Movie soundtrack music

Alan Menken. Photo: Jag Gundu/Roy Thomson Hall

Review | Alan Menken: Stories from the King of Disney Music

By Amanda Wong on 21 April 2026 Concert Reviews, Movie soundtrack music, Piano, Toronto, Vocal

For those like me who grew up obsessing over Disney movies and music, A Whole New World of Alan Menken—the show written and performed by the composer himself—was the perfect homage to an illustrious legacy that is still constantly growing with new additions to his repertoire. Throughout the impressive two-and-a-half-hour-long (and decade-old) show, Menken took us on a magic carpet ride through a mostly chronological retelling of his career, chock full of personal anecdotes and fun behind-the-scenes facts from his works (seen at Toronto’s Roy Thomson Hall on Apr. 17). The show, with additional materials by Jennifer Lucy Cook and…

Jaws (1975), directed by Steven Spielberg Photo: Universal Pictures; John Williams Photo: Todd Rosenberg Photography

Music and Film | The Leitmotif: Music as Narrative in Opera and Film

By Flora Marie Angerer on 3 April 2026 Classical Music, Film, Movie soundtrack music, Opera, Orchestral, Vocal

On May 14, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal will perform the Prelude and Liebestod from Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde, an opera in which certain musical ideas recur, subtly shaping the drama as it unfolds. These so-called leitmotifs, especially prominent in these excerpts, are associated with characters, emotions or dramatic concepts that reappear throughout the score. In Tristan and Isolde, these leitmotifs take many forms, ranging from the longing motif and the lovers’ call between Tristan and Isolde, to themes linked to individual characters such as Tristan or King Marke, as well as dramatic concepts such as the Daylight motif, which represents…

Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra

Calgary Philharmonic 2025/26 Season Kicks Off Sept 5

By Newswire on 14 August 2025 Classical, Classical Music, Contemporary, Film, Movie soundtrack music, Multimedia, Musical Theatre, Musique populaire, Newswire, Opera, Piano, Strings, Theatre, Violin, West

Calgary AB (August 14, 2025) — World-renowned stars, epic classics, thrilling collaborations, rockin’ pops, family fun, blockbuster movies, and more — the Calgary Phil heads into its 70th anniversary season with concerts for all ages and tastes. Celebrating seven decades as Calgary’s Orchestra, the Calgary Phil is more committed than ever to making orchestral music accessible to everyone. September alone demonstrates the exciting variety that audiences can expect throughout the season. We officially get things cooking on September 5 at The Big Four Roadhouse for the Canadian premiere of SYNTHONY: EDM Meets Orchestra, which sees the Calgary Phil, along with…

Review | It’s the Band that Shines in Vancouver Symphony Orchestra’s Hollywood Rocks

By Madeline Boldt on 28 January 2025 Movie soundtrack music, Musical Theatre, Musique populaire, Orchestral, Vancouver, Vocal, West

The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra brought Tinseltown glitz and glamour to the Orpheum stage this weekend with Hollywood Rocks, a carefully curated collection of iconic songs from your favourite movies and TV shows. The orchestra was led by Maestro Stuart Chafetz, with Broadway stars Julie Reiber and Bryce Ryness lending their incredible voices. From the moment Chafetz set foot on stage, the tone for the evening was set: lighthearted, energetic, and, above all else, fun. “Tonight’s show is guaranteed to bring back memories, put a smile on your face, and, hopefully, create some new memories” he prefaced, encouraging the audience to…

Screenshot from the Maestro trailer

Review | The Private Life Overshadows the Public Life in Bradley Cooper’s Maestro

By Paul E. Robinson on 11 December 2023 CD and Book Reviews, Classical Music, Movie soundtrack music

Bradley Cooper’s Maestro lacks significant information about Leonard Bernstein’s life, his love of music, and what he contributed to the American cultural landscape.

CD Review | Tribute to François Dompierre (ATMA Classique, 2023)

By Justin Bernard on 16 August 2023 CD and Book Reviews, Movie soundtrack music, Musique québécoise, Piano

Hommage à François Dompierre Louise Bessette, piano; François Dompierre, composer and piano ATMA Classique, 2023 We rarely hear Louise Bessette in this light. To celebrate François Dompierre’s 80th birthday, the pianist offers us arrangements of film music, and other selections, all of which played a role in establishing the reputation of the Quebec composer, himself a pianist. “Most are piano reductions (…); others are adaptations of radio improvisations. Finally, a few were written especially for her, and are dedicated to her,” explains the composer, in the album’s booklet. These include Entre mer et chanterelles, written in honour of his former…

CD Review: Underwater (Decca, 2022)

By Justin Bernard on 31 March 2022 CD and Book Reviews, Movie soundtrack music

Underwater Ludovico Einaudi, composer and pianist Decca, 2022 This is Ludovico Einaudi’s first original solo piano project in close to 20 years. Born in 1955, this notable Italian keyboardist and composer is best known for his film scores, but the pandemic allowed him to return to his instrument full time. He has now emerged from the lockdown with 12 new works, the title track Underwater being, in his words, a metaphor of sorts, or an expression of a very fluid environment untainted by external influences. Bearing this in mind, the music seems to have been conceived for undivided listening. The…

Nathan Granner and members of The Young People's Chorus of New York City in Gordon Getty's opera "Goodbye, Mr. Chips"

Review: Goodbye, Mr. Chips – Gordon Getty’s New Opera on Film Takes its New York Bow

By Charles Geyer on 9 March 2022 Choral, Classical Music, Film, Movie soundtrack music, Musical Theatre, Opera, Technology, Theatre

REVIEW: of the New York premiere of a new opera by Gordon Getty, “reimagined for film” – Goodbye, Mr. Chips, screened at Lincoln Center’s Walter Reade Theater, March 2, 2022, at 7:00 p.m., sponsored jointly by Festival Napa Valley and NYCO (New York City Opera). The idea for an opera version of James’ Hilton’s 1934 novel, Goodbye, Mr. Chips, had been germinating in composer Gordon Getty’s mind for decades – ever since, as a young man, he saw a re-release of the celebrated 1939 film adaptation starring Robert Donat (in an Academy Award-winning performance as the eponymous character) and the…

Photo: Paul Laramée

François Dompierre: From Silver Screen to Concert Stage

By Justin Bernard on 12 November 2021 Film, Interviews, Movie soundtrack music

In Quebec, François Dompierre is like the kingpin of film composers, his stature akin to Denys Arcand in filmmaking – an analogy by no means spurious considering their repeated collaborations over the years. With some 60 scores written for TV and movie productions, Dompierre has worked with the best in the field. Filmmaker Jacques Godbout, for one, figures prominently throughout the composer’s career, starting with the 1966 flic YUL 871, followed by IXE-13 five years later, all the way to Le sort de l’Amérique in 1996. He went on to write music for Arcand’s most famous features, The Decline of…

Orchestre FILMharmonique – Lights, Camera, Action!

By Marie-Claire Fafard-Blais on 9 September 2021 Movie soundtrack music, Orchestral

The 2021-22 season of the Orchestre FILMharmonique, under the direction of Francis Choinière, opens on Oct. 2 at the Maison symphonique. The orchestra, the first in Canada entirely dedicated to film music, will perform for L’Univers symphonique du cinéma, a program drawn from some of the greatest soundtracks in the repertoire: Cinema Paradiso, Le fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulin and Schindler’s List, among others. “Film music, for us, has an important place in the classical repertoire,” Choinière explains. “It’s a repertoire that reaches a large audience, especially young people. With this music, usually quite virtuosic, we attract an audience that often…

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