Film music quotes

One of my favourite quotes ever is from the conductor Leopold Stowoski: "A painter paints his pictures on canvas. But musicians paint their pictures on silence."

Epic words.

“With the ascendancy of atonality in academic and critical circles during this century, music of romance and passion went underground and surfaced on film soundtracks.”– John Mauceri

"Music is music whether it is for the stage, rostrum or cinema.Form may change, the manner of writing may vary, but the composer needs to make no concessions whatsoever to what he conceives to be his own musical ideology” – Erich Wolfgang Korngold

"You can listen to it apart from the film today and still feel the passion that I think he must have felt when he was writing those amazing themes." - Jon Burlingame (about Ben-Hur)

“The suites from these films are like a mirror of the symphonic poems of Liszt and Strauss in the 19th century. Program music in the 19th century had subjects, and the music of the 1930s and ‘40s—the best scores of that time—are merely a latter-day extension of that” – Brendan Carroll

This is a quote I had for a signature many years ago, on the Old Site, but it's such a brilliant one, I'm happy to re-share it. It's best read in context, though, so here's the full story on famous Brazilian classical composer Heitor Villa-Lobos' one and only dismal experience in Hollywood on the 1959 film Green Mansions:

In his autobiography, entitled Double Life, Miklos Rozsa tells this story:


For what it's worth, Villa-Lobos later reworked his music for Green Mansions into a symphonic poem entitled "Forest of the Amazon".

MMmmkay

I tried to listen to lots of Stravinsky material through the times and although i do find myself deeply liking obscure stuff from time to time, like the brilliance of Penderecki for instance, i thought that what i heard from Stravinsky was either too bad or something entirely out of my understanding and my "give a damn" range.

You should have used that for a True/False.


Oddly, a lot of our very favourite scores would be lacking without Stravinsky.

The Rite of Spring was something special indeed. And it took me years and years to understand his work.

He also said that his music wasn't designed to be recorded. That said and perhaps the Rite of Spring live with his music could be quite spectacular. Just like some film music is awful away from the picture but in the film it is excellent.

Perhaps given the opportunity to see the ballet someday take advantage

I will; for 2 reasons: 1) you recommended it and 2) the word accessible . But i don't guarantee much.

Well if it's like Schoenberg (Especially the later) then i will most definitely join you Martijn

"Timer" what? As in "old Timer"!?

D mentioned Penderecki, heard any of his work Martijn?

I'm sure you're all aware that Stravinsky was actually approached to score a film, and he wasn't negative, but demanded at least one-year preparation and composing time, which the filmmakers obviously couldn't accept, so nothing ever came of it. I'm not sure which film this was, exactly, but it's a fascinating anecdote.

That too, yes.

They just don't understand him. He is a genius