Variety is reporting that John Powell will be taking another sabbatical from film music following the completion of his score for this summer’s animated sequel How to Train Your Dragon 2. Instead, he will be writing a 45-minute oratorio to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of World War I. The piece, entitled Moltke will feature a libretto by artist-writer Michael Petry and is about the aide-de-camp to Prussia’s Kaiser Wilhelm II who was instrumental in making crucial decisions, before and during the war. The oratorio is expected to premiere next January with the Philharmonia Orchestra at the Westminster Cathedral in London. In addition, Powell will also be expanding a piece he composed in early 2012 with composer Gavin Greenaway for a Petry installation at the Palm Springs Art Museum called The Dilemma about the biblical history of men and women.
Category: Film Music News
Weekly Film Music Roundup (April 18, 2014)
Four new movies are opening nationwide this week:
Opening in most theaters is the sci-fi thriller Transcendence directed by Wally Pfister and starring Johnny Depp, Paul Bettany, Rebecca Hall, Kate Mara, Cillian Murphy, Clifton Collins, Jr. and Morgan Freeman. Mychael Danna (Life of Pi, Little Miss Sunshine, Moneyball) has composed the film’s original music. WaterTower Music has released a soundtrack album featuring the composer’s music. Check out our previous news article for the full album details and to listen to audio clips. Also visit Trailer Addict for a video interview with Danna talking about his work on the project.
Already in theaters since this past Wednesday is the drama Heaven is for Real directed by Randall Wallace and starring Greg Kinnear, Kelly Reilly, Connor Corum, Margo Martindale and Thomas Haden Church. The film’s original music is composed by Nick Glennie-Smith (We Were Soldiers, The Man in the Iron Mask, The Rock). Madison Gate Records has released a soundtrack featuring the composer’s score. Click here for the full details. A separate soundtrack album featuring songs inspired by the film is available on Reprise Records (click here for more information).
Hans Zimmer Composes Hymn for EDM Festival Tomorrowland
Hans Zimmer has composed the first official hymn for the 10th anniversary of the electronic dance musicmfestival Tomorrowland, which is held every year in the Belgian town of Boom, outside of Brussels. The composer collaborated with Junkie XL (Divergent, 300: Rise of an Empire) and Lorne Balfe (Megamind) on the piece, which was recorded at Air Studios in London. Check out a video featuring an interview with Zimmer about the hymn and footage from the recording sessions after the jump. The 2014 edition of Tomorrowland will take place July 18-20 and July 25-27 and the second version of the stateside edition, TomorrowWorld, will be held on September 26-28 in the Chattahoochee Hills outside of Atlanta.
Behind the Music of ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’
Sony Pictures Entertainment has published a video featurette on the music for the superhero sequel The Amazing Spider-Man 2. The video features footage from the score’s recording sessions and interviews with the film’s composer Hans Zimmer, as well as some of his collaborators including Pharrell Williams, Johnny Marr and director Marc Webb. Check out the featurette after the jump. Columbia Records and Madison Gate Records will release the official soundtrack album featuring the score and the songs from the movie on April 22. Check out our previous article for the full album details and visit Amazon to pre-order the soundtrack. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 starring Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx and Dane DeHaan will be released nationwide on May 2.
Weekly Film Music Roundup (April 11, 2014)
Three new movies are opening wide this weekend:
Opening in most theaters is the animated sequel Rio 2 directed by Carlinhos Brown and featuring the voices of Anne Hathaway, Jesse Eisenberg, will.i.am, Jemaine Clement, Rodrigo Santoro, Tracy Morgan, George Lopez, Leslie Mann, Jamie Foxx, Rita Moreno, Bruno Mars and Kristin Chenoweth. The film’s original’s music is composed by John Powell (How to Train Your Dragon) and Sergio Mendes serves as the film’s executive music producer. Atlantic Records has released a soundtrack album featuring the songs from the film. Check out our previous article for the full album details. Sony Classical has released a separate soundtrack featuring Powell’s score. Click here for the score album details and to listen to audio clips.
Also opening wide is the sports drama Draft Day directed by Ivan Reitman and starring Kevin Costner, Jennifer Garner, Denis Leary, Frank Langella, Sam Elliot, Sean Combs, Terry Crews, Ellen Burstyn and Chadwick Boseman. John Debney (The Passion of the Christ, Iron Man 2) has composed the film’s original music. Lakeshore Records has released a soundtrack album featuring the composer’s score earlier this week. For the full album details and to listen to audio clips, check out our soundtrack announcement.
