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Movie Music UK Awards 2024

February 7, 2025 Leave a comment

2024 has been a difficult, challenging year for multiple reasons, but one aspect that continues to impress was the overall quality of its film music. I heard more than 800 scores in 2024 – either as a soundtrack album, in movie context, or both – and I ended up rating 98 of them **** or better, a decent rate of return by anyone’s standards.

Television music and video game music continues to exceed expectations, and at this point scores written for those media can easily stand shoulder-to-shoulder with traditional film scores – and often exceed them in terms of quality. I always say that there is great film music being written all over the world if you are prepared to put in a little effort to seek it out, but this year I’m very happy to also report that five of my ten nominees for Score of the Year were for major, mainstream Hollywood productions, and all of them feature the big, bold, thematic orchestral writing that drew me to the genre in the first place.

These are joined by a trio of excellent scores from the UK, from France, and from Poland, as well as the TV and game scores I previously mentioned, while my winners and nominees in the various genres are taken from an enormous cross-section of world cinema, and include films and TV shows from locales as disparate as Finland, South Korea, Hungary, Japan, Spain, China, Sweden, and more. After going through what it has gone through over the past few years film music’s resurgence continues, and I hope that this article allows you to discover some gems that catch your ear and touch your heart.

So, without further ado, here are my choices for the best scores of 2024! Read more…

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Academy Award Nominations 2024

January 23, 2025 Leave a comment

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) have announced the nominations for the 97th Academy Awards, honoring the best in film in 2024.

In the Best Original Score category, the nominees are:

  • VOLKER BERTELMANN for Conclave
  • DANIEL BLUMBERG for The Brutalist
  • KRIS BOWERS for The Wild Robot
  • CLÉMENT DUCOL and CAMILLE DALMAIS for Emilia Pérez
  • JOHN POWELL and STEPHEN SCHWARTZ for Wicked

These are the first Oscar nominations for Blumberg, Bowers, Ducol, and Dalmais, although Bowers is a 2-time Oscar nominee in a different category – Best Documentary Short – which he won in 2023 for The Last Repair Shop. It is the third nomination for Bertelmann (who previously won for All Quiet on the Western Front in 2022), the second nomination for Powell, and the fourth nomination for Schwartz (who previously won for Pocahontas in 1995). Schwartz also has five previous nominations as a songwriter, with wins for Pocahontas in 1995 and The Prince of Egypt in 1998.

In the Best Original Song category, the nominees are:

  • ABRAHAM ALEXANDER and ADRIAN QUESADA for “Like a Bird” from Sing Sing
  • CLÉMENT DUCOL, CAMILLE DALMAIS, and JACQUES AUDIARD for “El Mal” from Emilia Pérez
  • CLÉMENT DUCOL and CAMILLE DALMAIS for “Mi Camino” from Emilia Pérez
  • ELTON JOHN, BERNIE TAUPIN, BRANDI CARLILE, and ANDREW WATT for “Never Too Late” from Elton John: Never Too Late
  • DIANE WARREN for “The Journey” from The Six Triple Eight

The winners of the 97th Academy Awards will be announced on March 2, 2025.

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Los Angeles Wildfires

January 18, 2025 2 comments

by Jonathan Broxton

As many of you will have noticed, there has been a slight pause in new film music reviews recently. My mind has somewhat been preoccupied with other matters, so I thought I would just take a moment to explain, for anyone who is unaware.

Los Angeles was ravaged by two devastating wildfires last week. At the time of writing 28 people have died, more than 12,000 structures have been destroyed or damaged, and more than 200,000 people had to be evacuated from an area of more than 60 square miles.

The Palisades fire destroyed much of the city of Malibu, and the Los Angeles neighborhood of Pacific Palisades, and forced people to evacuate all the way down into Santa Monica. Similarly, the Eaton fire destroyed much of the city of Altadena and affected people in nearby Pasadena. There were also smaller fires in the Hollywood Hills, in the northern part of the San Fernando Valley near Sylmar, and in the western part of the San Fernando Valley near Woodland Hills (close to where I live), which also resulted in mass evacuations, although thankfully very little damage was done to property in those latter three.

