Interview To Gabriel Yared

A Conversation with the Composer Gabriel Yared
Ronald H. Sadoff, interviewer
Downloaded from http://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/mmi/article-pdf/14/3/3/1460315/musimoviimag.14.3.0003.pdf by guest on 08 February 2022

Introduction world’s great concert halls, as you have seen in
the video conducted by Dirk Brossé. However,
RS [RON SADOFF]: Today, I am delighted to
you may not be aware of Gabriel’s lifelong
introduce one of the world’s most distin-
creative forays that engage an extraordinarily
guished, performed, and heard composers,
eclectic range of musical genres. As a result,
Gabriel Yared—so welcome again [claps].
his music is imbued with contrapuntal lines
Such French films as Betty Blue1 and Ca-
inspired by Bach12 and Chopin,13 and a har-
mille Claudel2 and the American film Cold
monic palette reflecting a breadth of influence
Mountain3—as well as the epic The English
from Mahler14 to [Antônio Carlos] Jobim15 to
Patient,4 for which he was awarded both an
Bernard Herrmann,16 Marvin Gaye,17 Dizzy
Oscar and a Grammy. Gabriel’s music and
Gillespie,18 and the Beatles.19
creative vision seamlessly cross continents,
cultures, and musical styles, for which he has
often engaged in rich and enduring creative
collaborations with such filmmakers as An-
thony Minghella5 and Jean-Jacques Beineix.6
Gabriel was an official member of the
Cannes Film Festival Jury7 in 2017 and was
recently presented with the prestigious
Lifetime Achievement Award by the World
Soundtrack Awards at Film Fest Ghent,8
where his music was performed by the Brus-
sels Philharmonic and conducted by Dirk
Brossé,9 who will be here next week with us.
By the way, the students watched the Phil-
harmonia concert [from December of 2017].
GY [gabriel yared]: With the LSO [London
Symphony Orchestra].
RS: Yes, which is just, you know, wonderful. Ga-
briel also received the prestigious Max Steiner
Award10 presented by the City of Vienna at
the Hollywood in Vienna concert and gala.11 Figure 1. Gabriel Yared. Photo credit: Marian
His film and concert music are featured in the Adreani.
music and the moving image 14.3 / fall 2021 3

©2021 by the board of trustees of the university of illinois
4 music and the moving image 14.3 / fall 2021
GY: You’ve quoted the best. [laughs] went off. These tunes were the Hungarian
RS: And Gabriel’s chosen instruments range Rhapsody No. 623 by Lizst,24 and the second
from the symphony orchestra to jazz en- Italian Capriccio [Capriccio Italien, op. 45]25
sembles and even a Fairlight CMI.20 by Tchaikovsky.26
GY: You have a Fairlight? So, when I would listen to these pieces, I
RS: Yes. felt like I was escaping from jail—and at the
GY: It’s a very interesting sampler. Much more, I same time, flying to Heaven—this sensation

would say than all the new samplers, because lingered in my mind ever since. During my
it had the sound. childhood and adolescence, I always argued
RS: Oh, it did. with my parents. There was a constant fight
GY: It was not digital. because they didn’t want me to learn music
RS: And heard often, in such shows as Miami or to become a musician—for them it was
Vice,21 scored by Jan Hammer.22 not a job.
GY: Yes. At the Jesuit school, I started taking piano
RS: Let’s now move ahead. We’ll explore your lessons at an early age, half an hour a week
music—which is both familiar and innovative with the French teacher, who didn’t like me
and always fresh. We’ll hear your sound, your at all for some reason. When I discovered the
art, and certainly a great imagination and a reading of music, I said to myself, “This is
most unique voice. Welcome to NYU, Gabriel. my mother tongue.” So, I began reading non-
GY: Thank you, thank you, thank you all. stop—the first eight bars of a Bach Prelude,
RS: Our students have watched and perused then another eight, then a French suite, mov-
the scores for the cues you selected. Through ing from piece to piece and turning the page
your perspective and our discussions and again and again. I was devouring music in
questions, we hopefully can gain insights order to make sure that this discipline would
into your relationship between your music become my alphabet. So, I quickly learned
and the films—and perhaps your creative how to read and write music.
process. Before we dive into that centerpiece At the age of sixteen, I finished school
of our session—your music—I’d like to and my father said, “What do you want to
set the stage by learning more about your do now?” I said, “Well, music.” He said, “No.
background—your musical path and your Pick between a lawyer, engineer, or doctor.” I
ideology. When did you know that you were picked lawyer, simply because the law depart-
going to be, or let’s say were destined to be- ment of the university was in front of a ca-
come a composer? What were your earliest thedral with a pipe organ—and here is where
memories of music that profoundly touched I discovered the scores of Bach, Pachelbel,27
you and inspired you? and Franck.28 My path was quite special, con-
stantly fighting—fighting against my parents
Early Musical Life—Discovery of a New that didn’t want me to pursue a career in
Language music, fighting even against my piano teacher
who could have been my ally and have under-
GY: I felt that I was destined for music very stood that I was simply craving for music.
early on. I believe if I was conscious of how
I was as a baby, I would tell you, “Since I was Absorbing Musical Cultures
born!” GY: As a teenager and young adult I played a
I was born into a family where there are wide range of musical genres on the piano:
no artists, no musicians whatsoever. My par- firstly Schumann,29 because I felt it was the
ents put me in a boarding school—at a Jesuit closest to me but also Ravel,30 jazz, bossa
school—at the age of four. So, the earliest nova and pop songs.
music memory I have, was of this housemas- I never distinguished musical styles. For
ter who played the same tunes every Satur- me it made no difference as long as it was
day after we were put to bed and the lights good music.
Ronald H. Sadoff : Gabriel Yared 5
I remember using LPs—there were no do something very interesting—learn coun-

CDs at the time, so I would listen and terpoint.”
transcribe the songs on Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely So, after seven years of orchestrating pop
Hearts Club Band31 from the beginning to singles, I decided to stop everything, and I
the end—all the elements, including the took two sabbatical years to learn counter-
drums, the bass line, the choir, the doubled point from scratch.
voices [John Lennon32 and Paul McCart- RS: Concerning your creative influences, were

ney33]—everything. This is how I truly there ever any film composers or particular
learned music—but I also had a fantastic film scores that jumped out at you?
asset: I could read and write music. GY: To be honest at the start, before getting
At a certain point, I left Beirut and went involved in this environment myself, I had
to Brazil because I was invited to represent no culture whatsoever in film music. I was a
Lebanon at a song festival. I was meant to teenager craving for music, so I devoted all the
stay in Brazil for two weeks, but I ended free time I had doing only that. My time was
up staying for almost two years. [laughs]. I limited, firstly with the boarding school fol-
formed a band there in order to make ends lowed by law school, that I truly wasn’t inter-
meet. ested in doing anything else but to immerse
myself into music—and also reading—I loved
Paris: An Eclectic Musical Life Arises reading novels and poems. So, I never went
to the movies. I probably saw two films when
GY: When I left Brazil, I came to Paris and I I was a teenager. One of them was Marnie,37
stayed as I had many work opportunities, and I recall being very impressed by it and its
primarily as an orchestrator. In the begin- music. And the other one was The Fall of the
ning, it was overwhelming and I became Roman Empire38 which begins with a fugue—
overstretched—I was not an orchestrator, I the whole opening scene is accompanied by
never studied orchestration, but in Paris I a fugue! I discovered later that this music was
started getting orchestrating gigs and making composed by Dimitri Tiomkin.39
money. During that time, I continued read- Therefore, growing up I had no knowledge
ing music, and bought myself many scores, of cinema or film music. It just didn’t interest
by Prokofiev,34 Ravel, Mozart,35 anything—I me because I didn’t even know what it was.
absorbed music all the time. My goal was to become a composer and I
RS: Incidentally, from a very early age, you be- knew this would take time—except if you are
come fluent in reading music. When did you Mozart, and you have your father training
first realize that you could translate written you—but nobody was training me . . . So,
notes on a page into the sound-world of your when I began learning music I didn’t know
inner ear? where I was going. And incidentally when I
GY: I knew immediately when I started doing began writing for films, it was with Jean-Luc
it. But when I became an orchestrator in Godard40—and without composing directly
Paris, I knew I was not meant to be follow- on the images! This probably impressed me
ing this route. I wanted to be a composer, a the most because it was a familiar ground
composer of anything: jingles, commercials and I could get behind this process.
songs, whatever. I didn’t mind as long as I Can I tell you about my approach?
could write music . . . RS: Of course. Related to that, you once spoke
I continued being an orchestrator for about the nature of music for film and I’m
around seven years. quoting you, “The music should say some-
Incidentally, around the same time I was thing that is never said. It says something the
invited to attend the class of Henri Dutil- images, actors, and cinematographer would
leux36 in Paris. At the end of one year of never be able to say.”41
study, he told me, “Please, whatever you do GY: That’s true, that’s a good definition, but
in the future—and I’m sure you’re going to there are a lot of film directors who say, “I
want the music to be like a character in the inhabited by the story of the film, by the
film.” Okay, but in order for the music to words of the director, and I then start search-
have its own character, we need to allow it ing and digging for the right music. I write
the space to speak. If the music constantly many themes, sometimes three or four, until
just underscores the scenes in the back- I’m convinced that one of them is marrying
ground, then it simply doesn’t have a char- the spirit of the film perfectly, not simply the
acter. scenes shot-by-shot.

So, this is everything I aim for when I
Compositional Process: compose. During my early years of film
Scores Born from Scripts scoring, I rarely considered the shot-by-shot
approach and this was a mistake. I was being
GY: My approach is not very orthodox. I prefer somewhat a fanatic, but I soon started pay-
to be involved in the process when the proj- ing attention to the shot-by-shot and to all
ect is not yet incarnated into the images. I the details of the image. And all this thanks
like to read the script and meet the director to the master of editing—Walter Murch.43
in advance. I prefer to spend time with the
director, and hear the story firsthand before
A Marriage: Composer and Director
the shooting.
From this first stage, I already start to cre- GY: With Anthony Minghella and Walter
ate images in my mind—subjective images— Murch, I really began considering and recog-
and begin to think of the music. I firstly nizing the different aspects of the image and
compose complete pieces of music using I understood that, the collaboration between
these internal images as my inspiration. I a composer and a director is really like a
begin with the theme, then the harmony, the marriage. There needs to be a real communi-
bass, and then start making variations. Once cation between the composer and the direc-
I feel that I’m satisfied with these pieces, tor, a mutual understanding and compat-
only then I introduce the shot images and ibility of characters. The composer acts as an
begin crafting all the material around them, ally to the director providing them support
for each scene. I followed this approach with and solutions. When I commit to a project,
almost all the directors I’ve been successful I do so for a long period of time. Therefore,
with. I need to feel comfortable and happy when
With Jean-Jacques Beineix, for example, working with someone. He or she would
all of the music was written before the shoot- need to be interested in what I can person-
ing. The good thing about this is that the ally and musically bring to the project and
director gets to know the music along with the other way round. For me the personality
all the actors, the DOP [director of photog- of the director is a very important aspect
raphy]—and almost everybody on set. It before considering a new project. I always
really brings all the elements together and all say that I write music mostly for the direc-
parties can gain from knowing it beforehand. tor rather than the film itself. A film always
Additionally, this is a great asset for the edi- reflects the director’s identity and vision, so
tor because he or she can use the original when there is harmony between us on a per-
music to cut the picture to, instead of using sonal level, then our professional collabora-
temp music which is the standard practice. tion can flourish and be successful.
Another example is my collaboration with
Anthony Minghella. Anthony approached A Modern Disintegration of Musical
me because he loved my score for Betty Blue Structure, Harmony, Melody
and The Lover42—two scores that I wrote GY: I don’t consider myself a film composer
music before the images. When I say writ- because I simply write music. The musi-
ing before the images, I don’t mean writing cal vocabulary which has proven to work
a piece of music for myself—I’m completely for almost eighty years in the world of film
music directly come from classical music, your inner music—your voice—giving your
symphonic poems and operas from the voice—and for that, one has to search a lot,
nineteenth, beginning of the twentieth, cen- to dig, to throw in the bin sometimes, and to
tury, but also from jazz and even sometimes try and fail until achieving what seems to be
popular music. Once the skill set is there, working with the picture perfectly.
the technique of film music in itself is quite
simple: underline the sync points, come in Abandoning Habits: Music Conceived

