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.
Choosing a music genre can be fraught with danger. Especially swing. I mean, what exactly is swing?
You can look at the Wikipedia definition that gives us:
the sense of propulsive rhythmic feel or groove created by the musical interaction between the performers, especially when the music creates a "visceral response" such as feet tapping or head nodding. The term "swing" is also used to refer to several other related jazz concepts including the sung note (a lilting rhythm of unequal notes) and the genre of swing, a jazz style which originated in the 1930s.
The music selected for tonight's program fits this general definition (hopefully).
1. Have You Met Miss Jones? 2. Beyond The Sea - Robbie Williams (Swing When You're Winning)
This album featured a bit of change in direction for Robbie Williams. Released in 2001, this was the "big band album he had always dreamed of making". This album was a commercial hit around the world. Both tracks chosen were used in feature films. Have You Met Miss Jones? was recorded for the 2001 film Bridget Jones's Diaries and Beyond The Sea was used in the 2003 Pixar animation, Finding Nemo.
3. Sing, Sing, Sing - Cincinnati Pops Orchestra (The Very Best of Erich Kunzel • Cincinnati Pops Orchestra: Top 20)
Originally composed in 1936 by Louis Prima, this was most famously covered by Benny "King of Swing" Goodman. This version comes from the a "best of" album, with Erich Kunzel conducting the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, released in 1994.
4. Just The Way You Are - Rias Bigband (Pop Goes Swing)
I found this song on i-Tunes when I put together a Billy Joel in brass program last year. This is one of a number of songs on tonight that are a swing cover of a well known original song. This is performed by Horst Jankowski and Rias Bigband from their 1991 album Pop Goes Swing.
5. Three Kings' Swing - Swiss Army Brass Band (Best of Swiss Army Brass Band) 6. Swingtime Religion - Melbourne Staff Band (Celebration of Faithfulness) 7. A Song to Swing - David Daws (Golden Slippers)
Brass Bands have often been described as having the ability to swing "like a rusty gate". Having said that, these three pieces are worthy of inclusion in tonight's show. We start off with Three King's Swing, from the 2006 "best of" album by Swiss Army Brass Band. We move on to two Salvation Army recordings. Swingtime Religion is from the 2007 Celebration of Faithfullness album by Melbourne Staff Band and then David Daws with the International Staff Band of the Salvation Army playing A Song to Swing from their Golden Slippers CD.
8. Don't Know Much About Love 9. Lover Come Back To Me - Vince Jones and Grace Knight (Come In Spinner)
This music was for the ABC movie Come in Spinner, which was created back in 1990, and based on the book of the same name. It was set at the end of the Second World War. The music was a collaboration of Australian Jazz masters, Vince Jones and Grace Knight.
10. American Patrol 11. Little Brown Jug 12. Hallelujah 13. In The Mood
Glenn Miller was a trombone player, and also one of the music giants in the early forties. His life was tragically cut short in a plane crash in December 1944, but in the 5 years before then was one of the best selling recording artists. Miller was actually in charge of the Army Air Force Band as part of his services to the armed forces during the Second World War. This 50 piece band toured England in 1944, giving over 800 performances.
American Patrol and Little Brown Jug were recorded for the Academy Award winning movie, The Glenn Miller Story (1954).
Hallelujah was released on 2001 on Glen Miller. 25 Temas de lo Mejor del Swing Jazz.
One of his most famous works is In The Mood. I have chosen a recording from the TV show Scrubs soundtrack - Season 4.
14. Won't You Come Home Bill Bailey? 15. Do-Re-Mi - Harry Connick Jnr
The music of Harry Connick Jnr spans a number of genres, from funk to jazz to blues and everywhere in between. The Bill Bailey track is from his 2007 album Oh, My Nola. Do-Re-Mi is his arrangement of the famous track from the movie Sound of Music, and comes from his 2001 CD, Songs I Heard.
16. I've Got You Under My Skin 17. Moondance - Michael Bublé
A number of singers feature in tonight's show, all with fantastic backing bands. Bublé will soon be performing in Australia. I chose two contrasting swing tracks from his recordings. The first, I've Got You Under My Skin is a jazz classic from his 2011 album It's Time. Moondance, by contrast, is a song penned by Irish singer Van Morrison, which I found on Bublé's 2011 self titled album.
