987)
7. You Go To My Head 8. Mood Indigo - Come In Spinner (1990)
9. Big City 10. Trustworthy Little Sweethearts 11. My Only Friend - Trustworthy Little Sweethearts (1988)
Next week we stay local, but change genres, as we feature the 5 man combo Oxo Cubans.
Djawadi is an Iranian born, German composer who was brought to the attention of acclaimed score composer Hans Zimmer shortly after Djawadi graduated from Berklee College of Music in 1998. Since that time Djawadi has composed music for movies, TV series and video games. We'll be sampling music from each of these sub genres tonight.
1. Driving With The Top Down 2. Iron Man 3. Arc Reaktor - Iron Man (2008)
4. Main Title 5. The King's Arrival 6. Finale - Game of Thrones - First Season (2011)
7. Heroes Abroad - Medal of Honor - EA Games (2010)
8. You Can't Hide From Hades 9. Release The Kraken 10. Scorpiox - Clash Of The Titans (2010) 11. 2500 Tons Of Awesome 12. Cancelling the Apocalypse 13. Pacific Rim (featuring Tom Morello) - Pacific Rim (2013)
Next week we be looking at all the film scores that have been nominated for an Academy Award at this year's event.
Brett Baker is a world renowned trombone player known mainly, but not exclusively for his work in and around the brass band world. Whilst based in England, Brett has been to Australia often, and has been known to play with local bands during national contests.
Baker has released, or been featured as a soloist, in dozens of CDs since the mid 1990's. Tonight's program list barely scratches the surface .
6. Tango - Rathamataz (2009) 7. Something - Black Dyke Plays Beatles (2012)
8. Radio City I. City Noir II. Cafe Rouge III. Two Minute Mile - Electra (2013)
Next week we will revisit a topic I featured back in 2011. The 5th Anniversary of the Black Saturday Bushfires is the Friday 7th February, and we will feature 3 works written about bushfires. This will include Barry McKimm's Ash Wednesday as well as parts of Lamentations, written about Black Saturday.
We are featuring music from two iconic Australian movies. The first was released back in 1982 with music composed by Bruce Rowland - The Man From Snowy River. The second movie was released in 2008 with music composed largely by David Hirschfelder - Australia.
1. Main Titles 2. Mountain Theme 3. Jessica's Theme 4. The Chase 5. Jim's Ride 6. Jim Brings In The Brumbies 7. Closing Titles - The Man from Snowy River
8. Welcome to Australia (Overture) 9. No Man Hires Me, No Man Fires Me 10. The Rush 11. Across the Room / Begin the Beguine 12. Faraway Downs 13. Fire from the Sky 14. Nimrod (From the Enigma Variations) 15. Waltzing Matilda - Australia
Next week we play music from Ramon Djawadi.
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Hour 3 (Brass Bands and Ensembles)
1. The Australasian (Grimethorpe Colliery Band) - Grimethorpe in Concert (2002)
2. An Australian Fantasy (Sellers Engineering Band) - The World of Brass (1992)
Hour 1 (Jazz and Contemporary Brass) The Cat Empire
They spent a lot of 2013 touring the world, after the release of their latest CD, Steal The Light. This Australian group has a unique sound, full of brass, and is one of my favourite groups at the moment. The show tonight borrows from a show I programmed back in May last year, in celebration of the release of Steal The Light.
1. Jungle 2. Anymore 3. Side to Side 4. Know Your Name - Cities (2006) 5. Sunny Moon 6. No Mountain 7. Radio Song 8. No Longer There - So Many Nights (2007) 9. Brighter Than Gold 10. Wild Animals 11. Prophets In The Sky 12. Don't Throw Your Hands Up 13. All Night Loud - Steal The Light (2013)
Next week - music from some of the live albums of Australian Jazz Legend, James Morrison
Michael Giacchino has a vast body of work for a variety of screen media, including television (best known for Alias and Lost), movies (including the latest 2 Star Trek movies) as well as for computer games (such as Medal of Honour and Call of Duty. Tonight's show will feature his movies scores, and specifically the four movie scores that he has composed for Pixar Animation.
1. End Creditouilles - Ratatouille (2008)
2. Seizing the Spirit of Adventure 3. Up With End Credits - Up (2009) 4. It's Finn McMissile! 5. Porto Corsa 6. Mater's The Bomb - Cars 2 (2011)
7. Kronos Unveiled 8. The Incredits - The Incredibles (2004)
Next week - a review of the best movie scores of 2013.
Hour 3 (Brass Bands and Ensembles) Paul Lovatt-Cooper
We featured works from acclaimed composer Paul Lovatt-Cooper in 2013. Tonight's show is a reworking of last year's program with a couple of extra added. 1. When Thunder Calls - Black Dyke Band (European Brass Band Championships 2013) 2. Where Eagles Sing - Black Dyke Band (Essential Dyke, Volume 7 - 2007) 3. Within Blue Empires - Brass Band Oberosterreich (European Brass Band Championships 2012) 4. Donegal Bay (with baritone soloist Gareth Brindle) - Fairey FP (Music) Band (Virtuosi! - 2003) 5. Song for the Skies (with tuba soloist Joseph Cook) 6. Rondo alla Turca (with xylophone soloist Paul Lovatt-Cooper) 7. Enchanted Kingdom - Black Dyke Band (Only For You - The Music of Paul Lovatt-Cooper Volume II - 2011)
Next week - music from the top brass band of 2013, The Cory Band.
