Interview with Bill Conti
Before starting with the questions, we would like to thank you for your participation; it's a privilege for us to have the chance to interview you.
Let’s go back in time. You studied composition at the Louisiana State University and graduated at the Julliard School. How and when you decided to devote yourself to movies?
Both my grandfather and father were musicians and after dinner, many times they would take a kind of a vocal piece of an opera, let’s say La Boheme… mostly Italian operas. One of them would sing the female part and the other one would sing the male part, so I have been listening to opera from the very beginning. I like to write dramatic music, so I studied composition and opera when I was in school but I realized that, to make a living, maybe the best place to write dramatic music was in films and TV.
No doubt you are among the greatest melodic movie composers. We feel your music fits admirably well the different styles and epochs the movies were shot. How would you define yourself as a musician?
Well, without a doubt, I am a believer in the melody; a melody can denote more things, I believe, than the other two elements of music like rhythm and harmony. I think the character is best described in melody; the rhythm only takes you so far and the harmony only takes you so far in best describing intangibles like noble and happy. All these various emotions are to be described in either the three other elements of music, but melody really describes character better than most, and I love melody.
In 1967, probably influenced by Hugo Weisgall, your professor at Julliard, you moved and settled in Italy for seven years. You scored there several movies. How was your Italian experience and, basically, which are the differences between Italy and Hollywood way of working?
Well, you are right; in 1967, Hugo Weisgall became composer in residence at the American Academy in Rome and he asked if I would like to come back to where my roots were. He knows that I am an American born in America, but my roots are all Italian. It was an opportunity to go back to Italy with my new wife and we went to live in Rome. We spent all of our time in Rome although I did work in Milan as well. I was the Musical Director for the Italian version of “Hair” for one year. Apart from that, my movie experience all began in Italy. In the late 60’s, the technology was the same technology that it was in the 30’s, 40’s or 50’s in terms of writing the appropriate music for scenes. Apart from learning how to write movie music, I was also writing and orchestrating for other composers in Italy.
In 1970 you collaborated with the great Vittorio de Sica in “The garden of the Finzi-Contini”. However, the scoring is under the name of Manuel de Sica. Which was precisely your participation in that movie?
I was a friend of De Sicas, Vittorio, Manuel and Christian. Manuel was a young film composer at the time, and he was doing the score for the “Garden of the Finzi-Contini”. I was helping him and played all the piano during the sessions and did, I believe, many of the orchestrations.
But your name did not appear in the film credits…
Because it was the music of Manuel de Sica only.
You went back to the States in 1973 and started a fruitful collaboration with director Paul Mazursky in movies such as “Blume in love”(1973), “Harry and Tonto” (1974) and “Next stop, Greenwich Village” (1976). How did you meet Mr. Mazursky and how it happen your working in these comedies?
I was working as a part of the Italian co-production “Blume in love”. The movie was being shot at Venice’s San Marco for one month with the Municipal Band of Venice and the Café mussicians. I was the musical supervisor in that project and I met Paul for the first time. He mentioned:“Why don’t you come to California where they do more movies?". I was very happy to be living in Roma, in fact my two daughters were born there, but we came on a vacation to America to show our grand-parents our children and I came out to Los Angeles to visit Paul Mazursky and he offered me this picture. He said: “Would you like to do the music of the movie "Harry and Tonto" for me”?. I was very excited and I said yes, and this is when we decided to return to America in 1973.
In 1978 came “An unmarried woman” for which you were nominated for the Golden Globes awards. In this movie, Mazursky depicted the midlife crisis with a jazzy touch. We know that you played in jazz clubs to get money and pay for your studies at the Lousiana University. What can you tell us about that movie, and your approach to capturing Jill Claybourgh’s character?
“An unmarried woman” was set in New York. New York has a certain feel and if you want to have the music feel like New York, at least in those days, there was a certain sound and it derives mainly from a Broadway kind of feel, so part of the score was sort of like that, to make it sound like New York. I had a saxophone player who’s very special, his name was Antonio Ortega, “El Gato”. He is a jazz player and I thought that his saxophone showed all of the deep emotions that were in that movie. I did a demo to Paul. He liked the voice of the saxophone very much, so we were ahead with that.
After these four movies with Paul Mazursky, quite a long time elapsed until you both met again for TV-films such as “Winchell” (1998) and “Coast to Coast” (2004). Can you tell us the reasons for such a long break, and how did you both resume your relationship?