18. Candyman - Christina Aguilera (Back to Basics)
I feel the collective stares of everyone as they wonder why I have included this on tonight's program. Well, take a good listen to it. Sounds very much like an old Andrew Sisters song. Aguilera has, successfully I believe, managed to translate the sound and feel of this well know group in a modern setting. Complete with brass backing.
19. Norwegian Wood 20. Big Swing Face - Buddy Rich
Rich was billed as "the world's greatest drummer" during his career, as he played with all the jazz greats, starting with Artie Shaw and Tommy Dorsey, all the way through to Louis Armstrong, Ray Brown and Ella Fitzgerald. It was in his final years in the late sixties when he led his own big band, in an era where the big band style was waning. These two tracks come from his 1967 album, Big Swing Face. The first track is a swing version of a Beatles song Norwegian Wood. The second track is from Bill Pottts and is the title track of the album Big Swing Face.
21. Waltzing Matilda 22. All of Me - James Morrison
As one of my favourite artists, it would have been difficult for me not to have included at least a couple of tracks from this Australian jazz legend. The first track come from an album recorded live at the Sydney Opera House in 1996 and is a swing arrangement of Australia's unofficial national anthem, Waltzing Matilda.
The second track is from his latest CD released in 2012, Snappy Too and is his take on the classic song All of Me.
23. I Love Paris 24. Mrs Robinson 25. Mack The Knife - Frank Sinatra
I finish tonight's program with three recordings from a performer know alternatively as "Ol' Blue Eyes" or "Chairman of the Board", Frank Sinatra. In a career lasting 60 years (his final performance in 1995, when he was 80) Sinatra covered just about every popular genre over that period, having released 297 singles and 69 albums. It was difficult to only choose 3 songs from this huge discography, but in the end chose I Love Paris (which I have taken from the 2003 release of All The Best. Mrs. Robinson, another swing version of a popular song, is from his 1969 album, My Way. The final track (which I note is my most played track in my i-Tunes catalog) is Mack the Knife. Sinatra had released at last 5 different versions of this song, but this one, as a duet with Jimmy Buffett, is the best.
I hope you enjoy the program. Swing and brass go together so well.
Next week we return to the brass band scene and Part 2 of music by Philip Sparke.
Back on the morning of 6th October last year my theme for the show was on legendary tuba player Øystein Baadsvik. I think it's about time we played his music again.
Baadsvik was born in Trondheim, Norway in 1966. He only started playing the tuba when he was 15 years old and only three years later won a national soloists competition. Since 1991 Baadsvik has played with orchestras all around the world as a soloist, including with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra last year. He is considered by many to be the best tuba soloist in the world.
Baadsvik has released 10 CDs and we will be choosing the program today from a selection of those CDs:
We start the show with 4 tracks from his 2010 CD, Ferry Tales, which has Baadsvik being accompanied by Erland Skomsvoll on Piano and The Trondheim Soloists.
1. Déjà Vu (composed by Ø. Baadsvik)
This was titled thus because when the theme first popped in his head he was convinced that he had heard it before. After some thorough research he was satisfied that this is a new composition.
2. Sommernatt ved fjorden (Summer Night by the Fjord) (arr. E. Skomsvoll for tuba, piano and strings)
This seems to be a northern European classic song, but I love Baadsvik's explanation of the words to the song -
... when a young man goes out on the town, planning to pick up the girl he's in love with, and how those things gradually deteriorate until all that's left is to go home to Mummy for tea and sympathy.
3. The Wizard of Oz: Over the Rainbow (arr. E. Skomsvoll for tuba and strings)
This was originally composed by Harold Arlen and sung by Judy Garland in the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz. That song won an Academy Award and was also voted as the best song of the century by the Recording Industry Association of America.
4.Vise (A Simple Melody) (composed by Ø. Baadsvik)
This was composed in 1997. The string arrangement was a project during composition classes with composer Bertil Palmar Johansen.