I am fine, my family is fine, and my property is fine, but nevertheless it has been a mentally exhausting week not conducive to film music criticism. With the Santa Ana winds howling across the bone-dry terrain that has not seen rain in nine months, you spend days in a constant state of anxiety, worrying whether a new fire is going to crop up near you, forcing to you to evacuate, threatening everything.

Having lived in the greater Los Angeles area since 2005 I am very familiar with the cycle of wildfires that are a part of everyday life here, but even knowing that they are a natural – and sometimes necessary – phenomenon doesn’t lessen the impact of such devastation when you see it happening in front of your eyes, in places you know and love. I know dozens of people who have been affected by this: many people have lost their homes, all their possessions, sometimes their entire communities, and it’s just horrifying.

Wealth and status are not respected by these fires: yes, some multi-millionaire celebrities lost their homes, but hundreds and hundreds of everyday working people have also seen their lives go up in flames, especially in Altadena, and the impact of this is devastating no matter who you are. These people have families, children, animals. Many of them came from humble beginnings and worked for decades to build these lives for themselves, only to see it turn to ash in a matter of hours.

Many people in the film music industry have been affected by this – not just composers whose names we know, but many working musicians and technical staff behind the scenes who all contribute significantly to the music we love so much – and at this point they need all the help they can get to rebuild. From what I have been reading online, one of the best charities to donate to appears to be the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences’ MusiCares foundation, and so if you are able to do so, and if you feel so inclined, I would recommend donating to them here: https://musicares.org/. There is also an excellent website, Media Musicians United, which gives information about other resources for affected individuals, and other opportunities for charitable donations, which can be found here: https://www.mediamusiciansunited.com/

We at Movie Music UK are heartbroken at these events, and on behalf of myself and Craig we wish everyone who has been impacted strength and hope going forward.

Categories: News

BAFTA Nominations 2024

January 15, 2025 Leave a comment

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has announced the nominations for the 78th British Academy Film Awards, honoring the best in film in 2024.

In the Best Original Music category, which is named in memory of the film director Anthony Asquith, the nominees are:

  • VOLKER BERTELMANN for Conclave
  • DANIEL BLUMBERG for The Brutalist
  • KRIS BOWERS for The Wild Robot
  • ROBIN CAROLAN for Nosferatu
  • CLÉMENT DUCOL and CAMILLE DALMAIS for Emilia Pérez

This is the third BAFTA nomination for Bertelmann, who previously won for All Quiet on the Western Front in 2022. All the other nominees are first time nominees.

The winners of the 78th BAFTA Awards will be announced on 16 February, 2025.

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Golden Globe Winners 2024

January 5, 2025 Leave a comment

The Golden Globe Foundation (GGF) has announced the winners of the 82nd Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and American television of 2024.

In the Best Original Score category composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross won the award for their upbeat electro-pop inspired score for Challengers, director Luca Guadagnino’s spicy drama starring Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, and Mike Feist, about a love triangle that develops over several years in the world of professional tennis. This is the third Golden Globe win for Reznor and Ross – they previously won for The Social Network in 2010, and for Soul in 2020. In the acceptance speech Ross, speaking on behalf of both men, said:

“Thank you to Golden Globes, this really means a lot, particularly in this special moment. First I’d like to thank my best friend, my musical partner, the great talent Trent Reznor. The music that revealed itself as the voice to Challengers never felt like a safe choice, but it always felt like the right one. I’d like to thank the maestro, the visionary director, and our friend Luca Guadagnino – where is he? – for his unwavering support and commitment to the idea. In fact I’d like to thank everyone that helped bring this film to life, and to acknowledge Amy Pascal, Rachel O’Connor, and the fabulous Zendaya, for their encouragement. To be honest we always we thought we’d get the call – ‘can you just turn it down a little bit’ – but it never came, and here we are. Lastly, we want to thank the most important people in our lives, our wives and our children. Mariqueen [Maandiq], Trent loves you. Claudia [Sarne], I love you. And all the kids, we love you. Thank you! ”

The other nominees were Volker Bertelmann for Conclave, Daniel Blumberg for The Brutalist, Kris Bowers for The Wild Robot, Clément Ducol and Camille Dalmais for Emilia Pérez, and Hans Zimmer for Dune: Part 2

In the Best Original Song category, the winners were Clément Ducol, Camille Dalmais, and Jacques Audiard for “El Mal” from the audacious Mexican drug cartel musical drama Emilia Pérez.

