THE INTERNATIONAL FILM MUSIC CRITICS ASSOCIATION (IFMCA) ANNOUNCES ITS 2008 WINNERS FOR SCORING EXCELLENCE

ALEXANDRE DESPLAT’S THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON WINS BEST SCORE OF 2008February 19, 2009. Alexandre Desplat wins the 2008 IFMCA’S Film Score of the Year Award for THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON, David Fincher’s imaginative re-telling of a 1921 F. Scott Fitzgerald short story about a man who ages backwards from an old man to a baby. These are the fourth and fifth awards for Desplat from the IFMCA, having been named Composer of the Year in 2006 and 2007. The score also wins Best Original Score for a Dramatic Film.

Danny Elfman is named Film Composer of the Year for his excellence in scoring four high-profile movies this year: MILK, WANTED, HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY and STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE. The latter score also wins Elfman an individual scoring award for Best Original Score for a Documentary Feature.

Canadian composer Andrew Lockington wins Breakout Composer of the Year for his two high-profile scores in 2008: JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH and CITY OF EMBER. Lockington is a former orchestrator for fellow Canadian composer Mychael Danna, and worked with his countryman on scores such as 8MM, GIRL INTERRUPTED and HEARTS IN ATLANTIS before embarking on his solo composing career.

Thomas Newman’s score for Pixar’s WALL*E wins Best Original Score for an Animated Feature. John Williams’ score for Steven Spielberg’s INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL wins Best Original Score for an Action/Adventure Film, and James Newton Howard wins for his score to THE HAPPENING in the Best Original Score for a Horror/Thriller Film category. Javier Naverette’s score to INKHEART, which opened in parts of Europe in 2008, receives the award for Best Original Score for a Fantasy/Science Fiction Film. The Coen Brothers’ BURN AFTER READING wins Best Original Score for a Comedy Film for their longtime collaborator Carter Burwell, and Michael Giacchino wins Film Music Composition of the Year for his “Roar Overture” from CLOVERFIELD that played during the end credits of the monster ‘reality’ movie which otherwise did not include any other underscore.

Non-film winners include Robert Lane and Joseph Vitarelli, who win Best Original Score for Television to for their score for the HBO mini-series, JOHN ADAMS; Norwegian composer Knut Avenstroup Haugen, who wins Best Original Score for a Video Game or Interactive Media for the Funcom PC role-playing game AGE OF CONAN: HYBORIAN ADVENTURES; and the Intrada label, which wins Film Music Record Label of the Year for the third year in a row for their continuing excellence in releasing older, catalog scores, some for the first time, including their world premiere release of the complete score to Jerry Goldsmith’s 1978 THE BOY FROM BRAZIL, which wins this year’s prize for Best New Release/Re-Release of an Existing Score.
2008 FILM WINNERS:

FILM SCORE OF THE YEAR
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, music by Alexandre Desplat

FILM COMPOSER OF THE YEAR
• Danny Elfman

BREAKOUT COMPOSER OF THE YEAR
• Andrew Lockington

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DRAMA FILM
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, music by Alexandre Desplat

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A COMEDY FILM
• Burn After Reading, music by Carter Burwell

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ACTION/ADVENTURE FILM
• Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, music by John Williams

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A FANTASY/SCIENCE FICTION FILM
• Inkheart, music by Javier Navarrete

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A HORROR/THRILLER FILM
• The Happening, music by James Newton Howard

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ANIMATED FEATURE
• Wall*E, music by Thomas Newman

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
• Standard Operating Procedure, music by Danny Elfman

FILM MUSIC COMPOSITION OF THE YEAR
• Cloverfield: “Roar Overture,” music by Michael Giacchino
OTHER CATEGORIES:

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR TELEVISION
• John Adams, music by Robert Lane and Joseph Vitarelli

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A VIDEO GAME OR INTERACTIVE MEDIA
• Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, music by Knut Avenstroup Haugen

BEST NEW RELEASE/RE-RELEASE OF AN EXISTING SCORE
• The Boys from Brazil, music by Jerry Goldsmith; produced by Douglass Fake (Intrada)

BEST RE-RECORDING OF AN EXISTING SCORE
• El Cid, music by Miklós Rózsa; conducted by Nic Raine, produced by James Fitzpatrick (Tadlow)

BEST COMPILATION ALBUM OR BOX SET
• Indiana Jones: The Soundtracks Collection, music by John Williams; produced by Laurent Bouzereau (Concord)

FILM MUSIC RECORD LABEL OF THE YEAR
• Intrada
The International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) is an association of online, print and radio journalists who specialize in writing about original film and television music.