5. Tuba Concerto (composed by John Williams)
This is from the CD 20th Century Tuba Concertos, and is performed by Baadsvik with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, released in 2008.
John Williams is best known for his movie music (think Star Wars, Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, etc.) but Williams has also composed a number of orchestral works. Williams composed this concerto whilst he was a conductor with Boston Pops Orchestra, in response to a commission for the orchestra's centenary in 1985. It was dedicated to the orchestra's tuba player at the time, Chester Schmitz
The concerto is in three movements:
Allegro moderato
Andante
Allegro molto
6. Ellens Gesang III (Ave Maria!), Op. 52, No. 6, D. 839, "Hymne an die Jungfrau" (arr. Ø. Baadsvik)
In 2011 Baadsvik released a Christmas CD called Snowflakes - A Classical Christmas, performing with Cantus (a women's choir) and the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra. There are some great renditions of traditional Christmas songs here, but as we are quite a few months out from that time of year, I have chosen Franz Schubert's Ave Maria, which can be found on many Christmas albums, although not composed for that purpose.
Tuba Carnival was released in 2003, and highlights the technical mastery that Baadsvik has of the tuba. A number of the pieces on this CD were not originally written for the tuba, but the arrangements for tuba would be a beastly challenge for most tuba players. Baadsvik is accompanied here by Musica Vitae.
7. Winter from The Four Seasons (arr. Ø. Baadsvik)
Antonio Vivaldi composed The Four Seasons in 1723, some 112 years before the invention of the tuba. This arrangement replaces the violin with the tuba, in one of the trickiest pieces I have heard yet for this instrument. Winter is in three movements:
Allegro Non Molto
Largo
Allegro
8. Carnival of Venice (arr. A. Baadsvik)
This piece, composed originally by Jean-Baptiste Arban as part of his 12 Fantasies with Theme, is part of the standard repertoire for brass soloists, though not often for tuba. This particular version has been arranged by Anna Baadsvik, Øystein's wife, who is an accomplished composer in her own right.
Chameleon was also released by Baadsvik in 2011 features a number of tuba works accompanied by the Fanfare Band of the Royal Netherlands Army 'Mounted Regiments'
9. Did You Do? (composed Ø. Baadsvik)
This is a word play on didgeridoo (or didjeridu), one of the oldest instruments in the world. Baadsvik bought one when he first toured Australia. This piece, as you will guess, is not played on the tuba, but on the aforementioned instrument.
10. Chameleon (composed M. Hamers)
Chameleon was the first work composed by Dutch composer Maurice Hamers and describes the ability of the chameleon to change colour depending on its surroundings and mood.
11. Memory of a Rose (composed A. Baadsvik)
Described in Anna's own words:
the piece was conceived after a very lifelike dream about the most unthinkable thing; the loss of that which one holds dearest to life. I was absorbed by the idea, and feeling deeply for all those who have actually experienced this, I set down my dream in music: an all-enveloping personal disaster which encompasses moods ranging from fury, the darkest sorrow and chaos to happy memories, heart-breaking loss and resignation.
I heard this work being performed by Baadsvik accompanied by Kew Band when he was in Melbourne last year, and was blown away by it. This is a profoundly moving piece.
12.Minuano (Six Eight) (arr. R. Farr)
This piece was originally from the album Still Life (Talking) by the Pat Methany Group. The title is taken from the name of the cold wind that blows in the south of Brazil and Uruguay. Ray Farr's arrangement is a popular piece to showcase the talents of the tuba player.
13. Fnugg Blue (composed Ø. Baadsvik)
If Baadsvik was best known for a specific work it would be for Fnugg, which went viral on YouTube a few years ago.
This extended adaptation of this piece is performed together with Christian Lindberg on trombone and the Swedish Wind Ensemble, from the album Baadsvik, Oystein: Prelude, Fnugg and Riffs, released in 2009. A great way to finish the show tonight.
Next week, after being set a challenge by one of our local identities up here in the Kinglake Ranges, the theme of the show will be "Swing!".
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.
During the week my grandmother passed away, aged 90. She was a true matriarch of the Szetey család here in Australia.
In memory of her life, this program is dedicated to her.
