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Forum - General Questions |
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Question
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Most versatile
I noticed someone on another thread was working their way through John Barry's ouvre
again. A worthy task indeed and something I've never done in an uninterrupted block with
any one composer, though I may listen to several in a row.
It got me to wonderring which composer has had the most versatile career.
James Horner rightly cops a lot of flack here for his repetive scores. I can't imagine sitting
through his whole output.
John Williams had composed an impressive array of works, everything from Memoirs of a
Geisha to Star Wars. It's interesting to listen to his early stuff on TV and hear things that
later turned up in a different ways in later works.
Jerry Goldsmith is surely among the most versatile of composers. Though there are the odd
phrases that recur, and you can identify a Goldsmith 'sound' (same with Williams, Barry and
most others I guess) the range of moods he's tackled is amazing.
John Barry is a great fave but I do find a sameness in his work, especially post-Bond.
Anyway, enough from me. Over to you...
whyaduck, November 9, 2006; 1:18 AM
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Answers
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Versatility goes way back. How about guys like Max Steiner, Alfred Newman and Hans Salter to name just three?
Albert Glasser comes to mind. Those B movie composers who created entire scores in a matter of days.
Morricone and Trovioli!
Too many to mention. How about Franz Waxman?
victoravalentine, November 9, 2006; 11:09 AM
What about Mr. Danny Elfman?
drakemarone, November 9, 2006; 11:50 AM
Good point, drake. I agree that among the 'younger' (i.e. the generation after Morricone, Barry, Goldsmith, Williams) composers he probably offers the most versatility in film music.
From the older four I mentioned, Morricone and Goldsmith are probably the more versatile ones with the other two having developed a more typical Barry/Williams 'sound'. Both Morricone and Goldsmith have proven to be almost completely taboo-free when it comes to experiments with new instruments and odd sounds (e.g. Goldsmith's PLANET OF THE APES) and using musical structures from other cultures. Apparently, Morricone still likes to experiment once in a while, at least when the reviews of his recent LA SCONOSCIUTA score are true.
Regards,
Urs
handstand, November 9, 2006; 12:24 PM
Eduard Nicolay Artemyev - his electronic scores are sooo different from his orchestral scores.
philkws, November 9, 2006; 6:13 PM
I agree with the point about versatility not being the exclusive domain of later generations of
composers. I never intended to suggest it was. I only gave examples that were both popular
and in my collection, to get the discussion going.
I also am a big fan of Steiner and Salter and agree there are a lot of unsung heroes from the
early years of cinema that were essentially staff composers doing a film a fortnight and
coming up with incredible stuff.
Unfortunately a lot of that material is lost or unreleased (Steiner and Waxman have been
fairly well served, and Salter to a lesser degree) whereas with later composers their works are
more available and so easier to make comparisons.
whyaduck, November 9, 2006; 7:06 PM
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