Alfonso Cuarón's legacy as a genius of cinematic storytelling will live on for ages, and his latest film, Roma, is now accompanied by Music Inspired by the Film Roma, a compilation of songs which includes compositions by a variety of artists including Beck, Billie Eilish, Patti Smith, and Jessie Reyez. Each contributing artist draws from his or her personal interpretation of the film and the results reflect Roma's rawness and emotionality. Music Inspired by the Film Roma opens with an audio clip by an artist called "Ciudad de Mexico" which, as the writer's name suggests, serves as a Mexico City soundscape. It is followed by Patti Smith's spirited reinvention of "Wing". Using an array of genres including orchestral, pop, Latin, and electronica to explore Roma's depth, the album gradually increases its tone and tempo, before eventually returning to somber qualities and grounded messages. READ THE FULL SPILL MAGAZINE REVIEW p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d; min-height: 14.0px}

The Netflix film Roma highlights music from 1970s Mexico. I'll play a couple of songs from that. The music has that 70s vibe of fuzzy guitar and almost disco-types of sounds. And for other quick notes, we'll also have a smattering of Grammy-nominated musicians. These will be mostly the "losers," which doesn't mean any of the selections are not worth the listening. And lastly, we'll check out Steel Pan music from an all-student band call The Rhythm Project All Stars. Now, to dive-into the main feature. Film music--you know, I have my favorites and they usually are part of a Wes Anderson or Quentin Tarantino film. However, for tonight's task, we'll going to hear these two tracks from the recent Netflix film Roma, which is up for Best Picture this year. I think I should add that to my queue. The music revolves around 1970s Mexico rock. From that soundtrack, we'll hear "Ciudad Perdida"  by La Revolución de Emiliano Zapata followed by "Te He Prometido" by Leo Dan. Added to this first part of the movie, we'll head to outer edges of Bongolia--a mythical and mystical place, to hear the song "Silbando" by Los Riberenos. READ THE FULL WCVE: World Music Show ARTICLE

Alfonso Cuaron's masterpiece is about growing up with a nanny and a single mom in Mexico City in the 1970s. It's a tribute to the women in his life told in Spanish, and filmed in black and white, with the director also serving as cinematographer and editor. An enriching, lyrical, tone poem that bubbles with so much life you swear it's a documentary. A true work of art that resonates on multiple levels. Thrilling, heartbreaking, whimsical, lovely, emotional, wide-eyed and wonderful with an Oscar level performance by school teacher turned actress, Yalitza Aparicio. READ ALL REVIEWS ON West Hawaii Today PAGE p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d; min-height: 14.0px} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d}

The Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) is an eclectic mix of film critics from across North America. We're a diverse melting pot of tastes brought together by a love of cinema. We're not all beguiled by the same films; we're known to disagree with each other. Tonight, Sunday, January 13, the CW will televise the BFCA's Critics' Choice Awards. I've cast my votes, all I can do is brace myself for the inevitable surprises and disappointments. The night might see a landslide winner as polarizing titles like "Green Book" or "A Star is Born" have passionate followings. I don't think that it will happen, "The Favourite" or "Roma" would be a stronger bet. Personally, I voted for a variety of movies and hope to see a wide range of films honored throughout the night. Here's a look at the nominees for the 24th Annual Critics' Choice Awards via 2KUTV - Salt Lake

The Hollywood Music in Media Awards (HMMA) have announced the 2019 nominees for music in film, TV, video games, commercials and trailers. With over 500 submissions this year, HMMA nominees are chosen from around the world in specific genres of music for film, TV and video games including dramatic feature, sci-fi/ fantasy, documentary and animation. Visual Media Nominees this year include; ORIGINAL SCORE – FEATURE FILM  Alexandre Desplat – SISTERS BROTHERS (Annapurna) Carter Burwell – THE BALLAD OF BUSTER SCRUGGS (Netflix) Hans Zimmer – WIDOWS (Twentieth Century Fox) Justin Hurwitz – FIRST MAN (Universal) Kris Bowers – GREEN BOOK (Universal) Max Richter – MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS (Focus Features) Nicholas Britell – IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK (Annapurna) Teddy Shapiro – DESTROYER (Annapurna) Terence Blanchard – BLACKKKLANSMAN (Focus Features)   ORIGINAL SCORE – SCIFI/FANTASY/HORROR FILM Alan Silvestri – READY PLAYER ONE (Warner Bros.) Christophe Beck – ANT-MAN and THE WASP (Walt Disney) Ludwig Goransson – BLACK PANTHER (Walt Disney) Marc Shaiman – MARY POPPINS RETURNS (Walt Disney) Marco Beltrami – A QUIET PLACE (Paramount) Tyler Bates – DEADPOOL 2 (Twentieth Century Fox)   ORIGINAL SCORE – ANIMATED FILM Alexandre Desplat – ISLE OF DOGS (Fox Searchlight) Bruno Coulais – WHITE FANG (Netflix) Chris Bacon – SHERLOCK GNOMES (Paramount) Heitor Pereira – SMALLFOOT (Warner Bros.) Henry Jackman – RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET (Walt Disney) Michael Giacchino – INCREDIBLES 2 (Walt Disney)   ORIGINAL SCORE – DOCUMENTARY Cyrille Aufort – MARCH OF THE PENGUINS: THE NEXT STEP (Canal +) Daniel Pemberton, Simon Ashdown, Will Slater – ONE STRANGE ROCK (National Geographic) Jonathan Kirkscey – WON'T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR? (Focus Features) Marco Beltrami – FREE SOLO (National Geographic) Miriam Cutler – RBG (CNN) Patrick Jonsson – ON HER SHOULDERS (Oscilloscope)   For COMPLETE list of NOMINATIONS visit:  SEE THE CELEBRITYACCESS PAGE

There are only 88 keys on a piano, but a keyboard tells countless numbers of romantic stories-a short yet unforgettable summer love in an Italian town, a boy's forever commitment to the love of films, a taboo relationship between a man and a robot, a genius couple struggling with their marriage and a zombie woman passionate about love and music. "Une barque sur l'ocean" from "Miroirs" – Andre Laplante - This beautifully composed movement is played when the protagonists of the movie "Call Me by Your Name." "Cinema Paradiso" – Ennio Morricone "A Game of Croquet" – Johann Johannsson "The Piano Duet"– Danny Elfman

READ THE FULL Observer ARTICLE p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #606060} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #606060; min-height: 14.0px}