Well, there are not specific reasons. Let’s put in another way, a director will cast for the movie who he thinks should play the female part and who could play the male part, so when a director thinks about a composer, he selects the one who would be right for this movie. In any case, I had a good relationship with Paul, I had known him for a long time. I do not pretend doing every movie he made, in the same way he does not ask me why I go to dinner with other directors either. When, after a long time, we saw each other again I was very busy with the movie “Rocky”. To make it short, I have nothing but good words for Paul and always when we see each other we hug and we remember old times.
After these first movies with Mazursky, your encounter with John G. Avildsen and Sylvester Stallone with “Rocky” (1976) were very important for you and your career. How did come out the opportunity of scoring this movie, which was a tremendous success and made of you a renowned composer?
During the movie "Harry and Tonto" there was a film editor named Richard Halsey and he went to do a little movie after ‘Harry and Tonto’ with the Director John G. Avildsen. He was doing another movie for the 20th Century Fox and they wanted me to be part of that movie, but the studio picked someone else to do the music and then that same couple, John and Richard, went to do the little “Rocky” movie and they wanted me to score it, and I did it! (laughs)
Your score for “Rocky” , rich in atmosphere and emotion, shows how two different styles, an epic one, very characteristic of you, with powerful brass section on “Gonna fly now” or “Going to the distance”, and the more intimate themes of “Philadelphia morning” or “First date” were the piano plays a major role, are so well blended. A very clever way to enhance Rocky’s human side, and avoiding simple, heroic aspects. Which of the Rocky’s character you wanted to outline most, and how it came about your inspiration for the famous “Gonna fly now”?
The story of Rocky was a classic movie, and John thought that the music of Beethoven he was playing, the ‘Eroica Symphony’ while we were watching movies of fighters in slow motion, is a classic tale and this is like a ballet and all of these classic thoughts about music and the economics were such that it was a $25.000 dollar package deal which means that, with this amount, you have to pay the musicians, the studio, the recording, then the composer would get what was left. I said I don’t think I can use a big symphony orchestra, I think it is more proper to look at the streets of Philadelphia and the fantasy story that we have. I would do my best to the classic theme that the emotions that Rocky, who is the fighter who has never made it, all these feelings to be portrayed…. since I can’t use a symphony orchestra, we would use as many instruments we can afford, but I would try to maintain the integrity of the story. We wanted a simple melody that depicted the story of Rocky (at this moment, Mr. Conti plays the melody on the piano….) so I used that throughout the whole movie. Then, when it came the time for him to do the training montage, that means the big fight, John asked me to prepare about 1’30” minutes with music for the montage which I did. I used the same thing (Mr. Conti plays the piano again…) but a bit faster. After he heard it, he said he needed another 30 seconds, after that he said he needed another 30 seconds, and he kept doing that so we got finally the three minutes. I did not sit down to write the song “Gonna fly now” but I pieced it together as he needed music and it came out to be 30 minutes. Then, we had two lyricists (Connors & Robbins) who were writing lyrics for other movies and we asked them to write the lyrics for it.
You have worked in all the Rockys but the fourth. As musician, do you find interesting to further deepening in Rocky’s movies the thematic confrontation the character shows or, else, do you prefer working on projects which may offer new challenges for you?
Well… it is a "problema", it’s difficult. A composer always would like to do something new and different, but when you redo a sequel, you have to use the same material, but then you can try to creatively use it differently. It is not exciting to do sequels or similar as it is to do something original, but working with material you know, the hard part there is to make it fresh even though you are working with old material.
What about the news that a Rocky sixth is being envisaged and the possibility of your scoring it?
Well, as I said before about the directors, they will ask whoever they want to do it. I would love to do it, In fact, there is a script, a wonderful script, but the economics of making a movie it´s a problem. Something I do not understand so, in the end, I do not know if there will be a Rocky 6th.
… but nothing about the score, may be it is all yet in a preliminary stage….
He is also thinking about a musical in this very preliminary stage but, right now, I cannot tell much about it.
If you don’t mind, let’s continue talking about your collaboration with John G. Avildsen whom you have worked with, if we remember correctly, in 13 movies. After “Rocky”, it came what is probably for us your best movie score. We are referring to “Slow dancing in the big city” (1978). Your score is full of charm and delicacy, and the marvellous ballet shows how gifted are you for romanticism, (specially in the beautiful track “The Ovation”). Do you feel at ease in the romantic field? and, if so, why you have not explored more frequently your romantic vein?