and out elegantly, and know how to manipu- Anew Each Film
late the different timbres and colors of the RS: You once stressed the importance of being
orchestra. flexible and to approach each film on its own
Of course film music has evolved over the terms and as a composer, you said that it’s
years, but it has progressively lost some of its not about having habits. You must abandon
essence: before, it relied on specific writing the habits, give up the habits.
and composition techniques, from which GY: Escape from the habits, oh yeah. But you
it used all the effects and artifice, such as know, Ron, to escape from the habits, you
variation, development, complex harmonies, cannot do five films a year—it’s impossible.
often counterpoint—and it especially relied In real life you can’t marry five times in the
on a musical tradition: composers who had same year.
experience with these techniques brought When we go fast and are in a hurry, we
their talent to film music: Alex North,44 Al- cannot really take care of what we are doing,
fred Newman,45 Max Steiner,46 [Erich] Korn- polish our work . . . We unconsciously use
gold,47 Tiomkin, Rózsa,48 et cetera. our old tricks, what we are comfortable
Today, while I believe in some areas film with. In this situation, this is what comes up
music is still evolving, it is also narrowing first, relying on our habits. To try to avoid
in some respects. In many cases it feels that getting into the old habits, there needs to
there is no structure anymore. Film music be a reflection and research to find the ap-
these days often resembles more an accom- propriate approach to the score at each stage.
paniment of a recitativo from an opera, held With each new project, I want to evolve and
notes, drones, blaring effects, a theme—pref- grow as a composer. I take this very seriously
erably simple and easy to remember—and and maybe this is the reason why I don’t do
very little “music.” I am aware of this because many films firstly, and why perhaps I am
as part of the jury in Cannes a few years back considered difficult to work with because I’m
I had to watch twenty-two films. So, when I demanding. I’m demanding as such in order
watch these films, I feel that we are missing for the music to really have a meaning in
something. I don’t necessarily know what we each film.
are missing, but at the same time what I hear
works well with the picture. However, what European and American Approaches
is really the goal of film music? Just to work RS: When our students study abroad at NYU
well with the images or to bring something Paris, we noticed that their composition
else in addition—something new that the lessons at École Normale “Cortot” [École
images are unable to say. That being said, Normale de Musique de Paris]49 are taken
I do not exclude musicians who play with together with their colleagues—as classes.
colors, coming from rock, jazz, electronic They also take their orchestration lessons in
music, contemporary or repetitive music, a group—so there’s a kind of creative shar-
who can have a very interesting approach in ing that transpires, whereas in the United
perfect harmony with the film. States we still teach composition as private
Personally, I do not follow the path of lessons. The reason I point that out is that it
giving what I am expected to. Composing may reflect different approaches toward writ-
a film score is not responding to a ques- ing. Relatedly, we realize that French films
tion; it’s more than that. It’s really unveiling
arise from a much different culture than such a short period of time. I can’t do that—I
American films—and perhaps that has much mean in technical terms, yes I would be able
to do with how much the government sup- to; I could compose film music in a week if I
ports the arts in Europe, as compared to the wanted to, but I find this cynical and I would
Hollywood system, which is commercial— regret it. I would know that I hadn’t commit-
whether you think that’s good or bad, that’s ted the time needed and so the music would
the way it is. probably not have much depth.

GY: It is what it is, yeah. I’m very genuine when talking about film
RS: Yet with the American films you’ve done, music—about this business. For me it’s not
you’ve clearly retained your own voice and really a business—it’s my life. And I made
you still write— it my life because I think we can express
GY: I still write, yet when I started working on beautiful music through this medium. On a
American films, it felt different from what I deeper level, instead of trying to be pleasing,
was used to. It was then, when I discovered one should give in to the duties of a real and
that I could be even more creative through honest artist, and this way, elevate the audi-
the comfort of having a music editor and ence to beauty.
a bigger budget to work with. You are im-
mediately given more means to express your The English Patient: Collaboration
creation! In Europe and France particularly, with Anthony Mighella
I was used to working on a very small music
budget and without a music editor. The RS: Amongst the media for which you’ve com-
person who would determine whether my posed, you mentioned commercials. Didn’t
music was good or needed reworking/altera- you initially meet Minghella, through work-
tions was solely the director. This is not the ing on a commercial?
case, especially in Hollywood these days. GY: Yes, this was how I met him, in the early
Firstly, the budgets are considerably larger, 90s during a meeting for a TV advert for
and there’s always a music editor from the which I composed the music. He was sitting
beginning who is able to assist me during there, looking like a little Buddha, smiling
the process and that is really great! How- at me. We connected straight away, and our
ever, having the luxury of a bigger budget collaboration started then and there with
is not something extremely important. For this ad for one of the first mobile phones
example, Betty Blue was done with fifty thou- called Mercury!
sand francs, which is less than ten thousand Some time passed, and I received a phone
dollars. call from Anthony regarding The English
Patient. At the time, I lived on an island in
European Authorship: Director— Brittany called Île-aux-Moines, and Anthony
Screenwriter—Composer came to see me there with his script. He told
me that he was eager to work with me, but
GY: I think that if each one of us composers
the producer, Saul Zaentz,50 had other can-
really try to give the best of what we have
didates in mind for the role of the composer.
and not only respond to what is requested
Anthony stayed with me for a while, told
and expected. We mustn’t forget that in
me the whole story of The English Patient in
France, and in many European countries,
great detail and proposed that I start writing
the composer is considered as one of the
a main theme. This is how it all began!
authors of the film. There are three authors:
I knew that Anthony was a musician and
the director—the scriptwriter—and the
pianist himself and that he loved the Beatles,
composer. And so as co-authors we have
Puccini, and J. S. Bach as much as I do.
to bring to the project everything we can.
To guide me, in terms on what he was
I can’t really imagine being hired on a film
after for the music, he gave me four key
two months before it’s released, going to a
hints:
spotting session and composing my score in
1. A Hungarian-Turkish song, “Szerelem, to the island with the tapes of two-to-three

Szerelem”51 by Márta Sebestyén,52 which he scenes each time. I would then make demos
wanted to begin the film with on these scenes and send them back, and so
2. Puccini,53 for the beauty and elegance of it went on.
his melodies and refined sophistication of For me the main challenges when writing
the harmonies for this film were:
3. J. S. Bach for his undoubtedly graceful

majesty 1. The fact that until then, I wasn’t really
4. Middle Eastern/oriental music, which was experienced in creating an underscore,
obviously inherited to me or trying to match exactly a scene with
dialogue. In summary, my composition
Anthony went back to London and I work before Anthony was mostly music
began composing. It took me a while before “per se,” and not necessarily film music.
being able to present him with the main I’ve learned to work more closely to the
theme, which we hear right after Márta’s images through the process of composing
song in the beginning of the film. At the for The English Patient, thanks to Anthony
time, I didn’t have good quality samples, and Walter Murch as I mentioned earlier.
there were only synthesizers and a very few I would receive the scenes back with my
early samples, so I created a demo using music chopped by Walter. He and Anthony
these and sent it to Anthony. He loved it had their reasons for making these deci-
and a few weeks later he flew me to San sions and they would explain them to me
Francisco to meet Saul Zaentz, the pro- on the phone. In the beginning, it was
ducer. challenging for me to understand how this
Zaentz used to run Fantasy Records and medium worked, but it became clearer
Stax Records that owned a vast jazz music with time. I received a real teaching from
catalogue. They took me to a theatre with a both of them from this back and forth pro-
wonderful piano on stage and I played my cedure. They truly respected my music but
main theme for The English Patient. While wanted me to go beyond my comfort zone,
playing, I went on to explain all the differ- to be more specific and adaptable to the
ent elements of the theme, i.e., this where scenes.
the Russian choir basses were supposed to 2. The biggest challenge was having to replace
be entering, the cor anglais melody, then the Aria from the Goldberg Variations54
the strings, et cetera, . . . I described that the by J. S. Bach. This was very difficult, be-
theme consisted of three parts that would cause how does one compete with Bach!
cover a lot of the musical landscape of the Originally, they wanted to use the Aria by
film. I played the theme a second time with- Bach, but since the scene was too long and
out stopping/speaking and at the end Zaentz the Aria too short, they dropped this idea
stood up and told me I was hired! and asked me to write an original piece.
Anthony said to me, “I’m expecting a This piece which pays homage to Bach is a
score from you which you’ve never done three-voice prelude that took me a while to
before, firstly, and I want you to express master. The soundtrack name of this piece
your own voice, your own music.” It took me is Convento di Sant’Ana and it was used
approximately a whole year, only focusing in the scene in the church when Hana [Ju-
on the score. After writing the main theme liette Binoche55] discovers the frescos.
before the film was shot, I then had to adapt
it to the images. But since I was living on an RS: It must have been so interesting working
island, it was very difficult at the time with- with Murch, who possesses consummate
out Internet to receive the scenes and send knowledge and vast experience with sound,
back my work in progress. I had to wait for music, and film editing—those crucial yet
the FedEx courier from San Francisco to get seemingly “invisible elements.”
Temp Music they are after. There are a few directors that
GY: He’s a genius. And you know, we became have a sufficient musical knowledge—I don’t
very close friends after this film, and con- mean that play an instrument or can read a
tinued to work together on The Talented score, but rather musical culture and taste.
Mr. Ripley56 and Cold Mountain. We had Many directors would give you references
many conversations, and one of them was from other film scores, to which I would say,
about temp music. Walter disapproves of the “Let me show you what I have in mind first.”

method of using temp tracks and expressed Using existing references from other films
that he doesn’t understand how editors are can be complicated and delicate. But when
able to cut scenes to music. For him the you have a clever director who appreciates
image should have its own rhythm and mu- and acknowledges the power of music, then
sicality at the first place, and then comes the this is enough to inspire a composer and
score. He told me, “when I first receive the bring something unique to the film.
film and begin to edit it, I turn off the sound
completely, including the dialogues, and I Q & A Interlude: Compositional
look at the images in order to uncover their Approach
pace and rhythm.” So, in our work together, RS: Perhaps there are a couple of questions
I would feed him with my demos, and he from some of our students before we move
would use them to eventually temp the film. on to our first film clip.
As a parenthesis, I find it very strange to Of course, I can’t wait to get to Camille
use temp music. Inevitably, people get used Claudel—and your wonderful theme. Al-
to this music so when they hire a composer, though most composers, if stranded on a
it’s too late. In my opinion, it’s a dangerous desert island and asked to take one piece of
method because they can sometimes get music, it probably would be Art of Fugue57—
too attached to the temp tracks and refuse GY: You know I do that. I when I go on holi-
to accept anything different. The composer day, I take the Art of Fugue and I take all
then has to almost duplicate the temp. So the Beethoven58 quartets, yeah. This is my
being involved on a film from the beginning holiday!
has many advantages because it allows you to RS: You know Bartók59 used to do that in a café
be original and have your own voice. Even if behind Carnegie Hall. He would take his
you’re not paid for the time you are involved Beethoven string quartets and sit for hours
near the beginning, I think we must avoid just studying. But the other piece of music I
coming into a project only at the end. I find think I may take with me is your gorgeous
this unproductive and also it’s not good for cue from Camille Claudel which we’ll soon
the art of film or for the art of music. A com- hear.
poser should put all his consciousness, skills GY: And I want to listen to the students—speak
and energy into his/her music. Any type of to me, please, because the reason I’m here,
composition has to be personal, whatever it’s mostly to listen to you. I think I’ve been
that might be. We should spend more time, speaking enough now.
accompanying the director. The director RS: Pano, you had a question?
spends sometimes two or three years or PF [PANO FOUNTAS]: Yes, thank you very
more to build the film, to write the script, to much. I have several questions—I was won-
finance it, to find the actors, location, et ce- dering do you make sketches of cues like on
tera. So, from our side, us composers need to a small, like A4 paper, or do you compose
be devoted to the project and do our maxi- directly on a full orchestra staff paper?
mum.
Very often the directors don’t have much Music and Technology
of a musical culture and mainly they don’t
GY: To begin, most composers work with
have the right vocabulary to express what
samples when creating their demos. But the
initial sketching of the music is something to be natural and flow, listening to the demo
else. From very early on in my career, I was on Logic is not enough nor ideal. We need to
interested in technology and the many ways write the music down in order to really see
it can enhance a composer’s work. I always and hear what we’ve done.
enjoyed exploring different music software But of course, each one of us has their own
and digital workstations. I began by using approach. So, if you, for instance, you like to
Performer and making my demos. I then write your music down immediately in four