Can you believe Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert was more than two months ago? Now you can relive the Easter's highlight production with the soundtrack. It only feels like yesterday that we heard John Legend would perform as Jesus, leading to much excitement about the production. Then other big names were added, including Alice Cooper as King Herod. The whole night was a success and now there's a chance to relive the magic with the Jesus Christ Superstar soundtrack. The soundtrack has everything from the night, whether you want to feel the emotion of Sara Bareilles' rendition of "I Don't Know How to Love Him" or Brandon Victor Dixon's powerful "Judas' Death." READ THE FULL Hidden Remote REVIEW

The soundtrack to Luca Guadagnino's Call Me By Your Name is getting a special limited "peach season" vinyl release. Music on Vinyl is issuing the 2xLP set on August 3. Only 7,777 copies will be pressed on the peach-colored and -scented vinyl, and it will only be available "in Peach Harvest season." The CMBYN soundtrack features songs by Ryuichi Sakamoto, Giorgio Mororder, the Psychedelic Furs, and more. It also includes two original songs by Sufjan Stevens: "Mystery of Love" and "Visions of Gideon." The former was nominated for the Oscar Award for Best Original Song. Stevens took the stage at the 2018 Academy Awards to perform the track alongside St. Vincent, Moses Sumney, Chris Thile, and others. SEE Pitchfork PAGE

David Lang, the Pulitzer Prize–winning composer of the oratorio The Little Match Girl Passion and other works of rigorous idiosyncrasy, lives in the creative realm where quasi-gimmicky ideas can lead to serious, often moving art. Over the 31 years since he co-founded, with the composers Julia Wolfe and Michael Gordon, the Bang on a Can festival of avant-garde music and performance, Lang has devised such works as Crowd Out, a choral piece for 1,000 singers; The National Anthems, a collage of snippets from the anthems of various countries, with the lyrics translated into English; and Symphony for a Broken Orchestra, designed to utilize the flaws in faulty instruments stockpiled by the Philadelphia school system. For his latest work, The Day, which was released in January by Cantaloupe Music (a label he co-owns), Lang mined the lyrics from the Internet, a method he'd already experimented with on Crowd Out. The result is a piece of music so potent that it makes the underlying idea seem not merely clever, but smart.  PHOTO: David Lang. (Photograph by Chris Pizzello/AP) READ THE FULL Nation ARTICLE p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #606060}

Amazon's Mozart In The Jungle might be one of the most bizarre concoctions on the platform; a comedy-drama which blends classical music, zany humour with a light-hearted romantic touch. Starring Golden Globe-winning Mexican actor Gael Garcia Bernal as flamboyant conductor Rodrigo De Souza, the show is inspired by oboist Blair Tindall's 2005 drug and sex-fuelled memoir – and features a superb supporting cast including Lola Kirke, Bernadette Peters and English actor Malcolm McDowell. As the show has progressed over three seasons, it's become even more experimental; delving into Rodrigo's hallucinations and even spinning into documentary territory in episode Not Yet Titled. The fourth season is dialling up the extravagance by partly shifting the setting to Japan, which Gael Garcia Bernal and Malcolm McDowell found to be an overwhelming experience.    (Picture: Amazon)  READ THE FULL Metro.co.uk ARTICLE     p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #606060} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #606060; min-height: 14.0px}

Sufjan Stevens' "Mystery of Love," a song from the critically acclaimed movie Call Me By Your Name (Sony Pictures Classics), has been nominated for the Oscar for Best Original Song. "Mystery of Love" is one of two original songs composed by Stevens for the Luca Guadagnino-directed feature. The singer-songwriter will be going up against notable artists like Mary J. Blige, nominated for "Mighty River" from Mudbound, and Andra Day, nominated for "Stand Up for Something" from Marshall, featuring Chicago rapper Common. It seems as if this year will be one for the books as far as musicians and Oscar nominees go. Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood was also nominated for an Oscar in the category of Best Original Score for his work on the motion picture Phantom Thread, a recording which featured a 60-piece orchestra. Based on the Andre Aciman novel of the same name, Call Me By Your Name tells the coming-of-age story of Elio, a seventeen-year-old Italian young man who begins a relationship with Oliver, his father's research assistant. The movie tackles themes of emerging sexuality, breaking taboos and defining one's personal life path. Along with Best Original Song, the film is also nominated for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay, along with a nomination for Timothée Chalamet for Best Actor in a Leading Role. The 90th Oscars, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, will be held on Sunday, March 4 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Calif. It will air live on ABC starting at 6:30 p.m. EST.     READ THE FULL Paste ARTICLE   p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #606060} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #606060; min-height: 14.0px}

Over the past ten years, the Hollywood Music Workshop has welcomed students from all over the globe, learning from top composers, arrangers and sound engineers in the beautiful City of Baden, just outside of Vienna. Many of those students have furthered their careers and gone out into the composing world, scoring for Film & TV. In addition, they made lasting friendships with mentors and other students. Hollywood Music Workshop is excited to celebrate its 10th Anniversary this summer with an extended curriculum now also including SCORING FOR TELEVISION with 2-time Emmy winner John Lunn ("Downton Abbey"). "We are happy to celebrate our 10th Anniversary with such an illustrious group of mentors, consisting of successful Hollywood composers, orchestrators and engineers. With the addition of SCORING FOR TELEVISION and Emmy Winner John Lunn, we will now cover all aspects of media composing," says HMW director Dimitrie Leivici. John Lunn's – Scoring for TV Drama Series WORKSHOP will take place on – July 12 – 14 p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #606060} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #606060; min-height: 14.0px} span.Apple-tab-span {white-space:pre} READ FRILL VENTS ARTICLE

Like Alexandre Desplat, ("The Queen", "The Girl with the Pearl Earring"), Jones ("The Danish Girl") follows the tradition of anxious romanticism definitively exemplified in the music of Bernard Herrmann. This is music that mirrors the solemn desperation of our times. Here the music is for Roger Mitchell's neo gothic thriller based on a Daphne du Maurier novel "My Cousin Rachel". The pizzicotto ticking under swelling strings, the sudden rests, the undulating cellos all familiar film tropes, yet still they seduce.  SEE ALL OF THIS WEEK's KUCI: IRVINE CA REVIEWS BY MD - HOBART TAYLOR

