The emotional draw of William Susman's 'Music for Moving Pictures'
Composer William Susman is nothing if not prolific and creative and scoring music for film seems to fit his character perfectly. His album Music for Moving Pictures is a stunning evocation of images on the screen that - if you listen to the soundtracks without the films themselves - allows the listener to conjure up their own moving pictures.
He has appeared twice on my Harmonious World podcast to discuss some of his work. We chatted for Episode 16 in October 2020 and again for Episode 31 in February 2021.
Susman has written orchestral and chamber music for concert performance, as well as jazz and film scores. He says: 'When I compose music for a film, I try to make an organic connection to what I see and hear on screen and how I approach the score. I listen for music that may already be in the film or, perhaps performed by one of the characters.'
In the past, I have listened mostly to his solo piano works and it's fascinating to hear him alongside other musicians. On this album, he's working with Joan Jeanrenaud (cello) and Mira Stroika (accordion and vocals) for a selection of stunning compositions written in the period up to 2009 for three separate and very distinct films.
The three documentaries cover different subjects, connected by a use of historical footage and vintage cameras dating back to the 1920s. All the music they feature plays a significant and vital role, helping to create and ultimately become part of the narrative.
When Medicine Got it Wrong is the groundbreaking story of loving parents who rocked the halls
of psychiatry, changing how we understand schizophrenia.
Balancing Acts: A Jewish Theatre in the Soviet Union is a film by Sam Ball, Kate Stilley and William Susman telling the story of an exhilarating and ultimately tragic experiment in modern Jewish theatre.
Native New Yorker, a silent documentary with original score, was filmed through the eye of a 1924 hand-crank spring-wound Ciné-Kodak camera and featuring Terry ‘Coyote’ Murphy representing the Native American influence on the isle of Manhattan.
Susman has written orchestral and chamber music for concert performance, as well as jazz and film scores. He says: 'When I compose music for a film, I try to make an organic connection to what I see and hear on screen and how I approach the score. I listen for music that may already be in the film or, perhaps performed by one of the characters.'
In the past, I have listened mostly to his solo piano works and it's fascinating to hear him alongside other musicians. On this album, he's working with Joan Jeanrenaud (cello) and Mira Stroika (accordion and vocals) for a selection of stunning compositions written in the period up to 2009 for three separate and very distinct films.
The three documentaries cover different subjects, connected by a use of historical footage and vintage cameras dating back to the 1920s. All the music they feature plays a significant and vital role, helping to create and ultimately become part of the narrative.
When Medicine Got it Wrong is the groundbreaking story of loving parents who rocked the halls
of psychiatry, changing how we understand schizophrenia.
Balancing Acts: A Jewish Theatre in the Soviet Union is a film by Sam Ball, Kate Stilley and William Susman telling the story of an exhilarating and ultimately tragic experiment in modern Jewish theatre.
Native New Yorker, a silent documentary with original score, was filmed through the eye of a 1924 hand-crank spring-wound Ciné-Kodak camera and featuring Terry ‘Coyote’ Murphy representing the Native American influence on the isle of Manhattan.
Sit back, put this album on and allow the moving pictures in your head to create your own story.
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