used Vision and later on Logic Pro. These staffs to imagine the orchestra—that’s fine.
types of software are a real tool when creat- As long as you know what you want—what
ing a demo or even for improvising. How- you are after. You need to know yourself
ever, I believe one should not just rely on this before giving this to an orchestrator—oth-
method to compose. Firstly, one should write erwise you are submerged by ideas which
music with pen and paper and be able to vi- could be very well intended, but which
sualize and develop the composition without don’t reflect you or your music. I’m not an
having to listen to it before. The ear is a bad academic. I never went to music school, so I
judge and it can’t embrace more than what it discovered all these things by myself—all the
is hearing. The creation comes from imagi- music rules. But it’s good to know the rules
nation and the ear is unable to grasp this. in order to break them! And I always say to
When you vertically write a piece of music, myself, “Nothing should be forbidden.” It’s all
you do so with your internal ear. The eyes about love—improvising, singing, creating,
fulfill the role of this internal ear. Technol- and then becoming stricter with the manu-
ogy is a great medium and extremely useful script.
when composing, however, it should never Have I responded to your question?
replace the knowledge of proper music writ- PF: Yeah, definitely, thank you very much. And
ing and reading. Music has evolved from the very quickly, if I may—
sixteenth to the twentieth centuries follow-
ing exactly the same rules about harmony, Influential Scores & Film Composers
counterpoint, fugue, et cetera. So, there is no PF: Could you name a couple of scores that in-
reason for anyone to ignore this when writ- fluenced your—orchestral scores—that have
ing film music. influenced your orchestral writing the most?
When composing, I start by improvisa- GY: Probably Ravel, then Debussy,60 and
tion, by playing things out or humming. Bartók, The Miraculous Mandarin.61 And for
When I find something interesting, I stop, film music, I have a great love for Bernard
then I write it down. I notate my theme and Herrmann. I admire him because he worked
then begin to develop it on paper. Once I on each of his scores with great care, put-
do that, I start making my demos on Logic. ting all his consciousness as if it was concert
From this stage I already know how the music. Of course, I also like Jerry Goldsmith,
music will be orchestrated. I always use the he is very original and all that, but what
volume pedal in order to create more realis- touches me the most creatively and musically
tic dynamics. Of course, I go back and forth is probably Bernard Herrmann. And also
and change things. There’s no specific rule— Scott Bradley62 and Milton [Milt] Franklyn.63
and, of course, I always consider that the Do you know these guys?
music is played by real musicians. I find that RS: Yes.
is very important to look back at our manu- GY: Do you know them, Pano? You should lis-
script and to sing what we have written. I ten to the music in Tom and Jerry64 or Bugs
always sing when I compose, even when Bunny [in Looney Tunes],65 it is genius—it’s
I’m orchestrating because I want to imagine fantastic. Orchestration wise—sometimes
how the strings will sing, for example. I want they use the dodecaphonic series (twelve-
everything to make sense and have the ap- tone technique) just to cover the movement.
propriate movement. In order for the music It’s mickey-mousing,66 but it’s great music and
I admire these composers that nobody usu- on television one day, playing the music I
ally talks about. I’m referring to the young wrote for Jean-Luc Godard. But since the
generations, the students. Scott Bradley, Mil- music I wrote for Godard was only made
ton Franklyn. Great composers. with synths—an ARP [2600] and Polymoog
It’s fantastic. There are some CDs now of of that time [1979], I reorchestrated it for
only the music itself. It’s worth it to listen to an orchestra and was conducting it on TV.
that just to see how virtuosic the orchestra- Two days later, I received a call from Jean-

tions were. Jacques Beineix saying, “I would like you to
RS: It must have been the greatest sight readers read my script.” He came to my place, I read
who ever lived, who played those sessions. the script and he said, “I would like you to
GY: Oh, yeah. One, two, three, four—and go! compose the themes before the shooting.” I
Yes. [both laugh] said, “That’s a great idea, of course I welcome
RS: Okay. Let’s now move to La Lune dans le these ideas.” I said, “Why?” He said, “Be-
caniveau. cause I want to install the atmosphere of the
film in the décor—in the set, the one differ-
The Moon in the Gutter (La Lune dans ent set at the Cinecittà in Roma. So, I had
le Caniveau) to write diegetic music—there was a tango
and the main themes. I decided to meet the
RS: We know this film as The Moon in the Gut- actors—Gérard Depardieu and Nastassja
ter.67 Kinski—and Nastassja Kinski convinced me
GY: La Lune dans le caniveau. Caniveau, it that I should write something very beautiful
means the gutter, yes. for her. I completed my themes before shoot-
RS: I’ll give them a brief synopsis of the film ing and my demos were played during the
and then you can discuss your approach to shooting rehearsals.
it—and then we’ll play the clip and entertain Specifically for the clips we are
some questions. about to see: for the car crash, the di-
GY: Okay. rector wanted something very special and
RS: So, the director—again, Jean-Jacques Bei- unique, and for the scene with the ride to the
neix—makes the film about two women, cathedral he wanted the music to be noble.
one played by Nastassja Kinski,68 a wealthy I used the same theme for these two scenes
amateur photographer who prowls the docks and this theme was very simple; it was that—
in her early 1960s Ferrari Spyder looking for [plays theme on piano].
handsome men. And there’s another charac-
ter, Bella, a poor but beautiful woman who is Composing Via Melodic Cells
probably a prostitute and shares affections for GY: So this [plays opening notes]—the first clip
a dock worker named Gerard, who is actually you’re going to see, I didn’t want to reveal
Gérard Depardieu.69 He is obsessed by the the theme fully, so I divided the strings into
memory of his sister, who was raped and then maybe twelve parts, I think (you have the
committed suicide in a back alley which he score) and gave them rhythmic cells play-
visits every night. No one knows who coming together [demonstrates rhythmic cells].
mitted the rape, but he has sworn to avenge The basses, then violas, and then the violins
the crime if he can only figure out who the [plays upper melody]. So all these rhythmi-
perpetrator was. Roger Ebert70 wrote, “It’s a cal cells give you the theme, but completely
sumptuous, dazzling photograph melodrama.” differently when in the cathedral—there I
GY: And Philippe Rousselot,71 is the producer. composed a fugue because I was just finish-
RS: Yes. The production is such a visual phe- ing my course in fugue, so I said, “Why not
nomenon—a spectacle. Are we looking at a fugue here?”—it’s only the exposition of
two clips of this? the fugue which means just the four voices.
GY: Yeah. Just a little word. Just for you to It was very interesting because on the set, I
know, guys, Jean-Jacques Beineix saw me asked the engineer to record for me, some
people working on the ship with hammers point—I can’t remember when—but I paid
and drills and all that. He recorded this for more attention and it was so beautifully writ-
me, and I sampled the sounds on the Fair- ten.
light CMI and I played some of the string PC: I remember the movie very well and I’m
parts on the Fairlight. So, you have a mixture of that generation. I did want say that I too
of both: acoustic instruments and some of studied with the Jesuits and I too studied
the first samples heard in a film score. fugue at Conservatoire with Nadia Bou-

RS: So we’ll look at this, and then discuss this a langer. So, one thing that I’m my contra-
bit with some questions. puntal skills, but I never try to show it, you
[plays film clip: The Moon in the Gutter (be- know. When I first went to Hollywood, they
gins at 01:18:00)] said, “Don’t let people know that you were
GY: And the second is the same theme, but a professor at UCLA,” you know, so I didn’t
completely different. want anybody to know that I actually knew
[plays film clip: The Moon in the Gutter (be- how to write music.
gins at 01:21:30)] GY: Well, it’s so important otherwise we will
GY: That’s it. have more and more flat scores and drones.
RS: Wonderful. Do we have comments and PC: Right. Well, congratulations anyways.
questions? Paul, you have a comment? RS: You know, it seems like you use that fugue
PC [PAUL CHIHARA]: Gabriel, it’s beauti- subject, starting with double basses, which
ful—both cues were beautiful. I particularly has such severity. And I’ve always felt that
like that fugue and the way it resolves when the inherent shape of a fugue is basically that
we come to the interior of the next scene. it begins with a single voice and continu-
I would never have thought that a fugue ously opens up all the way to the end—so
would work in a film. The only fugue that I there’s something of a feeling of inevitability.
know is by John Williams in Jaws72 on the GY: Yes, yes.
Fourth of July and I think it doesn’t work at RS: It seems like that’s what it does so wonder-
all; it’s like academic Juilliard suddenly. This fully and then—
is not academic. To write a fugue that is not GY: Yeah. The idea was to start from bottom
an academic—there’s only one other person and then to climb. I wrote a lot of this music
in creation that can do that in that spot. before the shooting but not the fugue. The
GY: Oh, my God. [covers face in hands] I don’t theme was written before and then I adapted
know where to put myself, I’m sorry. [both it and crafted it to the image.
laugh]
RS: You’re in good company. Q & A: Jazz Influence
PC: It’s not that it’s academic, but it’s a wonder-
ful discipline, but musically and dramati- PC: I’m interested in knowing more of your
cally, it’s very moving—so congratulations. background in jazz because I have a feel-
GY: If it’s needed dramatically it’s good to use ing about things, too. I’ve worked with the
the fugue. Ellington den,73 I’ve worked with a lot of
PC: It almost never works, and I’ve seen many famous jazz people, though people don’t
attempts at it, you know. think of me as a jazz musician. What I
GY: You should listen to one fugue—it’s in The learned about jazz was—that in the open-
Fall of the Roman Empire by Dimitri Tiom- ing of Laura,74 for example, you hear that
kin. first chord, and the melody generates from
PC: I know the score and I know that composer. that chord. The idea that you could have a
GY: Right, the opening is very interesting—I harmony that is so gorgeous—a flat nine and
think the theme is—[plays The Fall of the thirteen or something, and that generates—
Roman Empire theme on piano and sings]— you know, we don’t teach concert music that
with four voices. It was really great. After way. In fact, I’m very critical about the way
its release it played again on TV at some we teach concert music period, but—
GY: Yeah, yeah. I never studied jazz, never. GY: She ends up in an asylum and nobody
PC: You don’t have to study jazz. I don’t know comes to see her. Camille Claudel was a
any—Ellington never studied jazz. great sculptor, as much as Rodin, but we
GY: Yeah, I transcribe. are only discovering this now. I’ll tell you a
PC: You are a jazz person; that’s something else. quick story: I was in Los Angeles for a film
GY: Yeah, yeah. But in my heart, I could be by Glenn Gordon Caron77 called Clean and
anything—I’m Hungarian, I’m Argentinian, I Sober;78 it was my first American film. I was

