Stanley Kubrick sampled over 400 recordings to create the score to 2001: A Space Odyssey, replacing original music by Alex North. While the soundtrack of pre-existing music would become quite popular, some denounced it for being arbitrary and cheaply exploiting classical music. Until recently, these issues have kept the music from being discussed as a musical score. Reading the entire soundtrack as a unit allows it to be understood as a chronological progression of harmonic languages that create unity throughout the film, which emphasizes structure and proportion both visually and aurally. Aural cues also underscore certain themes; for example, the opening of Also Sprach Zarathustra represents birth and becoming. Despite the patchwork form of the soundtrack, borrowed atonal and tonal harmonic streams are effectively utilized to create a score that intersects with the film's narrative.

Works: Stanley Kubrick (director): Sound track to 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Sources: György Ligeti: Atmosphères (448-50, 456-57), Requiem (452-53, 456-57), Lux Aeterna (456-57), Aventures (467-69); Richard Strauss: Also Sprach Zarathustra (450-52, 455-56); Johann Strauss: The Blue Danube Waltz (453-56); Aram Khachaturian: Gayane (458-61); Mildred Hill: Happy Birthday (461-62); Harry Dacre: Daisy Bell (463-67).

Index Classifications: 1900s, Film

Contributed by: Karen Anton Stafford