Michael Giacchino's soundtrack for Spiderman: Homecoming has entered the Classic FM Chart straight at no. 1, pushing Einaudi's Islands down to no. 2. Carly Paoli is a non-mover this week at no. 3, while the soundtrack to Wonder Woman drops five places from no. 2 to no. 7. Ramin Djawadi's soundtrack to Game of Thrones: Season 6 continues to climb up the Classic FM Chart in anticipation of the new season starting tonight, and this evening the soundtrack climbs back just inside the top 10. The top 10 also features re-entries from Max Richter's Three Worlds: Music from Woolf Works at no. 6 and 40 Most Beautiful Arias at no. 10.  There is a further four new entries in the middle of the chart, including Poulenc with the Sixteen at no. 12, Elgar conducted by Daniel Barenboim at no. 14, Behind the Counter by Max Richter at no. 20 and Peter Gregson's One at no. 21. Meanwhile, there are three other re-entries, including The 40 Most Beautiful Classical Masterpieces at no. 13, plus Max Richter's soundtrack to season one of The Leftovers at no. 22 and his album Sleep at no. 26. This week's biggest faller is hotly contested between Kathleen Ferrier's Remembered which is down thirteen places, Love in Venice which drops twelve places and Craig Ogden's Summertime Deluxe falling eleven places, meanwhile for the second week in a row there isn't a stand out highest climber. SEE the Classic FM Chart

As of Sunday morning, the latest cinematic depiction of the webbed-hero, "Spider-Man: Homecoming," is looking at a $117 million opening from 4,348 locations. $10.6 million of the domestic total came from 392 Imax screens. That's a huge win for Sony, Columbia Pictures, and Marvel Studios for the film, which cost roughly $175 million to produce. The anticipated opening weekend is higher than industry estimates, which were in the $90 million to $110 million range, while the studio cautiously pegged it at $80 million. "Everyone at Sony and Marvel are thrilled," said Josh Greenstein, Sony's marketing chief. "It's safe to say it's a triumphant return for Spider-Man.     READ THE FULL Variety ARTICLE SEE THE Reuters PAGE p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Arial} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Arial; min-height: 11.0px}

Sony Classical's release of My Cousin Rachel (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), featuring music by Rael Jones portays dark romance which tells the story of a young Englishman who plots revenge against his mysterious, beautiful cousin, believing that she murdered his guardian. But his feelings become complicated as he finds himself falling under the beguiling spell of her charms. Rael Jones is a Composer and Multi-Instrumentalist, based in London. Sony Classical previously released his sweeping orchestral score for the Weinstein Company's feature "Suite Française", starring Michelle Williams, Kristen Scott Thomas and Matthias Schoenaerts. He is currently scoring Hulu & ITVs 8 part series "Harlots", set in the 18th Century brothels of London, and written, directed and produced entirely by women. READ THE FULL Synchrotones Soundtrack Review

The award-winning series Mozart in the Jungle, based on a memoir by oboist Blair Tindall, shows that what happens behind the curtains at the symphony can be just as captivating as what happens on stage. The soundtrack for Mozart in the Jungle, Season 3 features both standard classical repertoire from Mozart and Beethoven as well as music written especially for the series by contemporary composers Nico Muhly and Missy Mazzoli. Sony's Mozart in the Jungle, Season 3 is the WFMT: Chicago - Featured Release for Friday January 27
Featured tracks are Mozart: Oboe Concerto in C major, K 314: First movement (7:19) François Leleux, oboe; Camerata Salzburg
Missy Mazzoli: Impromptu (Thomas's Piece) (2:30) Joshua Bell, violin; Kaprálová Orchestra   p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Helvetica; min-height: 12.0px}

Sony Classical's recent releases of Original Motion Picture Soundtracks - LION & Passengers have both been nominated for Academy Awards in the 'Best Original Score.' category. LION features music by Dustin O'Halloran and Hauschka and an exclusive track by SIA which was especially written for this movie. Five year old Saroo (Dev Patel of Slumdog Millionaire) gets lost on a train which takes him thousands of miles across India, away from home and family. Saroo must learn to survive alone in Kolkata, before ultimately being adopted by an Australian couple (Nicole Kidman of Moulin Rouge, Australiaand David Wenham of Lord of the Rings, Pope Joan). Twenty five years later, armed with only a handful of memories, his unwavering determination, and a revolutionary technology known as Google Earth, he sets out to find his lost family and finally return to his first home. The Sony Classical - Madison Gate Records release of Passengers features music by Thomas Newman. The Sci-Fi Adventure follows the spaceship "Starship Avalon" in its 120-year voyage to a distant colony planet known as the "Homestead Colony" when malfunctions occur in two of its sleep chambers. Jennifer Lawrence (The Hunger Games, American Hustle) and Chris Pratt (Zero Dark Thirty, The Magnificent Seven) are two passengers onboard a spaceship transporting them to a new life on the new planet. 

Tune in throughout the week for tracks from KDFC: San Francisco - Album of the Week. More to discover with KDFC. For the Week of January 23rd, we select - Mozart in the Jungle: Season III Soundtrack.  Sex, drugs, and classical music! That's basically what it's all about in the Amazon series Mozart in the Jungle. Based on the book of that name by oboist Blair Tindall, Mozart in the Jungle is about the machinations and interpersonal tribulations of a major (unnamed) New York City orchestra, helmed by a charismatic South American conductor, (played by Gael Garcia Bernal). The show has blown away expectations with its continuing success. Season III features more classical favorites, performed by some of our biggest stars, eg. Joshua Bell and Yo-Yo Ma, and the Sony Classical album release features additioanl performances by soprano Ana María Martínez and Plácido Domingo.....Discover New Music with KDFC's Album of the Week! p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Helvetica; min-height: 12.0px}

The Sony Classical soundtrack release of The Girl On The Train (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), featuring the music by Danny Elfman arrived in theatres the same day at the film opened - October 7. EMILY BLUNT (Sicario, Edge of Tomorrow) leads the all-star cast of DreamWorks Pictures' The Girl on the Train, from director TATE TAYLOR (The Help, Get on Up) and producer MARC PLATT (Bridge of Spies, Into the Woods).  Based on author PAULA HAWKINS' bestselling novel, the thriller that has riveted millions now makes its way to the big screen. Reeling from a recent divorce and searching to preoccupy her days, Rachel Watson (Blunt) spends her weekday commute to and from Manhattan quietly gazing out the train windows.  Every morning and evening, she relives memories from just outside the home once shared with now ex-husband Tom (JUSTIN THEROUX of The Leftovers, The Ten), who now lives there with his new wife, Anna (REBECCA FERGUSON of Mission: Impossible-Rogue Nation, upcoming The Snowman), and their baby.   88.7: KSPC - Claremont CA - Tom Skelly reviewed the film for his Sound Of Pictures show. Listen to the attached clip