write tangos. I love all the music and I’m sure about to finish this project when I received
my music is a mixture of all this. a call from Isabelle Adjani79 saying, “I need
PC: I was thinking you were saying about Dimi- you. Do you want to see the film we’ve just
tri Tiomkin—the beginning of The Fall of the done with Bruno Nuytten,80 Camille Clau-
Roman Empire—was that Dimitri Tiomkin del?” I said, “I’m coming to Paris in a week.”
who wrote that score? She said, “Okay, we’ll wait for you.” They
GY: Yes, it was him. screened the film for me when I returned—it
PC: Right, well that’s a good composer, right? was four hours long as it was not fully edited
And he begins with a fugue. Dimitri Tiom- yet. They temped it with Benjamin Britten,81
kin was not a Christian. I think he knew [Anton] Bruckner,82 some Mahler, I forgot
Bach—but he was a Jew from the Ukraine, which Mahler, but Bruckner Symphony No.
you know? [laughs] 783 and Benjamin Britten—a lot of music. I
GY: Well you know, so many Jews know Bach. mean, I would love if directors would temp
[all laugh] with this kind of music. It would make our
PC: All of Broadway, that first generation; work much more—demanding and difficult,
they’re all from the Ukraine. but I must say this was good temp music!
RS: And operetta. The film was amazing, but I was completely
PC: Benny Goodman75 from two generations overwhelmed so I needed time to think
before. You like jazz. I adore jazz, but it’s a about it. Two days later I asked to see the film
combination of Slavic and of klezmer. You again. After rewatching it, I decided to do it.
have, you cannot— I had only two and a half months to finish
GY: Yeah, that is klezmer. the whole score. It was too short for me, so I
PC: You know, this strange mélange of things proposed to write three themes—three suites
and I think that all of this richness in your with a large string orchestra, a small quartet, a
background is what makes you special. harp, and timpani. There was simply no time
GY: Thank you, thank you. to write on scene by scene. I was very careful
in adding breaths [spaces] in my pieces—and
Camille Claudel rests and things like that so we could cut sec-
tions from the themes if needed. I told them
RS: Your theme for Camille Claudel must be that I’d go to the editing room and help them
one of the most gorgeous pieces of music to place the themes—spot the music to the
ever written. Let me give a synopsis of the scenes.” So, I worked for a month and half;
clip. When a renowned French sculptor, I came up with the themes. A theme is not
[Auguste] Rodin76—again, Depardieu star- important, it’s just a name but what you do
ring—notices the raw sculpting talent of a with it, is important. My theme was a scale.
beautiful and precocious Camille Claudel, [demonstrates scale on piano] Theme 1. Theme
the two artists begin a scandalous love affair. 2? [plays Theme 2] It’s just scales.
Camille becomes Auguste’s muse and assis-
tant, sacrificing her own work to contribute Camille Claudel: Evolution of the Score
to his sculptures. However, when her work and Orchestration
goes unrecognized and she desires attention
GY: Precisely at the time I was asked to write
of her own, Camille is left alone and gradu-
this score, I was studying and analyzing three
ally spirals into mental illness.
different pieces: (1) Metamorphosis [Meta-
morphosen]84 by Richard Strauss,85 who and it’s very clear from these examples, I
wrote only for strings; (2) Verklärte Nacht86 mean there’s so many incredible instances
by Schoenberg87—The Transfigured Night; of counterpoint in your music—and we
and (3) the first movement of the Tenth hear John Williams speak about how that’s
Symphony88 by Mahler, the only movement one of the most important things for a film
he orchestrated himself, and then he died. composer—Philip Glass89 says that’s one of
When I started watching this film, I thought the first things he looks at in young compos-

to myself, “This film deserves to have great, ers. I’m curious if you could talk about how
almost classical music, because it’s a beauti- you studied counterpoint outside of going
ful story that brings tears to your eyes.” So, I to a music school—and what role you think
decided that I was going to try to reach the counterpoint plays in film music. Sometimes
top of my inspiration and work closely with you seem to use it for a conversation be-
counterpoint. tween two different people and then some-
I played them my demos—with crap times it’s for a more dramatic effect. How do
strings, but they loved it! It was time to re- you see the combination of counterpoint and
cord, so we went to London and recorded in film music?
three sessions with a huge orchestra. Just for GY: I don’t see it as a combination; I see coun-
you guys to know, I had probably the biggest terpoint as the essence of writing any music.
string orchestra I’ve ever had. There were I use counterpoint because otherwise you
eighteen firsts, sixteen seconds, fourteen just have a chord [plays chord] and a theme
violas, twelve cellos, and ten basses! on the top [plays theme on top of chord] and
After we finished recording and mixing, nothing’s happening. When working on a
we went to the editing room and put the theme, I always try to find a counterpoint
music and images together. And funnily which could go with this theme—another
enough, I don’t know how and whether voice playing along, that unites the two—but
it was by coincidence or a miracle, all the which doesn’t have the same meter [timing].
music was almost perfectly synced and mar- Counterpoint is extremely useful when writ-
ried to the images! ing film music because it can help disguise
the theme. When you decide to use a theme
Flexibility: A Cue Replanted to in a film, but you don’t want to reveal in its
Another Scene standard form, you can alternatively use its
GY: In the clip you are going to see the music counterpoint. I find that if a counterpoint is
we hear was not written specifically for it. written for every thematic idea, then there
It was, of course, composed for the film in is enough music to cover almost all the film
general and then placed in this scene after- score. It really is all about counterpoint, oth-
wards. As with the rest of the music in this erwise the music feels empty and shallow—a
film, each piece eventually found its place on theme here, the harmony there, the basses
different scenes. Even though the music was but nothing going on between. And also,
not intended for particular scenes, it made when in a situation like the one we have just
perfect sense in the end because it managed seen, I could have written only that—[plays
to capture the very spirit of the film. Theme 2]. But it wouldn’t carry the same
So, if you want to watch the clip, I’m meaning because here [plays theme] the
with you. phrase is descending in the opposite direc-
[plays film clip: Camille Claudel (begins at tion [plays descending line]. It’s the prelude to
00:36:53)] the passion.
This melodic dialogue makes the music
much thicker, but that’s not the point, not the
Q & A: The Role of Counterpoint
purpose. It makes it more dear to the heart
NOAH HOROWITZ: I have a question. So I and also—the ears are taken by all these lines
think you mentioned studying counterpoint which intertwine, completing one another
like an act of love—like a sexual act. With- RS: And Mahler would never have done what
out the counterpoint, we cannot achieve you did. [both laugh]
this. And so, I always try, even in simplest GY: Yeah. No, no, I love Herrmann, I love Her-
music to have counterpoint; otherwise, I rmann, really. There are beautiful things in
feel poor . . . I feel that I haven’t reached the film music, also, but you know, it’s funny.
peak of my inspiration. I received a gift from Listen to people like Morricone,93 for in-
above but it’s up to me to make it grow and stance. Morricone was classically trained in

I have to constantly push myself. Of course, music, in orchestration. He wanted to do
variations are very interesting, and I believe contemporary music and he had a kind of
the counterpoint can also be very effective contempt for film music. He wrote eight hun-
when writing variations. dred scores. And if you listen to his scores
RS: You know, it seems that your music also for film music, and you compare them to
invokes an essence drawn from the roman- his contemporary music, it’s really strange!
ticism of classical Hollywood, yet it is not Because his film scores are so fantastic—re-
derivative. search, sound and orchestral wise, every-
GY: No. thing—so I don’t understand this division,
RS: The Mahler-esque harmonies and just hints you know, between “this is good music,”
of a melodic lilt—it’s almost like a French “this is not good music,” because this is more
folk song, especially in your three notes lead- “sophisticated.” But it’s very difficult to be
ing in. simple, my God. How difficult!
GY: I don’t know, Ron. I just know that it took
me a long time to find this—days and nights. Compositional Process: Research /
This was not orchestrated by someone else Melody / Instrumentation
afterwards, it was written originally on four GY: To get to the point that you find your
staves with all the strings singing—having theme, and then, what do you do with the
a particular role. The violins, the violas, the theme? And how do you create a unique
cellos, they were all divided—it’s almost spir- sound? Which instrument are you going
itual as all the singing is unified into one. to choose to play the theme? All these as-
There’s nothing I achieve without work- pects are very important, and Morricone
ing a lot, not because I want to please, but understood this. He had a fantastic palette
because I just want to give back to what I of sounds that we never heard before—like
received. I’m grateful for the gift I received the Jew’s harp94 and so many other instru-
and since I didn’t study music when I was ments. This is an example of somebody who
younger, I feel almost obliged to give back has been researching for almost every single
more. And for me giving back means spend- score he wrote—a truly great composer of
ing time, having the courage to throw it in film music. Sadly, he passed away now, but
the bin and say, “No, no, this is not good, it’s I know he wouldn’t like me to say that he’s
too easy.” We want to be almost boiling in- a great film composer because for him, this
side, all of the time. is not what he wanted to do. He wanted to
RS: It’s almost immediately immersive after write contemporary music. Life is funny.
those first three notes—and in that way, RS: For silent films in comparing French film
it’s like Herrmann, you know with—[plays scores with American films—the individual
three notes leading to the love theme from pieces of mostly preexisting music tended to
Vertigo90] run for only between three to four minutes
GY: Well, yeah. Oh, I love this. Vertigo. in European films. Yet in American films, the
RS: Yes, yes. You know, it’s like Wagner91—but music would change about every thirty or
he would never have actually done that. forty seconds.
GY: No, no! Don’t compare Herrmann to Wag- GY: Yeah, yeah.
ner, really. [both laugh] Save for Tristan und RS: It’s interesting that both you and Alexandre
Isolde.92 Desplat,95 and certainly with Morricone as
well, you all often create long, extended me- I cannot say, “I’m gonna do this and then
lodic lines that are— I’ll orchestrate it.” While composing, I al-
GY: Like the arcs, yeah. ready have in mind that this would be a cor
RS: Yes. anglais, that this would be the viola playing
GY: Yeah, I don’t know. I’m not responsible for here, et cetera—so probably I create the ten-
this. [both laugh] It comes to me and I make sion, whether it be in Mr. Ripley or in Judy,
it grow. That’s all. by superposing rhythmical cells. I love funky

RS: [laughs] Well, then we’re holding you guilty music. I was in love with “What’s Going
today. [both laugh] On”98 [by] Marvin Gaye. I thought it was
GY: I feel that I’m speaking too much, and I a masterpiece. I also love Brazilian music.
would love to hear more from the students. So, when I want to add tension, I use the
I used to run an academy that I founded orchestra as if I had a band—a drummer, a
in 1993 called Pleiade96—like the stars in the bass player, guitars, and by superposing each
sky—and I was surrounded by students to element like in a band. I use rhythmical cells
whom I taught one main thing: whatever you until the tension rises and rises, and then I
do, you should always search for Beauty! I bring in the theme that we were all waiting
tried to convey to them that one must always for. And this takes a little while and takes a
bring consciousness and ethics in any type of little—not a little—it takes a lot of work. Be-
music they work on. cause it’s easy to just use repetitive cells and
So, I’m very interested in the students, superpose them one on top of the other—but
much more than my music, and I want to you have to be very selective. I think in Mr.
hear them. Ripley and in Judy, because you are quoting
RS: Scott Merrick has a question. You want to those two, I reflected a lot before writing.
ask it, Scott? It’s about tension. Like in Judy [sings theme], I didn’t do this as
GY: Yeah? though I suddenly decided that, “Now I’m
going to create some ‘tension.’” It was a well
Q & A: Invoking Tension thought process.
The tension also sometimes comes from
SM [SCOTT MERRICK]: Right now, first thank the harmony itself. Not only from the
you so much for being here and for sharing rhythm, not only from superposing rhythmi-
your experiences and your insight— cal cells. The harmony could participate in
GY: Thank you. the tension. The way you use a chord and
SM: It’s amazing. Your music is wonderful. distort it in some way. Changing the bass or
GY: Thank you! introducing a cluster, I don’t know. This is
SM: One thing we’ve discussed a lot in class also part of the tension. I don’t think I’m a
is the idea of tension within film and also tension specialist, but when a moment in a
within film music, and so what I’ve noticed film like the examples arrives, I spend a lot of
is in the various clips that we had to go over time and I take immense pleasure in doing
that you had presented, you sort of were able this. Did I respond to your question, or—I
to create tension in different sorts of ways, think I was maybe too vague, no?
like Talented Mr. Ripley, Judy,97 a few others. SM: No, I mean, I kind of wanted to understand
All creating like an almost propulsive tension your mindset. You explained that perfectly.
in each scenario. Is there a particular kind of The rhythmical cells while also not repeating
approach that you have to creating tension? I yourself too much, but also bringing in me-
know it might differ from film to film, but is lodic and thematic ideas that you’ve—
there a particular mindset or orchestrational
style that you— Themes as Stabilizers
GY: I think it’s firstly the composition, but you
GY: Yes, yes. I did it in many films, but I mean,
cannot compose without having in mind
it’s very different from one film to another. If
the orchestration. I cannot dissociate them.
you imagine music as a body, then the theme
is the face. The theme is absolutely important more. Going back to that moment when
when working in film music, because it’s you decided to stop everything just to study
what people will retain from the whole score. counterpoint, what was happening in your
So, I always keep in mind that we should personal evolution that made you take that
have a theme. Nowadays, it’s less impor- decision to study counterpoint for two sab-
tant—I mean, people say, “No, I don’t want batical years, and in what specific ways did it
a theme, I just want atmosphere.” But I feel affect your music?

