The Sunday Quiz This week, its all about film composers
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Born on November 10, 1928, this gentleman has composed music for hundreds of movies. In 2016, he won his first Oscar, which also made him the oldest person ever to win a competitive Oscar. He is well known for his scores for Spaghetti Western films such as all those directed by Sergio Leone. Who is this gentleman whose most famous theme music can be easily whistled?
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This composer has composed some of the most popular soundtracks of all time and in the process won 24 Grammy awards, five Oscars and four Golden Globes. He is second only to Walt Disney with a record 51 Oscar nominations. His score for the 1977 movie Star Wars entered the Registry of the Library of Congress for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” Who is this prolific composer whose epic music usually means that some fantastic adventure is about to start?
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This composer’s vast knowledge of the aesthetics of music and cinema made him the most sought-after music director for more than a decade. His mastery over writing classical music scores made him the first person from Asia to write a symphony for the London Royal Philharmonic, which he did in a month’s time. In a span of three decades he composed the entire soundtracks for more than 1,000 movies and in the process is believed to have invented a new carnatic raga called ‘Panchamukhi’. Who is this prolific composer who was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 2018?
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This composer duo is renowned for their melodious compositions, which they created from 1949 to 1987. The first composer used to play the tabla in an orchestra and eventually learnt to play the sitar and accordion. The second one was a talented player of the harmonium. They started working together at Prithvi Theatre in Mumbai and even played minor roles on stage. Who are these composers, who made excellent use of the western orchestra in their music?
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This composer started off his career as a keyboardist with some pop bands and can even be seen in the video for the hit song ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’. He won an Oscar for his score in The Lion King. His music is characterised by the use of synthesisers and his ability to combine electronic sounds with organic instruments. Who is this composer whose soundtracks are easily identifiable by movie fans?
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This composer was prolific for three decades starting from the 1960s and scored more than 300 films during his career. His father was a renowned composer and his mother a lyricist. He was known by his nickname, which has different origin stories. One is that whenever he cried it was in the fifth note (Pa) and the other is that he could cry in five different notes. Who is this composer and what was his nickname?
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Vangelis is a Greek composer who started his career with some excellent progressive-psychedelic music albums with his band Aphrodite’s Child. In 1981 he composed the instrumental theme ‘Titles’ (because it is played over the opening titles) for a movie about two athletes in the 1924 Olympics. The theme became extremely popular and has been used as background music for many actual Olympics. At the 2012 Olympics it was performed by the London Symphony Orchestra with special guest Rowan Atkinson playing the single iconic synthesiser note that runs through the whole song. Which film’s title sequence is this?
8 / 10 |
Howard Shore is a Canadian composer who has scored for more than 80 movies. His most influential work was on a trilogy of movies that won him three Oscars, three Golden Globes and three Grammy awards. The score for these films has repeatedly been voted as some of the best soundtracks in recent history. For which movie trilogy (based on a series of books) does Howard Shore get such acclaim?
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This composer duo is responsible for the soundtracks of more than 700 movies in the period 1963-1998. The first composer got his name probably because he was born on the third day of Diwali. On the advice of his father’s friend he learnt the mandolin and started performing. The second composer was the son of a renowned trumpeter but he went on to learn the violin. Both of them met at a music academy run by the Mangeshkar family and eventually became sought-after composers. What is the name of this duo?
10 / 10 |
James Horner was a composer who was renowned for his use of Celtic elements in his soundtracks. He wrote the score for two of the highest grossing films of all time, both directed by James Cameron. In 1997, he won an Oscar, three Grammys and two Golden Globes for a song featuring a Canadian singer who recorded a song as a demo in one take which became a super hit. What was the song and who was the singer?
