Hi-De-Ho Rene,

I'm traveling for work during the early part of this week, so my posts may be sparse and spartan for a few days. I have, however, been accumulating some digital photos for use here, including a shot of me on my end of the tin-can line, but their posting must await my return.

Sounds like the Philharmonic's performance was great fun. I've been to similar programs at Wolf Trap outside of Washington, DC, with the National Symphony Orchestra. At both of those, the orchestra played while scenes from the films were playing on a giant projection screen suspended overhead. Featured music included scenes from Citizen Kane, the Adventures of Robin Hood, Ben Hur, and, best of all, Bride of Frankenstein.

I've read and heard various music commentators who believe that film music, particularly in the first two-thirds of the 20th Century, before scores became pop-music soundtracks, is the "new classical music." The audience for new music by traditional classical composers is shrinking, and the audience for avant garde composers -- well, how broad has that audience ever been? Scores from composers such as Bernard Herrmann, Miklos Rozsa, Max Steiner, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Franz Waxman, Nino Rota and Ennio Morricone are perfect for the films they accompany and stand up well on their own. Of today's film composers, I may like Danny Elfman best. John Williams has some outstanding scores, but he's also known for the occasional bit of obtrusive pap.

So, who are your favorite film composers? And do you agree with the idea that scored film music is the new classical music?

Later,
Kari