quite strongly about that. I think to compose GY: To your first question: You know, it’s not
film music, we need one, two, three themes. a rule or a method to spend a lot of time. If
Not to say, “This theme is for this character I can, I would spend a lot of time because
and this for the other character,” like it was I like to. Look, for Camille Claudel, I had
in the past—no, but to have themes that only two months and a half, but thank God,
audiences can relate to. While connecting since my life is not only about film music, I
with the film, the audience would also relate continue studying all the time. I play piano, I
to the music and particularly the themes. read music, I discover, I also take notes when
We don’t necessarily aim for the theme to I find something very interesting. So, I’m like
be memorable, but it needs to be able to sing a student; I’m like you. I’m still a student in
and be sung, to be clear and simple and help music. The studying I do enables me to be
uncover and highlight the spirit and essence resourceful and opens up my inspiration.
of the film. I’m always after a theme, always. So ideally, I like to start early on, with
And then I can hide or disguise it. I can play the director, in order to discuss about the
around with it, expose it, develop it, open it colors, the atmosphere and the themes. I
up, use its counterpoint, et cetera. Themes begin searching while I let him/her do the
are very important and probably the most shooting. When the film is finished, but not
difficult thing to compose. yet fully edited, I watch it many times, until
I write all the time. I have in my manu- I can almost remember it by heart. Then
script books here and I write a theme here, I stop watching, I close my eyes, and say,
a theme there. Then I scratch everything “What can I bring to this film, to the spirit of
and restart and I change things—it’s like the film?” This is how I like to work but it’s
confronting many versions of the theme not a method nor a rule—just a preference
until one of them wins. And what makes the because this way I feel that I can be most
winner? The moment you stop searching creatively successful. But of course, every
and you go away, and you start singing—the project is different. Sometimes I am in a
theme you sing would be the one who won hurry and like with Camille Claudel, I need
the competition. But before that, there’s a lot to deliver my score in a short amount of
of research all the time. time. It just means that I have to stay focused
RS: María, you have a question? and do the necessary amount of work in the
space of time I have, without neglecting any-
Composing A Score: The Timeframe thing. In the case of Camille Claudel, I don’t
MARÍA DEL SOL: Yes, thank you. So, I have a feel I neglected anything. On the contrary, I
couple of questions. One is a follow-up ques- feel that I wrote something interesting and
tion to what you were saying earlier about it’s the only film music of mine that I can
you wanting to—you like to take your time bear to listen to; otherwise I don’t listen to
for composing for film. So, ideally, to make my music.
justice and really to bring out the art of what The second question is why I decided to
you’re doing, ideally, how long do you like to study counterpoint. It is because I felt that
have for composing for a film? And then my I was facing a dead end. I was orchestrating
other question is a two-part question, really, for young composers, for pop singles, and
which might have been partially answered each time I made money, I bought scores
by now, but maybe you can elaborate a little and continued to read and study music. And
while reading I noticed that all these com- teacher, an old retired teacher from the Con-
posers that I admired, had all studied coun- servatoire de Paris100 told me as he looked at
terpoint. my scores: “You don’t need harmony. Let’s
work on counterpoint, but from scratch.”
Counterpoint: Undergirding the After learning counterpoint, I felt an instant
Compositional Process change. Instead of wasting my energy to fill
in the gaps, by adding things over and over,

GY: Counterpoint is the basis. So, I said to I instead concentrated on how to make my
myself, “I won’t be going further if I keep music evolve and come to life.
relying on my gift.” I had a gift. I received a I think counterpoint is very important
gift when I was born, I’m sure of that. But when writing film music. So, since you are
this gift could be taken from me if I didn’t all musicians and composers—not only film
develop it—and if I didn’t contradict it, also. composers—it’s important to learn this dis-
The only way to do this was to start from cipline. Counterpoint is indispensable, really.
scratch. When I began learning counter- And it’s boring in the beginning. You’ll say,
point, it was first a whole [note] against a “What’s the point?” And on my homework,
whole [note]. Only that. Two voices. And the teacher would draw red lines, “This is
then a whole against two minims [half wrong.” I said, “But it sounds good.” He
notes]. would say, “This is wrong. Please follow the
RS: Species counterpoint.99 rules, and then you’ll discover.”
GY: Yes, species counterpoint. And so, I was Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann,
back to school, a school I never had. I said, Schubert101—all these masters studied coun-
“My God, I have so much to learn.” And I terpoint. And they all composed music
did it—although it was boring, it was dif- which had nothing to do with one another.
ficult and boring for me—after orchestrating When you listen to a piece by Schumann, it’s
all this music, going back to zero . . . But I not Bach. When you listen to Stravinsky,102
made myself carry on. And I slowly noticed who studied counterpoint with Rimsky-
that all the music I wrote before was wasted Korsakov,103 it’s not Schubert nor Berlioz104
because I didn’t know how to expand it, how neither. So, you can find your own way, find
to guide it—how to build it. your own voice through restriction.
Counterpoint helped me do this. It taught PC: Now let me ask you something, Gabriel. I
me that sometimes you don’t need to have a think you and I like many of the same things.
big theme or a long theme. You could have You adore Debussy as I do. Can you think
just four bars, and from those four bars, you of a single piece in anything by Debussy that
can create a symphony. Take Beethoven’s he published that has a fugue in it? I can’t. I
symphonies, for example. They are made of only know two fugues in Ravel, yet they all
small musical cells, but with the use of coun- mastered fugue.
terpoint and variation we get to a symphony. GY: Yeah, yeah. But because Debussy was com-
So, with little, you can build more. It’s a mat- pletely anti-academic. He said, “I know my
ter of architecture, and counterpoint enables job. I know that. I don’t want the old forms,
you to do this. As a composer, I receive im- I don’t want the old forms.” There is no
mense pleasure when I am able to build my symphony by Debussy, there is no concerto,
music and have two or three and four voices there is no fugue. But even the Prélude à
all singing. You play each one of these voices l’après-midi d’un faune105 is totally contra-
on their own they sing. Then magically you puntal.
put them together and they work perfectly. PC: I agree, completely.
It’s divine! It’s not vertical; it’s horizontal, GY: So, you can be Debussy and revolutionize
while the harmony is vertical. music, but you come from school. You come
I’m not interested in vertical writing, as I from a counterpoint school.
know harmony is already in my blood. My PC: Yes. I agree.
GY: Anyway, I’m not preaching here. Again, I Márta Sebestyén—it’s a folk song. It is a
didn’t study in a school. I just discovered that Hungarian folk song, probably inherited
each time we feel lost and almost sterile, what from Turkey because it has a Middle Eastern
we need is to challenge ourselves—and to kind of, you know, weeping and waving and
challenge is to study. Okay—once you have all that, so this song “Szerelem” leads us to
studied counterpoint, you challenge yourself; the cor anglais solo, and then to my score.
you give yourselves tasks—like I do. I was [plays film clip: The English Patient – Open-

telling Ron, I study all the cantatas by Bach. ing Scene]
I open the score, I look at it, I read it, I play RS: Wonderful.
it, and then I listen to. This is how I start my GY: I’ve not watched this in a long, long time.
day. Every single day.
Chopin used to say to all his pupils— The English Patient: Developing Principal
“Every day, read a prelude and fugue and Themes
try to learn by heart each voice of the fugue. RS: What was your thought—your envisioning
Each separately.” So, in some way this is how of the English horn with its signature sound?
you build your internal ear. And this also GY: When I composed the theme and envi-
gives you ideas because when you spend sioned the sound of the theme itself, I knew
time with great composers, you enrich your it was going to be on the cor anglais. It was
musical vocabulary, even without realizing the right range—a perfect range, and also
it. You are listening to some of the greatest the timbre of the instrument was very suit-
music, and so inevitably this enriches your able. There’s a mourning on the cor anglais.
palette and nourishes your inspiration and There is something very sad—like there is
also you become more demanding of your- no way, no solution for it. So, when I started
self. composing, I was singing the notes and I
realized that these two notes [singing theme]
The English Patient are the most important. [singing notes
again] so I made this the principal thematic
RS: Let’s now move to another cornerstone—
cell [sings]. All the time, [continues singing],
The English Patient.
very slowly and gradually I wrote note after
GY: Oh, yes.
note, bar after bar. It was not all in one go.
RS: We’ll go to the opening of this epic—if
It was a slow process to write this theme.
there is anyone who doesn’t know this film—
This one, and for the Bach one (Convento
and I doubt that’s the case—the sweeping
Di Sant’Ana), I can’t tell you how difficult
expanses of the Sahara provide the setting
it was.
for this passionate love affair. A badly burned
GY: The work with Anthony and Walter
man, played by Ralph Fiennes,106 is tended
[Murch] lasted eight months. It had been
to by a nurse played by Juliette Binoche in an
eight months since I had written the main
Italian monastery near the end of World War
theme and they had finished their editing.
II. His past is revealed through flashbacks,
Eight months of back and forth from my
including a married Englishwoman and
island in Brittany to San Francisco, until we
his work mapping the African landscape.
got there.
Hana [Binoche] learns to heal her own
RS: Did it strike anybody else that it seems that
scars as she helps the dying man, and this
theme with the low part and what you just
opening—again—just as striking—it’s what
explained, is also very much a chant? It’s
Royal [S.] Brown107 describes the opening
almost a religious kind of call and response.
of a film—ideally it’s a kind of “Once upon
GY: A chant, yeah. Well, I cannot judge my
a time,” and from there the film is propelled
music, but I know that this theme took me
and opens up.
a while. It was also challenging to figure out
GY: Yeah, yeah. And just to let you know, I
how to get out it. And then I said, “Well this
didn’t compose the song, nor did the singer
D, this famous D could be the sixth of F
minor and I went [sings] and that’s it! It was would have fun and we would have some
quite difficult! more questions because I feel your students
I knew I had help, thanks to all the read- are shy and respectful to me—I thank you.
ing and studying I’ve been doing. By work- I hope I brought you something, I mean,
ing more and more and researching, I was guys—I keep saying over and over the same
able to get there. Initially, it comes to me in thing, but it’s just that I’m in love with music
the form of one small phrase, but then after since I was born and I think that in film

