[Nicolai P. Zwar]

Funny side note: a film score I associate with sweltering hot heat is one most people probably would if at all associate with the opposite.
Ennio Morricone’s music for THE THING.
I received (and first listened to) the soundtrack on a sweltering hot day, it was in my early days of film score collecting, so I played it quite a few times during hot summer days. (I also saw the movie on a hot summer day when I first watched it in the theater.)
So even though the movie itself plays in the Antarctic in below freezing temperatures, the music itself still evokes those summer days.

[Nicolai P. Zwar]

Not if they’re IL GRANDE SILENZIO. 🙂

[Nicolai P. Zwar]

It’s totally subjective, and of course how one responds to music, but I actually do have some scores, both film and classical, that are “seasonal”, in the sense that I associate them more with certain types of weather or seasons. I agree that Elliot Goldenthal’s HEAT radiates more the warm, urban nightpulse of L.A., not “sweltering heat”.

Scores that are definitely “hot summer” scores for me are:
George Delerue: L’été meurtrier (Which is called “One Deadly Summer” in English)
Ennio Morricone: Lolita (The music is just sweltering hot, very much summer)
Jerry Goldsmith: Chinatown (It just conjures up hot, dry L.A.)
Maurice Jarre: Lawrence of Arabia (D’oh!)

There are some classical compositions that have a summer flair in my mind too.
Felix Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (perhaps obvious, but it’s so)
Joaquin Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez

And, for some reason:
Johannes Brahms: Symphony No. 4 (that’s probably just me personally)

[Nicolai P. Zwar]

Horner’s STAR TREK II score is on CD a more exciting, interesting score than STAR TREK III if you only have the original album of III.
My view of III changed when I got the expanded edition. Whereas STAR TREK II was a great album in any incarnation, (I think it’s even better expanded, but it’s just the same a bit fleshed out), the OST of III shortchanged the score. In the expanded edition, it becomes a worthy counterpart. I like them about the same, perhaps even with a slight edge for STAR TREK III.

[Nicolai P. Zwar]

In 3 days, it will be 10 years since James Horner died.

Would be great if we used this time to reminisce a bit.

OK, I indulge you.

How did you discover Horner?

It was a two punch in the early 1980s. I saw WOLFEN (on VHS with a few friends) and was very impressed with the music by this for me “new” name. A friend of mine had just bought the LP for STAR TREK II (a movie I’d soon see in the theater), which was also composed by this “James Horner” guy. I thought both scores were very good. The music was exciting, fresh… Horner had a clear, distinct voice.
So I had to get STAR TREK II, and I also got soon after BRAINSTORM and GORKY PARK (on LP.) I looked for WOLFEN, but could not find it (that was before the Internet could have told me that no such soundtrack release existed then).

What’s your general take on his work?

I very much like his work. Horner is an interesting case; no other film composer I know has been accused more of recycling his own material or “lifting” from others, yet, and that is the decisive factor for me, his music always sounds like Horner. He incorporates elements and makes them his own. Famous example: WILLOW. Did he “lift” or “steal” from Schumann’s Symphony No. 3? I don’t know, fact is, there is definitely a melodic similarity. However, I didn’t even notice that before the Internet years ago pointed it out. Despite the fact that I knew of course Schumann’s symphony. Because the way he used the material, it sounds like Horner, not like Schumann. I have no trouble with composers recycling material, melodies or whatever, from others or themselves. Classical composers do this all the time. Does the opening of ALIENS sound like Khachaturian Adagio from Gayaneh was incorporated? Sure, but does ALIENS sound like Gayaneh? No, not at all. And even the way Horner used the Adagio puts quite a spin on it… the percussion and echoplex makes it sound dark and threatening.

How do you rank him among your favourite composers?

I’m not big on “ranking”… he is definitely a favorite composer of mine. When he started out, I was very excited about his music. In later years, he became more mellow and “romantic”, I think I tend to prefer some of his more aggressive, or experimental stuff, though I certainly admit that I love the epic sweep he brought to LEGENDS OF THE FALL and BRAVEHEART… two more favorites of mine. ALIENS is for me one of my favorite Horner scores, it’s a bit like a musical nightmare.

Do you remember where you were when you got the news about his death?

Yes, I remember very well where I was and what I did. I was in my car on my way to work. I just turned on the news on the radio when they said something about a plane crash and that James Horner may have been in that plane. It was really like in the movies…. you turn on the radio and it immediately starts spouting the important news you are interested in. I didn’t catch the beginning of the news, so I thought: “What? Plane crash? James Horner?” At first I thought he may have been a passenger in a commercial flight. Then over the day I realized the sad news that James Horner had died in a plane crash. Was a sad day, I always enjoyed his music.

