I find that Glass’s famous “minimal” style is of a kinetic nature that makes it intrinsically useful against moving image. The large amount of attacks means that there is an almost constant synchronization with salient visual accents, and sometimes the felt weight of the ostinati matches well with the movement on the screen as in cartoons, giving a corporeality to the two-dimensional shadow play. This made The Illusionist’s score not only work, but its stylistic individuality made it refreshing compared to the sea of pseudo-pseudo romantic, post romantic blah that has become the Hollywood cinematic musical language of choice.

Thanks for the tip.

I don’t think they should run into copyright problems though, because, even though it’s technically a derivative work, all of Prokofiev’s copyrights have probably expired by now.

Plus the legal regime of Soviet works is often unclear (there is some protection, but no one knows the scope for sure, because the whole system was different). Otherwise the estate could’ve created a hassle for the studio.

As for Glass – hardly my favorite composer. But there is more movement in the music than usual, no small achievement in itself.

Roger, to update you on major developments here in the Russia: Anton Batagov is returning to public performances. Amazing, isn’t it. Who would’ve thought !!

Leonid

Making music or, as in your case, creating music, somehow doesn’t often come from the type of person who is comfortable promoting himself or herself. Having an advocate is wonderful!

By way of contrast, here’s the opening theme from Luc Besson “Transporter 2″:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqxkKCaJUVs

The music seems to be saying: a grandiose mystery is about to unfold.
What is this?! . . .. . Irony? .. . After all, I only see a black Audi on the screena, and some good scenery.

This is very puzzling. I think the score leaves the listener/viewer in a state of confusion. Do I take the Hollywood sound cliches it at face value, and feel the way I’m “supposed to” (thrilled, drawn into the exposition of the plot) ? Or is this all a joke? Knowing Luc Besson’s style, I would say it’s a blend of both.

Now, every time I see a black Audi (not a rarity, we have Jaguars and Bentleys all over the place here in the Moscow – a city of billionaires), I hear that tune in my head.

I don’t think the film is by any means about product placement, although Audi does look good throughout.

And the score is BOTH effective and memorable.

(The concept of optimism had its place in Soviet arts policy, but that’s a different story, because this is not art – this is an idiot-clown-sound- generator. Yet the piece does have a soothing, almost Reiki-like effect and is pleasant to listen to.

Shchedrin’s first symphony also has clown-like effects in places, but it’s optimism is a little somber. The sound imagery is almost apocalyptic, grounded in a strong Russian idiom.)

Here, the singer doesn’t know what’s coming (unforunately, we do – with what the world has become, with global warming and disappearance of rare species, dictatorship of gadgets) and that’s good.

We can enjoy his state of serene igonrance. The emotional side of it is of course a fake, an act. But it so by design, the rationale being: the message to the audience is “everything’s OK [the Soviet Union will collapse in only five or so years], smile”.

For some unknown reason all this is called “I’m so happy, I’m coming home”. Incidentally, it doesn’t sound like a typical Soviet pop piece and the vocalise sounds are strange for the Russian ear as well.

BUT it does convey the tone of artificial optimism well. The message, in our days’ terms, is: “everything’s great, the economy is picking up, unemployment is falling.”

Leonid

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q24rHU8MVY4

The Western world is overwhelmed by gadgets, much like in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, written years ago. I’m amazed by Bradbury’s artistic intuition, everything from that novel has come true.

I read it years ago, long before the advent of personal computing and all that, in the Russian. I guess the Soviet state translated it to show the Soviet people what awaited the capitalist, bourgeois world in the not-so-remote future.

Ironically enough, all of THAT has hit Russia, maybe even stronger than others, or at least the contrast was much stronger (and we were supposed to have communism by 1980. Oh well. It didn’t work. “Sorry”)

In any event — I don’t know that Shoenberg and Gerschwin rhyme very well, although the effect of the collage is very powerful. I needed at least ten minutes of each of Llewelyn and Liquid Mind TaiChiReiki music to restore emotional balance.

Back & jazz: a better tandem IMHO. Unlikely companions, but we all know jazz musicians love Back (very difficult, of course, to conceptualize, Bach’s reaction to all this, even in theory; probably skeptical).

See for example: http://www.myspace.com/tiempolibremusic, Tu Conga Bach. Outrageous, but it works. Back is SO abstract. Doesn’t care about the medium, doesn’t care about the instrument, doesn’t care about the style (maybe). Only cares about the music. What a composer, truly universal!

As Ali Farka Toure once said “my music is about where I come from and our way of life. In the West . . . [it] is just entertainment and I don’t expect people to understand.”

Leonid
Moscow, Russia

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16UmQ3tS82M

And as you know they DID play tennis together.