A Return to Movies’ Classical Tradition

There are few surprises among the composers nominated for an Academy Award, especially in the category of best original dramatic score. The music of the nominees--John Williams (“Amistad”), Danny Elfman (“Good Will Hunting”), Philip Glass (“Kundun”), Jerry Goldsmith (“L.A. Confidential”) and James Horner (“Titanic”)--is very popular, and the movies they have scored are, for the most part, audience favorites as well.

But the nominations do recognize an increasingly significant trend in music today. Hollywood, after years of infatuation with pop music soundtracks, is returning in a big way to its long history of relying on classically trained composers. And the classical music world has a crush on film music as never before.

The nomination of Glass is particularly noteworthy. Although he is equally at home in opera houses and experimental theater venues, playing with rock bands or composing for symphony orchestras, scoring experimental films or feature films, he is, nonetheless, principally associated with art music. The music for “Kundun” is not only an uncompromising Glass score, but it is among the strongest pieces the composer has written in recent years.

Glass is hardly alone, however, among this year’s nominees with close classical connections. Horner’s symphonic soundtrack to “Titanic”--currently selling a half-million copies a week--was originally released by Sony’s classical CD division. Williams is also one of Sony’s classical artists (as composer and conductor), and he evokes Aaron Copland when he needs the feeling of Americana in “Amistad.”

Like Williams (whose Violin Concerto was played by the Los Angeles Philharmonic in the fall), Goldsmith has a work programmed by the orchestra for its regular subscription concert conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen Oscar week in March. Meanwhile, the world premiere of Glass’ latest opera, “Monsters of Grace,” a collaboration with director Robert Wilson, will reopen the renovated Royce Hall at UCLA in April.

In fact, among the original dramatic score nominees, only Elfman, who also has a nomination for original musical or comedy score (“Men in Black”) comes from the world of pop. It’s only natural that there would be fewer classical connections in the latter category, but even here the new connections between film music and art music can be noted. In April, David Newman (one of the composers for “Anastasia”), will inaugurate the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s innovative Filmharmonic series, in which composers and filmmakers will work in a symphonic setting.