In honour of the "Race that Stops A Nation", and the best reason for a public holiday (i.e. The Melbourne Cup and Cup Day, next Tuesday), tonight's program will feature music from movies about horses.
1. Phar Lap Hero To A Nation - Phar Lap (Bruce Rowland)
We start with probably the best movie made about the Melbourne Cup, about one of the famous race horses of all time. A New Zealand one. Phar Lap was released in 1983 and stars Tom Burlinson as Tommy Woodcock, strapper for Phar Lap. The music was composed by Bruce Rowland, as part of his quadrilogy of scores for horse movies (more on that later).
2. Opening Titles 3. A Day in Damien's Life 4. Bali Bombing/Jason's Accident 5. I Know What You Mean 6. Damien Wins the Cup - The Cup (Bruce Rowland) The Cup was released in 2011, making this the most recently released Australian movie featured on tonight's show. The movie follows the trials and tribulations of jockey Damien Oliver (played by Stephen Curry) in the lead up to the 2002 Melbourne Cup. This movie was the last movie that legendary Australian actor Bill Hunter performed in, before passing away in late 2011.
The music was composed by Bruce Rowland (the final of the quadrilogy) and is disappointing only for the extensive use of synthesised instrumentation, and most notably of the brass instruments. One can only imagine that a full orchestra may have been dispensed with due to budgetary reasons, which is a pity as the score, and therefore the movie, would have been so much better with proper instruments.
7. Main Title 8. The Derby 9. A Nice Ride - Seabiscuit (Randy Newman)
In the 1930's Australia had Phar Lap and the USA had Seabiscuit. The movie Seabiscuit was released in 2003 and starred Toby Maguire, Jeff Bridges and Elizabeth Banks.
Randy Newman scored the music for the movie. He is possibly better known for his collaboration with Pixar Studios, having provided the music for 7 of their movies.
10. Main Title 11. The Race Begins 12. The Final Three - Hidalgo (James Newton Howard) Hidalgo was released in 2004 and is the story of a deadly desert horse race in Arabia, in the 1890s. It stars Viggo Mortensen (better known for his role as Aragorn in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy).
James Newton Howard is one of the movie industry's most prolific and most successful composers. We must feature him on a show in the future.
13. Theme From The Black Stallion 14. Flash Back & Winner's Circle 15. The Ride - The Black Stallion (Carmine Coppola) The Black Stallion is one of the older movies on today's show and was released in 1979. The movie is based on a novel published in 1941 by Walter Farley.
Carmine Coppola did not have an extensive career as a movie scorer and is probably better know for being the father of director Francis Ford Coppola.
16. The Charge And Capture 17. The Desertion 18. The Homecoming - War Horse (John Williams) War Horse was released at the end of 2011 and was directed by Stephen Spielberg. It is the story of a horse used in the First World War in Europe. John Williams received an Academy Award nomination for his score in this movie.
19. Main Title 20. Mountain Theme 21. Jessica's Theme 22. The Chase 23. Jim Brings In The Brumbies - The Man From Snowy River (Bruce Rowland) The Man From Snowy River is the story taken from Banjo Patterson's poem of the same name. It starred Tom Burlinson in the title role, and has come to be seen as an iconic Australian Film. This is probably Bruce Rowland's best, and best known, movie score. The movie was released originally in 1982.
24. The Man From Snowy River II 25. Eureka Creek 26. Back To The Mountains 27. Closing Credits - The Man From Snowy River II (Bruce Rowland)
Also known as The Return To Snowy River, this sequel was released in 1988, and featured all the original cast, with the exception of Kirk Douglas, who had played the role of Harrison in the original movie, being replaced by Brian Dennehy.
Bruce Rowland's music for the movie utilised all the themes created in the first movie, and extended upon. I think the production values of the this score are better than the original movie music.
28. Finale (William Tell Overture) - Hans Zimmer (with apologies to Rossini)
Whilst technically not a horse movie, I was convinced that this needed to be included in the show after watching The Lone Ranger with my two boys on Friday night. The Lone Ranger actually features three main characters, The Lone Ranger, Tonto and Silver (a horse).
The particular track from the soundtrack heavily references the original Lone Ranger Theme, was actually the William Tell Overture, by Rossini.
A fun show tonight.
Next week, we look at the blues trumpeter Miles Davis.
This week is a Dragon potpourri, with special guest presenter, my youngest son, Ben. Ben really likes dragons, so I thought this would be a fun theme for tonight's show. We're looking at movie theme that involve dragons, as well as some brass band pieces with dragons in the titles.
