FILM MUSIC: BEHIND FAMOUS STORIES

State Philharmonic Orchestra Košice
Jan KUČERA , conductor

Programme:

John Williams: Suite from "Star Wars" (Main Theme)
John Williams: Jurassic Park
John Williams: ET The Alien (Flying Theme)
Hans Zimmer: Gladiator
John Williams: Indiana Jones (Raiders March)
John Williams: Schindler's List (solo violin, concertmaster, ŠFK)
Klaus Badelt: Pirates of the Caribbean
Max Steiner: Gone with the Wind
Elmer Bernstein: The Brave Seven
John Barry: Memories of Africa
Alan Silvestri: Forest Gump
James Horner: Titanic
Michel Magne: Angelica

Film and music found their way to each other in the early history of cinema. Music in films helped tell the story, commented on the plot and tried to attract the attention of the audience. It maintained the mood and atmosphere, pointed to the time and place where the film takes place, and the character of the characters. Film music was mostly symphonic, based on the work of composers of late Romanticism and accompanied the grandiose stories of heroic characters, personifying basic human archetypes. Among the most famous composers of film music is John Williams, who in his work was mainly based on the tradition of romantic symphonic music.   He resurrected the traditional form of symphonic music and gave it a modern expressive structure in the form of easily remembered characteristic motifs. He created impressive music for successful films such as Star Wars, Jurassic Park, ET - The Extra-Terrestrial, Schindler's List and the Indiana Jones film series. While the music for the films Gone with the Wind by Max Steiner and The Magnificent Seven by Elmar Bernstein represents symphonic classics, younger representatives of dynamic symphonism are Hans Zimmer and Klaus Badelt. Zimmer's music appeared in over a hundred films and shone especially in the film Gladiator. Badelt is the author of the popular music for the film Pirates of the Caribbean. Beautiful melodic lines and colorful orchestration are typical of Alan Silvestri's score for the film Forrest Gump, and the emotionally gripping music for the film Titanic by James Horner is also a valued soundtrack. In contrast to American work, there is the European school of composition. An example of this is the Frenchman Michel Magne and his enchanting melodic music for the Angelique film series.