The other nominees were Brittany Amaradio (Delacey), Jordan K. Johnson, Stefan Johnson, Maren Morris, Michael Pollack, and Ali Tamposi for “Kiss The Sky” from The Wild Robot; Clément Ducol and Camille Dalmais for “Mi Camino” from Emilia Pérez; Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, and Luca Guadagnino for “Compress/Repress” from Challengers; Robbie Williams, Freddy Wexler, and Sacha Skarbek for “Forbidden Road” from Better Man; and Andrew Wyatt, Miley Cyrus, and Li Lykke Zachrisson (Lykke Li) for “Beautiful That Way” from The Last Showgirl.

SCL Award Nominations 2024

December 18, 2024 Leave a comment

The Society of Composers and Lyricists (SCL) has announced the nominations for the sixth annual SCL Awards, honoring the best in film and television music in 2024. The SCL is the premier professional trade group for composers, lyricists, and songwriters working in the motion picture, television, and game music industry, and is headquartered in Los Angeles. The nominees are:

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A STUDIO FILM

  • VOLKER BERTELMANN for Conclave
  • KRIS BOWERS for The Wild Robot
  • CLÉMENT DUCOL and CAMILLE DALMAIS for Emilia Pérez
  • HARRY GREGSON-WILLIAMS for Gladiator II
  • JOHN POWELL and STEPHEN SCHWARTZ for Wicked: Part 1
  • HANS ZIMMER for Dune: Part Two

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN INDEPENDENT FILM

  • CHRIS BACON for Heretic
  • DANIEL BLUMBERG for The Brutalist
  • STEPHANIE ECONOMOU for The Book of Jobs
  • FABRIZIO MANCINELLI for Here After
  • HEATHER MCINTOSH for Winner
  • DARA TAYLOR for Meet Me Next Christmas

Read more…

Golden Globe Nominations 2024

December 9, 2024 Leave a comment

The Golden Globe Foundation (GGF) has announced the nominations for the 82nd Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and American television of 2024.

In the Best Original Score category, the nominees are:

  • VOLKER BERTELMANN for Conclave
  • DANIEL BLUMBERG for The Brutalist
  • KRIS BOWERS for The Wild Robot
  • CLÉMENT DUCOL and CAMILLE DALMAIS for Emilia Pérez
  • TRENT REZNOR and ATTICUS ROSS for Challengers
  • HANS ZIMMER for Dune: Part 2

These are the first nominations for Blumberg, Bowers, Ducol, and Dalmais. It is the second nomination for Bertelmann, the sixth nomination for Reznor and Ross, and the fifteenth nomination for Zimmer. Reznor and Ross previously won for The Social Network in 2010 and Soul in 2020. Zimmer previously won for The Lion King in 1994, Gladiator in 2000, and Dune in 2021

In the Best Original Song category, the nominees are:

  • BRITTANY AMARADIO (DELACEY), JORDAN K. JOHNSON, STEFAN JOHNSON, MAREN MORRIS, MICHAEL POLLACK, and ALI TAMPOSI for “Kiss the Sky” from The Wild Robot
  • CLÉMENT DUCOL and CAMILLE DALMAIS for “Mi Camino” from Emilia Pérez
  • CLÉMENT DUCOL, CAMILLE DALMAIS, and JACQUES AUDIARD for “El Mal” from Emilia Pérez
  • TRENT REZNOR, ATTICUS ROSS, and LUCA GUADAGNINO for “Compress/Repress” from Challengers
  • ROBBIE WILLIAMS, FREDDY WEXLER, and SACHA SKARBEK for “Forbidden Road” from Better Man
  • ANDREW WYATT, MILEY CYRUS, and LI LYKKE ZACHRISSON (LYKKE LI) for “Beautiful That Way” from The Last Showgirl

The winners of the 82nd Golden Globe Awards will be announced on January 5, 2025.

