Jerry Goldsmith (1929-2004):

Jerry Goldsmith - First Knight CD soundtrack cover Jerry Goldsmith was a prolific and versatile composer who will be sadly missed. His name has appeared so often in film titles that one can be excused for thinking that he was the only composer on the movie scene, seemingly capable of crafting several quality scores a year. In total he created more than 200 soundtracks over his long career. As with others in his profession he started out in radio and TV, working on programmes such as "Gunsmoke" and "The Twilight Zone" (he was later to score "Twilight Zone: The Movie") and many others, before moving into the film scene learning his trade from the likes of Tedesco and Miklos Rozsa. But from about 1960 onwards he has worked steadily in the movie business with his tally of film scores now exceeding the 200 mark. Over this period he has amassed numerous awards and award nominations for his music. At the Oscar ceremonies he has frequently been unlucky as an "also ran" having only one the statuette once out of 17 Academy Award nominations. Nevertheless his music rarely fails to impress.

Unlike some composers, Goldsmith doesn't seem to have an immediately recognisable style and in fact seems capable of adopting a wide range of styles as the situation demands. This must surely be due in part to a great flexibility of approach, but it is also as a result of a willingness to experiment. That experimentation can be seen most clearly in his music for Planet of the Apes and "The Illustrated Man". He certainly seems to have set the scene for a number of younger composers following in his footsteps such as James Horner, Alan Silvestri and James Newton Howard. With familiarity, a number of Goldsmith's stylistic mannerisms become apparent though there is a greater breadth than with many composers. The percussive aspect Goldsmith brings to some of his music (for example in Total Recall) is often likened to that of the classical composer Bela Bartok.

Jerry Goldsmith - The Omen soundtrack CD cover Goldsmith's one Oscar win was for his landmark score for The Omen, a choral score implying the dark powers awakened by the black mass incantations of devil worshippers. The lighter family moments in the film seem more poignant when the rosy picture is subverted by some subtle cues both visual and musical that the evil still lurks there ready to surface. Other notable instances where Goldsmith's music has truly enhanced a film are his haunting theme for "Basic Instinct" which depicts the sultry femme fatale played by Sharon Stone and the fascination she arouses, and his score for "Alien" which evokes the vast loneliness of space where unknown menaces may lurk just around the corner.

Another highly regarded Goldsmith score is "Chinatown" which is amazing when you appreciate that the composer wrote this in 10 days. Apparently, the soundtrack originally commissioned from another composer had been rejected and Goldsmith was brought in to rescue the situation. Goldsmith has recounted in interviews that he had argued against a contemporary 30s sound to match the setting of the story, and on the spur of the moment had said he imagined something with 4 pianos, 4 harps, strings and a trumpet. He then delivered on this promise with a laid back jazzy sound, which while not authentic in a period sense, matches the mood of the story perfectly. Apart from the main theme much of the movie is thinly scored and almost improvisatory in feel, though elements of the theme serve to change the mood from laid back and mysterious to threatening and sultry, and finally some action as events unfold. Goldsmith's Jazz skills also contributed much to the mood of "L. A. Confidential".

Jerry Goldsmith - Basic Instinct soundtrack CD cover We must not neglect to mention another of Goldsmith's major contributions to Science Fiction, and that is the Star Trek franchise. The original movie (Star Trek: The Motion Picture), whose slow pacing and focus on visual effects, allowed the composer to let the music carry the sense of wonder while the new Enterprise is in dock ready for its maiden voyage. The main theme for this movie was later used for The Next Generation TV Series, and Goldsmith went on to score four more Star Trek movies in the series and also the theme for the Star Trek Voyager series.

One admirable quality which Goldsmith demonstrates is that he will champion the music of others. In particular he has acted as conductor recording albums of Alex North scores including soundtracks such as "Viva Zapata" and "The Agony and the Ecstasy" and the lost score of 2001: A Space Odyssey which the director Stanley Kubrick abandoned in favour of the now well-known soundtrack of classical music.

If you watch the films "Gremlins" and "Gremlins 2, the New Batch" which he scored, you may spot Goldsmith (a white-haired gentleman with trademark pony-tail) making brief cameo appearances and even speaking a line in the sequel. Jerry Goldsmith was also a good friend of composer and orchestrator Alexander Courage who is most famous for composing the theme for the original Star Trek series. Sadly Courage died earlier last year (May 2008). He orchestrated many of Goldsmith's films and composed the incidental music for many episodes of The Waltons, Star Trek and The Next Generation, as well as TV series such as Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and Lost in Space.

Films by Jerry Goldsmith:

TV themes and music by Jerry Goldsmith:

Note that the theme for "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." is in 5/4 time (5 beats in a bar) which is very unusual, but strangely the same as Lalo Schifrin's time signature for the theme tune for "Mission Impossible". Dave Grusin did the spin-off show "The Girl from Uncle" picking some ideas from Goldsmith.

See also Bernard Herrmann for other composers involved in the original Twilight Zone TV series.

Recommendations:

There are many CDs on the market of Goldsmith's music. The following reviews and recommendations are only a small selection from his vast output:

The "Frontiers" collection mentioned above was recorded with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, and I am particularly pleased to note Jerry's fondness for Scotland and working with the RSNO. In 1999, Goldsmith gave a series of concerts in Scotland to mark his 70th birthday and Our Review provides a synopsis of the programme and the sprinkling of anecdotes given at the Edinburgh concert. Jerry gives regular concerts which are worth looking out for, including one in London in 2001.

There is a nice looking web-site dedicated to Jerry Goldsmith at www.jerrygoldsmithonline.com.


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