Film & Music: The Heartbeat of Film – Rachel Franklin

Smithsonian Associates Interview Series

Oh my gosh, we all remember that scene from the Hitchcock film, ‘Psycho.” Welcome to The Not Old Better Show, Smithsonian Associates series.

I’m Paul Vogelzang and we’re celebrating music and film with Smithsonian Associate Rachel Franklin, Doctor of Musical Arts.

The great film director Norman Jewison said:

“The marriage of the moving image and music is perhaps the most powerful visual communication we have.”—

Film music can inspire and romance us. It can make emotional statements that a script simply can’t, subvert a plot with a completely different subtext, and inject irony, fear, or humor when there is apparently none on screen. Music can salvage a bad movie and make a good one great.

Great film scores by composers such as Bernard Herrmann, Max Steiner, Ennio Morricone, and John Williams have engraved iconic scenes into our collective memory with their extraordinary music, even if the rest of the movie might have faded. We are listening to Bernard Herrmann’s Alfred Hitchcock ‘Psycho” film soundtrack with “The Knife” scene music and music from the finale of the film.

Join us today with popular speaker and concert pianist Rachel Franklin in our conversation that explores the stories behind some of the greatest film music ever composed. We’ll be discussing the purpose of a fine score and how it both supports and transforms the film. Rachel Franklin will play selections from each of the films we discuss, so fasten your seatbelts…it’s going to be a fabulous ride!

Please join me in welcoming you to the Not Old Better Show on KSCW, jazz, and classical music pianist, composer, Rachel Franklin.

My thanks to Smithsonian Associates for their ongoing support of the show. My thanks to you, my wonderful audience here on KSCW, please talk about better. The Not Old Better Show. Thanks, everybody and see you next week. Remember, you can find everything on our website: notold-better.com

For more details, please check out Smithsonian Associates:

https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/subscriptions/series/?id=175510