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Quincy Jones, 1933-2024

November 3, 2024 Leave a comment

Composer Quincy Jones died on November 3, 2024, after a short illness. He was 91 years old.

Quincy Delight Jones Jr. – known to all as ‘Q’ – was born in Chicago, Illinois, in March 1933. Jones grew up in a challenging environment, with his mother battling schizophrenia and his father working as a carpenter and semi-professional baseball player. When he was ten, his family moved to Seattle, Washington, where he met future jazz great Ray Charles. The two became fast friends, and Jones, a natural musician, learned trumpet, piano, and arranging. He attended Seattle’s Garfield High School and later earned a scholarship to study at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston. However, he left before finishing to tour with jazz great Lionel Hampton, marking his entry into the world of professional music.

In the 1950s, Jones moved to New York City and became immersed in the jazz scene, working with icons like Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, and Count Basie. He also collaborated with major record labels as an arranger and conductor. By the late 1950s, Jones was touring Europe and later moved to Paris, studying composition and orchestration under Nadia Boulanger, a legendary music teacher. Read more…

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Richard M. Sherman, 1928-2024

May 25, 2024 Leave a comment

Composer Richard M. Sherman, one of the greatest and most influential songwriters in the history of Hollywood, died on May 25, 2024, after a short illness. He was 95 years old.

Richard Morton Sherman was born in New York, New York, in June 1928, the son of Russian Jewish immigrants. He grew up in a musical household – his father, Al, was a composer and arranger in Tin Pan Alley in New York, and was a contemporary of George Gershwin – and then after the Shermans relocated to Los Angeles in 1937 Richard attended Beverly Hills High School, where he was a classmate of André Previn. After completing his national service, Sherman and his brother Robert started a songwriting company, and they enjoyed success writing popular songs for artists including Annette Funicello. This success brought them to the attention of producer Walt Disney, who eventually hired them as staff songwriters for the Walt Disney Studio.

Sherman wrote songs for several Disney productions in the early 1960s, including The Absent Minded Professor (1961), The Parent Trap (1961), and The Sword in the Stone (1963), but achieved lasting fame and critical acclaim following the release of Mary Poppins in 1964. The songs that Sherman wrote for that production – “Feed the Birds,” “A Spoonful of Sugar,” “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,” “Chim-Chim-Cheree,” and “Let’s Go Fly a Kite,” among others – became immediate classics and pop culture icons, and won Sherman Oscars for Best Original Score and Best Original Song. Read more…

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Jan A.P. Kaczmarek, 1953-2024

May 21, 2024 1 comment

Composer Jan A.P. Kaczmarek died on May 21, 2024, at the age of 71. He had been in hospice care for several years, after being diagnosed with multiple system atrophy in 2022.

Jan Andrzej Paweł Kaczmarek was born in Konin, Poland, in April 1953. Originally intending to be a lawyer, he graduated from Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań with a law degree, specializing in legal theory and philosophy of law. However, he switched careers to focus on music in the 1970s, and spent several years working with experimental theater companies, and writing music for stage productions. He and his first wife Elżbieta moved to Los Angeles in the 1980s, where he wrote music for the Mark Taper Forum and Chicago’s Goodman Theatre. In 1992 he won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music in a Play for his incidental music for director JoAnne Akalaitis’s new version of ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore.

Kaczmarek had written music for a handful of small-budget features and TV movies in his native Poland in the 1980s and early 1990s, but he first came to international attention in 1995 with his score for director Agnieszka Holland’s Total Eclipse, about the life of poet Arthur Rimbaud, played by Leonardo di Caprio. He continued to work on a series of acclaimed films throughout the 1990s and early 2000, including arthouse dramas like Bliss (1996), Washington Square (1997), Aimée & Jaguar (1999), and The Third Miracle (1999), and more mainstream fare like the horror thriller Lost Souls (2000), and the erotic drama Unfaithful (2002). He often worked with Polish directors making English-language films – Holland, Janusz Kamiński, Yurek Bogayevicz – and he invariably wrote music that was elegant, technically masterful, emotionally poignant, but subtle, conveying a distinctly European sensibility. Read more…

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Academy Award Winners 2023

March 10, 2024 Leave a comment

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) have announced the winners of the 96th Academy Awards, honoring the best in film in 2023.

