Programme to include music from...

Goldsmith, Universal Fanfare (<1min)
Hans Zimmer, Gladiator Suite (Gladiator) (7mins)
Saint-Saëns, Introduction & Premier Tableau (l'Assassinat du duc de Guise) (4mins)
Terr, Overture (The Gold Rush) (2mins)
Carwithen, Overture (Men of Sherwood Forest) (5mins)
Rachel Portman, End Titles (Emma) (5mins)
Jarre, Overture (Lawrence of Arabia) (5mins)
Howard Shore, A Lord of The Rings Suite (The Lord of the Rings) (6mins)
Jonny Greenwood, Proven Lands (There Will Be Blood) (2mins)
Herrmann, Prelude & The Murder (Psycho) (3mins)
John Williams, Main Theme (Jaws) (3mins)
Pinar Toprak, Captain Marvel (Captain Marvel) (2mins)
John Williams, Flying Theme (E.T.) (4mins)
A. R. Rahman, Jai Ho! (Slumdog Millionaire) (4mins)
Joe Hisaishi, Merry-Go Round of Life (Howl’s Moving Castle) (3mins)
John Powell, This is Berk (How To Train Your Dragon) (4mins)
Nainita Desai, The Silence of the City (For Sama) (3mins)
Hildur Guðnadóttir, Bathroom Dance (Joker) (3mins)
Schifrin, Theme (Mission Impossible) (3mins)
Goldsmith, An Unending Story (Basic Instinct) (5mins)
Anne Dudley, Suite (Elle) (5mins)
Jocelyn Pook, Naval Officer (Eyes Wide Shut) (5mins)
David Arnold, The Name’s Bond … James Bond (Casino Royale) (3mins)

Performers

Robert Ziegler
Conductor
Mark Kermode
Presenter

Introduction

Several years ago, I had the great honour of teaming up with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and conductor Robert Ziegler to present a series of movie music nights, during which excerpts from some of my favourite film scores were performed live.  It was wonderful to hear the music performed by this magnificent orchestra, and Robert and I promised to return and do it again - if we got the chance!

In the years since then, I wrote a book with my Scala Radio producer Jenny Nelson, entitled Mark Kermode’s Surround Sound: The Stories of Movie Music. In that book, Jenny and I attempted to chart an idiosyncratic course through the history of film music, focusing our attention as much on composers whose work has been somewhat underappreciated as those whose music has been showered with praise and awards.

Tonight’s programme marks a long-overdue return to our collaboration with the CBSO, to present an evening of movie music magic inspired in large part by my work with Jenny on ‘Surround Sound’. You’ll hear excerpts from a broad sweep of film scores, ranging from the earliest days of silent cinema (which was never silent) right up to more modern blockbuster fare.

Many of the tunes will be familiar (Lord of the Rings, Jaws, Joker and Bond) but hopefully there will also be plenty of new discoveries in there as well, such as Nainita Desai’s heartfelt theme from the documentary For Sama, or Doreen Carwithen’s romping accompaniment to Men of Sherwood Forest, which deserves to be heard by everyone. You’ll also enjoy music from contemporary Oscar winners like Anne Dudley and Rachel Portman, alongside some of the first music ever composed for moving pictures.

Animation; drama; comedies; superheroes; thrillers; chillers – they’re all represented tonight. Robert, Jenny and I hope that you have a fabulous evening revelling in the sound of the CBSO playing some of the greatest movie music of all time.

Mark Kermode
Presenter

Move Music Quiz

Which film composer is known for the fusion of classical orchestration with experimental electronic sounds in her music?
Which film score famously only uses string instruments to heighten tension?
Who composed the first film score ever written?
Which composer was the first woman to win an Oscar for Best Original Score?
The soundtrack to Mission: Impossible is known most for one musical feature, what is it?
Which father and son were both famous film composers?
What is the best-selling movie soundtrack of all time?
Which country was The Lord of the Rings filmed in?

Answers: 1 = Hildur Guðnadóttir. 2 = Pyscho (1960). 3 = Saint-Saëns. 4 = Rachel Portman. 5 = The unusual time signature of 5/4. 6 = Alfred and Thomas Newman. 7 = The Bodyguard (1992). 8 = New Zealand.