This will be a relatively brief summary, as I have been away for a week and will only be home this afternoon.
1. This is Berk 2. Ready the Ships 3. Counter Attack 4. Where's Hiccup? 5. Coming Back Around - from How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
This CGI kids movie was released by Dreamworks Animation, which has also released the Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, and Madagascar movies. The movie is actually based on a series of books written by Cressida Cowell.
The music was composed by John Powell. This may not be a name familiar to many, but the movies that he has provided scores for will be well know to you. They include kids films such as Shrek, Chicken Run, Happy Feet and Kung Fu Panda (this last one in collaboration with Hans Zimmer) as well as adult movies such as The Jason Bourne movies and X Men: The Last Stand.
John Powell was nominated for an Academy Award for this score, but lost out to Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for their work on Social Network.
6. Eragon 7. Battle for Varden - from Eragon (2006)
This movie was also based on a book series, this one penned by author Christopher Paolini. This starred Ed Speelers as Aragon, and the cast included both Jeremy Irons and John Malkovich.
The music was composed by Patrick Doyle. Other movies he has scored for include Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Nim's Island, Thor and Brave.
8. Hero 9. The Dragon Scroll 10. Dragon Warrior is Amongst Us 11. Dragon Warrior Rises - from Kung Fu Panda (2008)
This is one of my favourite animated movies and, as mentioned, above come from Dreamworks Animation. The music is a collaboration between John Powell, and one of the absolute masters in movie scoring, Hans Zimmer.
12. Finale - from Dragonheart (1996)
Not a very well known movie, but with a huge ensemble cast, including Dennis Quaid, Sean Connery (as the voice of Draco, the dragon), David Thewlis, Julie Christie, Peter Postletwhaite, Jason Isaacs and John Gielgud.
The music is scored by Randy Edelman, who has scored well over 40 movies.
13. Summon the Dragon - Black Dyke Band
Written by Pater Graham
as a Fanfare and Prelude for the National Youth Band of Wales, this was
recorded by Black Dyke Band for their 2002 album, Call of the Cossacks.
14. The Year of the Dragon - Britannia Building Society Band
This is one of Philip Sparke's earlier major works for brass band, and still played in most contests as an "Own Choice" work by or two bands. This was recorded by the Britannia Building Society Band for their 1992 album, The Year of the Dragon.
15. Dragons Arise - Williams Fairey Engineering Band
This
brass band pieces as composed by Philip Wilby and was recorded by the
Williams Fairey Engineering Band on their 1997 album, Jazz.
Day of the Dragon 16. Overture - Hunting the Hare 17. Lullaby - Suo Gan 18. Welsh Clog Dance (Little Tinker Boy) 19. Ballad - By Kell's Waters 20. Triumph - Men of Harlech - Buy As You View Band
This major concert work was written by Peter Graham and is a joint commission from
the Buy as You View Band and the National Youth Brass Band of Wales. The five
movements are based on traditional Welsh Folk Songs and feature solos for
cornet, trombone, horn, flugel, euphonium. This was recorded by the band for their 2004 Album Day of the Dragon.
Well, both brass band and movie music in this week's show.
Next week, something totally different as we play music from American trombone player, Trombone Shorty.
Only truncated program notes, as I was distracted yesterday because of the 2013 Australian Federal Election.
This program is a repeat of Program No. 6 from last year, but I thought it was a reasonable good show, and well worth another go.
The theme of this show is to look at brass players on the Screen, both in movies, with a couple on the smaller screen as well.
1. Three Little Bops (1957)
We start with a Looney Tunes cartoon, featuring the three little pigs in a jazz combo and the big bad wolf trying to join their group, as a trumpet player.
2. The Five Pennies Saints 3. Battle Hymn of The Republic 4. Medley: College Montage/Washington and Lee Swing/Runnin' Wild/Follow the Leader - The Five Pennies (1959)
This movie starred Danny Kaye. It is the story of "Red" Nichols, a cornet player who moves to New York in the 1920s and finds work in a band. Also features Louis Armstrong.
5. Peter Gunn Theme 6. Everybody Needs Somebody to Love 7. Sweet Home Chicago - The Blues Brothers (1980)
Starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, this cult comedy is the story of Jake and Elwood Blues reforming their band to raise funds for the Catholic orphanage where they grew up.
8. St Louis Blues March 9. Little Brown Jug - The Glenn Miller Story (1954)
The is a biographical movie of trombonist and band leader Glenn Miller. It stars James Stewart in the title role
10. Tubby the Tuba (1947)
We return to animation with a story of Tubby the Tuba Player and his need to play a melody.
11. Mambo Caliente 12. Sunny Ray 13. Tango Rumba-Afro-Cubana - The Mambo Kings (1992)
This movie stars Armande Assante and Antonio Banderas as brothers who left Cuba for America in the 1950's hoping to reach the heights of the Latin music scene.
