Mahler in Space

An exploration of classical music on Star Trek.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

(This is a classic Superconductor post from 2008 that has been revised and updated, ten years after it first ran! Happy anniversary to me!)

Captain Jean-Luc-Picard (Patrick Stewart) records Mozart aboard the Enterprise-D.

In the fifty years that Star Trek has been on (and off) the air, classical music, pop music and opera have been an integral part of the franchise's journey. The original show featured space ballads written for the series and sung by Lt. Uhura (Nichelle Nichols). Several episodes showcased the skill of Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) on the "Vulcan lyre." Albums were released featuring the (questionable) vocal talents of Nimoy (who released five records!) and series star William Shatner, whose 1968 album The Transformed Man regularly makes all-time "worst" lists.

Concert Review: Saving the Galaxy (and the franchise)

The New York Philharmonic ends its Star Wars marathon. 
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Adam Driver as the villainous Kylo Ren in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Image © 2015 The Walt Disney Corporation used for promotional purposes only.

When Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Episode VII to fans) hit movie theaters in 2015, the franchise's fanbase had a right to be nervous. Would this new film, produced by Disney and set 30 years after the events of Return of the Jedi bring the Force back into balance? Or would it be another dark, turgid history lesson in the vein of the murky "Prequel Trilogy?" Happily, Force Awakens is the former, and the New York Philharmonic paid tribute to the next generation of Jedi with Saturday night's concert, the second of two complete performances of the John Williams score and the last in the orchestra's four-film cycle of Star Wars performances.

Concert Review: A Precise Hit Will Start a Chain Reaction

The New York Philharmonic plays Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Three ships came back: the Rebels at the start of the Battle of Yavin.
Image from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope © 1997 Lucasfilm Ltd./The Walt Disney Company.

There would be no Star Wars without the music of  John Williams. On Friday night, the composer's stirring opening music sent hairs standing on end as the New York Philharmonic gave its second performance of the complete orchestral score of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Their task: accompanying George Lucas' 1997 remastered "Special Edition" of the beloved 1977 science fiction classic. This concert series will continue later this month with The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi and the most recent "official" episode in the series: The Force Awakens.

Entry of the Xenomorphs into Valhalla

Wagner and Ridley Scott's Alien: Covenant
by Paul J. Pelkonen
"One wrong note eventually ruins the entire symphony."--Walter, Alien: Covenant

Piano android: Michael Fässbender in Alien: Covenant.
Photo © 2017 20th Century Fox.

The search for the meaning of mankind's existence may have inspired the creation of that greatest of operatic works, Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen. It also is a central thread of Alien: Covenant, the new film in the Alien franchise that serves as a sequel to the 2012 Prometheus and as a lead-in to the original 1979 horror classic Alien. Unexpectedly, it starts with...Wagner.

Robbery, Shootout, Revelation

Turning up the Heat with Elliot Goldenthal's soundtrack.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Robert De Niro as robber Neil McCauley in a still the Michael Mann film Heat.
Image © 1995 Regency Entertainment-Warner Bros.

I don't write much about film music on this blog. Sure, movies and so-called classical or art music have been joined at the hip since the heady Hollywood days of Franz Waxman and Erich Wolfgang Korngold. But in today's column I'd like to talk about composer Elliot Goldenthal, and the extraordinary soundtrack for Michael Mann's 1995 heist movie Heat.

Heat is more than just a cops-and-robbers story: it is an epic three-hour Los Angeles saga with an all-star cast (the leads are Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, along with a "laundry list" of skilled actors, many of them in tiny supporting parts) Shot entirely on location and taking place mostly at night (although De Niro's "crew" of robbers stages their two most spectacular thefts in daylight) it immerses you in the lives of both the crooks and the cops, exploring their characters with a depth that goes far beyond the usual formulas of the genre.

But what I really want to talk about is the music.