1. Hungarian Dance (Arranged for Trombones) - Joseph Alessi
We start the evening off with an arrangement of German composer Johannes Brahms's Hungarian Dance No. 5 (originally composed in 1869). This arrangement is by the well known brass composer and arranger Robert Elkjer. It is performed by Joseph Alessi from his 2002 album, Trombonastics.
2. Hungarian March - Williams Fairey Engineering Band
The Hungarian March is also known as the Rákóczi March, and is considered to be the unofficial anthem of Hungary. It was first composed around 1730 - by whom, no-one knows.
The march was included as part of French composer Hector Berlioz's choral and orchestral work, La Damnation de Faust which was first premiered in 1846. In the first part of this work (and to quote Wikipedia):
The aging scholar Faust contemplates the renewal of nature. Hearing
peasants sing and dance, he realizes that their simple happiness is
something he will never experience. An army marches past in the distance
(Hungarian March). Faust doesn't understand why the soldiers are so
enthusiastic about glory and fame.
This arrangement is by Phillip Catilinet and is performed by Williams Fairey Engineering Band from their 1994 album, Works of Berlioz.
3. Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 - Grimethorpe Colliery RJB Band
Franz Liszt and Béla Bartók (see below), are seen as the most famous Hungarian composers, as well as the most important.
Liszt is probably best known for his 19 Hungarian Rhapsodies, and of these the 2nd is the most recorded. The Rhapsodies were originally composed for the piano, but the popularity of the 2nd Rhapsody saw it being arranged for orchestra by Liszt, in collaboration with Franz Doppler.
My research cannot locate the arranger of this version of Hungarian Rhapsody No 2 but it is performed by Grimethorpe Colliery RJB Band from their 2001 album Classic Brass. 4. Hungarian Pictures - Equale Brass
Béla Viktor János Bartók is viewed as one of the most important composers of the 20th century. Bartók is also seen as one of the founders of ethnomusicology (the study of music that emphasizes its cultural, social and other contexts).
Bartók concentrated on the collection, and arrangement, Hungarian folk music, as well as in other regions in Eastern Europe.
Originally composed for piano, Hungarian Pictures (or Hungarian Sketches) was arranged for orchestra in 1931. There are 5 movements:
An Evening At The Village (Este a székelyeknél)
Bear Dance (Medvetánc)
Melody (Melódia)
Slightly Tipsy (Kicsit ázottan)
Swineherd's Dance (Ürögi kanásztánc)
This arrangement is performed by Equale Brass from their 2012 album, Bachanalles.
5. Hungarian Schnapsody - Zoltán Kiss
Zoltán Kiss is a Hungarian trombone player of extraordinary talent. He came to prominence when he joined the Austrian group Mnozil Brass. He has released a number of CDs as a soloist as well as performing with other artists, such as trumpet player Adam Rappa. He is no stranger to Australia as he has toured there with Mnozil Brass a number of times.
Hungarian Schnapsody was composed by another Mnozil Brass trombonist, Leonard Paul and is performed by Zoltan, as part of the Creme de la Creme show by Mnozil Brass. This particular recording is from his 2011 album, Slideshow.
6. Hungarian Melodies - Brass Roots Trio
Who is/are Brass Roots Trio? They are trumpeter Thomas Boulton, horn player Dan Wions and pianist Rosetta Senkus Bacon. I found this whilst surfing I-Tunes and consider it to be a worthy addition to the show tonight. This piece is from their 2006 album, Con Brio! 7. For Children - Prague Brass Ensemble
In 1909 Bartók released a 4 volume set of 85 folk tunes arranged for piano, called For Children with 42 Hungarian tunes and 43 Slovakian tunes.
These arrangements are by Jan Votava. There will be 7 short pieces (all from the Hungarian tunes) - 1,2,5,6,7,15 and 21. These are all from Prague Brass Ensemble's self titled album, released in 2012.
A number of these remind me of my childhood. If I am not mistaken, some of these were sung by my grandmother to me when I was very young.
