Since its very beginning, film has been interconnected with music. Screenings of silent films were always accompanied by life music which helped to create a complete picture: the sounds could built up the suspense and made the scenes more comprehensible. The introduction of sound film reinforced a mutual relationship between cinema and music. Today, a composer of film music, a director and a cameraman are equally responsible for the film’s atmosphere.
One of the best film music composers is Ennio Morricone who wrote soundtracks to Spaghetti Westerns by Sergio Leone or “The Mission” by Roland Joffe. The concert of his music will take place in the Cracovian Philharmonic on the first day of the 1st Film Music Festival. During this event entitled “100 Years of Film Score”, which will start the entire celebration, it will be also possible to listen to the music by Nino Rota from “ The Godfather” and a piece written by Jerry Goldsmith for “Star Trek.” The outstanding orchestra Simfonietta Cracovia, conducted by Kaspar Zehnder, will play the entire concert.
On Friday, all the events of the festival will happen outside. Film music will be played on Krakow’s Błonia and all people taking their walks within this area will have a chance to listen to it. The biggest event of that day will be the concert of Eric Serra, who is the author of the soundtrack to such hits by Luc Beson as “Nikita,” “The Big Blue” and “Leon.” On Saturday we might expect to listen to some music by a Canadian, Howard Shore, who composed the soundtrack to “Seven,” “The Silence of the Lambs” or “Gangs of New York.”
The Festival will be concluded by a concert of an Oscar winning film score to the trilogy “Lord of the Rings” by Peter Jeckson. Over 200 people will appear on stage at the same time. But this is not the end of attractions for Tolkien’s fans. On the same day, during the outdoor screening, it will be possible to watch “The fellowship of the Ring” with Polish subtitles.