Movies and Classical Music
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Classical
Hollywood used classical music. Now, orchestras use Hollywood music.
Classical music is not dead.
Movies with live orchestras are popular now.
These concerts help classical music in Australia.
What is the best classical music?
People like Star Wars and Pirates of the Caribbean with live orchestras.
Watching a movie with a live orchestra is not new.
In the 19th century, music came first, then film.
How Hollywood used classical music
Before movie theaters, people went to opera houses.
Some people did not watch the performance at the opera house.
Richard Wagner built a theater in Bayreuth.
Wagner's theater was like a movie theater.
Wagner changed classical music.
He introduced the leitmotif, a musical idea for a person or place.
This idea helped film composers later.
Early film came from variety shows and fairs with music.
In the 1930s, Hollywood wanted to be more serious and used classical music.
They asked Erich Korngold to write a soundtrack.
Korngold was a composer who liked Wagner's music.
Korngold went to Hollywood to say no, but then he said yes.
Korngold wrote music for The Adventures of Robin Hood.
Korngold was one of the first famous composers to work in Hollywood.
He wrote music for adventure movies.
Korngold helped other composers like John Williams.
The screen music industry today
Jessica Wells works with Hollywood composers.
Wells is a composer and orchestrator.
She worked on Happy Feet and How to Train Your Dragon.
How to Train Your Dragon is very popular with live orchestras.
Wells helps composers with their music.
She makes sure the music is right for the players.
Wells likes working in the screen music industry.
She worked with the London Symphony Orchestra.
Bringing the screen to symphonic orchestra concerts
In the 1920s, live orchestras played with silent films in Australia.
This stopped in the 1930s with synchronized sound.
It took 50 years for film and live orchestras to come together again.
Dan Golding talks about classical music and film.
In the 1970s, orchestras played Star Wars music.
This was not official, but it became very popular.
Around 2010, film companies worked with orchestras officially.
Conductor Nicholas Buc conducts films with live orchestras.
Buc talks about scores in films with Dan Golding.
He conducted Psycho and Pixar films.
Now, symphony orchestras play blockbuster films.
Hear the best soundtracks for film and television.
Films with live orchestras are common now.
Conducting a film requires special skills.
The music must be precise, with good timing.
Buc uses a screen to help him conduct.
The music can be hard and long, but also rewarding.
The reward for musicians and audiences is great.
Nicholas Buc conducts film concerts in Australia.
When the film and score are good, it is electric.
These films help people experience a symphony orchestra for the first time.
This can introduce people to other classical music, like female composers.
Jessica Wells works on a documentary about Mozart's sister.
The documentary will be paired with other works by female composers.
These concerts are important on their own, says Golding.
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