Tag Archives: film music

VW goes to war (and the movies)

Posted on 18 November 2022 by mj263

When the Second World War broke out in 1939, Vaughan Williams had already been added to the Nazi’s hit list in the event of their successfully invading the UK. An ambulance driver in the First World War, Vaughan Williams was … Continue reading →

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And a very happy centenary…

Posted on 8 July 2022 by mj263

It’s not every year that you go to a blue plaque unveiling. My last was almost exactly 4 years ago, when I went to Salisbury to attend the unveiling of a plaque in memory of the composer, John Marsh, following … Continue reading →

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Spanning the decades – 20th century

Posted on 13 August 2021 by mj263

I was musing the other day, while listening to the Early Music Show on Radio 3, about what it would be like to live in another time period. What would I miss? What would I enjoy? This particular episode of … Continue reading →

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It’s a crime

Posted on 16 October 2020 by mj263

October 2020 marks the centenary of the publication of Agatha Christie’s first novel, The mysterious affair at Styles. Not only did it mark the entrance of one of the world’s most famous literary detectives, Hercule Poirot, but it catapulted the … Continue reading →

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Celebrating the unknown

Posted on 28 August 2020 by mj263

As a music librarian, one of the major parts of my job is answering reader enquiries. They come in all sorts of ways, in happier times face-to-face, but principally via email. It may sound surprising, perhaps even counter-intuitive, but my … Continue reading →

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Molto animato

Posted on 13 December 2019 by mj263

For our latest exhibition in the Anderson Room, we are celebrating that most festive of ballets, The Nutcracker, with two selection cases of items, including an edition published to commemorate the inclusion of The Nutcracker in Disney’s 1940 classic Fantasia; … Continue reading →

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From the back row of the stalls: Hans Keller and film music

Posted on 21 April 2017 by sw508

“In its relation to its audiences, film music is the most disquieting problem child of contemporary art (the stress being not only on ‘problem’, but also on ‘child’).” So begins an unpublished article written by Hans Keller in August 1947 … Continue reading →

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To celebrate, to commemorate: Alex North

Posted on 4 December 2015 by mj263

Question: What do one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century, Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable’s final film appearance, and an unused score for one of Stanley Kubrick’s best known films have in common? Answer: the composer, Alex North (1905-1991), … Continue reading →

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Deo gracias

Posted on 23 October 2015 by mj263

Some years ago I was motoring up from the South of France, trying my best to get to Calais before French lorry drivers blockaded the port. It was a particularly grey and foggy day just around this time of year. … Continue reading →

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Blockbuster

Posted on 4 September 2015 by mj263

This weekend, 5th and 6th September, as part of the Blossom Music Festival (the summer home of the Cleveland Orchestra) there will be a blockbuster tribute to the Hollywood composer John Williams. The programme includes many of John Williams’ classics … Continue reading →

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