String Orchestra of Brooklyn Recontextualizes Film Scores, Revealing Hidden Depths
The String Orchestra of Brooklyn, under the artistic direction of Eli Spindel, presented a compelling case for the artistic merit of film scores this past Saturday at the Church of St. Luke and St. Matthew in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. The concert, notable for its absence of accompanying visuals, invited the audience to experience these works purely as music, revealing layers of complexity often obscured by their narrative context.
Spindel’s programming demonstrated a clear understanding of both the craft of film scoring and the broader musical landscape. The selection wasn’t simply a collection of recognizable themes, but a thoughtfully curated exploration of different approaches to cinematic music, showcasing both well-known composers and those whose contributions are less frequently celebrated outside the industry.
The evening commenced with a suite from Ennio Morricone’s score for John Carpenter’s The Thing. This choice was particularly intriguing given Carpenter’s well-documented practice of composing his own synthesizer scores. While Morricone was credited and specifically requested by Carpenter, much of his work ultimately went unused or was heavily augmented. Spindel and the orchestra presented the music Morricone actually wrote, and the result was described as “terrific,” possessing an eerie, chilling, and atmospheric quality. “Contamination” featured frenetic, unsynchronized pizzicati, while “Wait” evoked the influence of Jerry Goldsmith’s score for Alien. “Solitude” was constructed as a Bartókian fugue, and “Despair” carried an icy, Shostakovich-like tension, perfectly mirroring the film’s bleak Antarctic setting and the characters’ existential dread.
The performance of Morricone’s work was presented as a revelation, akin to discovering a “long-lost modernist masterpiece by a previously unknown artist.” This initial success, however, wasn’t fully matched by the subsequent piece, Hildur Guðnadóttir’s “For Petra” from Tár. The critique wasn’t leveled at the quality of the music itself, but rather at what it represented in the evolution of filmmaking. Guðnadóttir’s work, rooted in the drone-based style pioneered by Jóhann Jóhannsson, has become increasingly prevalent in contemporary film scoring. While effective within the context of Tár, as a standalone instrumental piece, it was described as the “sonic equivalent of the trend in tastefully grey, expensive interior design” – technically proficient but lacking a distinct personality.
The concert took a compelling turn after intermission with a suite by Toru Takemitsu, arranged for strings from three of his film scores. Acknowledged as a potentially underappreciated 20th-century composer, Takemitsu demonstrated a remarkable ability to adapt his style to the demands of each project. The suite revealed his professionalism and craft, showcasing music that, while serving the needs of the directors, didn’t necessarily reflect his typically avant-garde approach. The orchestra’s performance brought to life the elegant lounge music for a documentary on boxer José Torres, the impressionistic mourning of “Funeral Music” from Black Rain, and the fantastic waltz from the psychological horror film The Face of Another.
The evening culminated with Bernard Herrmann’s Fahrenheit 451 Suite, composed for François Truffaut’s 1966 adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s novel. Herrmann, considered by many to be the greatest film composer of the 20th century, was praised for his imaginative and flexible style, while maintaining a distinctive voice. The suite’s cool surface, despite the novel’s dystopian themes, was achieved through a combination of strings and bells, creating a glassy and icy soundscape. The cues were described as existing “above the narrative experience, looking down on the action.”
The performance of Herrmann’s suite was singled out as the highlight of the evening, demonstrating the potential for film scores to stand on their own as independent works of art. The concert as a whole underscored the importance of taste and imagination in elevating film music beyond its functional role, transforming it into a compelling concert experience.
The String Orchestra of Brooklyn will perform works by Herrmann, Korngold, Tchaikovsky, and Berlioz on at 8 p.m. Further information can be found at thesob.org.