TPR's Texas Public Radio - Performance Saturday host Nathan Cone has in effect dedicated this show to soundtracks we're working. Here's his article. Nathan Cone - Each weekend on Performance Saturday, I enjoy sharing new releases following the "concert" broadcast portion of the program, and this fall, I've been sharing excerpts from soundtracks to films clouded in mystery. None of the scores are purely orchestral, and the distorted and sometimes frightening soundscapes of these albums make for some interesting car trips! (Listening while driving is pretty much the only way I get to do any extended sampling nowadays.) In order of release, let's start with Craig Armstrong and Adam Peters' score to "Snowden," the Oliver Stone film about Edward Snowden, the ex-CIA employee leaked thousands of classified documents about the United States' worldwide surveillance programs, exposing the government's ties to communications companies. Armstrong and Peters use pulsing electronic melodies combined with strings to convey the feeling that anyone could be watching you, anytime. An occasional happy melody on piano appears, but it's only for specialty cues like "Happiness Montage." Overall, this is a score to put on the player when you're under the gun at work and want a soundtrack to your anxiety. In "The Girl on the Train," Emily Blunt plays a divorced woman whose voyeurism leads to her getting caught up in her ex's affairs-literally. Danny Elfman's score has a touch of smoky jazziness in some cues, and goes abstract in others, but mostly stays within the orchestral noir palette with subtle electronic touches . I enjoyed listening to this score, and loved some of the track titles-let's see, there's "Wasted," and then there's "You're Always Wasted," and the aptly named "Really Creepy." Ron Howard and Dan Brown return to the conspiracy thriller well once more with "Inferno," about a madman that aims to unleash a global virus that somehow ties in to Dante. The joyless film flopped, and the soundtrack isn't any fun to listen to either. Composer Hans Zimmer is quoted in the press notes for the disc as saying that this score is "darker" than his other Dan Brown movie scores, and is all about "disorientation." To me, it just sounds like Zimmer's usual BRAAAAAAMMMMMMM!!!!! Finally, the smartest film of the bunch also features my favorite score of the four-Denis Villenueve's "Arrival" is simultaneously spooky and hopeful. This film about first contact with alien beings and the power and mystery of language and communication is just about the perfect movie for late 2016, and Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson's score works beautifully. Watching the film, it was difficult sometimes to discern where the music ended and sound effects of the alien craft and its beings began. Listening to the album, it's clear that Jóhannsson played a big role in the aural success of "Arrival." This is probably the most unconventional score of the bunch, full of low drones that'll give your subwoofer a workout, whale-like cries, bleating soprano saxophones that sound like alien conversation, and at least one track that combines all three with a choir. It even works as a whole apart from the film, placing the listener in a trance-like state where time matters little. p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Helvetica; min-height: 12.0px}

"Florence Foster Jenkins" is the film directed by Stephen Frears which tells the true story of the eponymous New York heiress who obsessively pursued her dream of becoming a great singer. The voice Florence (Meryl Streep) heard in her head was divine, but to the rest of the world it was hilariously awful. In addition to Streep's meticulously executed vocal performances, the original soundtrack features a score by Alexandre Desplat. Soprano Aida Garifullina makes a cameo as Lily Pons. For Sunday AUGUST 21, 2016, WFMT: Chicago selects the Florence Foster Jenkins soundtrack on Decca as Featured Release.

In 1944 at the age of 76, Foster Jenkins sold out Carnegie Hall - more than 2,000 people were turned away from the door - with a recital of opera arias that she performed off key. This Friday, Florence Foster Jenkins, a Paramount Pictures, Pathé and BBC Films film about a tone-deaf opera singer starring Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant, opens. WQXR host Elliott Forrest sat down with both stars prior to opening day to discuss our endless fascination with this peculiar figure as well as her partner and manager, St. Clair Bayfield.  WATCH THE VIDEOS PIC (Nick Wall Copyright © 2016 PARAMOUNT PICTURES. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

A new film starring Meryl Streep, which opens in the U.S. Friday, tells the improbable story of Florence Foster Jenkins, a real-life New York socialite who pronounced herself a coloratura soprano despite a distinct lack of talent. Who could've guessed that Jenkins, who favored elaborate costumes and strangled phrases with abandon, would resurface with such gusto decades after her death in 1944. She's been the subject of a Broadway play starring Judy Kaye, a new biography, a documentary and now two movies released in the U.S. within the span of six months. The film, Florence Foster Jenkins, directed by Stephen Frears (My Beautiful Laundrette, Dangerous Liasons,The Queen), is an affectionate portrait of the elderly heiress, her aspirations and her illusions - both as singer and lover - as she ramps up to a Carnegie Hall debut. Thanks to Frears, and a bravura performance by Streep, Jenkins' stock is poised to rise again. A new set of fans will be laughing at the pseudo-soprano's hilarious original 1940s recordings, which have never been out of print yet have just been reissued once more.  READ THE FULL NPR: deceptive cadence ARTICLE

Masterpiece's Downton Abbey came to an end last night after six seasons. In this tell-all exposé, Scottish composer John Lunn talks about his years with the Crawley family, what Lord Grantham really thought of Branson, and his thoughts on Thomas Barrow's perpetual bad attitude. Okay, okay - not exactly. But Lunn does talk about how he got into writing for TV, how it's different than writing operas and violin concertos, and about being part of the Downton team for six seasons. Past (and future!) secrets are revealed. All in a lovely Scottish accent. All music in this episode (except for the Bach) from the CD, Downton Abbey: The Ultimate Collection: Prelude & Fugue No. 24 in B Minor BWV 893. JS Bach. Angela Hewitt.  
The Suite
Such Good Luck
Escapades
End of An Era Audio production for this episode by Todd "Lord of Toddington" Hulslander with pregnant pauses by Dacia Clay and assistance from Mark DiClaudio.  SEE THE KUHA: Houston - CLASSICAL CLASSROOM PAGE

Pulitzer Prize winner David Lang has composed the score and the original song for Paolo Sorrentino's Youth, which tells the story of a classical composer and conductor towards the end of his career. Lang composed both the soundtrack and the works meant to be written by the protagonist of the film, representing both the music the character hears in his head and his concert works. The score and additional music is performed on screen by soprano Sumi Jo, violinist Viktoria Mullova, the BBC Concert Orchestra, and the Berlin Radio Choir, among others. Lang's Simple Song #3 is integral and a recurring theme in the film. The soundtrack is available on Spotify and Apple Music.  "Simple Song #3," for which Lang wrote the music and the lyrics, was nominated for a Golden Globe and Academy Award in the Best Original Song category. KSPC: Claremont CA Tom Skelly has been exhibiting and teaching painting, drawing and design since college. In 1985 Skelley began hosting a weekly three hour radio program at KSPC Pomona College called The Sound of Pictures featuring music for the screen, stage, street corner and interviews at KSPC 88.7fm and www.kspc.org on Sundays from 7–10pm. Listen to this attached interview with David Lang

