Cinematographer James Laxton and director Barry Jenkins on the set of The Underground Railroad, which has a score by Nicholas Britell. Film scores by Britell and other contemporary composers were recently featured by the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Photo by Kyle Kaplan and Atsushi Nishijima / Amazon Studios.
Some of today’s most exciting orchestral music is premiering onscreen, with scores by composers whose influences range from classical to hip-hop, rock, jazz, and experimental music. In November at Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Los Angeles Philharmonic presented “Reel Change: The New Era of Film Music,” a series of concerts curated by film, television, and video game composers Kris Bowers, Nicholas Britell, and Hildur Guðnadóttir. Guðnadóttir’s program featured her own music from Joker and Battlefield 2042, plus music by Ryuichi Sakamoto, Alvin Lucier, Kaija Saariaho, Mica Levi, Henryk Górecki, Arvo Pärt, and György Ligeti that was used in films. Bowers’s program featured music from his scores for King Richard, Green Book, When They See Us, and Bridgerton, plus a world-premiere Horn Concerto, with Andrew Bain; Bowers’s program also included music by Shigeru Umebayashi, Owen Pallett, Arcade Fire, Björk, Jason Moran, and John Brion. In addition to music from his scores for Vice, The Underground Railroad, If Beale Street Could Talk, and Don’t Look Up, Britell’s program included music from Jackie (Mica Levi), Mr. Turner (Gary Yershon), Malcolm X (Terence Blanchard), and There Will Be Blood (Jonny Greenwood).