The IFMCA was originally formed in the late 1990s as the now-defunct “Film Music Critics Jury” by editor and journalist Mikael Carlsson, a regular contributor to Music from the Movies, and the owner of the Swedish independent film music label MovieScore Media.

Since its inception, the IFMCA has grown to comprise over 50 members from countries as diverse as Australia, Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America.

Previous IFMCA Score of the Year Awards have been awarded to Dario Marianelli’s ATONEMENT in 2007, James Newton Howard’s LADY IN THE WATER in 2006, John Williams’ MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA in 2005 and Michael Giacchino’s THE INCREDIBLES in 2004.

For more information about the International Film Music Critics Association, its members and the list of past awards, please visit http://www.filmmusiccritics.org or contact press@filmmusiccritics.org.

Discover Film Music/Riley

Discovery is a new series created by Naxos to introduce one to different types of music. Previous releases include The Symphony, Chamber Music, Opera, Choral Music, Music of the 20th Century, and the latest entry is Film Music. A 2 CD set offering nearly 160 minutes of music along with a 25,000-word essay (its essentially a book) and a timeline of events in film history, is a great introduction to the new 20th Century art form of music for the cinema.While it consists of previously released material from the Naxos and Marco Polo catalog done by Morgan and Stromberg, Adriano, Carl Davis and others, the compilation is wonderfully put together offering a selection from the major Hollywood composers on one CD and the rest of the world on the other. Included are selections from Thomson, Copland, Auric, Bliss, Coates, and Honegger that the seasoned collector might not have in his collection. All of the major players including Steiner, Waxman, Herrmann, Newman, Tiomkin, Rozsa, Williams, and Goldsmith, are featured on one of their major scores. This must have been an extremely difficult decision as to what score to include and I can hear the “why didn’t they include blank?” However, if you read the title of the article/release the selections were well thought out. When you can only have 2 ½ hours of music to cover 100 years of film making all this reviewer can say is yikes!

The book/essay by John Riley, author of “Dmitri Shostakovich: A Life in Film,” is divided into three major sections: Beginnings, Hollywood, and Outside Hollywood. A Timeline of a Century of Film Music follows it from 1885 to 2008 noting History, Art and Architecture, and Literature with Music & Film Music. As Riley begins to discuss Hollywood in the 2nd section, each of the composers are given a brief biography followed by a discussion of the particular track chosen on the 1st CD, as well as the contribution they made to the art. Of special appeal to this reviewer was the including of both Hans Salter and Adolph Deutsch, lesser known but important contributors to Hollywood? Selections from The Maltese Falcon and Ghost of Frankenstein are given their just due as quality works. While certain composers such as Henry Mancini are not given a CD selection they are mentioned as being important contributors to the art form.

The 3rd section is devoted to film music from outside of Hollywood and includes selections from England, Hungary, France, Russia, Japan, Italy, and Sweden on the 2nd CD. While the 26 chosen selections are good ones there are omissions, which will raise the eyebrows of a seasoned collector. Like the 1st CD the tracks are explained along with background information on the composer. Again I repeat that this is a 2 CD set, which is covering 100+ years of music and no matter what the choices all will never agree.

This reviewer strongly recommends that anyone thinking about or starting to get involved in collecting purchase this 2 CD set and book. The selection and book are an excellent starting point and the value offered by Naxos is less money than the purchase of one OST CD. The collector who is getting close to crossing the line to addiction will still enjoy the information, timeline, quotes, and selections he hasn’t yet purchased. The soundtrack hobbyist who has been involved for many years can avoid unless it is a gift to a friend/relative. Both the book and the selection of material will only irritate. They know everything from the book already and there are no OST included in this compilation.
Track Listing:
CD 1 Max Steiner (1888-1971)

King Kong
1 Main Title 2:10
2 A Boat in the Fog 1:36
Moscow Symphony Orchestra / William Stromberg 8.223763

Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897-1957)

The Adventures of Robin Hood
3 Main Title 1:48
4 Sir Guy and Robin Hood 1:49
5 The Banquet 2:14
Moscow Symphony Orchestra / William Stromberg 8.225268

Hans Salter (1896-1994)