Composer David Lang has worked in variety of media from opera to film. His "Simple Song #3" for Paolo Sorrentino's film Youth (La giovinezza) was nominated for a 2016 Academy Award for Best Original Song. In a recent interview, Lang shared why he loves composing for the silver screen: "One of the things I really like about film is the size of the audience. There are potentially millions and millions of people who want to see film, who are open to hearing music, and who know that music can be an important part of the film experience. It's very inspiring to me that there are people who are ready to receive information through their ears, they're ready to feel something, they're ready to have an experience only music can give them. But because the medium is film, the audience is gigantic, and potentially includes people all over the planet. The reach, the idea that one can reach this far out into the culture, and reach across cultures is really powerful."   READ THE FULL WFMT: Chicago ARTICLE

Throughout Paolo Sorrentino's "Youth," composer Fred Ballinger (Michael Caine) is asked to conduct a performance of his most famous work, "Simple Song #3." It's a deeply personal work that the audience hears in full only at the end of the film, when it's performed by celebrated soprano Sumi Jo. To come up with a song that would have such a powerful effect, Sorrentino turned to composer David Lang, winner of the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Music for choral work "The Little Match Girl Passion." READ THE FULL Q&A with Variety

"I'm a composer groupie," says David Lang when asked to name his favorite movies about musicians. Whether the composer is Mozart, Ray Charles or Eminem, Lang finds himself drawn to films depicting the process of creating music. The fascination served him well while writing the score for Paolo Sorrentino's "Youth." The film follows a composer in his golden years, played by Michael Caine, and it also won Lang an Oscar nomination in the best song category for "Simple Song #3." The work called for Lang to create no less than the crowning achievement of Caine's character's career. "I sent demos back and forth," to Sorrentino, Lang recalled, "and he would send them back saying, ‘I am crying a little, but I need to cry a lot.'" It took some time for Lang to get the work right, but here are eight films that provide an authentic insight into the lives of musicians. WQXR: New York PAGE.

New Classical Tracks is a Syndicated Feature airing Nationally on Classical 24 & Statewide on Minnesota Public Radio. Listen to Julie Amacher's Feature with John Lunn READ THE TRANSCRIPT -  "It doesn't feel like it's dead," says composer John Lunn. "It took a while. We had almost six months of parties. There was a wrap party when they stopped filming. There was a post-production party, a party for the screening of the final episode. It's never felt like the end because there's always been another party about the end of it." Evidently, that's how you say goodbye to one of the most popular PBS shows ever, Downton Abbey. Composer John Lunn has been immersed in the series for the past six years, and has compiled Downton Abbey, The Ultimate Collection as a musical souvenir. He says you'll recognize plenty of these melodies which symbolize your favorite characters, like Mary and Matthew Crawley. " 'Such Good Luck' was actually a massive theme that came in the beginning of series two, and it was when Mary and Matthew were on a train station and they'd been together at the end of series one and they'd kind of fallen out and were no longer together, and obviously there was a germ of something still there. She says goodbye to him and he's going off to the First World War, he's going off to fight. And the producers wanted me to give people an idea that not only was she saying goodbye to Matthew; I knew at the end of that series he was going to propose to her and she was going to accept. And so I had this sort of idea of trying to make a piece of music that would actually cover both. And there's a hint in the train station cue that actually some good might come out of this. And I was really sort of pleased with that tune. And consequently, the more I've been asked about the music, the more and more I've sort of realized that actually the music is not specifically about one character or about one emotion, but it's about the relationships between people." Fans weren't the only ones upset when the Matthew Crawley character died at the end of season three. "Oh, he took some of my best tunes to the grave with him," Lunn mourns, "but there is a scene, I think it's the penultimate episode for you, where Mary does go back to his grave and she needs to ask him a question. I mean, realistically, she knows she's not going to get an answer, but it's a symbolic moment. And it was just ideal to bring back that tune. But I was very angry with him when he left; in fact, I've told him that as well, he made my life hell once he'd gone." Your other favorite couple is probably Anna and Mr. Bates. You'll hear their relationship represented in a piece titled, "Damaged." "I was looking for an idea to signify Bates, and it was before [he and Anna] were even remotely together," Lunn says, "but there was a hint that there might be something, and she sort of took pity on him more than anything else. And he had a limp. And I don't know why - it's kind of slightly odd thinking back on it now - but I came up with this sort of piano tune sort of thing had a sort of stutter to it, a bit like a limp. And it was a bit slower than that, actually. And then I did a sort of viola tune to that which was sort of Anna in a kind of English sort of folk element to it. And the combination of those two things, that tune and that lilting, slightly stilted piano, repeated piano refrain, has actually been there since episode one, series one, and has gone all the way through to series six." There are certainly elements of classic English composers in this music. Lunn cites Edward Elgar and Ralph Vaughn Williams as major influences. You'll hear hints of pop music and jazz. While much of the music is carried over from each series, Lunn says there's also a new element in each episode. For series six, it's the New Gladiators. "I think that's one thing about the whole of series six, there's this idea that the world is changing and it's still almost 100 years ago but it's becoming more familiar to us now, whereas when the series started in 1912, you could say it was like a foreign country," Lunn says. "Whereas things like having a Formula One race, something we still have now … so there was a feeling that the music should kind of reflect that change as well. So in fact, I slightly changed the orchestration, had some trumpets, French horns. And actually the music is probably more like 1950s film score. It could be James Bond-ish if that makes any kind of sense." John Lunn commented that the final series doesn't end the way he expected, so I asked him if he could elaborate on that? "I think I was expecting us to … leave the house. Or the house gets sold or … something happens to bring it to an end. And actually, it doesn't. But it's no less satisfying. In fact, in many ways, it's more satisfying the way it does end." As you prepare to say goodbye to the colorful characters, the gorgeous costumes, and the vintage cars, John Lunn reminds me that this period PBS program has made a lasting impression. "The theme tune has just become so famous now that it just seems to be instantly recognized the world over. ITV, who televise it, who broadcast it here [in the U.K.], they've been going for 60 years and they've had a whole television series about the best theme tunes … and Downton was number six. And I just … I think that's probably quite an achievement. I never thought that would happen. Of all the things I've done … I think I've written something that people will remember me for years."

