# Composers Quoting Composers



## BenG (Sep 5, 2021)

What are your favourite examples of composers quoting other film scores in their work? Some of mine;

1. Dodgeball quotes The Matrix (At 1:08)


2. Night at the Museum 3 quotes X-Men (At 2:33)


3. Evan Almighty quotes Appalacian Spring (At :35)


What are some other fun examples of this 'nod' to fellow composers?


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## Karl Feuerstake (Sep 5, 2021)

Henry Jackman's Kong: Skull Island has a certain theme that's very reminiscent of Tristan and Isolde which I really like:


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## BenG (Sep 5, 2021)

Karl Feuerstake said:


> Henry Jackman's Kong: Skull Island has a certain theme that's very reminiscent of Tristan and Isolde which I really like:



Very cool and totally hear it! Thanks for sharing


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## dcoscina (Sep 5, 2021)

Karl Feuerstake said:


> Henry Jackman's Kong: Skull Island has a certain theme that's very reminiscent of Tristan and Isolde which I really like:



It's more Maherian harmony he's using not Wagnerian


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## JohnG (Sep 5, 2021)

dcoscina said:


> It's more Maherian harmony he's using not Wagnerian


Maybe if you say so David, but its vibe reeks of T-u-I. Check out from about 2'00, but really the whole thing.

Lovely playing, among other things; sounds good even on YT.


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## dcoscina (Sep 5, 2021)

JohnG said:


> Maybe if you say so David, but its vibe reeks of T-u-I. Check out from about 2'00, but really the whole thing.
> 
> Lovely playing, among other things; sounds good even on YT.


it's a great theme and I was very impressed that Jackman was able to get away with this kind of chromatic harmony in a mainstream film. To me, it's more late Mahler (almost strains of his 10th). But hey, that's just my 2 cents..


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## I like music (Sep 5, 2021)

BenG said:


> What are your favourite examples of composers quoting other film scores in their work? Some of mine;
> 
> 1. Dodgeball quotes The Matrix (At 1:08)
> 
> ...



Great thread! I'll try to think of some to add here. For now, I just want to say that Appalachian Spring has been playing nonstop in my head for the last two years. I'm obsessed.

In fact, I started mocking it up. It'll be months/years before that mockup is finished, but I don't mind. Good spot!


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## jeremyr (Sep 5, 2021)

How about composers quoting themselves?

Goldsmith quotes Goldsmith in Small Soldiers: 


Silvestri quotes Silvestri in Ready Player One:



Williams quotes Williams in E.T. (Yoda's theme) and 1941 (Jaws)

Horner quotes Horner in, well, everything...


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## BenG (Sep 5, 2021)

I like music said:


> Great thread! I'll try to think of some to add here. For now, I just want to say that Appalachian Spring has been playing nonstop in my head for the last two years. I'm obsessed.
> 
> In fact, I started mocking it up. It'll be months/years before that mockup is finished, but I don't mind. Good spot!


One of my absolute favourites for sure and the original (with 13 instruments) is a masterclass in orchestration. There was a point where I listened to the suite on repeat for weeks haha You should check out his Clarinet Concerto as well if you haven't already!


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## BenG (Sep 5, 2021)

jeremyr said:


> How about composers quoting themselves?
> 
> Goldsmith quotes Goldsmith in Small Soldiers:
> 
> ...



Love these and I completely forgot about the Ready Player One excerpt! No comment on how many times Horner has referenced his own works...

In the spirit of Back to the Future, here's another clip from 'A Million Ways to Die in the West'


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## BenG (Sep 5, 2021)

And speaking of Dodgeball, here is another 'nod' to that score in opening of Community. Fun fact: Goransson was actually Shapiro's assistant for many years, hence the little tip of the cap 

Original: 

Community:


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## Kent (Sep 5, 2021)

jeremyr said:


> Silvestri quotes Silvestri in Ready Player One:



Not this one, but I'm _pretty sure_ the quote at the Zemekis Cube moment was actually a needle-drop and not a re-performance, though.


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## b_elliott (Sep 5, 2021)

Note: Not strictly movie related as such, alhough there is Frank DeVol (4 time Academy music winner).

Frank Zappa used a compositional technique (xenochrony) which entails quoting motifs from one work in another. I first heard it while listening to Greggory Peccory off the Studio Tan LP. Suddenly one hears 'Billy The Mountain" (its motif hinted at earlier too). I believe I fell off a chair on first listen.

As my study of Zappa continued I have learned that particular work includes these quotes:
Big Swifty (FZ),
Chameleon (Jackson/Mason/Maupin/Hancock),
Dust My Broom (Elmore James),
Entry Of The Gladiators (Julius Fucik),
Billy The Mountain (FZ),
Louie Louie (Richard Berry),
My Three Sons (DeVol),
Blessed Relief (FZ) and
It Just Might Be A One-Shot Deal (FZ)_._

The whole thing is well worth a listen. A masterpiece from our times.


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## BenG (Sep 5, 2021)

A couple other 'classical' references from Williams and Horner respectively...


Feivel Goes West (Copland Rodeo)


Home Alone (Nutcracker Trepak)


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## Robin Thompson (Sep 9, 2021)

jeremyr said:


> Horner quotes Horner in, well, everything.


Yep... hehe

But he also quotes others on occasion. He cleverly inserted a few bits of Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf into The Land Before Time, most obviously at 1:44 in this clip (also the rising figure when Ducky enters the cave).


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## jeremyr (Sep 9, 2021)

Yeah, definitely. Horner's scores are full of references to classical music, almost like he was playing a game of "spot the reference" which I like to play willingly. So far in TLBT I've spotted:

Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf (as you mentioned)
Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet (Morning Serenade)
Debussy's Trois Nocturnes (Nuages)
Bartok's The Wooden Prince (opening)
Britten's Young Persons's Guide to the Orchestra (Fugue)
Bernstein's West Side Story
Mahler's Symphony No. 7
Shostakovich's Symphony No. 10
and so on...

I also have a list of references for Willow which is twice as long.


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## I like music (Sep 9, 2021)

jeremyr said:


> Yeah, definitely. Horner's scores are full of references to classical music, almost like he was playing a game of "spot the reference" which I like to play willingly. So far in TLBT I've spotted:
> 
> Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf (as you mentioned)
> Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet (Morning Serenade)
> ...


TLBT has probably the longest 'quote' of a single piece I've ever seen in film, but didn't spot half of these. I nearly lost my drink laughing when I heard the comparison. Still, love me some Horner.


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## BenG (Oct 10, 2021)

Another double-whammy with Christophe Beck quoting Silvestri and Williams!


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## jonathanparham (Oct 11, 2021)

Karl Feuerstake said:


> Henry Jackman's Kong: Skull Island has a certain theme that's very reminiscent of Tristan and Isolde which I really like:



This song track is in my current rotation


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## pbobcat (Oct 11, 2021)

Karl Feuerstake said:


> Henry Jackman's Kong: Skull Island has a certain theme that's very reminiscent of Tristan and Isolde which I really like:



I believe the Tristan & Isolde also provided the inspiration for this:


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