working a lot on it, it starts to flow, like rain- music too, we should always shine and try to,
drops. Mozart had this—he would say to his again, to bring beauty.
sister [Maria Anna],108 “You know, the sym- RS: Well, I can assure you the students are ab-
phony, I can hear it immediately now. It’s all solutely dedicated to that when they get here,
in my mind, the orchestration, the architec- and even more so by the time they leave—so,
ture, everything in my mind. And the worst Gabriel, thank you so much.
thing for me is having to spend time writing GY: Thank you, thank you, thank you Ron.
it down.” Thank you all, thank you so much [ap-
It’s much better to think of the music plauds]. Thanks to you. I regret I haven’t
firstly in your mind and brain—to hear it heard you all, guys. Thank you. Stay humble,
in your inner ears without having to play it always stay humble, please. Always. It’s very
and keep checking on the keyboard whether important.
it sounds good or not. I always favor the RS: Have a great day, everybody.
internal music—the music in you. This is the KYLE OGREN: Thank you again, really appreci-
music you should trust. ate it.
Guys, ladies, I just want to tell you one GY: Thank you so much.
thing: you’re studying film music, right? Film MIKHAILA SMITH: Thank you so much!
music is not only film music. Film music GY: Thank you.
could be the future of music in general, of MARÍA DEL SOL: Thank you so much.
what we call classical/concert music. You are JAKE ROSE: Thank you.
serving the film—but you must always keep NOAH HOROWITZ: Thank you, thank you.
in mind that you are also serving the music. GY: Thank you.
This is very important. And the more you
give your knowledge and beauty to an audi- Biography
ence, the more you elevate the audience—
and you also elevate the film. It’s a bit like Oscar-winning composer Gabriel Yared is
becoming a priest or a rabbi, because you are one of the most well-respected composers
dealing with ethereal matters—what is called in film. Yared won an Academy Award for
music. It’s the only art which is not material, his score to Anthony Minghella’s The Eng-
so you have to really respect it. And in order lish Patient, which also won him a BAFTA,
to respect it more and more, you have to a Golden Globe, and a Grammy. He also
study it more and more. I believe film music received two more Academy Award nomina-
comes after—and it will derive from this. tions for his work on The Talented Mr. Ripley
RS: You know, if it weren’t for the fact that
and Cold Mountain.
people have to go to another class, I would—
Yared was originally known for his work
we should continue with this discussion for
about four more hours [both laugh]. That in French cinema, starting with Jean-Luc
said, because we didn’t get through all of Godard, and later Jean-Jacques Beineix
your music today, you’ll have to come back (Betty Blue) and Jean-Jacques Annaud (The
to NYU. Lover). He also composed ballet music for
GY: I will definitely. I hope I will be able to works such as Clavigo for The Paris Opera,
physically come back and see you guys and and Wayne McGregor’s Raven Girl for the
be with you, because it’s so different. We Royal Opera Ballet. Yared was an official
member of the Cannes Film Festival Jury in 6. Jean-Jacques Beineix (b. 1946) is a French
2017. In December 2017, Yared performed a film director best known for his association with
concert of his film music at the Paris Phil- the French film movement cinema du look, a style
harmonie, alongside the London Symphony of filmmaking known for its visual style and focus
on the mastery of technical aspects over story or
Orchestra. In 2019, Yared received the pres-
character. Beineix’s films include The Moon in the
tigious Max Steiner award, presented by the
Gutter [La lune dans la caniveau] (1983) and Betty

city of Vienna at the Hollywood in Vienna Blue (1986).
concert gala, where his music was performed 7. Each year at the Cannes Film Festival, a jury
by the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra is appointed to select which films will receive
and a number of internationally acclaimed an award. The jury comprises a president and a
soloists. range of international artists from various fields
Yared was presented with the Life- (e.g., filmmakers, actors, screenwriters, compos-
time Achievement Award by the World ers).
Soundtrack Awards at Film Fest Gent in 8. Film Fest Ghent is an annual international
October last year. His music was performed film festival held in Ghent, Belgium. First held
in 1974, Film Fest Ghent spotlights excellence in
by the Brussels Philharmonic Orchestra and
film music through the organization of the World
broadcast worldwide at a special online cer-
Soundtrack Awards, a section of the festival that
emony. includes film music events like screenings with
In January 2021, Yared gave a concert live musical performances, film music concerts,
alongside the Radio France Philharmonic and film music and sound seminars.
Orchestra in Paris which was broadcast live. 9. Dirk Brossé (b. 1960) is an internationally
More recently, Yared scored the music for renowned Belgian conductor, composer, and
Jimmy Keyrouz’s first feature film Broken music educator who currently serves as music
Keys which was selected for the 2020 edition director of the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia
of the Cannes Film Festival and Netflix’s The and of the Film Fest Ghent (see note 8). Brossé has
Life Ahead, directed by Edoardo Ponti and composed over two hundred works, including the
score to the television series Parade’s End (directed
starring Sophia Loren.
by Susanna White, 2012).
Acknowledgments 10. The Max Steiner Film Music Achievement
Award is an award presented by the city of Vienna
We thank Jennifer Rowekamp for her research
at the Hollywood in Vienna concert gala (see note
and contributions to the endnotes.
11) to recognize “exceptional achievements in the
Notes art of film music.” The award commemorates Vi-
ennese composer Max Steiner (see note 46); past
1. Betty Blue, directed by Jean-Jacques Beineix
recipients include Gabriel Yared (2019), Alexandre
(1986).
Desplat (2016, see note 95), and Howard Shore
2. Camille Claudel, directed by Bruno Nuytten
(2010). More information on the award can be
(1988).
found at the Hollywood in Vienna official website:
3. Cold Mountain, directed by Anthony Ming-
http://hollywoodinvienna.com/en/award.
hella (2003).
11. The Hollywood in Vienna concert and gala
4. The English Patient, directed by Anthony
is a yearly symphonic gala concert that celebrates
Minghella (1996).
classic and current film music. The event takes
5. Anthony Minghella (1954–2008) was an Eng-
place at the prestigious Wiener Konzerthaus (Vi-
lish film director and producer, screenwriter, and
enna Concert Hall) in Vienna and includes the
playwright. He directed and adapted the screen-
awarding of the Max Steiner Film Music Achieve-
play for the Academy Award–winning The English
ment Award (see note 10). More information on
Patient (1996). His other films include The Tal-
Hollywood in Vienna can be found at the festival’s
ented Mr. Ripley (1999) and Cold Mountain (2003).
official website: http://hollywoodinvienna.com/.
12. Considered one of the greatest composers of “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” (1966),
all time, Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) was a “What’s Going On” (1971, see note 98), and “Let’s
German Baroque composer, organist, and harp- Get It On” (1973).
sichordist. Known as a master of counterpoint, 18. Dizzy Gillespie (1917–1993) was an American
Bach’s diverse works include the Brandenburg jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, singer, and
Concertos (1721), The Well-Tempered Clavier (Book educator. Known for his improvisational tech-
I, 1722; Book II, 1742), St. Matthew Passion (1727), niques and his role in the development of bebop

Goldberg Variations (1741, see note 54), Mass in B and modern jazz, Gillespie worked alongside such
Minor (1749), and The Art of Fugue (unfinished, jazz musicians as Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, and
see note 57). Fats Navarro.
13. Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849) was a Polish 19. The Beatles were an English rock band
Romantic composer and virtuoso pianist best formed in 1960 by John Lennon (see note 32),
known for his many works and studies for piano. Paul McCartney (see note 33), George Harrison,
14. Gustav Mahler (1860–1911) was an Austrian and Ringo Starr. One of the most influential and
Romantic composer best known for his ten sym- revolutionary rock bands of all time, the Beatles
phonies and vocal works including “Des Knaben released such hits as “Love Me Do” (1962), “From
Wunderhorn” [The boy’s magic horn] (1805–1808) Me to You” (1963), “All You Need Is Love” (1967),
and “Das Lied von der Erde” [The song of the “Hey Jude” (1968), and “Let It Be” (1970).
earth] (1912). 20. The Fairlight CMI (Computer Music Instru-
15. Antônio Carlos Jobim (1927–1994) was a ment) is a digital synthesizer, sampler, and digital
Brazilian composer, arranger, pianist, songwriter, audio workstation. First released in 1979 by Aus-
and singer. One of the most influential Brazilian tralian digital audio company Fairlight, the CMI
musicians of all time, Jobim helped popularize was one of the earliest music workstations with an
bossa nova and integrate the style with jazz music. integrated digital sampler.
Jobim’s albums include Getz/Gilberto (1965), 21. Miami Vice is a crime drama television series
which included his hit song “Garota de Ipanema” that aired on NBC from 1984 to 1990. The series
[“The Girl from Ipanema”], and Albert Sinatra & follows two Metro-Dade detectives (portrayed by
Antônio Carlos Jobim (1968). Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas) work-
16. Bernard Herrmann (1911–1975) was an awarding undercover in Miami, Florida. At the time,
winning American composer and conductor. A the series was especially noted for its integration
constant collaborator of director and writer Orson of pop and rock music as well Jan Hammer’s (see
Welles and director Alfred Hitchcock, Herrmann note 22) distinctive synthesizer-based score.
composed music for Welles’s live radio drama series 22. Jan Hammer (b. 1948) is a Czech-American
Mercury Theatre on the Air (1938) and The Campbell composer, musician, and record producer. He is
Playhouse (1938–1940) and for his 1941 film Citizen best known for his association with the Mahav-
Kane. Herrmann’s films with Hitchcock include ishnu Orchestra and his score for the television
North by Northwest (1959), Vertigo (1958), and series Miami Vice (1984–1990, see note 21).
Psycho (1960). His other notable scores include The 23. Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6 in D♭ major is
Devil and Daniel Webster (directed by William Di- the sixth of the nineteen Hungarian Rhapsodies
eterle, 1941), The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (directed by for piano by Hungarian composer Franz Liszt (see
Ray Harryhausen, 1958), and Taxi Driver (directed note 24).
by Martin Scorsese, 1976). In addition to his prolific 24. Franz Liszt (1811–1886) was a Hungarian
scoring career, Herrmann composed a variety of Romantic composer, pianist, conductor, music
concert works for orchestra, chamber ensembles, educator, and organist. A virtuosic pianist, Liszt
and soloists as well as one opera. contributed to the development of the symphonic
17. Marvin Gaye (1939–1984) was an American poem. His notable works include his nineteen
singer, songwriter, and record producer best Hungarian Rhapsodies, particularly the second
known for his influential role in the development (1851), and Les Préludes (1854).
of the Motown sound in the 1960s. Nicknamed 25. The Capriccio Italien, op. 45 is a fantasy for
the “Prince of Motown,” Gaye’s hit songs include orchestra by Russian Romantic composer Pyotr
Ilyich Tchaikovsky (see note 26). It premiered in duced such hits as “A Hard Day’s Night” (1964),
1880. “Help!” (1965), “Yesterday” (1965), “Eleanor
26. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893) was Rigby” (1966), and “Let It Be” (1970).
a Russian Romantic composer. Tchaikovsky is 33. Sir Paul McCartney (b. 1942) is an English
best known for his six symphonies, his violin and singer, songwriter, musician, and record and film
piano concertos, and, perhaps most famously, his producer. A co-lead vocalist of the British rock
ballets Swan Lake (1875–1876), The Nutcracker band the Beatles (see note 19), McCartney’s song-

(1892), and The Sleeping Beauty (1889). writing partnership with John Lennon produced
27. Johann Pachelbel (1653–1706) was a German many of the band’s greatest hits (see note 32).
Baroque composer, organist, and teacher. He is After the Beatles disbanded in 1970, McCartney
known for developing the chorale prelude and went on to pursue a solo career and form the band
fugue. Pachelbel’s best-known works include his Wings.
Canon in D, Chaconne in F Minor, and the Hexa- 34. Sergei Prokofiev (1891–1953) was a Rus-
chordum Apollinis. sian Soviet composer, conductor, and pianist.
28. César Franck (1822–1890) was a Belgian- Prokofiev’s diverse body of work includes seven
French Romantic composer, pianist, organist, and symphonies, five piano concertos, the orchestral
music educator. His notable works include Sym- work Lieutenant Kijé (1934), vocal and orchestral
phonic Variations (1885), Sonata for Violin and work Peter and the Wolf (1936), ballet Romeo and
Piano in A Major (1886), and his Symphony in D Juliet (1938), and film score to Alexander Nevsky
Minor (1886–1888). (directed by Sergei Eisenstein and Dmitri Vasilyev,
29. Robert Schumann (1810–1856) was a Ger- 1938).
man Romantic composer, pianist, and music critic. 35. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) was
One of the most influential composers of his era, an Austrian Classical composer and virtuosic
Schumann composed primarily for piano, but also pianist and violinist. Regarded as one of the most
composed Lieder, symphonies, and various orches- influential and important composers in Western
tral, choral, and chamber works. His notable works music, Mozart began his musical career as a child
include Carnaval (1834–1835), his Symphonic Stud- prodigy alongside his sister, Maria Anna (see note
ies (1834–1837), and Kinderszenen (1838). 108). He went on to compose over six hundred
30. Maurice Ravel (1875–1937) was a French works including symphonies, concertos, operas,
composer, conductor, and pianist. An influential and chamber music. His notable works include
composer and master orchestrator, Ravel’s works the operas The Marriage of Figaro (1786), Don
include Pavane pour une infante défunte (1910), Giovanni (1787), and Die Zauberflöte (1791) as
Ma mère l’Oye [Mother Goose] (1908–1910), Daph- well as his chamber work Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
nis et Chloé (1912), L’Enfant et les sortileges (1925), (1787).
and Boléro (1928). Ravel is also known for his or- 36. Henri Dutilleux (1916–2013) was an ac-
chestration of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibi- claimed French composer whose body of work
tion. includes a piano sonata (1947–1948), two sympho-
31. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is a nies, a cello concerto (Tout un monde lointain . . .,
1967 studio album by the Beatles (see note 19). 1970), and a violin concerto (L’arbre des songes,
Critically acclaimed for its innovations in song- 1985).
writing and production, the album features songs 37. Marnie, directed by Alfred Hitchcock (1964).
like “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” 38. The Fall of the Roman Empire, directed by
“With a Little Help from My Friends,” and “Lucy Anthony Mann and Andrew Marton (1964).
in the Sky with Diamonds.” 39. Dimitri Tiomkin (1894–1979) was an award-
32. John Lennon (1940–1980) was an English winning Ukrainian-American composer and
singer, songwriter, musician, and peace activist. conductor. He is best known for his film scores
Best known as the founder, co-lead vocalist, and for westerns like High Noon (directed by Fred
guitarist of the British rock band the Beatles (see Zinnemann, 1952), Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
note 19), Lennon’s songwriting partnership with (directed by John Sturges, 1957), and The Alamo
fellow member Paul McCartney (see note 33) pro- (directed by John Wayne, 1960).
40. Jean-Luc Godard (b. 1930) is a French-Swiss and Casablanca (directed by Michael Curtiz,
director, screenwriter, and film critic best known 1942).
for his involvement in the French New Wave 47. Erich Korngold (1897–1957) was an Aus-
film movement. A critic of the conventionality of trian-American composer, conductor, and pianist
mainstream French cinema, Godard challenged who is considered to be one of the most influential
both French and Hollywood cinematic traditions composers in film music. Korngold became an
through experimentation in filmic elements like internationally known concert composer by the