In Paolo Sorrentino's movie Youth, Michael Caine plays a retired composer on holiday at a spa in the Swiss Alps. He hears a young student practicing the composition for which he is best known. The precocious boy says his professor finds it easy to learn, and continues, "It's more than that. It is beautiful." Caine's character replies, "I composed it when I loved." The music, "Simple Song #3," is now nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song. Last week the Pulitzer Prize winning composer David Lang, known for his work in classical music, stepped out of the class in music composition he was teaching at Yale to talk to me about making music for movies.   READ THE Huffington Post INTERVIEW

Pulitzer Prize winner David Lang has composed the score and the original song for Paolo Sorrentino's YOUTH, which tells the story of a classical composer and conductor towards the end of his career. "Simple Song #3,", for which Lang wrote the music and the lyrics, has been nominated for an Academy Award in the Original Song category. Of the nomination, Lang says, "This is one of the most exciting things that has ever happened to me. I am so grateful to the Academy for recognizing my work in the film YOUTH. I need to thank opera superstar Sumi Jo for her amazing voice, and most of all, I need to thank Paolo Sorrentino, who had the beautiful idea to build a film around a song." Leading into tonight's awards, Tom Skelley from KSPC Radio - Claremont CA spoke with David about the project. LISTEN TO THE ATTACHED CLIP

One of this year's Oscar nominees for original song stands in stark contrast to the others, which include a Lady Gaga anthem, a sexy soul groove and a Bond song. Pulitzer-winning concert composer David Lang wrote a classical aria that plays a crucial role in "Youth," Italian director Paolo Sorrentino's film about an aging composer, played by Michael Caine, which frequently refers to and culminates in an onscreen performance of the fictional character's "Simple Song #3." "I had very little to go on," says Lang, 59, who wrote the song before the script was even finished. "All I had were these deep philosophical conversations with Paolo." But the song was only part of Lang's outsized influence on Sorrentino's film (which he also scored). READ THE Q&A

Each week, KDFC: San Francisco members can download a free mp3 from some of the biggest releases in the world of Classical music, only at KDFC.com. Paolo Sorrentino's (The Great Beauty) sumptuous new film, Youth, is full of music, which makes sense because it's the story of a composer. David Lang's score for the movie has been widely praised, with Simple Song #3 singled out for an Oscar nomination. It features soprano Sumi Jo and violinist Viktoria Mullova.   Download this haunting piece for free now.

Sam Smith and longtime affiliate Jimmy Napes (née Jimmy Napier) have won the Best Original Song Golden Globe for their work on Spectre's main title song "Writing's On the Wall." In the latest adventure, James Bond embarks on a rogue mission to Mexico City and eventually Rome, where he meets Lucia Sciarra (Bellucci), the beautiful and forbidden widow of an infamous criminal.  Bond infiltrates a secret meeting and uncovers the existence of the sinister organisation known as SPECTRE.  As he ventures towards the heart of SPECTRE, he learns of a chilling connection between himself and the enemy he seeks (played by Waltz).

Like Frank Zappa, Yale professor David Lang is a highbrow composer with a taste for the bizarre, and an artist who has smuggled difficult work into mass culture. "Paradoxically, people are willing to hear stranger things in film than in the real world - film audiences are more open to music than a music audience is," said Lang, whose art song "Simple Song #3" in Paolo Sorrentino's "Youth" is a contender for the Best Original Song Oscar. Instead of coming in at the end of filming, like most composers, Lang wrote the tune beforehand. The idea was to define the entire life's arc of Michael Caine‘s character, himself a composer, from lovestruck youth to rueful age. "The movie is saying the song is a character, almost, like a time capsule for him," said Lang, 58, who projected himself into the 80-something character as passionately as any Method actor. READ THE FULL Wrap INTERVIEW 

SPECTRE – the 24th James Bond adventure on Decca/Universal Music Classics is one of the most anticipated film soundtracks of the year. After the success of Skyfall and winning a BAFTA for best film music, Thomas Newman (‘American Beauty', ‘The Shawshank Redemption') returned on SPECTRE to create an original score to accompany the film.  The soundtrack album includes a new instrumental version of Sam Smith's new Bond main title song ‘Writing's On The Wall'. Thomas Newman comments: "It was a real honor to write the score to SPECTRE. The Bond films have such a rich musical heritage so it's been an incredible privilege to return to the franchise after Skyfall and create a soundtrack for this spectacular new movie." SPECTRE has just broken records to become the biggest opening of all time in UK box office history. In its first seven days of release it has made an estimated £41.7 million. In addition to the UK success, records were also set in Norway, the Netherlands, Finland and Denmark, with Spectre taking $80.4m in all six released territories. OST also made #25 in the UK pop charts this past weekend. As the film opens across in the US and across the world this week, this story will spread – please use the film success and local reviews in your own market to push the OST and please do share your success stories with us.

Each week KDFC: San Francisco members can download a free mp3 from some of the biggest releases in the world of Classical music. With the 87th Academy Awards telecast this Sunday February 22, this week's 'Download' pick is the Oscar nominated score for "The Imitation Game" by Alexandre Desplat. During the winter of 1952, British authorities entered the home of mathematician, cryptanalyst and war hero Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch) to investigate a reported burglary. They instead ended up arresting Turing himself on charges of 'gross indecency', an accusation that would lead to his devastating conviction for the criminal offense of homosexuality - little did officials know, they were actually incriminating the pioneer of modern-day computing.  Download a free mp3 of the title track from Alexandre Desplat's score for "The Imitation Game" only at KDFC

Sony Music's John Williams' original motion picture soundtrack of The Book Thief, is a moving film by Brian Percivalbased on the best-selling novel of the same name by Markus Zusak. The Book Thief tells the inspirational story of a spirited and courageous young girl who transforms the lives of everyone around her when she is sent to live with a foster family in World War II Germany.  The film stars Academy Award®-winner Geoffrey Rush (The King's Speech), and Emily Watson (Breaking the Waves). The young Canadian Sophie Nélisse takes on the role of their adoptive daughter Liesel. John Williams - The Book Thief wins 57th Annual GRAMMY Awards for 'Best Instrumental Composition'

On Friday the 57th Annual Grammy Awards revealed it's winners. and Crossover Media Artists and Projects received 12, 2015 Nominations: including the Soundtrack for: The Book Thief,  in the Best Instrumental Composition category. The Sony Music release - The Book Thief, is a moving film by Brian Percival based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Markus Zusak. The Book Thief tells the inspirational story of a spirited and courageous young girl who transforms the lives of everyone around her when she is sent to live with a foster family in World War II Germany. The film stars Academy Award®-winner Geoffrey Rush (The King's Speech), and Emily Watson (Breaking the Waves). The young Canadian Sophie Nélisse takes on the role of their adoptive daughter Liesel.