8. Mennyböl az Angyal, Pásztorok, Pásztorok - Daniel Speer Brass
I wanted to include this traditional Hungarian Christmas carol as it was played at every Christmas lunch at my grandparents place, without exception. It was difficult finding an appropriate arrangement as I wanted to spare you, the listener, from the droning choral versions we had to listen to. I found an arrangement by Hungarian heavy metal band Moby Dick, and alternative Hungarian rock band, Quimby, but deemed them both inappropriate. Maybe for another show.
Finally, on YouTube, I found this brass arrangement, performed by Daniel Speer Brass.
9. Double Concerto for Trumpet, Trombone, and Orchestra - Zoltán Kovács
Considered one of the most promising young composers of his generation, Zoltan is a bassoon player in the Hungarian State Opera Orchestra. He has been commissioned to write many works for orchestra and chamber groups.
This 3 movement piece is performed by Bence Horváth on trumpet, István Péter Farkas on trombone, with the Debrecen Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Balázs Kocsár, from the 2011 album The Hammer of the Village, A Winter's Tale, Double Concerto.
10. Hary Janos : Entrance Of The Emperor And His Court - Eikanger-Bjørsvik Musikklag
Zoltan Kodaly was also a well known, and important 20th century Hungarian composer.
In 1926 he composed an opera called Hary Janos, and from that came the Hary Janos Suite, probably one of his best known works. There are six movements to the suite and the final movement, Entrance of the Emperor and His Court, has been arranged by Ray Farr for Brass Band. It is being performed by Eikanger-Bjørsvik Musikklag from their 1997 album Best By Farr. 11. Hejre Kati - Geoffrey Payne and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra 12. Csárdás - Geoffrey Payne and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
In 2006 trumpeter Geoffrey Payne and the MSO released the album Trumpet Magic - A Tribute To Rafael Mendez, which is a fantastic selection of works either composed or arranged by Mexican trumpeter Rafael Mendez.
Hejre Kati was composed by Jenő Hubay, a Hungarian composer in 1886 as a piece for violin and piano or orchestra.
Csárdás was originally composed by an Italian, Vittorio Monti, in 1904, based on a Hungarian Csárdás.
13. Himnusz - Millar Brass Ensemble We close with the official national anthem of Hungary, composed by Ference Erkel and arranged for brass ensemble by Donald Fraser. It is performed by Millar Brass Ensemble from their 1996 album World Anthems.
Next week we will play our originally schedule program of movie music arranged for brass bands.
There wouldn't be many brass band or concert band players out that aren't familiar with Philip Sparke's works.
London born, in 1951, and with his first composition in 1973 (Gaudium), Sparke has written well over 150 works for both brass and concert bands.
Over the years the bands that I have been involved in have played a number of his works, as they are often used as test pieces at both state and national level, both here in Australia, as well as overseas.
Tonight's program will look at only a small selection of his vast catalogue of works, and only for brass bands. Something tells me there will be one or two more shows in the future featuring more of his music.
So, what's on?: 1. Sandstone Centennial (2007)
This march was commissioned by Frodsham Silver Band to celebrate their centenary as a band, and is styled as a traditional march. This recording is by Brass Band De Bazuin Oenkerk with Klaas van der Woude as conductor, from the album Colour of Brass (2008).
2. The Land of the Long White Cloud - Aotearoa (1979)
This was one of Sparke's first major pieces, and is probably the first piece I recall playing from Sparke. I think that this piece still stands up quite well, and doesn't sound as dated as other major works that I have heard composed in the 70s. This is now seen as a B Grade major work, though back in the 80s it was seen as an A Grade Test Piece. This just shows you how the standard of playing within the brass band movement has increased over the years. This particular recording is by National Youth Brass Band of New Zealand with Nigel Weeks as conductor, from the album Brass Aotearoa: Music for Brass Band from New Zealand (2003).
3. Fugue from Graduation Day (1986)
This piece (full name Prelude, Toccata and Fugue - Graduation Day) was commissioned by Salford College of Technology to be played at the college's 1986 graduation ceremony by their relatively new brass band. The music depicts both the traditional and contemporary sounds of the brass band repertoire at that time. This recording by Buy As You View Cory Band with Robert Childs as conductor from their album Diadem of Gold (2000). 4. Capriccio (1979)
This Eb Soprano Cornet solo was one of the first solo pieces written by Sparke. This recording is by Williams Fairey Band with Major Peter Parkes as conductor, from their album Double Champions (1993).
