Pino Donaggio
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So I’ve reached Donaggio in my collection walkthrough, some 12-13 albums, I think.
I’ve had a connection to him since the 90s, with bits and bobs entering (and sometimes even leaving) my collection. But I only set out to explore his work after I met him in Ghent in 2012. And when I did, I was struck by his extreme sense of versatility. Such an eclectic approach, and often within the same score itself – from synth to pop to lush orchestral to jazz to everything inbetween.
My favourite probably remains CARRIE, but I have several less-known recommendations as well, some of which I’ll revisit in the “erotica” thread.
What are your favourites?
Not a real expert bu CARRIE is great as are other De Palma scores. I also like:
– DePalma scores in general
– DON’T LOOK NOW
– HERCULES
– THE HOWLING
– TOURIST TRAP
– PIRANHA
– THE BARBARIANS (even or because it is a bit 80s cheesy ;-))I liked Pino Donaggio from the first time I ever noticed his name or music, that was way back in the 1980s when I saw DON’T LOOK NOW for the first time. Incidentally, that was also Donaggio’s first film score. And it’s a favorite to this day. To mention my “top 5” Donaggio scores:
DON’T LOOK NOW
That childlike piano theme alone, in a purposely “child-practice” like performance played by Donaggio himself, is just pure gold.BODY DOUBLE
I really love both the score and the movie; like Thor said, the score is highly eclectic, from lush romantic strings to suspense and synths. The “famous” cue “Telescope” is just like mystery-sleaze turned into music (in the best sense).HERCULES
Pino Donaggio in full blown orchestral fantasy mode… you don’t get to hear that often. The movie is a hoot, with Erector-set monsters, goofy plot, and Donaggio’s music just fully embraces the swashbuckling and adventure.ZELLY AND ME
Haven’t seen the movie (though it is one of the few with David Lynch as an actor), but the music is like a summer afternoon, soft and breezy, with a touch of melancholy. It’s got one of those Donaggio themes that lingers and stays in my head long after I stopped playing the album.DRESSED TO KILL
Of course, all the De Palma collaborations are great and interesting… so at first, I even thought to just lump them all together and say “Donaggio/De Palma”, but if I had to pick one more out of this great collaboration (after BODY DOUBLE), it might as well be DRESSED TO KILL. This might be the quintessential Donaggio/De Palma score.That theme from PASSION (Perversions & Diversions) is wonderful. BODY DOUBLE and BARBARIANS are great too.
That theme from PASSION (Perversions & Diversions) is wonderful.
Sure is. In fact, I love Donaggio’s synth stuff just as much as the orchestral.
There are many to choose from (and there is quite a bit in the three erotica scores that I will share later, in that thread), but here’s another one – the track “Giú dal cielo” from DON CAMILLO (1984). It sounds like a take on TOP GUN, but was actually composed two years earlier:
I like Donaggio’s PASSION a lot too, just like I enjoy all the Donaggio/De Palma collaborations. PASSION is of course heavily influenced by lots of works, most notably Ravel’s Pavane Pavane pour une infante défunte, but also Jon Brion’s MAGNOLIA and Morricone’s THE THING among other things. But Donaggio fuses it all together into one highly listenable album.
Did I just read that Pino Donaggio has stepped in for Cliff Martinez to score Nicolas Winding Refn’s upcoming film HER PRIVATE HELL?
Consider my mind blown!
I mean, the Martinez/Refn collaboration is one of my favourite composer/director pairings at the moment, and I hold Martinez in greater esteem than I do Donaggio, so there’s definitely a sense of loss here. But if he was going to be replaced by someone, Donaggio was a wonderful, out-of-left-field choice. I know that Refn is a big De Palma fan, so maybe that explains it.
Yes. It’s ace to see Donaggio still working and being tapped up by newer filmmakers, even if I’m no great fan of Refn, who’s movies I’ve never jibed with.
Pino Donaggio is my favourite Italian film composer and always has been, ever since I discovered his music via CARRIE, DON’T LOOK NOW and those wonderful early DePalma/Dante collabs (and stuff like TOURIST TRAP and DON CAMILLO) while still in my teens.I know some Donaggio but surely someone to explore more. Just recently discovered his score Corruzione al palazzo di giustizia via my public library’s streaming service. I think its from thte 70s. I like it it’s very rhythmic string chamber orchestra like.
HER PRIVATE HELL – and especially the score – is getting rave reviews already, after the premiere in Cannes just now.
I have colleague down there, who was very enthused (he’s also a Donaggio fan). He even got to shake his hands after the premiere. I don’t know if these are publically available, but he posted a video on Facebook, where Donaggio is saluted by the audience (here), and a pic of the greet (here).
He also wrote this in the post:
“The Italian composer Pino Donaggio is one of my great heroes — not least because he created the most idiosyncratic scores for Brian De Palma’s films, from «Carrie» and «Blow Out» to «Dressed to Kill» and «Body Double». In Nicolas Winding Refns new film «Her Private Hell», the 84-year-old delivers one of the finest works of his career — the film essentially plays like one long music video for Donaggio’s symphony. Magical! 🎶”
I’m guessing the rest of us will get to hear the score in late July, when the film comes out properly.
I can’t wait. I love Pino Donaggio’s music. I didn’t expect it to be NWR to give him such a late career revival boost.
Recently discovered CORRUZION AL PALAZZO DI GUISTIZIA (apparently from 1975) by him via my library’s streaming service. Chamber orchestra like and very rhythmic and rougher than I expected.
HER PRIVATE HELL is now out on select streaming platforms. Listening now, at track 4, and so far very lovely indeed. Has some of that slow-moving, lush romance that defines his De Palma work – with a hint of melancholic sensuality. Album much too long at 1 hour 34 minutes, though. Maybe I’ll jot down some sentences in a proper review for this instead, in a week or two.
How can you know it’s too long if you just started listening to it and are only at track 4?
Anyway, is that Donaggio’s longest score ever? As far as I remember, most Donaggio scores that have been released have been released complete, but none approach this length. (Though about 20 minutes of that music seem to be composed by Julan Winding, according to Qobuz.)
How can you know it’s too long if you just started listening to it and are only at track 4?
Let’s call it a hunch based on decades of experience.
Sure enough, as I went through the album, there were several rather non-descript suspense cues, and a little too much of the central thematic material (and variations thereof). Will make a playlist of this in due time, maybe around 45-50 minutes, i.e. about half.
My two cents on HER PRIVATE HELL, for anyone interested.
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