A musical about Apple founder Steve Jobs is coming to Los Angeles, courtesy of the Santa Fe Opera. The show, with music by composer Mason Bates, is scheduled to open in 2017, and will focus on Jobs’ entrepreneurial activities as well as his private life. Bates, who is also a successful electronic DJ, will collaborate […]
Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, the musical team behind the mega-hit Frozen, raise the curtain on a new stage production, “Up Here.” The romantic comedy gets its world premiere at the La Jolla Playhouse, where it runs through Sept. 6. Lopez co-wrote the music and lyrics for the “Book of Mormon” and “Avenue Q.” “Up […]
British blues-rocker Jamie N Commons is the hot artist of the moment for backing tracks, making his mark with commercials, on TV series and games. Karma, the tune he wrote for EA’s “Battlefield Hardline” game, is getting the most attention, landing on a fresh Hyundai commercial and the new trailer for HBO’s “Show Me a Hero,” and […]
A dictionary of foreign musical terms and handbook of orchestral instruments is the full text of Tom Wotten’s 1907 compendium. Not much has changed with regards to the terminology (although there is no digital section). Incredibly thorough reference guide provided by archive.org. Those who prefer a flip edition can find it here.
Clint Martinez, former drummer for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Lydia Lunch and the Dickies, among other influential L.A. bands, has expanded his repertoire to include commercials. Martinez composed the score for the memorable Ford Lincoln campaign featuring Matthew McConaughey. Interestingly, Martinez segued to Lincoln commercials via Lincoln films: he composed the score to the 2011 […]
The BBC’s “Sherlock,” starring Benedict Cumberbatch, will be showcased as part of an evening of musical work associated with the ingenious sleuth’s character through the years. On August 16, the Proms salutes a crime-fighting violin virtuoso who wrote a pioneering study of Dutch sacred music, tussled with a contralto from the Warsaw Opera and used Offenbach […]
Composer Michael Price lashes out at YouTube and Google for cutting into songwriter compensation in U.K. newspaper The Independent. Price won an Emmy for the BBC hit drama “Sherlock” and composed music for films including The Lord of the Rings to Quantum of Solace and The Inbetweeners. He accused YouTube of having a “gravitational pull” that results in reduced payments across […]
With Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation, composer Joe Kraemer becomes the fourth to reinvent the classic Lalo Schifrin score, which NPR describes as “a 1960s TV theme song that’s stayed permanently young.” Hear the fascinating backstory in this interview entitled “Four Composers, One (Nearly) Impossible Mission,” in which All Things Considered’s Terry Gross talks to […]
Suffragette, in which breakout director Sarah Gavron shepherds an all-star cast (Meryl Streep, Carey Mulligan, Helena Bonham Carter) in the story of foot soldiers of the early feminist movement. Alexander Desplat provides the score in this Focus Features release, due in theaters October 23.
Director Barry Levinson’s upcoming Bill Murray starrer, Rock the Kasbah, may borrow it’s title from a 1982 song by The Clash, but judging by the trailer it’s channeling the sounds of the ’70s, with David Bowie’s 1974 hit “Rebel, Rebel” backing the trailer, and mention of Murray himself performing Deep Purple’s “Smoke On the Water” in […]
