Ralph Vaughan Williams - Sinfonia Antartica
If ever you wanted music that described man struggling against all the odd's in the coldest bleakest environment possible, this is it!,Brilliant stuff and an influence on John Williams by his own admission.
It plays at around 40 minutes over five movements (not much different from some of Williams,Goldsmith or Horner's musical running times), Oh yeah, and it was originally composed for the film 'Scott of the Antartic' starring John Mills!

Listen, I hope you'll forgive me here, i was going to give you a secound one (by Prokoviev) But I'm suffering with a nasty Flu bug at the moment and I need bed,
perhap's someone else would like to enlighten?

I hope I'm not sounding condascending, my intention is only to enlighten!

jeez, I feel spacey!......

I LOVE much classical music, and do you know what my experience has taught me? Russians rule! Prokofiev, Tsaikovsky (yes, I know I screwed up the spelling), Mussorgsky, Shostakovich ... here is a brief sampling of my recommendations:

PROKOFIEV
Romeo & Juliet
Symphony No. 5
Peter and the Wolf
(and of course, his actual film scores)

SHOSTAKOVICH
Symphony No. 5

MUSSORGSKY
Night on Bald Mountain
Boris Gudenov

STRAVINSKI
Firebird Suite

And BTW, "Symphony Antarctica" is spectacular! And it acually IS quasi-film music. Also great is Bernard Herrmann's "Moby Dick" cantada.

The CD is comprised of terrific excerpts from various big, booming classical works, each of them "assigned" to one or another dinosaurs. The concept is purely fanciful -- why does this sound more like a triceratops than that one sounds more like an allosaur? -- but it's a great listen and it's full of stuff even the casual listener has probably heard before. The wonderful "Montagues and Capulets" from ROMEO & JULIET is on there, and previously I'd only been able to drool over it in some dumb damn car commercial.

"Pictures from an Exhibition" is a wonderful piece that's clearly inspired a LOT of later film music, in particular one of my favorites, Maurice Jarre's ENEMY MINE.

And if you want to ease into it from another angle, Bernard Herrmann, Erich Wolfgang Korngold and Miklos Rosza wrote a lot of concert works, too ...

Oh yeah, Timster! Feel better, pal!

I don't have all his symphonies yet, but what I do have sounds quite film-like.

Symphony #2, "Resurrection" is basically a 90-minute musing on death and the end of the world, which hits seemingly impossible emotional highs along the way.

Symphony #6, "Tragic" first movement's main theme is a film-like military march coupled with a rapturous theme to represent Mahler's wife. Fourth movement is a 30-minute affair that details Mahler's prediction of his own death.

H, Thanks for the good wording up,I doubt if I'll post much untill my head feels less murky, It's amazing how fast these flu things can come on...in my case,halfway through writting this thread last night.

Wedge, on your keyboard press : then press ( and then you'll have it!

I thank Thor for the above knowledge.

How could you mention Mahler and NOT mention the Third Symphony?!? It's only the most exciting piece of music ever written! (OK, maybe I'm giving in to a little hyperbole.)

But, honestly, anyone . . . ANYONE who is a film music fan and wants to hear some fantastic Mahler should do themselves a favor and put on a recording of the Third Symphony. I absolutely GUARANTEE you that from the very first measure, you will be hooked!! The opening statement by the trombones is worthy of any epic motion picture ever made.

And, as an added bonus, if you listen within the next 30 minutes, you can also hear the glorious last movement. It is one of Mahler's most inspired movements. It has several "intermediate" climaxes, but I promise you, if you make it all the way to the end, you will want to stand up and shout!! It's that good.

Sorry to spew all over the place, but can you tell I'm a little passionate about this piece?

Jonathan

Very filmicky, although perhaps somewhat more "intense" or rather "dense"...

I'm also going to suggest Edvard Grieg's Peer Gynt. You're all surely familiar with "Morning Mood" and "Mountain King," but there are lots of other great pieces in it like "Ase's Death" and all the fabulous dance pieces.