And – of course – more top 5 lists are welcome.

Did one. Could do another one. 🙂

[Nicolai P. Zwar]

STAR TREK II & III
BRAINSTORM
GORKY PARK
ALIENS
THUNDERHEART

[Nicolai P. Zwar]

“What does a website cost?” is the same question as “What does a car cost?”. You can pick up some used beat up old pickup truck for $800.-, or buy a super exclusive Bentley limited edition for $2,000,000.-

I think indeed the most complex and costly element here is likely the transfer of the old forum content and port it over to the new forum. Not even sure if they’ll be able properly align the (most likely new logins and) new accounts with the old postings.

[Nicolai P. Zwar]

Not a lot anymore, I admit. I don’t do much social media either (though I have active accounts and regularly stop by Facebook, Instragram, X/Twitter, but more for information and reading, less with active participation.
I was active in the ROON forum when I tested Roon for three months and put it through its paces, and found the forum to be very active, with good discussions about classical and even film music as well. (I “met” Neil S. Bulk there, so he’s over at the Roon forum as well.)
But since I have decided that — while I really like Roon — it’s much too expensive for what it does for me, I have not prolonged my subscription, so I’m not all that involved there anymore. Same with a HiFi Forum in Germany.
I used to be active 25-30 years ago in newsgroups such as rec.music.movies and rec.music.classical, but those are all history.

I also have to admit there are few current film composers I have really “latched on” to, the way I did with Jerry Goldsmith, James Horner, Ennio Morricone, so there are fewer “current” things to discuss for me. I still like Howard Shore and am always interested what he does…

Also, my time is limited, and usually I just prefer listening to music instead of writing about it… silly me. 🙂 (Though I still enjoy the exchange with the people. BTW, was nice seeing you in Lukas’ Zoom chat, Graham. Though I don’t at all subscribe to the “fewer choices are better” theory.)

So not a lot of other forums.

[Nicolai P. Zwar]

I do have some music film music related books, such as Steven Smith’s biographies “The Epic Life of Max Steiner” and “A Heart at Fire’s Center: The Life and Music of Bernard Herrmann”.

Also, Jeff Bond’s book on STAR TREK music, and Doug Adams “The Music of The Lord of the Rings Films”. The latter is probably the most in depth analysis I have ever read about any film score ever, as it examines all the motifs, themes and developments in the Lord of the Rings music, many of which are highly illuminating if you are particularly interested in the aesthetics and underlying concepts of music (not just film music) in relation to drama and narrative. Just fascinating explorations how Howard Shore developed ideas and concepts for the music for the Lord of the Rings to cover the vast landscape and inhabitants of Middle Earth. (To give just a couple of memorable examples, such things as the aleatoric music within the music for the “Watcher in the Water”, as that is a creature that is always only partially visible and flexible and therefore had to fight without getting a handle on it, so the music reflects that in containing random elements, or the eight-note motif for the spider Shelob, which gets then developed, fitting for a spider that has eight legs, eight eyes, etc. Or how the different music for various tribes of Elbes both differ but share some things in common, just like the culture/race has a common “root”.)

I also have a few “full scores” from the likes of Omni Publishing and Chris Siddall. I am not really a musician or even an expert score reader, but these are a dream come true because I always wanted to see how certain things are notated. I was especially always interested in how some Goldsmith scores were written, as some of his music is highly complex and features unususal instruments, such as synthesizers, yet when he comes to the recording studio, the musicians have to perform all that stuff basically from sight reading, so the scores have to be very clear… and they are. It was a real revelation for me to have the chance to take a look at some of these scores in full (years ago, in the 90s, I had the opportunity to see some actual Goldsmith sketches for some scores (like THE RIVER WILD and BASIC INSTINCT) and notes from which the orchestrator worked… so I had a good idea how detailed these sketches were.)
So these full scores, some of them with annotations, allow an in depth look at the blueprint of these works.

Ah, yes, of course, there are also two books by Tony Thomas, and the book “Screencraft: Film Music” — this one I have in a German issue called “Filmkünste: Filmmusik”. An interesting book for anyone who is looking for a “introductory work”, it features introductions to about a dozen or so then current — the original book is 25 years old or so — film composers, and mostly each film composer then explains in more detail their thoughts on about three of their film scores, how they came to compose it the way they composed it.