In the Best Original Score category Ludwig Göransson won the award for his score for Oppenheimer, director Christopher Nolan’s epic drama about the life and work of the theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer whose work on the Manhattan Project in the 1940s led to the creation of the world’s first nuclear weapon. Accepting his award, Göransson said:

“Thank you Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas for inviting me on this incredible world. Christopher Nolan it was your idea to use the violin in the score, and it allowed me to work and collaborate with my wonderful wife and acclaimed violinist Serena Göransson. We had… we recorded at night and we were rushing to home and put our kids Apollo and Romeo down to bed, but the result of that was amazing and it really set a really nice tone for the film of that performance. Theresa Stanislav, Jake Brown, Chris Fogel, Anthony Parnther, Alyssa Park, thank you for making the music sound great, and to my parents up there, thank you for giving me guitars and drum machines instead of video games! Thank you!

The other nominees were Joscelin Dent-Pooley (Jerskin Fendrix) for Poor Things, Laura Karpman for American Fiction, Robbie Robertson for Killers of the Flower Moon, and John Williams for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.

In the Best Original Song category, the winners were Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell for “What Was I Made For” from the smash hit movie Barbie.

The other nominees were Jon Batiste and Dan Wilson for “It Never Went Away” from American Symphony, Scott George for “Wahzhazhe – A Song for My People” from Killers of the Flower Moon, Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt for “I’m Just Ken” from Barbie, and Diane Warren for “The Fire Inside” from Flamin’ Hot.

In film-music adjacent news, composer Kris Bowers also won an Oscar, not for music, but for co-directing and producing the documentary short film The Last Repair Shop, which is about a workshop in Los Angeles who find, repair, and donate musical instruments to under-privileged students in the Los Angeles Unified School District. This makes Bowers one of the few full-time film music composers to win an Academy Award for something other that composing.

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IFMCA Award Winners 2023

February 22, 2024 Leave a comment

INTERNATIONAL FILM MUSIC CRITICS ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF 2023 IFMCA AWARDS

JOHN WILLIAMS WINS SCORE OF THE YEAR FOR FIFTH INDIANA JONES FILM, DIAL OF DESTINY; CHRISTOPHER YOUNG WINS FOUR AWARDS FOR OUTSTANDING WORK IN HORROR FIELD; COMPOSERS FROM JAPAN AND POLAND ALSO TAKE HOME AWARDS

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 — The International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) announces its list of winners for excellence in musical scoring in 2023, in the 2023 IFMCA Awards.

The award for Score of the Year goes to American composer John Williams, for his score for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, the fifth film in the beloved action-adventure series starring Harrison Ford as the eponymous globetrotting archaeologist. The score also won the award for its genre, being named Best Score for an Action/Adventure film.

IFMCA member James Southall praised Dial of Destiny as “a nostalgic throwback to those great times of the past – a set of meticulously-composed new music by one of the greatest film composers we’ve ever had – an exhibition in skill and technique with the orchestra which is guaranteed to go beyond almost any other film music we hear this year.” IFMCA member Christian Clemmensen said that the score was “an especially gratifying treat and an immense pleasure to hear in the 2020’s… it continues to espouse the uniquely superior aspects of Williams’s writing from decades past”. Similarly, IFMCA member Anton Smit said the score was “a fantastic listening experience from start to finish… a masterpiece… one of the highlights of this final phase of John Williams’ career.”

This is John Williams’s fifth Score of the Year victory, having previously won for Memoirs of a Geisha in 2005, War Horse in 2011, Star Wars: The Force Awakens in 2015, and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in 2019. These wins also take Williams’s all-time IFMCA win tally to 21, not including those for archival releases of his older scores, making him the most-awarded composer in IFMCA history. Read more…

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BAFTA Winners 2023

February 18, 2024 Leave a comment

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) have announced the winners of the 77th British Academy Film Awards, honoring the best in film in 2023.