The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack to Summer in February will be featured this Wednesday, Feb. 26th on "New Classical Tracks.' Heard Nationally on Classical 24 and throughout Minnesota via MPR, the score was chosen for this year's NCT Oscar Feature leading up to the Acadamy Awards on Sunday March 2. A sweeping romance set at a bohemian artist colony on the picturesque coasts of pre-war England, Summer in February is based on the true story of painter Sir Alfred Munnings and his blue-blood best friend Gilbert. Released by Tribeca Film the score was written by Benjamin Wallfisch. Integrating Chinese pianist Yuja Wang with his father, Raphael Wallfisch  Jack Liebeck, and the The Chamber Orchestra of London, the score and overall sound is quite beautiful.

Congratulations to Crossover Media soundtrack Life Of Pi on it's 2014 GRAMMY Nomination in the Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media category. The 56th Annual GRAMMY Awards will air Sunday, Jan. 26, 2014, on CBS.

Congratulations to Crossover Media soundtrack for Lincoln on it's 2014 GRAMMY Nomination in the Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media category. The 56th Annual GRAMMY Awards will air Sunday, Jan. 26, 2014, on CBS.

Congratulations to Crossover Media soundtrack Skyfall on it's 2014 GRAMMY Nominations on Sony Masterworks, in the Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media and Best Song Written For Visual Media categories. The 56th Annual GRAMMY Awards will air Sunday, Jan. 26, 2014, on CBS.

The 14th Classic BRIT Awards 2013 with MasterCard took place tonight at London's Royal Albert Hall, hosted by Classic FM's Myleene Klass. Nine BRIT Awards are presented throughout the evening, including this year's Composer Of the Year, & Lifetime Achievement in Music, awarded to Hans Zimmer with a musical performance featuring some of his finest works including, The Dark Knight Rises, Pirates of The Caribbean and Inception.  Presented by The BPI, the UK's recorded music association, the spectacular and emotional gala night featured nine stunning performances and the presentation of nine Classic BRIT Awards. The awards will be broadcast on ITV, TONIGHT!!! Sunday 6 October at 10:20pm UK TIME. READ THE London Telegraph STORY

Salinger opens in theatres TODAY!!, Friday September 6, and Decca releases the companion Soundtrack. When asked about Lorne Balfe's score for Salinger, director Shane Salerno described it "as complex as Salinger himself…it is a score that stays with you long after the film finishes."  Lorne's diverse score creates and conveys emotions integral to the film, utilizing an array of style to consistently surprise the listener. TheSalinger soundtrack guides the listener gracefully through the mysterious life of the reclusive author, allowing an experience of love, loss, and fear alongside Salinger himself.

The documentary is an unprecedented look inside the private world of J.D. Salinger, the reclusive author of The Catcher in the Rye as told by numerous people including: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Edward Norton, Martin Sheen, John Cusack, Tom Wolfe, Gore Vidal, Danny Devito and many, many more.  Sure to be the documentary film of the year! READ THE New York Times BUSINESS PIECE READ THE New York Times REVIEW

READ THE New York Daily News REVIEW

READ Roger Ebert's REVIEW READ THE Mashable Article about the trailer

Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters opens nationwide in the U.S. TODAY, August 7th 2013, and Sony Music is proud to announce the release of the original soundtrack by the Canadian composer Andrew Lockington and a new, previously unreleased song, "To Feel Alive", by IAMEVE. Based on the best-selling book, PERCY JACKSON: SEA OF MONSTERS continues the young demigod's epic journey to fulfill his destiny.  To save their world, Percy and his friends must find the fabled and magical Golden Fleece.  Embarking on a treacherous odyssey into the uncharted waters of the Sea of Monsters (known to humans as the Bermuda Triangle), they battle terrifying creatures, an army of zombies, and the ultimate Evil.  To capture the fast-paced adventure and emotion of the film, Andrew Lockington was chosen to write the score and co-wrote the end-title track with ethereal pop artist IAMEVE. Lockington has been writing music for feature films and television since 1997. He has composed the complete scores for over two dozen films, including work that received critical acclaim such as the music for Journey to the Center of the Earth and for hits at the Sundance Festival, Touch of Pink and How She Move. His orchestral score for the thriller Skinwalkers (2007) then led to work on big-budget films. In 2008 Lockington wrote the soundtrack for City of Ember (2008), starring Tim Robbins, Bill Murray and Saoirse Ronan, and produced by Tom Hanks. For this and for Journey to the Center of the Earth he received the Breakout Composer of the Year Award from the 2009 International Film Music Critics Association (IFCMA) Awards. For City of Ember he also garnered a nomination for Best Original Score for a Fantasy/Science Fiction Film. The music for Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters is a large-scale orchestral score with a range of effects that underline the drama of the movie. The combination of mystery and excitement is evident in the opening track, "Thalia's Story". "Percy at the Lake" creates an atmosphere of peace with the liquid rippling of a harp, while Lockington shows his mastery of the moods of tension and danger in numbers such as "Colchis Bull" and "Belly of the Beast". He skilfully uses choral sounds to raise the intensity, as in the ethereal "The Shield is Gone" and "Wave Conjuring". "Wild Taxi Ride" introduces a surprise in the form of jazzy touches, but the prevailing moods are a wonderfully rendered sense of wonder, as in "Hippocampus" and the drumming rhythms of action sequences such as the track "Polyphemus". Near to the close, softer sounds return with the harp in "Annabeth and the Fleece" and the solo vocal of "Resurrection". The film and soundtrack conclude with a sensation: "To Feel Alive", a song about the awakening of the character Thalia, composed by Andrew Lockington and the future-retro singer IAMEVE, who commented that "recording and seeing the song come to life in the studio was a one-of-a-kind experience. Andrew is a brilliant arranger and composer … I've never experienced anything like it. I feel so happy and grateful to have had the opportunity to work with phenomenal people and to see Thalia's song come to life in such a magical way." IAMEVE's fine voice, by turns breathless, delicate and ethereal, dazzles above the instrumental foundation. Her style is reminiscent of the work of major female musicians such as Kate Bush, Florence and The Machine, Oh Land, and Lykke Li. In Andrew Lockington's words: "We'd experimented with a few different people singing the part, but once we heard [IAMEVE's]voice singing the theme in context with the picture and the score, we knew she was the one… After she brought so much emotion and magic to the Thalia theme in the score, it was a rush to shed that restrained emotion and hear her voice soar." This wonderful track provides a memorable ending for the music of Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters. Fans of Percy Jackson and fine film music can look forward to its release on August 6th. PERCY JACKSON: SEA OF MONSTERS will be in theatres August 7th. Tracklisting 1. Thalia's Story - Andrew Lockington
2. Percy At The Lake - Andrew Lockington
3. Colchis Bull - Andrew Lockington
4. The Shield Is Gone - Andrew Lockington
5. The Oracle's Prophecy - Andrew Lockington
6. Cursed Blade Shall Reap - Andrew Lockington
7. Wild Taxi Ride - Andrew Lockington
8. Hermes - Andrew Lockington
9. Hippocampus - Andrew Lockington
10. Onboard the Yacht - Andrew Lockington
11. Wave Conjuring - Andrew Lockington
12. Sea Of Monsters - Andrew Lockington
13. Belly Of The Beast - Andrew Lockington
14. New Coordinates - Andrew Lockington
15. Polyphemus - Andrew Lockington
16. Thank You Brother - Andrew Lockington
17. Kronos - Andrew Lockington
18. Annabeth and the Fleece - Andrew Lockington
19. Resurrection - Andrew Lockington
20. Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters - Main Titles - Andrew Lockington
21. To Feel Alive - IAMEVE

