Ride of the Valkyries – Apocalypse Now
One of the most iconic pieces of music ever composed, Richard Wagner’s stirring war cry was first committed to paper in July 1851, as the opening of the third act of famous Norse opera Die Walküre. It’s appeared in numerous films and TV shows since (usually when someone’s about to get their head kicked in) but was put to best use by Francis Ford Coppola in his 1979 Vietnam War epic. Opening with a sequence of ominous, high-pitched strings, the piece provides the perfect backdrop to Lieutenant Kilgore’s assault on a Vietnamese village; a sequence made even more memorable by closing with one of the most famous lines in cinema – ‘I love the smell of napalm in the morning. Smells like… victory.’ Chilling stuff.
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Also sprach Zarathustra – 2001: A Space Odyssey
A tone poem penned by the renowned German composer at the end of the 19th century, the full version lasts somewhere in the region of half an hour. You’ll recognise the first minute and a half or so – a sombre fanfare accompanied by pounding timpani drums, building to a triumphant, climactic crescendo of horns and trumpets. The piece accompanies the close of the ‘dawn of man’ sequence of Stanley Kubrick’s mind-bending sci-fi, in which a haunting black monolith inspires a monkey to smash up some bones, signalling a key moment in the evolution of humanity. If you can look past the slightly ropey monkey suit, the addition of Strauss’ rousing soundtrack helps elevate the scene to one of the most poignant ever committed to film.
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The Thieving Magpie – A Clockwork Orange
Stanley Kubrick’s massively controversial 1971 film about bowler-hatted thugs is celebrated as much for its soundtrack as it is for its cinematography. Although main character Alex repeatedly professes that he prefers ‘a bit of the old Ludwig van’, one of the more memorable pieces of classical music in the film (and there are plenty) is an abridged overture from Gioachino Rossini’s The Thieving Magpie, a two-act opera originally composed by the Italian in the early 19th century. As it does throughout the film, the sophisticated strings of the piece jar uneasily with the on-screen violence, lending a dark and sinister air as Alex spontaneously lashes out at his partners in crime.
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Rhapsody in Blue – Manhattan
Given that it’s regularly been interpreted as a musical portrait of New York City, it’s hardly surprising that Woody Allen chose George Gershwin’s classic jazz and piano piece to accompany Manhattan, his 1979 comedy set in the Big Apple. The piece, composed by Gershwin back in 1924, can be heard playing over the film’s closing scenes, with the staccato-esque notes echoing shots of the city’s jagged, skyscraper-strewn landscape. Despite its popularity, the piece was in fact one of Gershwin’s hastier creations. The American pieced the song’s basic structure together in less than a month, before improvising much of the piano part during its debut performance.
See it now: http://bit.ly/edM5Nx
Morning Mood – Soylent Green
As the perfect musical embodiment of a tranquil sunrise, Edvard Grieg’s instantly recognisable composition has been borrowed by a huge number of movies, TV shows and even cartoons. Few have deployed it with such sinister effectiveness, however, as in Soylent Green, a 1973 sci-fi dystopia in which the planet’s population has spiralled out of control. The piece appears towards the end of the film (spoiler alert!) during a scene in which one of the film’s main characters checks into a suicide clinic, choosing Grieg’s music, as well as pieces by Tchaikovsky and Beethoven, as the soundtrack to his final moments.
See it now: http://bit.ly/glgZXx
Last Night of the Season: From Broadway to Hollywood takes place at 8pm on May 7 at Emirates Palace Auditorium. TicketsDhs120-Dhs650, www.timeouttickets.com
