7 minute read
Roaring twenty
As the World Soundtrack Awards prepares to celebrate its 20th anniversary on October 24, Wendy Mitchell looks back over its two decades of musical excellence
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t was 2001, and Lebanese-French composer Gabriel Yared was celebrated at the rst lm music concert organised by the edgling World Soundtrack Awards (WSA) in Ghent. His credits at the time included e English Patient and e Talented Mr. Ripley. Since then, the proli c Yared has scored a further 50 feature lms and TV series. And he will return to Belgium this year to celebrate 20 years of the WSA and 20 more years of his own work, being honoured with the lifetime achievement award.
Ghent-born composer and conductor Dirk Brossé was also there to conduct that concert in 2001, and has held the baton for all the editions since then. Brossé, who is now the music director at Film Fest Gent and chair of the WSA advisory board, remembers that rst year with fondness.
“We started quite innocent but with a big ambition,” he recalls. “We had no idea it would become a worldwide organisation that has grown so much.” ere was already industry support for that inaugural event: John Williams accepted the composer of the year prize for A.I. Arti cial Intelligence, while Craig Armstrong, still a rising talent, won the discovery award for his work on Kiss Of e Dragon and Moulin Rouge!.
On a pedestal
e World Soundtrack Academy established the World Soundtrack Awards to ll a gap in the industry, becoming the rst place where lm music composers could take the spotlight and not be sidelined while the public and press fawned over actors and directors. “In Ghent, with the WSA we were the rst worldwide organisation that focused on lm music,” Brossé says proudly. Film Fest Gent — or Flanders International Film Festival as it was then known — had been promoting music in lm since 1985, but made it o cial in 2001, partly inspired by the success of a 2000 concert with Hans Zimmer.
Twenty years later, there are many lm music events around the globe — Krakow, Tenerife and Zurich to name a few. But the WSA, still held at Film Fest Gent, is seen as the gold standard.
It is also becoming popular for serious orchestras to play lm music, which was not true back in 2001. “We wanted to show that lm music, even when you take it from the lm, can survive as an independent form of art,” says Brossé. “Now there is more awareness from composers that the music can have another life… they even write some cues that can be con gured for a concert setting.” e WSA has grown in size as well as scope says Maggie Rodford, managing director of London and Los Angeles-based music company Air-Edel Group and a WSA advisory board member. “It has got big-
Dirk Brossé, Film Fest Gent ger, but it’s also grown in its reach. Composers come in from all over Composers come in from all over the world now. It’s also grown in the the world now. It’s also grown in the amount of respect.” is is a challenging year to cel is is a challenging year to celebrate an anniversary. e awards ebrate an anniversary. e awards and concert will be delivered online and concert will be delivered online for the rst time, livestreamed on for the rst time, livestreamed on October 24. is has a potential silver lining for Brossé: “Instead of the 1,500 people who usually come to Ghent, maybe now we can reach 1 million people online.” e concert — which will be pre-recorded without an audience — will include the compositions of last year’s discovery of the year recipient Michael Abels, followed by the work of Alexandre Desplat and Yared. Depending on travel restrictions, WSA organisers hope all three composers will be able to travel to Ghent.
As usual, Brussels Philharmonic delivers the concert; this year, because of Covid-19 health measures, the number of musicians on stage will be capped at 50. “ ey are an amazing orchestra that really understands the language of lm music,” Brossé says. “ ey play year a er year with passion.”
Brossé himself is also a selling point for the WSAs, says Rodford. “He brings such musicianship. It’s unique having a gurehead like that, who is respected by the composers. Many of these composers have never heard their music in a live setting, only a recording setting. Dirk manages to make them feel calm, has good suggestions and is always mindful of their creativity in their compositions.”
As Yared has said, Brossé “is at the service of the composer and he does so wholeheartedly and most skilfully”.
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GUEST LIST WSA HIGHLIGHTS
1 2017 Terence Blanchard performs his score for When
The Levees Broke.
2 2009 AR Rahman, recognised for Slumdog Millionaire, with lifetime achievement recipient Marvin Hamlisch.
3 2011 Hans Zimmer and
Johnny Marr perform music from Inception.
4 2006 Evanthia Reboutsika, discovery of the year award winner for My Father & My Son.
5 2013 Riz Ortolani, lifetime achievement award.
Luk Monsaert, Jeroen Willems
Brossé makes sure the composers receive the support they need, both logistically and emotionally. “We do everything for the composers. If they need a rare instrument we nd it,” he says. “Ryuichi Sakamoto wanted to nd original Chinese instruments — like an erhu and pipa — and we made it possible.” e home in Ghent, with its cobble stone medieval heart, is also very important for the friendly vibe of the WSA. “It’s a unique event because it’s on completely neutral ground, it’s not Hollywood or London,” notes Rodford. “It’s fantastic for the composers to have a forum to meet each other in a relaxed way. Even Brussels would feel too big.”
As US composer Angelo Badalamenti has said of Ghent: “It is infused with an appreciation of culture and a wonderful human spirit.”
Yet, this is a community that is not o en brought together. As Rodford says: “It can be quite lonely for composers. People feel rejuvenated a er having a conversation with someone they’ve always admired, or trading war stories.”
Noteworthy moments
ere have been many memorable occasions over the past 20 years. Badalamenti’s concert in 2008 was a personal highlight for Brossé. “At rst it was di cult to convince him to come, but once we got him on stage, we couldn’t stop him playing the piano. He was moved to tears.”
US trumpeter Terence Blanchard also delivered an emotional performance of his score to Spike Lee’s When e Levees Broke in 2017. “It was so moving hearing the score and also hearing him talk about his friends and family members who had su ered in the oods [of New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina in 2005],” says Brossé.
Rodford suggests the newcomers can be just as impressive. Greek composer Evanthia Reboutsika won the discovery award in 2006 and came back in 2007 to perform on her violin. “Her performance was wonderful and wild, so full of energy. It was great to see her have that platform and be recognised more globally not just in Greece.”
A key aim of the academy and awards is to support emerging talent. Michael Abels, who scored Get Out and Us for Jordan Peele, was named discovery of the year in 2019 and, as is custom, will return to Ghent this year to present a selection of his work. Past winners of the award include Nicholas Britell for Moonlight (2017) and Gustavo Santaolalla for 21 Grams (2004). e WSA also organises an annual composition contest for composers under the age of 36. e winner receives a cash prize and a professional recording of the composition, plus valuable exposure. is year’s competition received more than 100 submissions. e academy added the TV composer of the year award in 2016, conscious it must keep up with changes in the wider industry. e awards are voted on by more than 165 peers and are guided by the advisory board, which also includes experts such as music supervisor Randall Poster, WSA founders Marian Ponnet and Jacques Dubrulle, composer Michael A Levine, producer Robert Townson and more.
Brossé knows the organisation can celebrate its 20th birthday while also looking ahead. “We have to open our minds and see what’s going on. If the focus is changing from writing for features to writing for TV, we can adapt. Net ix has fantastic scores, even with gaming there are wonderful scores. We will follow the new genres but we will keep our own identity.” ■ s
Maggie Rodford, WSA advisory board member