In the Best Original Music category, the winner was Ludwig Göransson, who won the award for his score for Oppenheimer, director Christopher Nolan’s epic drama about the life and work of the theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer whose work on the Manhattan Project in the 1940s led to the creation of the world’s first nuclear weapon. Accepting his award, Göransson said:

“Thank you to the BAFTA, and thank you Chris [Nolan] and Emma [Thomas], for all the love and dedication your poured into Oppenheimer. Chris, also thank you so much for spending so much time with me working on this music. All the time you allowed for experimentation, listening to my music over and over again, dissecting the score, talking about the sounds, the themes, and making it into the musical world of Oppenheimer meant… it meant everything to me. That was an incredible experience. I want to also thank all the musicians that poured their hearts into playing on this score and making the music come alive. Without them it wouldn’t be possible. And I also want to thank my partner in life and music, Serena, I love you.”

The other nominees were Jerskin Fendrix for Poor Things, Daniel Pemberton for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Robbie Robertson for Killers of the Flower Moon, and Anthony Willis for Saltburn.

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SCL Award Winners 2023

February 14, 2024 Leave a comment

The Society of Composers and Lyricists (SCL) has announced the winners of the fifth annual SCL Awards, honoring the best in film and television music in 2023. The SCL is the premier professional trade group for composers, lyricists, and songwriters working in the motion picture, television, and game music industry, and is headquartered in Los Angeles. The winners are:

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A STUDIO FILM

  • LUDWIG GÖRANSSON for Oppenheimer

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN INDEPENDENT FILM

  • JOHN POWELL for Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A TELEVISION OR STREAMING PRODUCTION

  • NICHOLAS BRITELL for Succession

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL TITLE SEQUENCE FOR A TELEVISION PRODUCTION

  • CARLOS RAFAEL RIVERA for Lessons in Chemistry

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SONG FOR VISUAL MEDIA – DRAMA/DOCUMENTARY

  • OLIVIA RODRIGO and DAN NIGRO for “Can’t Catch Me Now” from The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SONG FOR VISUAL MEDIA- MUSICAL/COMEDY

  • BILLIE EILISH and FINNEAS O’CONNELL for “What Was I Made For?” from Barbie

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SCORE FOR INTERACTIVE MEDIA

  • STEPHEN BARTON and GORDY HAAB for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

DAVID RAKSIN AWARD FOR EMERGING TALENT

  • CATHERINE JOY

SPIRIT OF COLLABORATION AWARD

  • MARTIN SCORSESE and ROBBIE ROBERTSON

IFMCA Nominations 2023

February 8, 2024 Leave a comment

INTERNATIONAL FILM MUSIC CRITICS ASSOCIATION AWARDS NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED

JOHN WILLIAMS AND CHRISTOPHER YOUNG LEAD LIST OF NOMINATED COMPOSERS WITH FOUR NOMINATIONS EACH;MULTIPLE COMPOSERS FROM JAPAN AND POLAND AMONG MAJOR NOMINEES

FEBRUARY 8, 2024. The International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) announces its list of nominees for excellence in musical scoring in 2023, for the 20th annual IFMCA Awards. Composers John Williams and Christopher Young lead the list of composer nominees with four nominations each, closely followed by Lorne Balfe, Stephen Barton, Ludwig Göransson, and Bear McCreary, who each have three.

Legendary American composer Williams’s nominations are all for his work on Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, the fifth film in the beloved action-adventure series starring Harrison Ford as the eponymous globetrotting archaeologist. Dial of Destiny received nominations for Score of the Year, Best Action/Adventure score, and Composition of the Year for the score’s main theme, “Helena’s Theme,” while Williams himself was nominated for Composer of the Year.

IFMCA member James Southall praised Dial of Destiny as “a nostalgic throwback to those great times of the past – a set of meticulously-composed new music by one of the greatest film composers we’ve ever had – an exhibition in skill and technique with the orchestra which is guaranteed to go beyond almost any other film music we hear this year.” Similarly, IFMCA member Christian Clemmensen said that the score was “an especially gratifying treat and an immense pleasure to hear in the 2020’s. It extends the quality of the prior two [Indiana Jones] works and continues to espouse the uniquely superior aspects of Williams’s writing from decades past”. Read more…

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