Film music in Japan has tended to follow one of two, or perhaps three, directions. Much music is derived from historical Japanese musical traditions, particularly in older films and, of course, historical dramas. But there has been an increasing tendency to adapt Western musical influences, and often composers find themselves alternating between the two modes…
In a very short time, composer Alan Silvestri has risen to the ranks of America’s best contemporary film composers, with standout scores to films like ROMANCING THE STONE, BACK TO THE FUTURE and its sequels, WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT and THE ABYSS. We covered Silvestri’s ROGER RABBIT and MAC & ME scores in Soundtrack #31…
You may have seen his name on an especially intriguing documentary or a cute family film, enjoyed the spark and flavor of the music that underlined the narrative or the drama. For several years now, Alan Williams has been quietly providing some of the most interesting scores for family films, TV movies, IMAX documentaries, and…
Motion picture music lost a legend on the morning of Sunday, September 8, 1991, when composer Alex North succumbed to the illness that had plagued and pained him for several years. Respected as much by his peers as by the generations of film composers and musicians that succeeded him. North is remembered for his music…
A number of highly recommendable books on the subject of film music have appeared recently, including Christopher Palmer’s ‘The Composer in Hollywood’, Steven Smith’s Bernard Herrmann bio, ‘A Heart at Fire’s Center’ and his treasure-trove Film Composers Guide, and the forthcoming revised edition of Tony Thomas’s archetypal ‘Music for the Movies’. Among them is this…
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