Sony Music releases of the original motion picture soundtrack of The Wolverine, composed by the Oscar-nominated Marco Beltrami. Based on the celebrated comic book arc, this epic action-adventure takes Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), the most iconic character of the X-Men universe, to modern day Japan.  Out of his depth in an unknown world, he will face a host of unexpected and deadly opponents in a life-or-death battle that will leave him forever changed.  Vulnerable for the first time and pushed to his physical and emotional limits, he confronts not only lethal samurai steel but also his inner struggle against his own immortality. The film opens nationwide: TODAY: July 26, 2013.

Sony Music is pleased to announce the release of the original soundtrack, After Earth, directed by M.Night Shyamalan, featuring music written by Academy Award nominated film composer James Newton Howard and starring Will Smith and Jaden Smith.  The movie opens nationwide on May 31, 2013. In After Earth, a crash landing leaves teenager Kitai Raige (Jaden Smith) and his legendary father Cypher (Will Smith) stranded on Earth 1,000 years after cataclysmic events forced humanity's escape. With Cypher critically injured, Kitai must embark on a perilous journey to signal for help, facing uncharted terrain, evolved animal species that now rule the planet, and an unstoppable alien creature that escaped during the crash. Father and son must learn to work together and trust one another if they want any chance of returning home.  Columbia Pictures presents an Overbrook Entertainment/Blinding Edge Pictures production directed by M. Night Shyamalan from a screenplay by Gary Whitta and M. Night Shyamalan and a story by Will Smith, and produced by Caleeb Pinkett, Jada Pinkett Smith & Will Smith, James Lassiter, and M. Night Shyamalan.
 
The score is by James Newton Howard, one of the most respected cinema composers in Hollywood. His early works include the scores for Pretty Woman (1990) and The Prince Of Tides (1991) with Barbra Streisand, which led to his first Academy Award® nomination.  Howard has composed the music for more than 100 films and has been nominated for eight Academy Awards®. He's won an Emmy Award, a Critic's Choice Award and a Grammy® Award for Best Score Soundtrack Album for The Dark Knight (which he shared with Hans Zimmer). Well-known films on which Howard has worked include The Village (2004), King Kong (2005), Batman Begins (2005, with Hans Zimmer), I Am Legend (2007) and, more recently Green Lantern (2011), Snow White And The Huntsman (2012) and The Bourne Legacy (2012). Howard has scored all of M. Night Shyamalan's films since their first collaboration on The Sixth Sense in 1999. His versatility as a composer is apparent in After Earth, which contains adventure and action scenes, along with moving passages in a family drama, and an atmospheric universe of primal sounds that drive home the meaning of humanity's eviction from, and eventual return to, planet Earth.

Silver Linings Playbook, the newest film from director David O. Russel has been getting a lot of Oscar buzz since its release. The film follows recently released mental hospital patient Bradley Cooper as he struggles with his assimilation back into normal life. The cast of characters is unexpected, as is this score which reinforces Cooper's struggles with instability trying to get back on his feet. With tracks by The Alabama Shakes, Jessy J, and Mountain Man, as well as 2 Dave Brubeck Quartet cuts: West Side Story's 'Maria' and one from Brubeck called 'Unsquare Dance', the soundtrack rounds out with Stevie Wonder's 'My Cherie Amour' and the Les Paul/Mary Ford tune: 'The Moon of Manakoora'. 

Happy first day of summer! As the temperature rises (or in New York, jumps twenty degrees overnight) searching for an air-conditioned sanctuary may top your to-do list, and as a result, you may find yourself checking out the latest releases hitting your local cinema. As summer officially kicks off, Crossover Media is proud to spotlight four soundtracks from blockbuster films releasing this season. Prometheus
Director Sir Ridley Scott collaborates with Marc Streitenfeld to create a thrilling soundtrack for the Alien prequel. Twenty-five tracks feature a ninety-piece orchestra that recorded the entire album in one week to create a musical score that contributes to the unsettling but exciting sentiment of the film. Men in Black III
Having composed music for over thirty films, Danny Elfman is best known for composing music for the majority of Tim Burton's movies including Batman, Batman Returns, Edward Scissorhands and Beetlejuice. Elfman composed the score for the two previous Men In Black movies which earned him one of his Academy Award nominations. He is also known for his television work, composing the theme songs for The Simpsons and Desperate Housewives, and as the leader of the rock band Oingo Boingo. Nominated for 11 Grammy Awards, 4 Academy Awards, and 4 Golden Globe Awards, Elfman is often referred to as Hollywood's hottest film composer. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
When eleven-year-old Lincoln learns that his mother was killed by a supernatural creature, he embarks on a crusade against vampires. Music to match the horror and heroism of the story comes from Henry Jackman, who has worked on many of the best-known movies in recent years. His early career involved programming and additional composition for such hits as The Da Vinci Code, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, The Simpsons Movie and The Dark Knight, before moving on to be principal composer for Monsters vs. Aliens, Henri IV, Kick-Ass, X-Men: First Class and the animated feature Winnie The Pooh. The Amazing Spider-Man One of the biggest names in modern film music, James Horner, composed the score to this superhero blockbuster. As a distinguished orchestrator and conductor of orchestral music, Horner is noted for his skill in combining choral, electronic and instrumental effects in movie scores of which he has more than 100 to his credit. Horner is the composer of the best-selling orchestral film soundtrack of all time: Titanic (1997). Horner's music underlines both the exciting action of the film and its personal, touching, romantic moments. The film's director, Marc Webb, was seeking a composer to "create a score that felt massive and huge but also intimate and small." Webb succeeded in that search and found Horner whose music? expresses both grandeur and intimacy.   These four films combine action and adventure with soundtracks that will transcend you to another world and take your mind off the heat!