Reply To: Do you also dislike the phrase “This is a fun score”?
To get back to the topic, I suppose it depends on what you mean by “fun” score. I don’t think calling something a “fun” score automatically means it is a lesser score. I think Haydn’s Symphony No. 87 or Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 1, both among my all time favorite symphonies, are fun, fun in the best sense of the word. GREMLINS is a score I would consider “fun”, which doesn’t mean it isn’t also great. I think it is “fun” when a composer plays around with and subverts expectations. When Saint-Saens slows down the famous “Can-Can” for the tortoises, that’s just pure fun, as is the entire score.