[Thor Joachim Haga]

I’ve always been intrigued by composers who display consistent versatility – i.e. moving in and out various musical idioms with apparent ease. I mean, every film composer is a chameleon of sorts, but there are some who are so all over the place, it’s a marvel to behold. Orchestral, electronic, jazz, pop, whatever. Not just now and then, but on a consistent basis.

Some examples for me include Vladimir Cosma, Francis Lai and Michel Colombier. Maybe Pino Donaggio.

What are some others, in your view?

[Nicolai P. Zwar]

Jerry Goldsmith & Ennio Morricone

I’ve never thought of Vladimir Cosma, Francis Lai and Pino Donaggio as particularly “versatile” composers, though I like some or a lot or even all of their stuff, and would perfectly agree their music appears in different idioms.

However, the construction of their music itself does not vary as much.

And that’s where there is something about Goldsmith & Morricone, who have not just composed about anything from jazz to folk, from hard-core abstract 12-tone compositions to lyrical romantic ones, for both small or large orchestras, and yet maintained a clear, identifiable musical identity, that is pretty much unmatched. So it’s pretty much these two for me.

[Malte Müller]

Two current composers I would consider very versatile are Bear McCreary and Daniel Pemberton.

[GerateWohl]

Hm. I find it important in regards of versatility wether a composer successfully adapts or reproduces a style or musical tradition or if he actually manages to make it something of his own. Goldsmith I would probably rather see in the first category, Morricone in the second.

When it comes to electronic music, almost every composer does it, even John Williams, but rarely orchestral composers really seem to be at home with it, and the other way around as well, skilled electronic musicians muddling through the symphony orchestra.

[Thor Joachim Haga]

I’ve never thought of Vladimir Cosma, Francis Lai and Pino Donaggio as particularly “versatile” composers, though I like some or a lot or even all of their stuff, and would perfectly agree their music appears in different idioms.

Oh, I definitely think they are. Not necessarily in the “construction” of the music (not sure what that means, do you mean application?), but definitely across many different music genres, which is the versatility I’m speaking of.

As I said in the first post, almost every single film composer displays versatility to one extent or another. Their profession demands it. So yes, even John Williams, who we generally associate with a certain type of orchestral sound, has dipped into jazz, pop, rock, gospel, blues, avantgarde classical, even some synths.

But there are some composers out there who go back and forth between all these on a consistent, regular basis, and with almost equal skill in all of them. Like the ones I mentioned. Perhaps it isn’t always easy to find their “voice” in all of them (compared to a Williams or Goldsmith or Morricone), but the consistent versatility in itself is enough to impress.

[GerateWohl]

Versatility was the term that came to my mind when I listened to the score samplers in my Lalo Schifrin box. At first you think, he is just the jazz guy. But he did allfrom avantgarde sounscapes over chamber music to orchestral adventure scores.

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