Unsung 'Cinematic Symphonies': Symphonies which sound like film music

[thalbergmad]

Listening to Bloch and watchig Ben Hur is completely compatible.

Thal

[MartinH]

Surprised that the Gliere 3rd hasn't been mentioned. I've often thought that it would make a compelling soundtrack to some Russian Folk tale based film. But even on its own, the epic scale of the score is thrilling.

[Alan Howe]

Absolutely! Spot-on!

What about Alfven's 4th?

[Ilja]

If I might make some suggestions:
- Bernhard Zweer's Third Symphony, and particularly the second half of the third movement, always struck me as very cinematic.
- The Finale to Kees Dopper's Seventh Symphony. In fact, I once used this as music for a film about the Dutch Afsluitdijk (the dyke connecting Holland to Friesland, completed in 1933) I made as a student. But it is intended as an anti-war protest and listening to the final march, you can understand why.
- Charles Tournemire's Fifth Symphony, particularly the middle movement - a fantastic evocation of the countryside.
- Gerhard Schjelderup's Brand. Of course, it is intended as dramatic music, and I defy anyone to listen to it without somehow seeing a story unfold before their mind's eye.

[TerraEpon]

Hausegger's Nature Symphony is an obvious entry here.

[Alan Howe]

...as is Marx's Herbstsymphonie.

[minacciosa]

Marx; really? It contains modernisms clearly associated with Schreker, a composer who remains out of bounds here. This is a different kind of romanticism, one that bears foreign and modern influences. So maybe things are loosening up here naturally.

[jerfilm]

Well, I have used bits and pieces of Marx's works for several home videos.   And I thought they worked quite effectively.

Jerry

[Alan Howe]

It contains modernisms clearly associated with Schreker, a composer who remains out of bounds here. This is a different kind of romanticism, one that bears foreign and modern influences. So maybe things are loosening up here naturally.

Well, Marx's Herbstsymphonie is clearly a late-romantic work - and it has been discussed many times here.

And Schreker's not out of bounds here either - the discussion was never about his gorgeous orchestration, but rather the lack of melodic interest which characterises his vocal writing.

[Alan Howe]

Any more suggestions as to possible 'cinematic' symphonies?

[Ilja]

I don't think Marx' over-saturated orchestration would make for very good film music, to be honest; it simply takes up too much attention to allow for any other story-telling.


Which leads to the question of what is 'cinematic'. The general consensus here appears to be that it means 'monumental' or 'epic' rather than anything else. To me, that seems rather narrow; I would suggest that 'evocativeness' is a better criterium. An example: the finale of Ludolf Nielsen's Symphony of Joy (No. 2) is not epic at all, but it is very succesful (for me, at least) in conjuring up images. A piece such as Schubert's C Major quintet falls in the same category (and has been used in many film scores).

[Alan Howe]

Good point well made, Ilja. Thanks.

[alberto]

I would suggest the "Sinfonia sopra una canzone d'Amore" by Nino Rota.
Despite the year of composition (1947) the work is openly tonal and unashamedly romantic.
Immediately after the composition the composer used one movement (with amendments, and for piano and orch.) in the movie "The Legend of The Mountain Glass" (there is a Naxos recording with Philip Fowke).
Several years later Rota reworked some material for the (much more famous) movie "The Leopard".
The "Sinfonia" complete exists on a Chandos CD; it may be heard on You Tube in a version by the disappered label "Nuova Era".

[Dr Gradus]

Is Bax unsung enough? Surely he's post-Romantic enough, and though some of the tone-poems are still around when was the last time a symphony was on a concert programme?

I have to say that for me the Korngold, while it may be "cinematic" enough, isn't "symphonic" enough - when I played it I found it structurally unsatisfying. I have the same problem with the Violin Concerto. But I accept that is probably my problem rather than his...

[sdtom]

Any more suggestions as to possible 'cinematic' symphonies?

Sorry I missed out on most of the discussion because this is something that I do know a little about. I had a website at one time called Golden Scores but it died for lack of interest.

I think that the key composer who fits into the mold is Korngold who wrote wonderful scores for Warner Brothers in the 30's and 40's such as Robin Hood, Sea Hawk, and Devotion which all use material from his classical works. He stole from himself as you would say. He continued the style of Wagner and Strauss and having fresh ideas expanded upon them. He is a prime example and fits on this forum although in recent years he has become quite popular and is no longer unsung in my opinion.

Miklos Rozsa used his violin concerto as the soundtrack for the film The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes. Vaughn Williams Sinfonia Antarctica appears in the British film Scott of the Antarctic. Philip Sainton's work The Island was the basis for the score to Moby Dick. Others that could be included are The Red Pony (Copland) and The Devil and Daniel Webster (Herrmann).
Tom