Certain characteristics of "classical" music (in styles from Baroque to late Romantic) were adopted and changed in the music of the early cinema. On the surface, film music from the mid 1920s through the early 1940s shares certain aesthetic principles with the music of Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven, such as a similar manipulation of themes and motives. Although many existing compositions were employed in early film scores, the aesthetics of the music newly composed for film are the primary focus (Chapters 2-3, pp. 12-66). The "Interviews" section (pp. 269-334) offers candid discussions of and useful insights into the compositional process of film music composers, such as the comment from Harold Shore that "You're constantly in the music library digging up old records, writing new pieces, parodying pieces of this or that."

Index Classifications: 1900s, Film

Contributed by: David Oliver