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Terrence Malick hasn't always had the easiest time with composers. James Horner had spoken out loudly on multiple occasions about his difficulties during the making of "The New World," and going all the way back to the director's sophomore feature, "Days Of Heaven," the legendary Ennio Morricone admitted it wasn't always an easy process working on that movie.

The soundtrack to the Lord of the Rings film trilogy has been deemed the best of all time, beating John Williams' 1977 Star Wars score into second place.Composer Howard Shore's accompaniment won the Classic FM listeners' accolade for the fifth consecutive year.Hans Zimmer's music to Gladiator, Schindler's List by John Williams and John Barry's soaring Out of Africa score made the top five.

After 85 years, Oscar is putting on his very first concert, and there are plans to televise future shows worldwide. The motion picture academy will present a live Oscar Concert in the days leading up to the 86th annual Academy Awards that celebrates the year's nominated music. The Feb. 27 concert at UCLA's Royce Hall will feature all five original scores performed by an 80-piece orchestra conducted by each nominated composer, plus performances of the four original songs up for Oscars this year.

Put six film composers in a room with a bottle of wine and camaraderie is sure to develop quickly. That’s exactly what happened on Dec. 5 at Acabar in Los Angeles when THR’s composer roundtable got underway. While actors, directors and producers routinely get all the filmmaking glory, composers are, as one prominent agent said before the roundtable, the “red- headed stepchild” of Hollywood. Frequently working in isolation, facing punishing deadlines and often tasked with “fixing” problematic material, film composers certainly have their fair share of angst — but they also love to discuss the minutiae of a craft that...

Published on Sep 28, 2012 A selection of some of the best science fiction film themes from the 50's, with audio enhanced using stereo reverb & imaging. Check with the IMDB (www.imdb.com) for composer info for the films THE THING Dimitri TiomkinDAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL Bernard herrmannWAR OF THE WORLDS Leith StevensINVADERS FROM MARS Raoul Kraushaar/Mort GlickmanFLIGHT TO MARS Marlin SkilesFORBIDDEN PLANET Louis and Bebe BarronTHIS ISLAND EARTH Herman SteinINVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS Carmen DragonTHE BLACK SCORPION Paul SawtellKRONOS Paul Sawtell/Bert ShefterIT THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE Paul Sawtell/Bert ShefterINVISIBLE INVADERS Paul DunlapDAY THE WORLD ENDED Ronald SteinWORLD...

On Wednesday, Star Trek Into Darkness composer Michael Giacchino posted multiple video clips while recording the films score. The Oscar-winning composer returned to score J.J. Abrams’ second Star Trek film after having worked on such films as John Carter, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Super 8, and Up.

Today 4-6 PM Pacific / 5-7 PM Mountain / 6-8 PM Central / 7-9 PM Eastern A Song After Sundown: a 100th Birthday Tribute to David Raksin Hosted and produced by Jon BurlingameSaturday, August 4th, 4-6 p.m. He wrote one of the best-loved and most familiar themes in Hollywood history, the haunting Laura, for the Otto Preminger film starring Gene Tierney. Over a 70-year career he penned scores for movies, themes for television, songs for the theater and works for the concert hall... MoreListen to live stream here

This Sunday is the Sunday of all Sundays as far as the entertainment world is concerned. This is the night Oscar polishes up and makes his appearance around the world. This weekend we bring you the soundtracks from the nominated films for Best Original Score.

With 47 Oscar nominations to his credit, more than any other living person, John Williams, at age 80, shows no sign of slowing down. He’s currently working on his 26th film score for director Steven Spielberg in a career that has no equal. Join host Jon Burlingame for American Journey, A Tribute to John Williams, Sunday, February 26 at 1 p.m. on Classical KUSC.

All This, and Heaven Too: A Tribute to Max Steiner, airs at 4 p.m. Saturday, December 31 on Classical KUSC. The Austrian-born Steiner, whose landmark scores include King Kong, Gone With the Wind, Casablanca and The Big Sleep, will be heard in interview snippets dating back to the 1940s, and music from his long Hollywood career will be spotlighted. This program first aired on KUSC in 2009.

Unchained Melodies: A Centennial Tribute to Alex North Sunday, October 24th 2-4 PM Pacific / 3-5 PM Mountain / 4-6 PM Central / 5-7 PM Eastern Film composer Alex North, who would have turned 100 this year, will be celebrated in a two-hour radio special – “Unchained Melodies: A Centennial Tribute to Alex North” – airing at 2 PM Sunday, October 24, on Classical KUSC. North, composer of such landmark movie scores as A Streetcar Named Desire, Spartacus and Cleopatra, was a 15-time Oscar nominee and the first composer ever to receive an honorary Academy Award (in 1986) for his body of...

Sunday, January 3rd at 2 PM Pacific / 3 PM Mountain / 4 PM Central / 5 PM Eastern, Classical KUSC presents a rebroadcast of “On Dangerous Ground: A Tribute to Bernard Herrmann.” This two-hour sound portrait of one of cinema’s greatest composers will be hosted by Jon Burlingame, author, USC professor, and a writer on film music for Variety. The program includes rarely heard interviews with Herrmann himself, and excerpts from his concert music as well as dozens of his great film scores, from Citizen Kane to Taxi Driver. Herrmann’s legendary partnership with Alfred Hitchcock will be showcased with...

Today: 2:00 PM Pacific / 3:00 PM Mountain / 4:00 PM Central / 5:00 PM Eastern