And lest I forget: Fred Karlin’s giant “On The Track”; that one features lots of examples and discussed the various approaches from different film composers, but also how they navigate the Hollywood landscape and talk to directors, producers etc. That book is somewhat targeted at aspiring Hollywood film composers who want an insight look. (As it was then… I mean, I have the book for over thirty years now.)

[Nicolai P. Zwar]

I admit, when I read “Italian Soundtracks”, I tend to go by composer, but of course Italians have written music for non-Italian movies, and non-Italians have written music for Italian movies. (I usually go by composer, but of course, that’s but one option.)

[Nicolai P. Zwar]

There’s certainly a lot more than easy listening to Morricone’s Italian scores, in fact, I find Morricone wrote some of his most challenging scores for Italian horror/giallo/crime genre. But it’s usually also often not sweeping or symphonic but more experimental, perhaps inspired by his work with the “Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza”.

Of course, asides from Morricone, I know other Italian film composers, and have albums by such composers as Pino Donaggio, Nino Rota, Riz Ortolani, Mario Nascimbene, Dario Marianelli, Giorgio Moroder, Guido & Maurizio De Angelis (aka Oliver Onions)… and some more, but I’m sure not an expert.

[Nicolai P. Zwar]

Of these I personally have and do not have:

John Williams – Goodbye Mr. Chips (3CD)
I’m afraid I don’t have that one… missed it. Can’t have everything.

John Williams – Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (2CD)
Yes, that one I have via the FSM Blue Box.

John Williams – Live in Vienna (Blu-ray)
Yep, Bluray/CD version. I haven’t actually watched the Bluray yet, though I have heard the CDs.

John Williams – Live in Berlin (Blu-ray)
Yep, same as Vienna, Bluray/CD version. Once again, I haven’t actually watched the Bluray yet, though I have heard the CDs.

John Williams – Live in Tokyo (Blu-ray)
No, I don’t have that one… just didn’t feel like buying every single concert outing by John Williams, especially not in light of the fact that most of the material is the same. The Tributes! (for Seiji) would be nice to have though. I thought I’ve got Vienna, I’ve got Berlin… that’s John Williams conducting two of the premier orchestras of Europe, which both have a very different sound and performance tradition. That’s pretty cool.

John Williams – Across the Stars (Deluxe Edition)
Yep, got that.

John Williams – Violin Concerto No. 2
Got that one too.

[Nicolai P. Zwar]

The interesting question here is rather, how long are your lists of albums that are missing to complete your collection?

I don’t really have a list… obviously, there are some albums I would love to have but that have not been released, like Maurice Jarre’s 5 CARD STUD and William Lava’s THE GOOD GUYS AND THE BAD GUYS. The latter is a long shot, I know, but heck if I know why the former has never had a proper release. It was composed by an A-list composer and even features a Dean Martin title song.

Of those soundtracks that have been released that are definite “missing” to “complete” my collection, as in, I have to get it one day, I cannot think of too many… let’s see… there is..

Ennio Morricone: THE HILLS RUN RED

Fred Karlin’s FUTUREWORLD
It’s been released years ago, but I missed it, and never got around to picking it up. Unfortunately, it’s not available digitally either.

There are some others that I’d like to have that for some reason have not yet turned up in my collection, like John Cacavas AIRPORT 1975 or Peter Schickele’s SILENT RUNNING, though I’ve got the LP of the latter, and both of these scores are available on Qobuz, so I can listen to them.

That doesn’t mean that’s all… I’m sure there are others that I would like to have that I just cannot think of right away. But over the years, I managed to “complete” many gaps in my collection.

[Nicolai P. Zwar]

When I started collecting music, I was about 14. First LPs, then later my first CDs. Much later again digital downloads (I bought my first one in 2018… but I count them with the rest). I imagined one day, a future version of myself standing in front of my shelf, not just filled with discs, but with a representative collection classical and film music, a shelf filled with emotion and memories… and I guess I am now at that point.

All the major film scores by the likes of Jerry Goldsmith, John Williams, Ennio Morricone… they are there. Classical works from Vivaldi and Bach to Penderecki? They are there.

I don’t necessarily have ALL of their film scores, I certainly don’t have ALL Ennio Morricone scores, but quite a few. iTunes says I have 240 Jerry Goldsmith albums, that’s certainly almost all of his released film scores, but not quite all.

That does not mean my collection is literally “complete”. Can it ever be? “Completeness” implies a certain fixed immobility; I do not like that. Obviously, I still discover new music or new composers to explore. The universe is expanding, and so is the world of music. Take Carl Nielsen, for example. My first Nielsen CD landed on my shelf sometime last century. I liked it, but didn’t pay all that much attention to it. For years, it stood alone. Then in 2016, something shifted. I began exploring him seriously. Now, shelf space has filled up with four complete symphony cycles, plus chamber works and more.

