“If
our music survives, which I have no doubt it will, then it will because it is
good.” – Jerry Goldsmith
A salute to music today reflecting
on the works of composer/writer Goldsmith, who died at age 88 earlier this
month. Most known for his work in film
and television scoring, he composed scores for many dozens of noteworthy films including Star Trek:
The Motion Picture (which he personally considered his best), The Sand
Pebbles, Logan's Run, Planet of the Apes, Patton, Hoosiers
(which I always liked the best),
and Chinatown – often regarded as one of the greatest scores of
all time. It ranks No. 9 on the AFI's
list of top 25 American film scores and was also nominated for a Golden Globe
Award and an Academy Award. Remarkably,
under pressure after taking it over from another composer, he wrote the
Chinatown score in just 10 days.
He was nominated for 18 Best Score
Academy Awards for his movies and three dozen Emmys for his television series.
Goldsmith has often been considered one of film music history's most innovative
and influential composers. 
If music can be autobiographical,
then Goldsmith’s version was his energetic Fireworks: A Celebration of Los
Angeles in 1999. Looking back on the
experience, Goldsmith later said, he realized hd was writing about where he was born and had lived his entire life and decided to make the piece a
grand celebration of the events that had surrounded his
life.
As for his career in film and
television, he noted, “I like the variety. But basically my choice of films is
a small intimate film. Quiet film, no action, just people in relationships.
That's what I like the most.”
For a small sampling of Goldsmith’s
work, check out the opening credits and theme of Hoosiers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r74qegjbF28
Or,
take the time for this nice YouTube mix put together by Mark Michael: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeDDeP1oFcY
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