5. Hymn of the Highlands (2002)
This lengthy (36 minutes) concert piece was commissioned by Professor David King who was at the time conducting the Yorkshire Building Society Band, and was the played at the 2002 European Brass Band Championships Gala Concert, in Brussels.
The concept here was to develop a themed piece that would work as a half concert, and featuring a number of the band's soloists.
There are 7 movements in this work and all are named after locations in the Scottish Highlands:
Ardross Castle
Summer Isles (Euphonium Solo)
Flowerdale (Eb Soprano Cornet Solo)
Strathcarron - Sword Dance
Lairg Muir (Cornet Solo)
Alladale (Flugel Horn, Baritone and Tenor Horn Trio)
Dundonnell - Finale
The Flowerdale movement is often used as a standalone solo piece, for Soprano Cornet.
I especially enjoy the Finale, having played this on stage only a few weeks ago.
This recording is by Yorkshire Building Society Brass Band with David King as conductor from the album titled Hymn of the Highlands.
6. Music of the Spheres (2004)
This major work was also commissioned by Yorkshire Building Society Band for the 2004 European Brass Band Championships at Glasgow.
The piece reflects Sparke's fascination with the origins of the universe, and space.
The opening of this piece is played by the Tenor Horn at t=0 (or the time of The Big Bang, the creation of time and space). This is then followed by a slower section titled The Lonely Planet (Earth). This is then followed by Asteroids and Shooting Stars, depicting objects flying through space and the piece ends with The Unknown,
This recording is from that 2004 European Championships, and played by Yorkshire Building Society Brass Band with David King as conductor.
7. A Tale as Yet Untold (2010)
This was commissioned for the 2010 European Championships in Linz, Austria, though this time by Cory Band.
I'll quote directly from Sparke himself about what this piece is about:
The ‘tale’ of the title is an autobiographical one which the composer
feels need not be divulged to explain the programme of the music, which deals
with a much more general human condition. The first movement opens with a
nervous repetitive figure in the cornets, under which an impassioned theme
develops. This is cut short by a closely related faster section which comprises
two alternating moods: an aggressive ‘toccata’ interspersed by a yearning 6/8
melody. The second movement is the heart of the work and symbolises the ability
of the human soul to overcome the ‘Sturm und Drang’ of the first movement with
an indomitable sense of optimism. The third movement tries to negate this
feeling of peace but ends triumphantly in a salute to the power of the human
spirit.
This was used as the test piece for the Elitedivisjon of the National Brass Band Championships of Norway this year. The recording tonight is from that contest and features the winning band, Eikanger-Bjørsvik Musikklag, with David King as the conductor.
Next week's topic - staying with brass bands, and looking at brass band arrangements of movie music (for something different!)
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.
So, during the Queen's Birthday long weekend, ABC Classic FM ran their annual Classic100 Countdown. This year's theme featured Music in the Movies. You can see what music was voted in by the ABC listeners here.
As movie music is one of my favourite music genres, I took special interest in this particular Countdown, and managed to listen to every piece played over the long weekend (9am-7pm Friday, 9am-5pm Saturday and Sunday and then 9am-7pm Monday - Sad, isn't it.) In addition, for a lot of that weekend Countdown, I actively participated in online discussion through Twitter, as pieces were analysed for their inclusion within the Top 100 (I even had one of my Tweets read out on the radio - Sadder, isn't it.).
The interesting discussion points revolved around the listing of those movies and music that did not feature in the Top 100. As it was a count down from 100 to 1, hopes were held high for certain scores and pieces of music, right up until the top 10, and then top 5 were announced. An obvious case was the theme from Jaws, that most people online thought would be in the top 10, and then were astounded when it didn't even make the top 100.
The other topic that came up over the course of the 4 days was the lumping together of music specifically written for movies with music of the classical genre used in movies. This meant that works such as Beethoven's fifth piano concerto (The King's Speech - 2010), Albinoni's Adagio in G Minor (Gallipoli - 1981) and Mozart's Requiem (Amadeus - 1984) were all included, and in fact all were voted in the top 20.
