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Composer Ennio Morricone, 80, will conduct the Philharmonic Orchestra of Gyor for concerts featuring his popular film scores, May 26-27, at Olympic Park in Seoul. / Courtesy of Yellow9 |
By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter
Maestro Ennio Morricone returns to Seoul for a second time to conduct more inspired, live renditions of his work from May 26 to 27.
``I had no idea how enthusiastic Korean fans were and I was very surprised by the audience's reaction at the show last time. That's why I decided to come back,'' the 80-year-old told The Korea Times in a recent email interview about his concert debut here in 2007.
The 80-year-old composer of timeless score ``Cinema Paradiso'' provided ``no comment,'' however, about his participation in the Pusan (Busan) International Film Festival (PIFF) ― there were reports about Asia's largest film event having ``mistreated'' the VIP guest.
A veteran of over 400 beloved film scores, the Italian composer needs no further introduction. South Korea's esteemed dirctor Park Chan-wook was once quoted as saying, ``While there may be people who have not seen his films, there is no one in civilized modern society who hasn't heard his music. He is the J.S. Bach of today.''
He will be joined by soprano Susanna Rigacci and the Philharmonic Orchestra of Gyor, ``who are great musicians,'' he said, for popular scores from films including ``Once Upon a Time in America,'' ``The Legend of 1900,'' ``Once Upon a Time in the West,'' ``The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,'' and of course, ``Cinema Paradiso.''
The following is the rest of the interview in the original Q&A form:
Q: Does music do more than just heighten the drama, and actually define the movie or scene? How do you approach making music for movies?
A: ``There are various ways of going about the job. Sometimes I discuss the film with the director or he gives me the script to read. On other occasions, I view the first edit, the dailies or the final cut, and when I've got clear ideas I meet for discussions with the director and submit my ideas.
``I have a very close relationship with the directors I work with. Their collaboration is very important, but they must put their complete trust in the composer. Some directors have very clear, sometimes restrictive, ideas on what they want from a musical point of view, which limits composers' creativity.''
Q: You once said before that Giuseppe Tornatore (``Cinema Paradiso,'' ``The Legend of 1900'') is very musical while Sergio Leone (``The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'') didn't have the musical imagination necessary to give you any directions. Does the musical sensibility of directors influence your creative process?
A: ``I have to say what Sergio did have was the fundamental quality for a director of understanding what was right for his films, and we got along really well because he realized that my music worked for him.''
Q: Recently, Korea saw the rise of a distinct film genre called ``music movies'' ― where music doesn't remain in the background and becomes a major form of communication and feeds directly into the narrative, even though it isn't necessarily a musical. ``The Legend of 1900'' could be seen as one example. Is it different when you make music for such films?
A: ``No, it's just a matter of starting off with an idea and letting it go into your head. There's not much difference between making music film scores and plain film scores.''
Q: Your composition listing spans an extraordinarily diverse style. People must have asked you to write similar music for similar films. Did you try to avoid repetitions?
A:``Of course I don't like repetitions. Why would I want to write the same thing again? Sometimes people ask me to write music similar to my prior works but I always say no.''
Q: What inspires your classical compositions?
A: ``I don't get inspired by something, the ideas come from me. Sometimes the idea comes from very far away, and when you get to the end of it you can't remember where the beginning was. One simple idea develops into something completely different.''
(Morricone won't be offering any of his classical compositions).
Q: Is there a composer, period or piece that has a particularly special place in your heart?
A: ``I've got some old musical loves and passions that I go back to: Frescobaldi, Johann Sebastian Bach, my maestro Petrassi, Igor Stravinsky, Pierre Boulez, Karlheinz Stockhausen and a few others.These composers I have eaten, drunk, and digested and obviously they've gone into my system, become part of me, my flesh and blood.''
Q: Any dreams that have yet to come true?
A: ``To make more music as long as I live.''
The concerts will take place at 8 p.m. at the Gymnastic Stadium, Olympic Park. Tickets cost from 50,000 to 160,000 won. Call (02) 3444-9969 (English booking is available).
hyowlee@koreatimes.co.kr
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