camerawork, narrative, and sound. His films in- age of thirteen and moved to the United States
clude Breathless (1960), Vivre Sa Vie (1962), and in 1934 to begin his career as a film composer,
Pierrot le Fou (1965). starting with director Max Reinhardt’s 1935 film
41. Quote taken from Gabriel Yared’s discussion A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Korngold’s other
with Tim Grieving on the Film Music Founda- film scores include Anthony Adverse (directed by
tion’s interview collection webpage: https://www Mervyn LeRoy, 1936), The Adventures of Robin
.filmmusicfoundation.org/interviews. Hood (directed by Michael Curtiz and William
42. The Lover, directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud Keighley, 1938), and The Sea Hawk (directed by
(1992). Michael Curtiz, 1940).
43. Walter Murch (b. 1943) is an award-winning 48. Miklós Rózsa (1907–1995) was an award-win-
American film editor, director, writer, and sound ning Hungarian-American composer known for
designer. His film credits include The Conversation his many diverse film scores and lifelong devotion
(directed by Francis Ford Coppola, 1974), Apoca- to composing absolute music. His credits include
lypse Now (directed by Francis Coppola, 1979), the films Sahara (directed by Zoltán Korda, 1943),
and The English Patient (directed by Anthony Spellbound (directed by Alfred Hitchcock, 1945), A
Minghella, 1996). Double Life (directed by George Cukor, 1947), and
44. Alex North (1910–1991) was an acclaimed Ben-Hur (directed by William Wyler, 1959).
American composer best known for his film 49. The École Normale de Musique de Paris
scores, notably those to the films A Streetcar “Alfred Cortot” is a leading conservatoire (con-
Named Desire (directed by Elia Kazan, 1951), servatory of music) in Paris, France. Founded in
Spartacus (directed by Stanley Kubrick, 1960), 1919 by pianist Alfred Cortot and magazine direc-
Cleopatra (directed by Joseph L. Makiewicz, 1963), tor August Mangeot, the conservatoire’s former
and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (directed by faculty members include Nadia Boulanger, Alfred
Mike Nichols, 1966). Cortot, Paul Dukas, Henri Dutilleux (see note 36),
45. Alfred Newman (1900–1970) was an Ameri- and Arthur Honegger.
can composer, conductor, and arranger. Brother 50. Saul Zaentz (1921–2014) was an American
of Emil and Lionel, Newman scored over two film producer and record company executive.
hundred films. His best-known scores include His film productions include One Flew Over the
All About Eve (directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Cuckoo’s Nest (directed by Miloš Forman, 1975),
1950), How the West Was Won (directed by John Amadeus (directed by Miloš Forman, 1984), and
Ford, Henry Hathaway, and George Marshall, The English Patient (directed by Anthony Ming-
1962), and Airport (directed by George Seaton, hella, 1996).
1970). The “father” of Hollywood’s Newman 51. “Szerelem, Szerelem” [“Love, Love”] is a song
Dynasty, his sons are film composers David and by Hungarian vocalist and composer Márta Sebe-
Thomas and his nephew is composer and singer- styén (see note 52). It was featured in the 1996 film
songwriter Randy Newman. The English Patient.
46. Max Steiner (1888–1971) was an award- 52. Márta Sebestyén (b. 1957) is a Hungarian
winning Austrian-American composer and folk vocalist and composer. Her albums include
conductor. He composed the scores for over three Márta Sebestyén and Muzsikás (1987), Kismet
hundred films including The Informer (directed by (1996), and Morning Star (1997).
John Ford, 1935), King Kong (directed by Merian 53. Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924) was an Italian
C. Cooper and Eernest B. Schoedsack, 1933), Gone Romantic opera composer and one of the greatest
with the Wind (directed by Victor Fleming, 1939), exponents of verismo, a style of operatic realism.
His many operas include La Bohème (1896), Tosca 63. Milton [Milt] Franklyn (1897–1962) was an
(1900), Madama Butterfly (1904), and Turandot American composer, arranger, and musician best
(1924). known for his work on the Warner Bros. anima-
54. The Goldberg Variations, BWV 988, is a tions Looney Tunes (see note 65) and Merrie Melo-
musical work for keyboard by German composer dies.
Johann Sebastian Bach (see note 12). The work 64. Tom and Jerry is an animated media fran-
was published in 1741 and comprises an aria and chise created in 1940 by William Hanna and

set of thirty variations. Joseph Barbera. The franchise centers around the
55. Juliette Binoche (b. 1964) is a French actress, mischievous interactions of a cat named Tom and
artist, and dancer. Her credits include The English a mouse named Jerry. The franchise began with
Patient (directed by Anthony Minghella, 1996), a series of shorts for MGM Studios and ran from
Chocolat (directed by Lasse Hallström, 2000), and 1940 to 1958 and has since been renewed in vari-
Let the Sunshine In (directed by Claire Denis, 2017). ous iterations. Scott Bradley (see note 62) was the
56. The Talented Mr. Ripley, directed by An- original composer.
thony Minghella (1999). 65. Looney Tunes is an animated comedy short
57. The Art of Fugue [Die Kunst der Fuge], BWV film series produced by Warner Bros. from 1930
1080, is an incomplete musical work by German to 1969. Alongside its sister show, Merrie Melodies
composer Johann Sebastian Bach (see note 12). (1931–1997), Looney Tunes featured such charac-
Written without specified instrumentation, the ters as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Elmer
work comprises a monothematic cycle of fourteen Fudd, Sylvester, Tweety, Wile E. Coyote, and Road
fugues and four canons of various complexities. Runner among many others. Both Looney Tunes
58. Widely regarded as one of the most influ- and Merrie Melodies featured music by composers
ential and popular composers of all time, Ludwig like Carl Stalling and Milt Franklyn (see note 63).
van Beethoven (1770–1827) was a German com- 66. Mickey mousing refers to the film scoring
poser and pianist of the late Classical and early technique of syncing music with the actions on
Romantic eras. His diverse body of work includes screen. The term originates from early Walt Dis-
nine symphonies, thirty-two piano sonatas, the ney films in which the music precisely mimicked
opera Fidelio (1814), and the mass Missa solemnis the actions of the characters on screen (e.g., a
(1824). quick ascending scale accompanying a character
59. Béla Bartók (1881–1945) was a Hungarian running up the stairs). This technique was fre-
composer, pianist, and one of the founders of quently used in the 1930s and 1940s, especially by
comparative musicology. An important twentieth- composers Carl Stalling, Scott Bradley (see note
century composer, Bartók’s works include Music 62), Milt Franklyn (see note 63), and Max Steiner
for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta (1936) and Con- (see note 46) and is often employed in action and
certo for Orchestra (1943). physical comedy scores today.
60. Claude Debussy (1862–1918) was a French 67. The Moon in the Gutter [La lune dans le ca-
composer. His notable works include Prélude à niveau], directed by Jean-Jacques Beineix (1983).
l’après-midi d’un faune (1894, see note 105), La Mer 68. Nastassja Kinski (b. 1961) is a German ac-
(1905), his piano Préludes and Études, and his tress. Her film credits include Tess (directed by
1902 opera, Pelléas et Mélisande. Roman Polanski, 1979) and Paris, Texas (directed
61. The Miraculous Mandarin, op. 18, sz. 73, is a by Wim Wenders, 1984).
one-act pantomime ballet by Hungarian composer 69. Gérard Depardieu (b. 1948) is a French
Béla Bartók. It premiered in 1926 and caused a actor. His notable credits include the films The
scandal; it has since been primarily performed as Last Metro [Le dernier metro] (directed by Fran-
a concert suite. çois Truffaut, 1980) and Cyrano de Bergerac (di-
62. Scott Bradley (1891–1977) was an American rected by Jean-Paul Rappeneau, 1990).
composer, arranger, pianist, and conductor best 70. Roger Ebert (1942–2013) was an Ameri-
known for his work on the theatrical cartoons of can film critic, historian, journalist, author, and
MGM Studios, particularly Tom and Jerry (see screenwriter. The first film critic to win the Pulit-
note 64). zer Prize for Criticism, Ebert served as the film
critic for the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until Britten’s notable works include his opera Peter
2013 and is considered one of the most influential Grimes (1945), choral and orchestra work War
American film critics of all time. Requiem (1961), and work for orchestra and nar-
71. Philippe Rousselot (b. 1945) is an award- rator The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra
winning French cinematographer and film direc- (1946).
tor. Rousselot’s cinematography credits include 82. Anton Bruckner (1824–1896) was an Aus-
Dangerous Liaisons (directed by Stephen Frears, trian Romantic composer, organist, and music