And what about Copland?! For starters, get Erich Kunzel's Copland compilation.

The afore-mentioned "Jurassic Classics" is a good starter CD, too.

There was also an interesting compilation recently called "Classical Music for People who Hate Classical Music," but I don't remember what was on it...

Thanks for alerting me to #3! I'll either buy or order a copy this weekend. I don't have most of his symphonies - I'm missing 3,4,5,9,10,and Das Lied von der Erde. How's #5?

Oh, and here are some more things on his other symphonies:

#7: definitely the weirdest of his I've heard so far. The first movement's main theme is basically the A.Courage Star Trek fanfare. Most of it is not that easy to listen to, although he uses Nachtmusik as the main concept of the symphony.

Since I've been listening to classical music as long as film scores, and because I performed in concert choir in college (the choir was of semi-professional standing), I think of both kinds of music together. Film music is getting a lot more serious attention as a major style of music, which makes me now believe that the music majors years ago in college didn't know a thing when they put down film scores.

Favorite works:
Holst - Planets (cond. Boult, NPO, about 1967)
Durufle - Requim
Beethoven - 9th (yes, most certainly definitely, cond. Reiner, Chicago, 1960)

Thor, Have you heard "La Cathedrale engloutie" a piece that is rarely on Debussy compilations, 7.44 of subdued beautific power!
After 'prelude/faune' this is my favorite piece by the french master.

----BEGIN COPY----

With everyone talking about music for the upcoming Lord of the Rings movies, I think it might be interesting to listen to another musical interpretation of Tolkien's work. There is a symphony for symphonic band, Symphony no. 1: The Lord of the Rings, by Dutch composer Johan de Meij. It is in 5 movements. 1.Gandalf (The Wizard), 2. Lothloričn (The Elvenwood), 3. Gollum (Sméagol), 4. Journey in the Dark (a. The Mines of Moria, b. The Bridge of Khazad-Dűm), and 5. Hobbits. It was completed in 1988 and won 1st prize in the 1989 Sudler International Wind Band Composition. The piece, as I mentioned, is written for symphonic band (aka wind band, wind orchestra), which consists of the wind, brass, and percussion instruments of the orchestra with euphoniums (baritone horns) and saxophones. The work is a large Romantic epic with several themes for various characters, including a bold, brassy fanfare for Gandalf, a theme for the creature Gollum voiced by soprano saxophone, and a cheerful folk tune for the hobbits. I have a live recording of the Symphonic Wind Orchestra St. Michael of Thorn performing it, but a few recordings can be found at online music stores: "The Lord of the Rings" (performed by the Dutch Royal Military Band conducted by Pierre Kuipjers on Ottavo OTRC 18924), a CD (not sure of the title) performed by the Danish Concert Band conducted by Jorgen Jensen (on Rondogramofon RCD 8346), and "The Lord of the Rings" (performed by the Ensemble Vents et Percussion Quebec conducted by Rene Joly on Atma ACD 22139). I haven't heard the other pieces on these disks so can't describe them, but LotR is about 40 minutes long, which is longer than many score albums. I haven't read Tolkien's stories so I can't comment on how well de Meij captures the feel of the books, but it is a good standalone piece of Music, nonetheless, and much of it sounds like it could fit well into an epic film score.

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Also. W. Francis McBeth's 5-movement suite "Of Sailors and Whales: Five Scenes from Melville", also for symphonic band/wind orchestra, is also quite good.

[This message has been edited by Kris Koon (edited 22 January 2000).]

Visit his homepage at: http://www.stormworld.com

Ravel aphnis & Chloe
Montreal Symphony
conducted by Charles Dutoit
London

Schnittke: Faust Cantata
Malmo Symphony Orchestra
conducted by James DePreist
BIS

Gubaidulina: Offertorium
conducted by James DePreist
BIS

Varese: Ameriques and Arcana
conducted by Kent Nagano
ERATO

Messiaen: Turangalila Symphony
conducted by Richard Chailly
LONDON

I would post some of my own...but they have all been takin

dave

I'm still looking for it?!