House of Frankenstein
6 Full Moon 1:16
Moscow Symphony Orchestra / William Stromberg 8.570188

Adolph Deutsch (1897-1980)

The Maltese Falcon
7 The Deal 2:47
Moscow Symphony Orchestra / William Stromberg 8.557701

Franz Waxman (1906-1967)

Rebecca
8 Selznick International Trademark – Introduction – Foreword – Opening Scene 3:16
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra / Adriano 8.557549

Bernard Herrmann (1911-1975)

Jane Eyre
9 Rochester 2:29
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra / Adriano 8.223535

Miklós Rózsa (1907-1995)

10 Spellbound Concerto 3:55
Philip Fowke, piano / RTÉ Concert Orchestra / Proinnsías Ó Duinn 8.554323

Alfred Newman (1900-1970)

11 All About Eve Suite 4:38
Moscow Symphony Orchestra / William Stromberg 8.570187

Dimitri Tiomkin (1894-1979)

Red River
12 Main Title 1:29
13 Dunson Heads South 4:47
Moscow Symphony Orchestra / William Stromberg 8.557699

Virgil Thomson (1896-1989)

The Plow that Broke the Plains
14 War and the Tractors 3:54

Post-Classical Ensemble / Angel Gil-Ordóñez 8.559291

Aaron Copland (1900-1990)

The Red Pony Suite
15 Walk to the Bunkhouse 2:57
Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra / JoAnn Falletta 8.559240

Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)

On the Waterfront
16 Symphonic Suite (excerpt) 5:35
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra / Marin Alsop 8.559177

Miklós Rózsa

Ben Hur
17 Prelude 3:41 John Williams (1932-)

Schindler’s List
18 Main Theme 4:24
Thelma Handy, violin / Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra / Carl Davis 8.570505

Star Wars
19 Main Title Theme 5:23
Richard Hayman and His Orchestra 8.555020

Jerry Goldsmith (1929-2004)

Alien
20 Main Theme (original version) 4:44
Richard Hayman and His Orchestra 8.555020

John Barry (1933-)

Out of Africa
21 Main Title Theme 3:54
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra / Carl Davis 8.570505

Vangelis (1943-)

Chariots of Fire (arr. Andy Vinter)
22 Main Title Theme 3:31
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra / Carl Davis 8.570505

Danny Elfman (1953-)

Spider-Man (arr. John Wasson)>br> 23 Main Theme and Farewell 5:13
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra / Carl Davis 8.570505

Disc 2 Toral Time: 78:52

CD 2

Eric Coates (1886-1957)

The Dam Busters
1 Dam Busters’ March 3:53
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra / Adrian Leaper 8.570575-76

Ron Goodwin (1925-2003)
633 Squadron
2 Main Theme 2:57
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra / Adrian Leaper 8.570575-76

Arthur Bliss (1891-1975)

Things to Come

3 Interlude: The World in Ruins 2:37
Queensland Symphony Orchestra / Christopher Lyndon-Gee 8.553698

Richard Addinsell (1904-1977)

Dangerous Moonlight
4 Warsaw Concerto 3:33
Philip Fowke, piano / RTÉ Concert Orchestra / Proinnsías Ó Duinn 8.554323

Malcolm Arnold (1921-2006)

David Copperfield

5 Mr. Micawber 2:10
Moscow Symphony Orchestra / William Stromberg 8.225167

William Walton (1902-1983)

Hamlet
6 The Ghost 3:13
Benjamin Frankel (1906-1973)

The Curse of the Werewolf
7 Revenge and Escape 2:58
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra / Carl Davis 8.557850

Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)

49th Parallel
8 Prelude 2:13
RTÉ Concert Orchestra / Andrew Penny 8.223665

Erik Nordgren (1913-1992)

Smiles of a Summer Night
9 Dangerous Wine 2:38
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra / Adriano 8.223682

Hugo Alfvén (1872-1960)

A Country Tale Suite
10 Introduction 2:55
Norrköping Symphony Orchestra / Niklas Willén 8.557828

Dmitry Shostakovich (1906-1975)

Alone
11 Largo 1:32
12 Overtone singer 0:43
13 The school class – Allegro 1:02
14 The children come to comfort Kuzmina – Andante 1:08
Mark van Tongeren, overtone singer / Barbara Buchholz, theremin / Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra / Mark Fitz-Gerald 8.570316