So, from all of that, the topics of the next two programs became evident. Those works that missed out, that I think should have been included in the top 100. And to spread it out, tonight's program will be for "classical' music used in movies, whilst next week's program will feature music composed for movies. Interestingly, during the week the ABC released the list of music
that was voted from 101-200. This supplementary list may or may not have
influenced my play list for the next two weeks.
Now, one of the criteria that ABC Classic FM used was - No Musicals, which we will honor, in spirit, over the next two weeks.
So, what "classical' music will be on the show tonight?
Remembering that my show is called "Brass Monkeys" and features brass instruments over all genres, here is the playlist:
1. Carmina Burana - O Fortuna (Carl Orff)
I first heard this used in Excalibur (1981), starring a, then young, Helen Mirren. It has also been used in Natural Born Killers (1994), as well as dozens of TV shows and documentaries. A special mention also for this award winning beer advert. It came in at 117 on the ABC Classic Count Down. Tonight's recording is by the London Philharmonia Orchestra with Zubin Mehta as conductor.
2. Swan Lake (Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky)
There are two movies that I recall hearing this used, and both to great effect. The first is in Billy Elliot (2000), at the very end of the movie, when Billy has become a professional ballet dancer. The second is in Black Swan (2010), the movie that earned Natalie Portman an Academy Award for her role as Nina Sayers and The Swan Queen. Interestingly according to IMDB website, the original soundtrack for Black Swan, composed by Clint Mansell, is a variation of Swan Lake, but played backwards, and in a distorted manner. This was 160 on the ABC Classic Count Down. Apologies to the unnamed orchestra on this particular recording.
3. Overture to The Thieving Magpie (Gioacchino Rossini)
This was used in A Clockwork Orange (1971), and whilst the movie is as old as I am, I have yet to see it, so will rely on my sister's suggestion for it to be included tonight. This did not make the top 200 of the Countdown. The recording on the actual film soundtrack is an abridged version of the overture. Tonight we are playing it in full, performed by the London Symphony Orchestra (conductor not credited).
4. Finlandia (Jean Sibelius)
Used on Die Hard 2 (1990), (the one that wasn't very good) as well as dozens of TV shows and documentaries. It's 193 on the ABC Classic Count Down. This recording performed by London Symphony Orchestra (once again conductor not credited). 5. In The Hall Of The Mountain King - Peer Gynt Suite (Edvard Grieg)
This has been used in well over a dozen movie trailers, such as Dinner for Schmucks, The Borrowers, Night at the Museum 2, but movie trailers don't count. It was used in the end credits for Rat Race (2001), Scoop (2006), the Aussie movie Young Einstein (1988), as well as Johnny English Reborn (2011), whilst an "interpretation" of it was used in Social Network (2010). This wasn't included in the top 200 of the Countdown. This recording was made by Philharmonia Slavonica with Alberto Lizzio (apparently a pseudonym) as conductor.
6. Fantasia On A Theme By Thomas Tallis (Ralph Vaughan Williams)
"But Steve," I hear you all cry, "there is no brass in this piece". You are all correct. I tend to have one or two pieces in each show that may not strictly fit the "Brass Monkeys" criteria. I have included this because I was certain it was going to be in the top 20 of the Countdown, and it only ended up at 126. This was used to great effect in Peter Weir's Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003), starring Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany. Some of the music from this movie made it higher up on the Countdown, but I believe that the interaction between this piece and the scene that it was used in (a sailor unable to be saved after falling off the ship in a fierce storm) should have made this a much more voted track. This recording come from the soundtrack and is performed by New Queen's Hall Orchestra, with Barry Wordsworth as conductor.
7. En Aranjuez Con Tu Amor (Joaquín Rodrigo) 8. William Tell Overture (Gioacchino Rossini)
Both these next two pieces are from the movie Brassed Off (1996), the biggest promotion for brass bands ever, starring Pete Postlethwaite,
Tara Fitzgerald,
and Ewan McGregor. The ABC Classic Countdown chose to represent this movie with Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance, which was a shame as these two pieces are better used in the film.