14. In The Midnight Hour 15. Try a Little Tenderness - The Commitments (1991)
This UK movie was about the forming of an Irish Soul Band.
16. Ya Got Trouble 17. Seventy-Six Trombones - The Music Man (1962)
The movie was about a conman who comes to a Midwestern town in the US to scam them, using a boys marching band, but things don;t go according to plan.
18. En Aranjuez Con Tu Amor 19. Danny Boy 20. We'll Find a Way 21. William Tell Overture - Brassed Off (1996)
This UK movie featured a great ensemble cast including Ewan McGregor, Tara Fitzgerald, and Peter Postlethwaite,and is about a brass band located in a town that is suffering from the closure of their local coal mine, in the 1980s.
Next week's show we'll play music performed by one of the world's best known brass quintet's Candian Brass.
Back on the 14th July last year (Saturday morning) I presented Brass Bands Play Movie Themes (I). Whilst we have had a lot of movie music over the last month or so, I thought it would be good to put on another program of brass bands playing movie themes.
Whether it is to fulfill Council or Shire obligations, as a fee for service, or for the publicity, just about every brass band would perform in public events during the year. A lot of the the time bands will play brass band arrangements of movie scores. I believe this is because a) the public like hearing it and b) most brass players actually like playing it. And with some of the best music composers around composing for films, like James Horner, John Williams, Howard Shore and Hans Zimmer there is plenty of music to work with, for brass band arrangers.
In the main, I have tried to avoid repeating tracks from my show last year, however there are a couple of exceptions. So, onto the program list:
1. Also Sprach Zarathustra - Black Dyke Band and others
Whilst this was not originally composed for the cinema (Richard Strauss composed it in 1896), most people, when hearing this music, would probably think it as movie music, and specifically used in the 1968 movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey. This recording is from a CD issued with highlights of the 2001 National Brass Band Championships and Gala Concert, and is performed jointly by Black Dyke Band, International Staff Band and Symphonic Brass of London.
2. Concert March from 1941 3. Circle of Life 4. For Your Eyes Only 5. The Mission 6. Eye of The Tiger - Brassband De Wâldsang
Brassband De Wâldsang is considered the premier brass band of the Netherlands, having won the National Championships a number of times. In 1995, under the baton of Rieks van der Velde, they released a CD titled Screen Blockbusters and these next 5 tracks are from that album.
We start of with music from John Williams and Spielberg's 1979 movie, 1941. This concert march is arranged by Steve Sykes.
We then move to the classic Disney animation, The Lion King (1994) and Circle of Life, with the music at the start of the movie originally composed by Elton John and arranged by Hans Zimmer. Unfortunately I am unable to work out which of the many brass band arrangements this is and therefore who the arranger is.
On next to a James Bond classic, with For Your Eyes Only (1981), and Bill Conti's theme song, arranged for brass band by Jan van Kraeydonck.
The music for the movie The Mission (1986) was voted in as the top movie music recently by ABC FM listeners. Originally composed by Ennio Morricone, this particular arrangement is by Frank Bernaerts.
The final track I have chosen from this CD is from the 1982 movie Rocky III, and the song Eye of the Tiger. This song was composed and performed the rock group Survivor, and was there greatest hit. It has been arranged for brass band by Rieks van der Velde.
7. Can You Read My Mind (Love Theme from Superman) - Eikanger-Bjørsvik Musikklag
Whilst John Williams is best known for his collaboration with director, Steven Spielberg, one of his most enduring scores is for a movie directed by Richard Donner - Superman (1979). The Love Theme from that score has been arranged for brass band by Ray Farr and is performed by Eikanger-Bjørsvik Musikklag (with Ray Farr as conductor) from their 1997 CD, Best by Farr. 8. Born On The Fourth of July - Yorkshire Building Society Band
Another John Williams score (most of them have been arranged for brass bands) and this time a movie directed by Oliver Stone - Born on the Fourth of July (1989). This recording is from the 2003 European Brass Band Championships Gala Concert and is performed by Yorkshire Building Society Band, with David King conducting. 9. Pirate Of The Caribbean - Brass Band Rekrutenschule Schweizer Militärmusik
Moving away from music by John Williams, the score for the orginal Pirates of the Caribbean movie (2003) was composed by Klaus Bedalt, with Hans Zimmer as producer. This arrangement for brass band is by Paul Drury and is performed by Brass Band Rekrutenschule Schweizer Militärmusik, under the baton of Andre Gygli, from their 2012 CD Neopolitan Scenes.
10. Ben-Hur: March Of The Charioteers 11. The Great Escape 12. Gladiator: Barbarian Horde 13. Indiana Jones & The Temple Of Doom - The Grimethorpe Colliery UK Coal Band
Grimethorpe are probably one of the most recongised brass band in the world, thanks partly to the 1996 movie Brassed Off, which they performed in (poorly disguised as Grimley Colliery Band).
In 2001 they released a CD titled, simply, Movie Brass, with Elgar Howarth as conductor. I played a number of tracks from this album in my Brass Band Movie Themes show last year. Not these ones though.