Another more recent revelation was Arnold Bax. No idea why I skipped him for so long. But when I finally tuned in, I heard something raw and luminous. Music that punches and haunts. Some of it sounds like it could have written for mysterious science fiction worlds.

So while my collection is not “literally” complete, and cannot really be for as long as I live, it is complete in another way. It is complete in the sense that it became everything I once hoped it would be. And more. My 14 year old self would be proud of me. Well, at least in that regard. 🙂

Apart from a few doubled up CDs etc. which I keep boxed up in our garage, (some of which I actually got rid of a few years ago), my music collection is an integral part in our living room, always has been. It’s on USM Haller highboards (which means, theoretically, I can expand them), but it’s got room for them all and still some space left. Of course, I have doubled up rows here and there, but since I don’t actually need to access my CDs to play them anymore, that doesn’t bother me.
Anyway, it happens that guests notice the music shelf; it has certainly been a conversation piece now and then.

[Nicolai P. Zwar]

My wife knows I have two “non negotiables”, books and music.

[Nicolai P. Zwar]

Yes, while I do have THE RED HOUSE on CD, it’s ripped and I only play the files. I only ever play files, actually, so how the CD is split doesn’t really matter to me all that much. Though disc two is 25 minutes long, so it’s not that short. 🙂

[Nicolai P. Zwar]

My first Miklós Rózsa album was “Miklós Rózsa – Classic Film Music”, Elmer Bernstein conducting the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra. It was also the first CD I ever bought in a store. I didn’t have a CD player back then, but the album was available as a beautiful double LP set or a a single CD… they contained the same tracks and cost the same (at that time, CDs were more expensive than LPs, but since it was two LPs but only one CD, they cost the same.) So I picked the “future proof” CD, even though I had no way to playback the CD then. I bought quite a few more CDs before I ever bought a CD player. (I always buy “software” before “hardware”.) So that album holds a special place in my heart.

But back to business… when you ask about my 5 favorite Miklós Rózsa albums, it starts for me with Rhino’s lavish presentation of BEN HUR. Surely, that is one of the most beautiful soundtrack albums ever produced. It’s just gorgeous, like a book (and it does have a nice booklet). Sure, there was the more extensive presentation by FSM, which featured various additional presentations of the music, and Tadlow’s wonderful new 2CD recording of the score, but as far as presentation goes, the Rhino set wins.
It really is one of the most beautiful presentations of one of the greatest film scores to one of the greatest films of all time… so I’d say the superlatives are justified. Just all around great.

But since you asked for five favorite albums, let’s see… right now I’d pick

1. BEN HUR (Rhino 2CD set)
(I have the Tadlow and the FSM as well, and they are all fine. But the Rhino set in its day (1995?) was a real beauty to behold… a stunning, beautifully produced 2CD set.)

2. DOUBLE INDEMNITY, THE LOST WEEKEND, THE KILLERS / Sedares: NZSO (Koch)
This is a wonderful album. Each score is presented as a three movement composition, expertly arranged. The scores here all belong to Rózsa’s darker “noir” works. Especially LOST WEEKEND may the the closest Rózsa ever came to write a horror score. Good stuff.

3. EL CID (Nic Raine: CPPO, Tadlow)
Just a great recording of perhaps my favorite Rózsa score. I also love Sedares on disc presentation, but Tadlow’s set is just splendid.

4. JULIUS CAESAR (Bruce Broughton: SoL, Intrada)
Wow, does this thing sound great. Was a big deal when it was released, new recordings of classic film scores were rare in those days.

5. THE RED HOUSE (Wilson: RSNO, Intrada)
May be the most impressionist score Rózsa ever wrote. There is a haunting melancholy weaving through the score, this is one of Rózsa’s must beautiful pieces of music. Never saw the movie, but the music sure stands well on it’s own. Rózsa was of course the most “romantic” of all film composers, but here, his music style seems to take a hint or two from Debussy and Ravel, which makes for a very inspiring sound.

[Nicolai P. Zwar]

I just noticed that the albums I listed are 50% male and 50% female… I assure everyone that was purely coincidental.

[Nicolai P. Zwar]

A selection of ten of my favorite pop albums, just to show I’m not all Alex North and Pierre Boulez. 🙂

Talk Talk – The Colour of Spring

Peter Gabriel – US

Sting – Ten Summoner’s Tales

Tori Amos – Scarlett’s Walk

Johnny Cash – American IV

Madonna – Confessions on a Dance Floor

Heather Nova – Redbird

Justin Timberlake – FutureSex/LoveSounds

Aimee Mann – @#%&! Smilers

Lana del Rey – Ultraviolence

[Nicolai P. Zwar]

I like unusual approaches, or perhaps challenges, to generic conventions.