Hamlet

15 The Ghost 3:40
Russian Philharmonic Orchestra / Dmitry Yablonsky 8.557446

Sergey Prokofiev (1891-1953)

Lieutenant Kijé Suite
16 The Birth of Kijé 4:10
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra / Andrew Mogrelia 8.554057

Ennio Morricone (1928-)

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
17 Main Theme 2:52
The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra / Crouch End Festival Chorus / Derek Wadsworth

Arthur Honegger (1892-1955)

Regain Suite I
18 Nuit dans la grange – Été 3:50
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra / Adriano 8.223467

Crime et châtiment
19 Départ pour le crime 4:57
Jacques Tchamkerten, ondes martenot / Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra / Adriano 8.223466

Jacques Ibert (1890-1962)

Don Quichotte
20 Chanson de la mort 3:05
Henry Kiichli, bass / Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra / Adriano 8.223287

Macbeth Suite
21 Overture 3:19
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra / Adriano 8.223287

Georges Auric (1899-1983)

La Belle et la Bête

22 Les couloirs mystérieux 3:37
Axios / Moscow Symphony Orchestra / Adriano 8.223765

Toru Takemitsu (1930-1996)

Face of Another
23 Waltz 2:20
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra / Marin Alsop 8.557760

Akira Ifukube (1914-2006)

24 Symphonic Fantasia No. 1 (excerpt) 4:04
Russian Philharmonic Orchestra / Dmitry Yablonsky 8.557587

Frédéric Devreese (1929-)

Un Soir, un Train…
25 Danse de l’Auberge 2:40
BRT Philharmonic Orchestra / Frédéric Devreese 8.223681
Wojciech Kilar (1932-)

Bram Stoker’s Dracula
26 Mina / Dracula 4:46
Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra / Antoni Wit 8.557703

Disc 2 Total Time: 78:48

Performing Music

One of the nice things today about listening and collecting soundtracks is the fellowship of hobbyist’s that I’ve become involved with the past few years, a direct result of Internet access. Since we are really such a small group many of us have become pretty close and although I’ve never personally met but a small handful of you I feel like I know you as well as a neighbor. The occasional squabble occurs, but until the web there was little if any conversation about my interest in soundtracks except for an occasional concert where questions would arise from time to time. Unlike classical music, my other favorite genre, where there can be quite lively discussions about a work of a particular composer, very little discussion has taken place about film composers since I left performing in the band and orchestra growing up and in my college years, the topic of this article.At the age of 12 my father bought my very first stereo and gave me enough money to go to the local record store and purchase two albums. After spending nearly an hour in the store looking, reading, and studying the Schwann Catalog, I purchased Peter Gunn by Henry Mancini and The Hamlet Fantasy Overture coupled with The 1812 Overture both composed by Tchaikovsky and performed by The London Philharmonic conducted by Sir Adrian Boult. I remember buying the mono recordings because I was able to save a total of two dollars over the stereo version. Because of those albums, the encouragement of my parents, and attending a young people’s concert as soon as I enrolled in 7th grade I began to study the trombone, a hobby and interest I pursued through 4 years of college. As much a cult as soundtrack collecting is, it didn’t even approach my love for playing music such as Conquest, Peter Gunn, Gone With The Wind, or The Adventures of Robin Hood. To this day I can remember performing with the other trombones The Perry Mason Theme harmony in our swing band as well as my well-rehearsed trombone solo in Night Train and our very loud brass bars in I’ve Got You Under My Skin, the arrangement that Nelson Riddle did for Frank Sinatra. Many members of the band lived for the next day when we might get a new arrangement to practice. We had become part of the music! Yes I enjoyed listening and attending concerts but playing was everything and couldn’t compare to a recording.

Over time I’ve had the opportunity to listen to Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture 100’s of time and have had the pleasure of attending many live performances. There is one performance however that stands out in my mind. While attending the University of Minnesota we once performed the 1812 Overture with the Minneapolis Symphony (now the Minnesota Orchestra). As they performed on stage in Northrop Auditorium the band formed a circle in the aisles all around the hall and we were extra brass so to speak for the finale. It is one I shall never forget! With that I rest my case.

Downloading

 

Naxos announced the availability of nearly 22,000 albums on their classics online website today in a move toward making downloading a lower cost alternative and offering very high quality 320 kbps DRM-free files. In my mind this is just another nail in the coffin of the purchase of a hard copy of a CD. We are already seeing fewer choices of places to shop in a traditional brick and mortar operation, especially in the area of classical and soundtrack material. Target, Best Buy, and Wal-Mart are not the best places to shop for classical material unless you want the greatest violin concertos of all time. Naxos, being a leader in the distribution of classical material, has made a statement that not only is downloading here to stay but it is the future of obtaining music.