We start with the movie Ben-Hur (1959) and the March of the Charioteers with music composed by Miklos Rozsa, and arranged for brass band by Steve Sykes.
We then move to The Great Escape (1963), scored by another legend in Elmer Bernstein,and arranged for brass band by Martin Ellerby.
The third piece selected from this CD is from one of my favourite soundtracks of all time. The music for Gladiator (2000) was composed jointly by Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard, and has been one of the most commerically successful score soundtracks. Barbarian Horde has been arranged by Sandy Smith.
The final work in this selection is another John Williams piece, from the second instalment of the Indiana Jones movies, released in 1984. This piece has been arranged by Ray Farr.
14. Saving Private Ryan: Hymn To The Fallen - Black Dyke Band
We return to Black Dyke Band, this time under the baton of Nicholas Childs, from their 2007 CD, Symphonic Brass. Another John Williams/Steven Spielberg collaboration. from Saving Private Ryan (1998). Frank Bernaerts arranged this for brass band.
15. Fanfare And Flying Theme from E.T. 16. Midway March 17. Fawkes The Phoenix - Fodens Richardson Band
As if to confirm my above statement about most of John Williams' scores being arranged for brass bands, here is a CD titles John Williams Epic Themes, conducted by Thomas Wyss. Released in 2003, this includes all the best known of Williams's works.
We start with the Fanfare and Flying Theme from E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial (1982), arranged by Steve Sykes.
Next is an older movie, that not many may know was scored by Williams. The movie is Midway (1976), a WWII action movie, directed by Jack Smight, about the Battle of Midway, in the Pacific Ocean. This is arranged by Ray Farr.
The final work selected from this CD is the theme of Fawkes the Phoenix, from the Harry Potter films, or more specifically, from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002). This piece is arranged by Andy Duncan.
18. The Empire Strikes Back 19. Pearl Harbour - Brass Band Schoonhoven
Brass Band Schoonhoven released this CD, Sound of Movies in 2002.
I can't have a show about movie music arranged for brass bands and miss one of Williams's most recognisable works. This is The Imperial March (or Darth Vader's theme) from Empire Strikes Back (1980). I am not sure who the arranger for this piece is.
Directed by Michael Bay Pearl Harbor (2001) was not received well by the critics. The music is composed by Hans Zimmer, and was nominated for a Golden Globe for best score.
20. The Gael - Kirkintilloch Band
I finish tonight's show with music from the movie The Last of the Mohicans (1992). As mentioned on one of our previous shows the music was mainly composed by Trevor Jones. This arrangement is by Andy Duncan and is performed by the Kirkintilloch Band from their CD Summon the Heroes.
I hope you enjoy the program tonight.
Next week, we revisit an extraordinary Tuba player, Øystein Baadsvik.
Last week, in the first part of our review of music not included in the ABC Classic 100 Countdown - Music in Movies, we looked at music in the general classical genre that had been successfully used in movies. This week, in our second and final instalment, we look at music specifically composed for movies.
This was a very difficult list to compile, for a number of reasons. Firstly, most (but certainly not all) of the great scores had already been included in the Top 100 scores (as you would expect). Secondly, and more importantly, because everyone has different taste in music it will mean that there will be a level of discussion (even argument) over what music is more worthy of being included in one of these lists. There is a third reason, specific to my radio show. As we seek to feature brass playing, we will discount or ignore movie scores that perhaps do not feature brass predominantly. This will almost always mean that lighter score work will be overlooked, as will most contemporary music (guitars/drums/keyboard).
That still leaves us with a lot of music to choose from.
I chose, in a lot of instances, with movie scores that I had bought after watching the movie. I think that the mark of great score is one that not only works well within a movie but also as a piece (or pieces) of music on its own. I think most, if not all of this music on tonight fits that category.
I also decided that I wanted to look at some of the composers who have become legends in the genre of movie scoring who failed to get a mention in the Top 100 (even 200). I will explain more about this later.
So without any further delay (and in no real order) I present my playlist for tonight:
1. Fanfare for Rocky (Bill Conti)
Bill Conti has not produced music for many movies. Apart from the Rocky franchise, his other well known works would probably include the original Karate Kid movies, For Your Eyes Only from the James Bond stable, as well as the TV themes for Dynasty, Falcon Crest, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous and Cagney & Lacey. He also received an Academy Award for his work on The Right Stuff (1983).
The music for Rocky, and more specifically the instrumental Gonna Fly Now (which topped the charts in 1977), is what made Conti famous. This recording of the Fanfare for Rocky is from the 30th Anniversary release of the soundtrack, and is a great introduction to this program.
2. Batman (Danny Elfman) 3. Beetlejuice (Danny Elfman)
A few people queried the omission of any works from Danny Elfman in the Classic Countdown Top 100. The theme from Batman actually comes in at 196.
