[Nicolai P. Zwar]

Depends on what you mean by “tunesmith”. Goldsmith didn’t write popular melodies the way Mancini did, yet I find his melodies considerably more interesting and captivating. ALIEN has one of the most fascinating melodies in all of film music I’d say, but obviously, it’s not a popular tune, it’s not really suitable to become a (pop) song. “Ilia’s Theme” from STAR TREK – THE MOTION PICTURE is another favorite melody of mine. Other favorite melodies from Goldsmith include PSYCHO II, HOUR OF THE GUN, PAPILLON, A PATCH OF BLUE, PLANET OF THE APES (perhaps the only 12-tone melody I find myself whistling), etc. among many others. I definitely think Goldsmith was a great melodist, and prefer his melodies to those of more “popular tunesmiths”.