Any new technology is going to be met with a certain amount of opposition and this is no exception. LP to CD, Analog to digital, reel to reel to cassette, film to digital, rotary hard wired telephones to cell ones, and tubes to transistor as the list can go on and on. As I type there are sides being taken on this one. A recent comment complained that the Chandos lossless files while superior were too expensive. Yet in the same breath the exact same material on Naxos at the 320kbps download at half the price wasn’t good enough quality. It is true that while the 320 are very good quality there is a difference between that and a lossless or CD quality. The argument is made that a lossless file should be made available and then the consumer saves this as his master and decides what size he wants to use in a particular device. Using something called a zip file, the material can be compressed to ½ the size and there is no loss of quality. Putting together some rough numbers a person could store somewhere between 1500 and 2000 CD quality digital files on a 500-gig external hard drive. Of course because everything should be backed up that means two are necessary at an approximate cost of $200.00 for both. Always back up all files no matter what. In case of fire or damage to your dwelling it is also a good idea to have the back-up unit in another location. Always better to error on the side of caution. With the overall lower cost for downloading as opposed to buying a new CD this cost can be made up in a fairly short period of time. If you still want to be able to hold the product in your hand you can download onto a CD, purchase a jewel case, and print the booklet.

One thing that I would do with the decline of the CD is to seek out an extra player for your stereo system especially if you’re looking for one of higher quality. In years to come you’ll be saying to yourself that this a good move. With the way a lot of equipment is made these days saying “I’ll get it repaired” is almost like telling a joke! Look at it this way. You might still have 8 tracks but can you buy blank tapes and record anymore? Always look ahead in these matters.

The 320kbps file size seems to be a compromise. While the majority will be satisfied with 128 or 192kbps and a select few will only accept lossless the in-between seems to be the norm for right now. I would encourage all to signup at

http://www.classicsonline.com/

and check out their services. It is a free signup with no credit card necessary and you’re entitled to three free download tracks for trying it out. If you have a CD that they have I would urge you to download one of the tracks to compare the quality difference between 320kbps and lossless (your original cd).

 

 

 

 

When You Don’t Feel Good Music Sounds Different

I’ve recently been paying a little more attention to my feelings and I’ve noticed over the past two days that because of our heat and a standard everyday run of the mill cold I feel completely different about the way music sounds and how it causes a completely different emotion.

I recently received the soundtrack to the just released film Flash of Genius by Aaron Zigman and have had the opportunity to listen to it before, during, and after the cold and each situation has been a different listening experience which brings up for me as a reviewer that my writing and opinion is going to be different depending on how I feel. Not only is my opinion different but also so is my hearing due to the fact that the congestion has backed up into my sinuses/ear canals. While on the subject of ears having the wax removed from your canals is an excellent idea and will result in a better listening experience. There is also the first and second listen, which has to be factored into the experience whether I feel good, bad, or indifferent. What I can tell you are the first listen was extremely positive given my upbeat attitude coupled with a style of music I personally enjoy listening to. The next couple of listens were extremely negative as this was during the not feeling so good time frame. The music was dull, uninspired, and quite muddy sounding. Whatever themes were present, two of them, weren’t there at the time of this listening. All I could tell you is that there was some synthesizer; strings, some trumpet, and the tracks were irritatingly short. My opinion was blah. The first listen was pre-cold and the second was during the full effect of it.

Today feeling like I am, on the mend, produced a fresh and exciting sound to my ears. I’ll leave most of the comment for my review but needless to say I really quite like the work on the whole, although the short tracks are irritating but then again I feel that way about Newman and Herrmann also known for their short tracks. This was quite a change in attitude from the muddy sounding material from the day before. If I had written and published that day it would have been a negative not a positive.

Your frame of mind can definitely have an influence on the way the music sounds. Having a nice evening with your significant other and the main theme from Prince of Tides will sound romantic and heartfelt. A bad mood can result in what did I ever see in this schmaltz. Tired and your brain can be on overload and hard to process any sort of information. Well rested and the sound is crisp and clear. Something to ponder the next time you listen to a composition. Your mood can and will effect the way music is heard.