Elfman has had a very long professional relationship with movie director Tim Burton, having scored almost all his movies (the two exceptions being Ed Wood and Sweeney Todd). Whilst Elfman has never won an Academy Award he has been nominated 4 times. We will be ignoring those scores nominated and instead play from Batman (1989) (with Jack Nicholson as The Joker), because I think it is one of his best scores, and Beetlejuice (1989), because my sister asked for it. 4. Welcome to Australia Overture - Australia (David Hirschfelder)
I think Baz Luhrmann gets a bad rap for his movies. I quite like his style, and there is a definite connection in the five movies that he had directed to date, as he knows how to do a love story.
I think that in particular, his 2008 movie Australia gets harshly judged, and unfairly so. As part of this, the musical work of Australian David Hirschfelder has been largely ignored. Whilst the score uses a number of well know tunes (such as Waltzing Matilda, and Over the Rainbow) Hirschfelder expertly weaves these tunes with his own work. He also collaborated with The John Butler Trio and Mark Lizotte in various parts of the score. The Welcome to Australia Overture is at the start of the movie (obviously) and provides a good range of the music to be heard throughout the movie.
5. Overture - Ben Hur (Miklós Rózsa) 6. King of Kings (Miklós Rózsa) 7. Overture - El Cid (Miklós Rózsa) Rózsa's musical career included not only movies, but a significant number of other works for orchestra, piano, chamber music and choir. The Hungarian born Rózsa scored over 100 movies between 1937 and 1982. It was difficult choosing from his vast list. I have gone with three epic movies.
Ben Hur (1959) is the only movie that coined its own saying (Bigger than Ben Hur), unless you also include the first prequel from Star Wars (Worse than Phantom Menace). Starring Charlton Heston in the title role, this movie would go on to be nominated for 12 Academy Awards, and to win 11, including for Best Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture (Rózsa's third). There were 12 recording sessions for the score, lasting 72 hours, and in the end, of the 3 hours of music composed for the film, 2 1/2 hours were used in the final cut. Ben Hur is considered by many to be Rózsa's finest movie work.
This was the only score of Rózsa's to be listed in the Classic Countdown at 118. King of Kings (1961) is the story of Jesus Christ, very unlike Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ (2004). Rózsa's score was nominated for a Golden Globe. This movie has the record of being the first major studio sound film in English to actually depict Christ's face. El Cid (1961) is one of my favorite movies of this era (Martin Scorsese called it "one of the greatest epic films ever made"). It also starred Charlton Heston as well as Sophia Loren and Frank Thring (who was also in King of Kings). This movie was nominated for three Academy Awards, including for Original Music Score. 8. Suite from Henry V (William Walton) The full name of this movie is The Cronicle History of King Henry the Fift with His Battell Fought at Agincourt in France (1944) and is an adaptation of William Shakespeare's play Henry V. It was directed by, and starred Laurence Olivier. It was nominated for 4 Academy Awards, including William Walton forBest Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture, but won only a special Academy Award to Laurence Olivier for "for his outstanding achievement as actor, producer and director in bringing Henry V to the screen."
William Walton is now best known for his choral and orchestral works, most notably the massive cantata, Belshazzar's Feast. It is a testament to his work on Henry V that it is now seen as a piece of orchestral music in its own right. Interestingly Walton has been recorded as noting that film music is ineffective when performed out of context.
The Suite from Henry V is in 5 movements:
Overture - The Globe Playhouse
Passacaglia: Death of Falstaff
Charge and Battle
Touch Her Soft Lips and Part
Agincourt Song.
This recording is by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with Andre Previn as conductor. This came in at 184 on the Classic Countdown list. 9. Independence Day Suite (David Arnold) Independence Day (1996) was a blockbuster film about aliens attacking Earth. The music is by David Arnold. Whilst the movie was fairly average, I remember this buzz about the soundtrack, including some discussion about the insane scoring for the brass section. That's enough for it to be played on tonight's show. Arnold received a Grammy Award for this score.
10. Promise Me - First Knight (Jerry Goldsmith)
Jerry Goldsmith wrote a great many scores over a 50 year period, yet the Classic Countdown only includes his work on the Star Trek movies (5 of them). Looking through his list of scores and I see the Rambo movies, Basic Instinct, Mulan, The Mummy, Gremlins, Chinatown, The Planet of the Apes; the list goes on and on. He was nominated for 18 Academy Awards, and won only one, The Omen (1976). Interestingly he attended classes in movie scoring that were taken byMiklós Rózsa.
I have chosen the movie First Knight (1995) for tonight's show as it was one of those times that the music captured my attention more than the movie when seeing this for the first time. It may not be considered his finest score but it one of the ones I have enjoyed listening to the most.
11. Back To The Future (Alan Silvestri)
The only nomination of Silvestri's works on the Classic Countdown is for Forest Gump (No 138). I don't like that score much, but greatly respect other works by him, including Avengers (2012), The Polar Express (2004) and Captain America: The First Avenger (2011). However for those of you around my age, he may probably be best known for his music for the Back To The Future trilogy (1985, 1989 and 1990). This one was originally chosen by my sister for tonight's show but I must admit I am happy to agree with her.