1988), A River Runs Through It (directed by Robert theorist. Considered a musical radical at the time
Redford, 1992), and Interview with the Vampire due to his unexpected and roving harmonic dis-
(directed by Neil Jordan, 1994). sonances, Bruckner’s notable works include his
72. Jaws, directed by Steven Spielberg (1975). eleven symphonies, seven masses, forty motets,
73. Referring to Edward “Duke” Ellington and his Te Deum in C Major.
(1899–1974), an American jazz pianist, composer, 83. Symphony No. 7 in E Major is the seventh of
and bandleader. A seminal figure of American eleven symphonies by Austrian composer Anton
jazz and popular music, Ellington’s compositions Bruckner. Published in 1885, Symphony No. 7 was
include “Black and Tan Fantasy” (1927), “It Don’t a favorite of audiences of the time and remains
Mean a Thing” (1931), “In a Sentimental Mood” one of the composer’s most popular works.
(1935), and “Take the ‘A’ Train” (1939). 84. Metamorphosen is a composition for twenty-
74. Laura, directed by Otto Preminger (1944). three solo strings by German composer Richard
75. Benny Goodman (1909–1986) was an Strauss (see note 85). It was first performed in
American jazz clarinetist, bandleader, and icon 1946.
of the American Swing Era. Dubbed the “King of 85. Richard Strauss (1864–1949) was a German
Swing,” Goodman played alongside musicians like composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist of the
John Hammond, Count Basie, and Billie Holiday. Romantic and Modern eras. A leading composer
76. Auguste Rodin (1840–1917) was a French of his time, Strauss’s works include the operas
sculptor. Considered to be the founder of mod- Elektra (1909) and Der Rosenkavalier (1911) and
ern sculpture, Rodin’s works include The Thinker his tone poems Don Juan (1889), Also sprach Zara-
(1902), The Kiss (1882), and The Burghers of Calais thustra (1896), and Don Quixote (1898).
(1884–89). 86. Verklärte Nacht [Transfigured night], op. 4,
77. Glenn Gordon Caron (b. 1954) is an Ameri- is a string sextet composed by Arnold Schoenberg
can television writer, director, and producer. He is (see note 87) in 1899.
best known for the television series Moonlighting 87. Arnold Schoenberg (1874–1951) was an
(1985–1989) and Medium (2005–2011). Austrian-American composer, music theorist,
78. Clean and Sober, directed by Glenn Gordon teacher, and writer known for his association with
Caron (1988). the Second Viennese School. A primarily atonal
79. Isabelle Adjani (b. 1955) is an award-winning and modern composer, Schoenberg developed the
French film actress and singer. Her notable film twelve-tone technique and “developing variation.”
credits include Possession (directed by Andrzej His works include Verklärte Nacht, op. 4 (1899,
Żuławski, 1981), Camille Claudel (directed by see note 86), Pierrot Lunaire, op. 21 (1912), and Kol
Bruno Nuytten, 1988), and La Reine Margot (di- Nidre, op. 39 (1938).
rected by Patrice Chéreau, 1994). 88. Symphony No. 10 is Gustav Mahler’s (see
80. Bruno Nuytten (b. 1945) is a French cinema- note 14) tenth symphony and final composition.
tographer, director, and screenwriter. Among his It was composed in the summer of 1910, but due
credits are the films Barocco (cinematographer; to his death in 1911, was never fully realized by
directed by André Téchiné, 1976), Jean de Flor- Mahler, though various versions been realized
ette (cinematographer; directed by Claude Berri, since the time of his death.
1986), and Camilee Claudel (director, 1988). 89. Philip Glass (b. 1937) is an American
81. Benjamin Britten (1913–1976) was an Eng- composer and pianist. A prolific and influential
lish composer, conductor, and pianist. A seminal composer, Glass is known for his minimalist style
figure of twentieth-century music in Britain, and utilization of repetitive musical structures.
His many works include Music in Twelve Parts 96. The Pleiade Academy was founded in 1993
(1971–1974), Einstein on the Beach (1975–1976), by Gabriel Yared. The academy welcomed and
Glassworks (1981), and the scores to Kundun (di- supported talented young composers in the pro-
rected by Martin Scorsese, 1997) and The Hours duction and promotion of their works.
(directed by Stephen Daldry, 2002). Applicants to the academy went through a
90. Vertigo, directed by Alfred Hitchcock (1958). competitive process, from which only six were
91. Richard Wagner (1813–1883) was a German selected to study with Yared. The academy ceased

Romantic composer, theatre director, librettist, operation in 1998 due to lack of financial support.
and conductor best known for his many operas. Yared’s six students are now prolific composers
He developed the concept of the Gesamtkunstwerk mainly in film music.
(total art), a work of art that synthesizes many or 97. Judy, directed by Rupert Goold (2019).
all forms of art into a cohesive whole, and popular- 98. “What’s Going On” is a 1971 song by Ameri-
ized the use of leitmotifs. His most popular works can singer-songwriter Marvin Gaye (see note 17).
include Der fliegende Holländer [The Flying Dutch- Gaye also released an album of the same name
man] (1843), Tannhäuser (1845), Lohengrin (1950), later that year which included the songs “What’s
Tristan und Isolde (1865, see note 92), and Der Ring Going On,” “Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology),”
des Nibelungen [The Ring of the Nibelung] (1876). “Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler),” and
92. Tristan und Isolde, WWV 90, is an opera “Save the Children.”
with music and a libretto by German composer 99. Species counterpoint is a method of teach-
Richard Wagner (see note 91). Considered an in- ing attributed to Johann Joseph Fux, developed
novative work for its use of chromaticism, orches- in his 1725 treatise, Gradus ad Parnassum. The
tral color, and tonal ambiguity, Tristan und Isolde method guides students through five increasingly
premiered in 1865 and has since become one of complex “species” (type of counterpoint) that are
Wagner’s most famous works. set against a constant melody (the cantus firmus).
93. Ennio Morricone (1928–2020) was an Italian 100. The Conservatoire de Paris (the Paris
composer, conductor, orchestrator, and trumpeter. Conservatory) is a college of music and dance
Considered one of the most prolific and important in Paris, France. Founded in 1795, the Conserva-
film composers of all time, Morricone’s oeuvre in- toire’s alumni include Hector Berlioz (see note
cludes over one hundred pieces of concert music 104), Nadia Boulanger, Claude Debussy (see note
and four hundred film scores including to the 60), César Franck (see note 28), Édouard Lalo,
films The Good, The Bad and the Ugly (directed and Maurice Ravel (see note 30) among many
by Sergio Leone, 1966), The Mission (directed by others.
Roland Joffé, 1986), Once Upon a Time in the West 101. Franz Schubert (1797–1828) was an Austrian
(directed by Sergio Leone, 1968), and The Hateful composer of the late Classical and early Romantic
Eight (directed by Quentin Tarantino, 2016). era. A prolific and influential composer, Schubert’s
94. The Jew’s harp, or jaw harp, is a small musi- body of work includes over six hundred vocal
cal instrument consisting of a thin metal or bam- works and Lieder, seven symphonies, operas,
boo (or wood) tongue attached to a frame that is chamber music, and works for piano. Notable
held against the player’s teeth or lips and plucked works include “Erlkönig” (1815), the Trout Quintet
with the fingers. (Piano Quintet in A Major, D. 667; 1827), song
95. Alexandre Desplat (b. 1961) is a French film cycles Die schöne Müllerin (1823) and Winterreise
composer and conductor. Desplat is best known (1828), and his Symphony No. 8 in B Minor (the
for his Oscar-winning scores to the films The Unfinished Symphony; 1822).
Grand Budapest Hotel (directed by Wes Anderson, 102. Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971) was a Russian
2014) and The Shape of Water (directed by Guill- composer, conductor, and pianist. Stravinsky’s no-
ermo del Toro, 2017). His other film scores include table works include The Firebird (1910), Petrushka
The Queen (directed by Stephen Frears, 2006), The (1911), The Rite of Spring (1913), L’Histoire du soldat
King’s Speech (directed by Tom Hooper, 2010), and (1918), and Les Noces (1923).
The Imitation Game (directed by Morten Tyldum, 103. Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844–1908) was
2014). a Russian composer and one of The Five (along-
side Mily Balakirev, César Cui, Modest Mussorg- is best known for his roles in the films Schindler’s
sky, and Alexander Borodin). Known as a master List (directed by Steven Spielberg, 1993), The
of orchestration, Rimsky-Korsakov’s best-known English Patient (directed by Anthony Minghella,
compositions include his Capriccio Espangol 1996), and the Harry Potter film series (directed by
(1887), Scheherazade (1888), and the Russian Eas- Chris Columbus, Alfonso Cuarón, Mike Newell,
ter Festival Overture (1888). and David Yates, 2001–2011).
104. Hector Berlioz (1803–1869) was a French 107. Royal S. Brown is a musicologist, music

Romantic composer and conductor. His notable educator, and author of the books Overtones
works include his Symphonie fantastique (1830), and Undertones: Reading Film Music (Berkeley:
Harold en Italie (1834), Roméo et Juliette (1839), University of California Press, 1994) and Focus
and La Damnation de Faust (1846). on Godard (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall,
105. Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune [Prelude 1972). He currently serves as the chair of the Film
to the Afternoon of a Faun] is a symphonic poem Studies Program at Queens College, City Univer-
for orchestra by French composer Claude Debussy sity of New York.
(see note 60). One of Debussy’s most famous 108. Maria Anna “Nannerl” Mozart (1751–1829)
works, Prélude premiered in 1894 and was in- was the elder sister of Wolfgang Amadeus (see
spired by French poet Stéphane Mallarmé’s poem note 35). Like her brother, Maria Anna was a
“L’après-midi d’un faune.” child prodigy, performing on harpsichord and
106. Ralph Fiennes (b. 1962) is an award- fortepiano. Their father, Leopold, took them on
winning English actor, producer, and director. He European tours to showcase their talents.

Interview To Gabriel Yared

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Interview To Gabriel Yared

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

A Conversation with the Composer Gabriel Yared

Ronald H. Sadoff, interviewer

Downloaded from http://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/mmi/article-pdf/14/3/3/1460315/musimoviimag.14.3.0003.pdf by guest on 08 February 2022

music and the moving image 14.3 / fall 2021 3

Downloaded from http://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/mmi/article-pdf/14/3/3/1460315/musimoviimag.14.3.0003.pdf by guest on 08 February 2022

I remember using LPs—there were no do something very interesting—learn coun-

Downloaded from http://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/mmi/article-pdf/14/3/3/1460315/musimoviimag.14.3.0003.pdf by guest on 08 February 2022

Downloaded from http://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/mmi/article-pdf/14/3/3/1460315/musimoviimag.14.3.0003.pdf by guest on 08 February 2022

Downloaded from http://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/mmi/article-pdf/14/3/3/1460315/musimoviimag.14.3.0003.pdf by guest on 08 February 2022

Downloaded from http://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/mmi/article-pdf/14/3/3/1460315/musimoviimag.14.3.0003.pdf by guest on 08 February 2022

1. A Hungarian-Turkish song, “Szerelem, to the island with the tapes of two-to-three

Downloaded from http://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/mmi/article-pdf/14/3/3/1460315/musimoviimag.14.3.0003.pdf by guest on 08 February 2022

Downloaded from http://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/mmi/article-pdf/14/3/3/1460315/musimoviimag.14.3.0003.pdf by guest on 08 February 2022

Downloaded from http://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/mmi/article-pdf/14/3/3/1460315/musimoviimag.14.3.0003.pdf by guest on 08 February 2022

Downloaded from http://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/mmi/article-pdf/14/3/3/1460315/musimoviimag.14.3.0003.pdf by guest on 08 February 2022

Downloaded from http://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/mmi/article-pdf/14/3/3/1460315/musimoviimag.14.3.0003.pdf by guest on 08 February 2022

Downloaded from http://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/mmi/article-pdf/14/3/3/1460315/musimoviimag.14.3.0003.pdf by guest on 08 February 2022

Downloaded from http://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/mmi/article-pdf/14/3/3/1460315/musimoviimag.14.3.0003.pdf by guest on 08 February 2022

Downloaded from http://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/mmi/article-pdf/14/3/3/1460315/musimoviimag.14.3.0003.pdf by guest on 08 February 2022

Downloaded from http://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/mmi/article-pdf/14/3/3/1460315/musimoviimag.14.3.0003.pdf by guest on 08 February 2022

Downloaded from http://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/mmi/article-pdf/14/3/3/1460315/musimoviimag.14.3.0003.pdf by guest on 08 February 2022

Downloaded from http://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/mmi/article-pdf/14/3/3/1460315/musimoviimag.14.3.0003.pdf by guest on 08 February 2022

Downloaded from http://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/mmi/article-pdf/14/3/3/1460315/musimoviimag.14.3.0003.pdf by guest on 08 February 2022

Downloaded from http://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/mmi/article-pdf/14/3/3/1460315/musimoviimag.14.3.0003.pdf by guest on 08 February 2022

Downloaded from http://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/mmi/article-pdf/14/3/3/1460315/musimoviimag.14.3.0003.pdf by guest on 08 February 2022

Downloaded from http://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/mmi/article-pdf/14/3/3/1460315/musimoviimag.14.3.0003.pdf by guest on 08 February 2022

Downloaded from http://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/mmi/article-pdf/14/3/3/1460315/musimoviimag.14.3.0003.pdf by guest on 08 February 2022

Downloaded from http://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/mmi/article-pdf/14/3/3/1460315/musimoviimag.14.3.0003.pdf by guest on 08 February 2022

Downloaded from http://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/mmi/article-pdf/14/3/3/1460315/musimoviimag.14.3.0003.pdf by guest on 08 February 2022

Downloaded from http://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/mmi/article-pdf/14/3/3/1460315/musimoviimag.14.3.0003.pdf by guest on 08 February 2022

Downloaded from http://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/mmi/article-pdf/14/3/3/1460315/musimoviimag.14.3.0003.pdf by guest on 08 February 2022

Downloaded from http://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/mmi/article-pdf/14/3/3/1460315/musimoviimag.14.3.0003.pdf by guest on 08 February 2022

You might also like