The Cinema - where classical music went to die

In this episode of the podcast I discuss a major venue for classical music, one that brings it to millions of people whatever their musical tastes.

I’m talking about the movies.

In the not so distance past newly composed classical music debuted at concerts. But today most of it has a hearing as background music to a film. Many composers like Star Wars composer John Williams are known only through their movie scores.

Is the fact that composers are relegated to movie background music a good thing? I discuss the pros and cons in my new podcast and also the trend of producing movies like “Moulin Rouge” which take place a hundred years ago but use contemporary music rather than period music to create an effect.

I also provide some startling information on P. T. Barnum I bet you never heard.

Upcoming podcasts include Bach’s B-minor Mass — the greatest work you never listened to and a unit on the CIA’s influence on modern music.

Thanks in advance for listening,

Roger Rudenstein