12. The Battle The Duel The Victory - Robin Hood (Erich Wolfgang Korngold)
This score is considered by many to be the finest score ever written, which is then amazing that it only reached 103 in the Classic Countdown.
Korngold composed his first orchestral work at age 14, and drew the attention of both Richard Strauss and Gustav Mahler. He has written a large number of orchestral and choral works as well as a couple of dozen movie scores, but was not well known as a composer around the time of his death in 1957.
Korngold received an Academy Award for his work on Robin Hood in 1938.
13. For The Love of A Princess - Braveheart (James Horner)
The score of Braveheart was another one of those overlooked in the Classic Countdown, coming in at 108, which surprised me, as I expected it to be in the top 20.
It is one of the many scores by Horner nominated for an Academy Award. Admittedly not a great deal of brass in this score, but just enough to sneak in it for tonight's show.
14. Quaritch - Avatar (James Horner)
Avatar is the second highest grossing movie of all time - behind Titanic. Both scores were from James Horner, although both are very different from each other.
Horner worked with an ethnomusicologist to create a music culture for the N'avi. Horner has stated that this project has been his biggest, to date. One of my all time favourite soundtracks.
15. Legend of Navarone - The Guns of Navarone (Dimitri Tiomkin)
Tiomkin, together with Alfred Newman (see below) and Max Steiner, were considered the godfathers of film music. Their combined works for over 600 movies during their respective careers have earned them this title.
Tiomkin himself scored over 120 movies, and was nominated for 22 Academy Awards, winning 4.
I chose music from The Guns of Navarone as one of the movies scored by him that I remember from watching TV back in the seventies. The Classic Countdown only has High Noon from Tiomkin, in at 144.
16. Twentieth Century Fox Fanfare (Alfred Newman) 17. How the West Was Won (Alfred Newman)
Newman scored over 200 films over his career. He received 9 Academy Awards, the most for any composer and second only to Walt Disney and was nominated an astonishing 45 times, only behind Walt Disney and John Williams.
The Twentieth Century Fox Fanfare is heard before the screening of every Twentieth Century Fox film, making this the most heard piece of music in cinema history.
The score for How the West Was Won was listed at number 25 of the 25 best scores as decided by the American Film Institute in 2005.
18. Anvil of Grom - Conan the Barbarian (Basil Poledouris)
I have read the declaration on many different websites that the soundtrack to Conan the Barbarian is the greatest film score of all time, which is strange that it is all but ignored in both the Classic Countdown as well as the American Film Institute's list.
Even so, I think this is a cracking soundtrack, although probably not the best mixed one.
19. One Summer's Day - Spirited Away (Joe Hisaishi)
OK. I must admit that Hisaishi would not have featured anywhere in my top 200. There were quite a few on Twitter during the Classic Countdown that queried why he wasn't in the top 100. At that time, I didn't know what he had scored and why people thought so much of him. Then I did some research.
Hisaishi had scored over 100 movies, mostly from his own country of Japan. From an Australian perspective, he is most known for his collaboration with animator Hayao Miyaziki as having scored many of his films, including Castle in the Sky (1986), My Neighbour Totoro (1988), Spirited Away (2001), and Howl's Moving Castle (2002). These animations are more than "kids' films" even though they have been marketed as such here in Australia and also in the USA. Steven Spielberg is a big fan of Miyaziki, and is instrumental in introducing him to western audiences. From there, the connection with Hisaishi is made.
The Score for Spirited Away comes in at 152 on the Classic Countdown. I have chosen One Summer's Day from that soundtrack for tonight.
20. Hero - Kung Fu Panda (Hans Zimmer)
Excluding Fantasia, the only animation to make it into the Classic Countdown top 100 was Zimmer's score for The Lion King (1994). This is a shame, and probably at least partially reflecting of those that actually voted for the Countdown not being exposed to many current animations (and I do include CGI here).
Having two youngish kids meant that I have seen most of the animated movies over the last 12 or so years, and I reckon that some of the best music over that time has been written for that genre.
King Fu Panda (2008) should have made it in the top 100, I believe. Or at least the top 200. Hans Zimmer has created a wonderful score, and should at least have been nominated for best score in 2009, given the competition that it was up against. This is a score that references many a kung fu movie over the years, providing an adult shine on a very well thought out animated movie. Hero, is the music from the opening sequence of the movie. Think Kill Bill, here. 21. The Incredits - The Incredibles (Michael Giacchino)
From their first feature movie, Toy Story (1985) onwards, I don't believe that Pixar have produced a bad movie. Critics may not agree, and in particular have panned Cars, and its sequel, but I disagree. They appear to have the Midas touch.
There are favourites, though. One of my top 3 Pixar movies would have to be The Incredibles (2004) (don't ask me what the other 2 are. You'd be disappointed). The story, of a super hero family, takes the genre and turns it into something not dealt with before, making this movie much more than a kid's film.