Peter Grimes: absolutely; one of my favourite operas. (Horner ripped off one of the "Sea Interludes" in Natty Gann...the scene where she meets the wolf in the woods).

Billy Budd: definitely; very exciting 3rd Act, Scene 1 with Goldsmith like ostinato figure anticipating climax. Marvellous use of male chorus.

"Salome" by Richard Strauss. Critics are split on this one: those who claim it be one of the 20th Cent. opera jewels, and those who find it crass and noisy. But, I must admit, I adore the orchestrations. Has one of the all time bloodiest endings. The music says it all in those final, chaotic, orchestral crashes. Get the early George Solti recording on London with Briget Neilson.

The prologue, bacchanale and finale from Saint Saens' "Samson & Delihla".

The prologue from Boito's Mephistophole.

Lacrymosa from Berlioz's Requiem.

Prologue from "Boris Godunov" by Mussorgsky.

Franz Schreker's "Der Ferne Klang". If it were not for his untimely death his name would be as well known as R. Strauss's today.

Penderecki's "Awakening of Jacob" and "Utrenya", amongst others.

Allan Pettersson's Symphony No 7.

Durufle's Requiem

as well as

Bax: Symphony #1; and
Howells: Hymnus Paradisi.

Fanfare for the Millenium & Symphony No. 1 "Idavoll" by Jaz Coleman.

You may be saying right about now, "Who?"

Jaz Coleman is/was a member of the rock band Killing Joke, but he is also a skilled orchestrator and composer. He has worked on numerous projects with Anne Dudley and has arranged a number of "symphonic rock albums," creating the best classical crossovers you can buy (I have his Pink Floyd CD... very impressive).

Fanfare for the Millenium and Symphony No. 1 are his first completely original works released, both on the same CD. His music isn't new or original at all, but it's great listening nonetheless.

Anyway, back to Lord of the Rings, check out the links to Tower Records below. They have audio clips.
http://www.towerrecords.com/product.asp?pfid=1376524
http://www.towerrecords.com/product.asp?pfid=1369016

Samuel Barber:
Essays 1 and 2 for Orchestra. These are orcheastral powerhouse pieces, only to be played back at extremely high volume. Excellent performances by the Baltimore Symphony under David Zinman can be found on Argo 436 288-2

Alfred Schnittke:
Concerto Grosso No.4/ Symphhony No. 5: one and the same piece, oddly. This has some of THE absolute coolest orchestrations, like in Mvt III, which begins in the lowest register of the orchestra and slowly builds the tensions and then explodes like the best horror scores, the next 10 minutes is like a nightmare building to a HUGE Mahlerian 12-tone (minus one) orchestral scream.
Unrelenting, yet so rewarding, with its references to past composers like Mahler.

Einojuhani Rautavaara:
I would kinda like to see a piece of his interpreted by the Disney animators for a Fantasia-like movie. it'd be interesting.

Alan Hovhaness (RIP):
Mysterious Mountain: scored exactly the way it sounds, mysterious, mesmerizing.

Messiaen:
Quartet for the End of Time
Concert la quatre
Chronochromie
Illumination of the Beyond (or something like that. the title's in French: Vingt Regards or some such..)

Henryk Mikolaj Gorecki:
Symphony No 3. This was a bestseller for years. Remained obscure for 20 years before the abovementioned Baltimore Symphony and David Zinman recorded it. It's truly magnificent. A bit repetitive, but what about minimalism isn't repetitive?

and I have to second the Mathis der Maler by Hindemith mentioned above. Spectacular work from an underrated composer.

John Adams:
Harmonielehre
Fearful Symmetry
The Wound Dresser
Violin Concerto
Shaker Loops

Shostakovich:
don't forget about his Symphony No 8. the fast movement is incredible. Arguably his most important works are the 4th and 5th symphonies, too. And string quartet No 8.