Film Music Reporter’s Top 3 Original Scores of 2014:
John Powell delivered a perfect sequel score for How to Train Your Dragon 2, developing themes and musical material introduced in the 2010 original film, while adding a number of new themes and reaching a level of sophistication in his orchestral writing that he rarely achieved before. The score, which at times even surpasses his Oscar-nominated music for the first movie, also includes our favorite and most memorable new theme of the year, receiving our favorite treatments in the standout cues Flying with Mother and Toothless Found on the soundtrack album. The soundtrack featuring Powell’s music is available on Relativity Music.
James Newton Howard reportedly worked almost a year on Disney’s Maleficent starring Angelina Jolie & Elle Fanning and the effort showed in the result of his score, which has to be considered one of the composer’s career-best scores. Written for big orchestra and choir, the music features numerous highlights, including some of the year’s best action cues and most impressive choral and orchestral writing. A soundtrack album featuring the score is available on Walt Disney Records. (Standout tracks on soundtrack album: Maleficent Suite, Maleficent is Captured) Read the rest of this entry »