Giacchino received the IFMCA Award in 204 both for Composer of the Year as well as Score of the Year for The Incredibles, as well as Grammy award nominations for both the score and the composition we will be listening to, The Incredits. Although he received subsequent awards for other Pixar movies such as Ratatouille and Up, I think that the Incredibles Soundtrack is superior. Some interesting comments about the recording of the soundtrack can be found here.
22. Lieutenant Kijé Suite (Sergei Prokofiev)
I can hear many readers saying "What?" I don't blame you. This was on my sister's list and again I needed to do some research. But I am more than happy to have this on tonight's playlist.
Prokofiev, is seen by many as being one of the 20th century's most important composers. For most, he is best known for his piece Peter and the Wolf, though he has written many orchestral works, as well as being an accomplished pianist and conductor. The Suite is arranged from music composed for a Soviet comedy called Lieutenant Kije (1934). Its five movements are titled:
The Birth of Kijé
Romance
Kijé's Wedding
Troika
The Burial of Kijé
As with Dimtri Shostakovich and his score of the 1956 film The Gadlfy, where the music is remembered long after the film has disappeared from memory, so too is the music from Lieutenant Kijé. There are two parts to this suite, though that may be familiar to people, though. The first is the theme in Romance, which fans of Sting may recognise in his 1985 hit song, Russians. The second is in the theme in Troika, which has been used in numerous films, depicting a wintery scene. There was also an arrangement of this by British instrumental group, Sky, on their album, Cadmium.
23. Finale - Tron Legacy (Daft Punk)
This one is on the list against my better judgement. My sister believes it should be here which is the sole reason why it is being played tonight.
Daft Punk is an electric music duo, otherwise known as Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangelter. Better known for their house music, they have only worked on one movie score, that for Tron Legacy (2010). And whilst they composed the music, it is actually orchestrated by Joseph Trapanese, so a first for everyone there. The piece we will be playing is therefore an all-round collaboration.
24. Main Titles - Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (Michael Kamen)
I remember seeing this at the cinemas with my girlfriend (now my wife), being enthralled by the music and opening credits sequence and being disappointed with the movie. Kevin Costner will never make a good Robin Hood. The music tried hard to save the movie, and it is only on the strength of it that I can recommend this for others to see.
Michael Kamen had a varied, and a very successful career, both as a movie scorer as well as an arranger for pop and rock music. As an arranger he worked with Pink Floyd, Tom Petty, David Bowie, Eric Clapton, Queen, Aerosmith, etc.etc.etc. As a scorer, his movies include X-Men (2000), The Iron Giant (1999), Mr Holland's Opus (1996), Die Hard 1, 2 & 3, as well as the underrated Adventures of Baron Münchhausen.
Rather than using the original soundtrack, I have gone with a recording by the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra with Erich Kunzel at the baton, from the album The Great Fantasy-Adventure Album (one of my favourite albums).
25. Promontory - The Last of the Mohicans (Randy Edelman & Trevor Jones)
The score of this movie is excellent, but the story behind it makes you wonder how it became this good. The director, Michael Mann, originally asked Trevor Jones for an electronic score for the film, but then much later decided an orchestral score would be more appropriate for the film. Jones than struggled to rearrange the music for orchestra in time, leading to Randy Edelman being called in to assist Jones as deadlines approached. Unfortunately the score was ineligible for nomination of an Academy Award as the rules at the time disallowed co-contributors from being nominated (this has since changed). Had the rules allowed it, I think this would have won the Award for best score in 1993.
The main theme has been taken from an old tune, titled The Gael.
26. Main Title and First Victim - Jaws (John Williams)
It was an absolute outrage that the score from Jaws did not make it into the top 10 of the Classic Countdown. Even more astounding is at that it came in at 102, not even in the top 100. This same score had been ranked at number 6 of the top scores in the last 100 years in 2005.
This is undoubtedly one of John Williams' finest scores, and the bass and tuba theme is probably one of the most recognisable themes in movie history.
27. Hymn To The Fallen - Saving Private Ryan (John Williams)
I conclude tonight's show with a piece from a movie that has, for some reason, had a significant impact on me.
The Steven Spielberg movie, Saving Private Ryan (1998), was a movie set during World War II, starred Tom Hanks, Edward Burns and Matt Damon. It was nominated for 11 Academy awards in 1999, including best score, and won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Sound Effects, Best Film Editing and Best Sound Mixing. Funnily enough the opening half hour is one of the most dramatic movie openings ever, recreating D-Day, and has no music whatsoever.
It is the final scene, where Private Ryan visits the war graves of those that saved him that is one of the most emotional and poignant scenes I have seen in a movie. Music assists in creating the emotional narrative of a film and this is why I believe Hymn to the Fallen to be one of John William's greatest pieces.
Well, what do you think? Has any music been missed that doesn't feature in either the ABC Classic Countdown or in my shows over the last two weeks? Please feel free to add your comments below.
Next week we go back to brass bands as we explore the works of Philip Sparke.