En Aranjuez Con Tu Amor was listed just outside the Classic 100 Countdown at 101, whilst the William Tell Overture was much further down at 171. Both pieces have been used in a variety of other films but no other films have used the brass band arrangements in this film.
Special mention must be made to Grimethorpe Colliery Band, and their conductor John Anderson, dressed up as the fictitious Grimley Colliery Brass Band. It's not the first time that a brass band has been used for a movie score (see Dimboola 1979) but never where the band is effectively the star of the movie.
9. Wedding March - A Midsummer Night's Dream (Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy)
Sometimes the most obvious ones get missed. This wasn't in the top 200 of the Classic Countdown, however I would suggest that this is one of the most used pieces of music in movies, although you never get to hear all of it, mostly just the first few bars. This is the "go to" piece when a wedding features in the storyline. The IMDB website shows dozens of references to this piece in both movies and TV shows. I won't single any of them out, as they are all pretty much of the same quality. I just thought it strange that this didn't get featured anywhere on any list. The recording tonight is by the Boston Symphony Orchestra with Sir Colin Davis as conductor.
10. Nessun Dorma - Turandot (Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini) One of the best known tenor arias from any opera, and came in at 175 on the Classic Countdown. They have it connected with The Killing Fields (1984), but has been used in quite a lot of other movies, including The Sum of All Fears (2002), The Witches of Eastwick (1987) and The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996). Today's recording is by Berlin State Opera Orchestra, with Placido Domingo as the tenor, and Nello Santi as conductor.
11. Gnomus (The Gnome) 12. La Grande Porte de Kiev (The Great Gate of Kiev) - Pictures at An Exhibition: A Remembrance of Viktor Hartmann (Modest Mussorgsky/Maurice Ravel)
A brilliant work this was originally composed as a piano piece by Mussorgsky and then orchestrated by many composers, most notably Maurice Ravel. Gnomus was used in The Big Lebowski (1988). La Grande Porte de Kiev has been used in a few more movies, but one of the more interesting selections is Jabberwocky (1977). Neither piece made it in the Classic Countdown top 200.
Tonight's recording is from the London Symphony Orchestra, with Richard Williams as conductor. 13. Night on Bare Mountain - (Modest Mussorgsky)
The 1940 Disney movie, Fantasia was ground breaking in many ways. This was a gamble by Walt Disney to create a movie of a series of cartoon pieces set to classical works. And whilst it has been emulated many times since (including an Italian parody called Allegro non Troppo (1976), it all started with Fantasia.
This came in at 123 on the Classic Countdown, but I am surprised that it did not make it further up the list, as I think it was a better combination of animation and music than the two other pieces that did make the top 100 from Fantasia, The Sorceror's Apprentice (No 37) and JS Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor (No 48).
The recording tonight is from the original soundtrack, performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra and conducted by the great, Leopold Anthony Stokowski.
14. Pines of Rome (Ottorino Respighi) 15. Piano Concerto No. 2, Allegro (Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich) 16. Firebird Suite (Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky)
In 1999 Walt Disney Studios released a follow up to the, now critically acclaimed, Fantasia. It was called Fantasia 2000. In my opinion the choice of music, quality of animation and obvious sound quality are all vastly superior to the original movie. This then makes it disappointing that the movie was pretty much ignored on the Classic Countdown Top 200 (except for the one piece connecting the two movies, The Sorceror's Apprentice).
Now it's debatable about whether the Fantasia movies and Brassed Off, mentioned earlier are seen as "musicals" or not. Given the significant theme about all three movies is "music" some may question why they are on the list. I am just going by ABC FM's rules.
Now, I could have chosen all of the works featured in Fantasia 2000 - but have settled on these three. If you get a chance, you should see the movie in its entirety. I believe most of it can be found on YouTube. The recordings tonight are from the original soundtrack, performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, with James Levine as conductor.
Well, that's the first part of my list. The second part, looking at music specifically written for movies, will be on next week.
What do you think? Aare there any other works that I (and ABC FM) have missed, which you think should be certainties in the list of top movie music. Let me know your thoughts below.