Elliot Goldenthal’s Othello Symphony to Be Released
Zarathustra Music will release Academy Award-winning composer Elliot Goldenthal‘s Othello Symphony based on the ballet he composed in 1998. Last year, the composer of such films as Frida, Interview with a Vampire, Heat, Public Enemies and Alien 3 adapted the music into a proper concert piece, which was recorded with the AUKSO Orchestra of Tychy Poland at Alvernia Studios in Krakow. The recording will be released on May 6 and is now available for pre-order on Amazon. Also visit iTunes to listen to audio clips. Earlier this month, the composer’s label also released String Quartet No. 1 “The Stone Cutters” and Early Chamber Works, which includes includes world premiere recordings of Goldenthal’s 1980 Sonata for Bass and Piano and 1974 Three Pieces for Solo Piano, as well as the Extension Ensemble performing Goldenthal’s Second Brass Quintet. Click here to order the CD.
Ibero-American Film Industry Launches Platino Awards
This past Saturday, the first Platino Ibero-American Film Awards were held Saturday in Panama City. In the Best Original Score category, Emilio Kauderer was honored for his music for the animated feature Foosball directed by Juan Jose Campanella, which was recently picked up by the Weinstein Company for a domestic release this summer under the title Underdogs. Composer Lucas Vidal (Fast & Furious 6, The Quiet Ones) and Grammy-nominated singer and actress Natalia Oreiro presented the music category. Vidal also composed the award show’s music, which he recorded earlier this year at Abbey Road Studios in London. Check out a video from the recording sessions after the jump.
Mychael Danna to Receive BMI’s Richard Kirk Award
Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) has announced today that Mychael Danna will be honored with the Richard Kirk Award for outstanding career achievement at this year’s BMI Film & Television Awards. The composer who is recognized for his evocative blending of non-western traditions with orchestral and electronic music received his first Academy Awardin 2013 for his score for Ang Lee’s Life of Pi and was also nominated for the original song Pi’s Lullaby. Danna started his film scoring career with Atom Egoyan and composed the music for all of the director’s films since 1987, including such titles as The Sweet Hereafter, Exotica and Felicia’s Journey. The composer also collaborated multiple times with directors including Bennett Miller (Moneyball, Capote, Foxcatcher), Terry Gilliam (The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Tideland), Billy Ray (Breach, Shattered Glass) and Mira Nair (Monsoon Wedding, Vanity Fair).
Weekly Film Music Roundup (April 4, 2014)
Only one new movie is opening this weekend:
Guaranteed to top the weekend box office is Captain America: The Winter Soldier directed by Anthony & Joe Russo and starring Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Anthony Mackie and Robert Redford. The film’s music is composed by Henry Jackman (X-Men: First Class, Wreck-It-Ralph. Hollywood Records has released a soundtrack album featuring the composer’s music, as well as Marvin Gaye’s Trouble Man. Check out our previous article for the full album details. Also visit ET Online for a video featurette about the movie’s music and check out recent interviews with Jackman on Collider, Comicbook.com, Comic Book Therapy and The Movie Bit.
Opening in limited release is the Under the Skin directed by Jonathan Glazer, based on a novel by Michael Faber and starring Scarlett Johansson. Mica Levi from the experimental pop music band Micachu and the Shape has composed the film’s original music. Milan Records has released a soundtrack album featuring Levi’s score earlier this week. Check out our soundtrack announcement for the full album details and to learn more about the film. Also visit Pitchfork, Indiewire and Variety for recent interviews with Levi about her work on the project.
Weekly Film Music Roundup (March 28, 2014)
Two new movies opening nationwide this weekend:
Expected to top the weekend box office is the biblical epic Noah directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Ray Winstone, Emma Watson, Anthony Hopkins and Logan Lerman. Clint Mansell who previously scored all of the director’s features including Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain, Pi, Black Swan and The Wrestler has composed the film’s original music. Nonesuch Records has released a soundtrack album featuring the score by the composer who collaborated with the Kronos Quartet on the project. Also included is the original song Mercy Is performed by Patti Smith. For the full album details, check out our previous article. For a recent audio interview with Mansell about work on the project, visit Film Music Magazine.
Also opening wide is the action thriller Sabotage directed by David Ayer and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Olivia Williams, Mireille Enos, Sam Worthingtonq, Harold Perrineau, Terrence Howard, Joe Manganiello, Max Martini and Josh Holloway. The film’s original score is composed by David Sardy (21, Zombieland, Premium Rush) who previously collaborated with Sardy on 2012’s End of Watch. No soundtrack album has been announced. Sabotage follows an elite DEA task force that takes on the world’s deadliest drug cartels. The movie is being released by Open Road Films. To learn more about the thriller, visit the official movie website.