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Needle Drop: the power of classical music in film

Tom Service gets the drop on needle drop - the use of pre-existing music in film soundtracks - and discovers the unique power that it has for film-makers and viewers.

Tom Service discovers the mighty musical power of needle drop - the use of pre-existing music in film soundtracks.

From 2001: A Space Odyssey to Barbie, from The Shining to Maestro, Tom listens in to some of the most iconic film scenes using needle-dropped classical music. He explores how directors harness the resonance and meanings of a piece of music to enrich the film's storytelling, and how a successful fusion of sound and image can leave such a deep impression in viewers' minds that music and film become inextricably entwined in popular consciousness.

Plus, Maggie Rodford - one of the film industry's most sought-after music supervisors - pulls back the curtain on the processes and thinking behind choosing the right needle drop for the right scene to make the most meaningful movie.

Producer: David Fay

Available now

28 minutes

Last on

Fri 15 Mar 2024 16:30
BBC Radio 3

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Music Played

  • Dick Dale and His Del‐Tones

    Misirlou

    • GEFFEN.
    • 00602577174391.

  • Ludwig van Beethoven

    Symphony no. 7 in A major Op.92: II. Allegretto

    Conductor: Terry Davies. Performer: London Symphony Orchestra.
    • DECCA.
    • 4764198.

  • Asha Bhosle, Kisore Kumar

    Typewriter Tip Tip Tip (from Merchant Ivory's film Bombay Talkie)

    • ABKCO.
    • GBAYE6900097.

  • The Wannadies

    You & Me Song

    • Capitol Records.
    • 00602438253234.

  • Pietro Mascagni

    Cavalleria rusticana, Opera in 1 Act - Intermezzo

    Conductor: Renato Cellini. Performer: RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra.
    • RCA Red Seal.
    • G010003258531E.

  • Johann Sebastian Bach

    Suite no. 3 in D major BWV.1068: II. 'Air on the G String'

    Conductor: Karl Münchinger. Performer: Stuttgarter Kammerorchester.
    • DECCA.
    • 4482392.

  • Johann Strauss II

    An der schonen, blauen Donau - waltz ("The Blue Danube Waltz"), Op.314

    Conductor: Herbert von Karajan. Performer: Vienna Philharmonic.
    • EMI.
    • 7243 8 55322 2 1.

  • György Ligeti

    Atmosphères

    Conductor: Ernest Bour. Performer: Sudwestfunk Orchestra.
    • WERGO.
    • WER 305.

  • Alex North

    2001 - A Space Odyssey: Main Title

    Conductor: Jerry Goldsmith. Performer: New Philharmonia.
    • Varese Sarabande.
    • VSD 5400.

  • Richard Strauss

    Also sprach Zarathustra Op.30: Opening

    Conductor: Herbert von Karajan. Performer: Vienna Philharmonic.
    • EMI.
    • 7243 8 55322 2 1.

  • Béla Bartók

    Music for strings, percussion and celesta Sz.106: III. Adagio

    Conductor: Herbert von Karajan. Performer: Berliner Philharmoniker.
    • DG.
    • 4636402.

  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    "Canzonetta dul aria..." from Le Nozze di Figaro, K. 492

    Singer: Gundula Janowitz. Singer: Edith Mathis. Orchestra: Orchestra of the German Opera, Berlin. Conductor: Karl Böhm.
    • Epic.
    • G0100014033962.

  • Richard Wagner

    "The Ride of the Walkyries" from Die Walküre [Part 2 of 'Der Ring des Nibelungen']

    Singer: Brigitte Fassbaender. Singer: Berit Lindholm. Singer: Helga Dernesch. Singer: Vera Schlosser. Singer: Helen Watts. Singer: Vera Little. Singer: Marc Hellmann. Singer: Marilyn Tyler. Orchestra: Vienna Philharmonic. Conductor: Georg Solti.
    • DECCA.
    • 4786748.

  • Claude Debussy

    Suite bergamasque for piano, L. 75: III. Clair de lune

    Performer: Alexis Weissenberg.
    • DG.
    • 445 547-2.

  • Samuel Barber

    Adagio for Strings

    Conductor: Leonard Slatkin. Performer: Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra.
    • Angel Records.
    • 00077774946353.

  • Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges

    Violin Concerto in G major Op.8 No.2: I. Allegro

    Performer: Randall Goosby. Orchestra: London Contemporary Orchestra. Orchestra: London Contemporary Orchestra. Conductor: Kris Bowers. Conductor: Kris Bowers.
    • Hollywood Records.
    • 00050087519933.

  • Gustav Mahler

    Symphony no. 5 in C sharp minor: I. Trauermarsch

    Conductor: Claudio Abbado. Performer: Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
    • DG.
    • 4272542.

  • Gustav Mahler

    Symphony no. 2 in C minor (Resurrection): V. Im Tempo des Scherzos

    Conductor: Leonard Bernstein. Performer: Edinburgh Festival Chorus, London Symphony Orchestra.
    • Sony.
    • G0100039592864.

  • Johannes Brahms

    Violin Concerto in D major Op.77

    Performer: Anne‐Sophie Mutter. Orchestra: Berliner Philharmoniker. Conductor: Herbert von Karajan.
    • EMI.
    • 7243 8 55322 2 1.

  • Richard Strauss

    Also sprach Zarathustra Op.30: Opening

    Conductor: Herbert von Karajan. Performer: Vienna Philharmonic.
    • EMI.
    • 7243 8 55322 2 1.

Broadcasts

  • Sun 10 Mar 2024 17:00
    BBC Radio 3
  • Fri 15 Mar 2024 16:30
    BBC Radio 3

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