Sure, if they work, if they are good. In the same way that a score obviously is not good merely for following convention, I don’t think a score is good merely because it is unusual or challenges convention, it has to proof itself with the result.

[Nicolai P. Zwar]

It’s fine to disagree; reaction to these things is obviously personal and subjective. I saw LADYHAWKE once in the late 80s, and found the music obnoxiously annoying, as if it actively worked to undermine the action on screen. Literally all music? Of course not, I didn’t even remember most of the music, but I did remember that it repeatedly worked against the movie, enough for me to tune out of the movie (and I haven’t seen it since). But if you love the movie or the score, well, good for you, more power to you. I sure don’t want to talk anyone out of it.
Indeed, I like the music on album now as it is. 🙂

[Nicolai P. Zwar]

I know Thor loves LADYHAWKE, which is surely one of the most controversial film scores of all time. First time I saw LADYHAWKE, the music really put me off, and I know I was not the only one. It’s not so much that it is “anachronistic”… I mean, one can rightly argue a romantic film score performed by a symphony orchestra in BEN HUR is just as “anachronistic”. It’s a film score, not source music, so it doesn’t have to be “of the time”.

The synthesizers in Vangelis’ score for THE BOUNTY were certainly “anachronistic”, and the electronic music approach for a historical drama a new one, but it worked well, the music supports the movie. That’s where LADYHAWKE failed for me… the music did not support the movie, it distracted from it, it often felt like an intrusive distraction in the movie and worked even against it. I have since come around to enjoy it on album though. 🙂 (Haven’t seen LADYHAWKE in decades.)

[Nicolai P. Zwar]

What sounds “cheap”? Sounds like an orchestra with additional synthesizers.
(Presumably more expensive than just the orchestra without synthesizers.)

[Nicolai P. Zwar]

I don’t know any of his 80s scores that sound “cheap”…. Even the purely electronic ones, like CRIMINAL LAW, tend to be very well constructed.
Goldsmith used almost always “standard” samples, because he treated synthesizers like any other instrument, preferring to find out what he could do with the standard sounds rather than have custom sounds made.
I have always enjoyed Goldsmith’s blend of orchestral and electronic sounds, it gave many of his scores a very unique and individual sound palette.

[Nicolai P. Zwar]

Hollow Man is like a mix of TOTAL RECALL and BASIC INSTINCT (incidentally all Paul Verhoeven films).

It’s one of the great “sci-fi concept” scores Goldsmith was so good at; Goldsmith was excellent at scoring science-fiction movies with musical ideas and motives representing concepts within the movie.

[Nicolai P. Zwar]

First Knight is excellent indeed.

[Nicolai P. Zwar]

Haha… yeah, the Monkey Island scores by Michael Land are great, I actually do listen to them apart from the game. Of course, I also loved the games. I played Ron Gilbert’s THE RETURN TO MONKEY ISLAND (the belated sequel) when it came out and had a lot more fun playing that than I have from watching most movies today.

[Nicolai P. Zwar]

As the say gois “A bad Goldsmith is always better than some good by others”

Yeah, that’s true. Interestingly, as far as I’m concerned, HOLLOW MAN and NEMESIS is up there with the best with them.

[Nicolai P. Zwar]

My latest box set is this:

It’s 12 discs of the music of Pierre Boulez plus one disc with an interview. Perhaps I am strange, could be, but I really enjoy quite a bit of Boulez’ compositions. When I first encountered them, I admit, I was puzzled… His first piano sonatas sounded at first to me like random notes…
It was “Sur Incises” that made me really listen… it was a composition that “clicked”, and it’s one of my favorite works of modern music. I don’t know why, but I find at least some of Boulez’ compositions highly “soothing” in a strange way. I find Boulez was an interesting personality and I’ve seen him a couple of times in concert as a conductor. So while this box doubled up on a few things I already had, I had to get it.

[Nicolai P. Zwar]

I like all Jerry Goldsmith scores (well, okay, except for ANGIE), but of course I don’t like them all the same. Still, I would rank HOLLOW MAN with the best of them, it’s one of the most elegant and exciting scores of his later period. Likewise STAR TREK – NEMESIS, absolutely terrific score. And LOONEY TUNES – BACK IN ACTION is wonderful, very charming and full of energy.

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