Well, these are two questions. The last question first. When the phone rings and someone wants me to do a picture, I explore what’s in front of me. I would like to explore a more romantic vein, but I find myself always so busy that I do not write for myself anymore. I loved working on “Slow dancing in the big city” and, as a matter of fact, there was a second ballet that I wrote for that film. Everyone was talking about a contemporary ballet and I thought that the word contemporary in music would mean something that I understood, meaning that contemporary music can be atonal or modern music. I’ve written some quite like that, but they, the film makers, when they say contemporary they only meant that it was written today and performed today, but they like romantic music so, I said Oh! I understand romantic music, let me go back and write another ballet which is in a romantic vein, so that is the second one in the movie.
What do you think about working in this movie?. Do you consider this one to be one of your best scores?
I like it very much. I like the music for “Gloria” also very much. I think that “Slow dancing…” is one of my favorite scores.
For “The Formula” (1980) your approach seems to be more mysterious and nostalgic in a thriller that deals with nazism. Tell us please about your experience of working with such monsters like George C. Scott and Marlon Brando.
You must remember that, as musicians, I am part of a post-production function and I do not normally work with the actors. What I enjoy about it is the performance. Again, in “The Formula” John G. Avildsen wanted us to speak about the footstage of the film early; we came up with plans to play music for him and we ended up agreeing on the bigger the names, whether it is Marlon Brando or George Scott. I do not get the chance to work with them. I met them, but I cannot say I have worked with them.
Generally speaking, do you think that actors get a bit involved or interested in the score?… do they want to know who’s the composer, do they want to talk to him or her, or not really?
No, very much so. As a matter of fact, I did a movie with Alan Alda, “The Senator” or something like that, maybe they changed the name. Alan was just the actor but he did not like the score in the movie he was in, and he brought me in to do the movie. He was not the Director but he had a lot to say in that movie so I worked with Alan Alda and enjoyed it very much.
Another very successful saga you have scored is Avildsen’s “Karate Kid” where we find a mixture of symphonism with more modern rythms. How was your approach to the characters and, more precisely, with the use of flute to Miyagi’s?
Karate Kid is a fairy tale story, and I tried to elevate the music and not just be kid’s music. There was a lot of source music in the movie that the Karate Kid had around. I felt it was not frivolent, it was about secret things, in a kind of Puccini way. They can feel a little bit about the Okinawa and martial arts and of course, Mr. Miyagi was the wisdom of the East, and in the first one we use the zamfir to convey that feeling of inner peace and spiritual leadership.
The music for this Kid’s series shows a tranquility… it all seems a bit magic.. It is something you wanted to reflect also in the movie as well…a kind of new age…. something very spiritual?
Yes, Mr. Miyagi was the spiritual leader in that movie, and he had that feeling about him. I guess it was early “new age”, because it was more spiritual than about religion, that’s for sure, it was a feeling that I tried to get in the music.
From all the movies you have scored for Mr. Avildsen, which one are you most satisfied with?
This is very hard because although there are so many, with music there is always several parts that you really like, but also you criticize those parts that you dislike. I have to say of course that Rocky was very special, and also the Karate Kid was very special as well. There are of course so many movies I enjoyed, but certainly “Slow dancing in the big city” was one of the prettiest.
Another of your faithful, long standing partnership has been with Silvester Stallone. After “Rocky”, you scored Norman Jewison’s “F.I.S.T” (1978). This is quite a symphonic oriented score with a “raging Americana” touch. What did you want to reflect through a tense main theme but turning into a noble and epic one in a story of trade unions fight?
The Director Norman Jewison wanted the movie to feel like it was the kind of movies made in the 40’s that had a big orchestra and a lot of music, but it was still the story of oppression and that the theme had to reflect on one’s striving really hard, but the main view was to try to recreate those movies that we had done in the 40’s.
Please tell me one thing… I remember this score was recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra…. Do you feel more comfortable working with such big orchestras rather than I would say normal orchestras being contracted in Hollywood?
Two ways to think about the orchestra. When you engage an orchestra like the LSO you have engaged a group that play together all the time, sitting next to each other and playing every day. When you contract an orchestra, anywhere in the world, you brought together musicians, probably the finest musicians, to create an orchestra…. but, will they sound like an orchestra that has spent together for 20 years?. Well, maybe not but, on the other side, you cannot always engage an orchestra like the LSO that plays together all the time; the problem is the timing, meaning that when the film is ready to do the score, maybe the Symphony, wherever the LSO, the New York Philharmonic, etc. might be busy. When you contract an orchestra and you put together the best musicians, you also hope to make them sound like the great ones.
In “Paradise Alley”, it emerges the using of the sax in a clearly jazz-oriented score. What kind of memories does this score brings you, and how was your relation with Tom Waits, who also co-scored the movie and even played a main role in it?
Yes, it was another stage of setting being on older feel and a jazzy feel. I remember using a lot of combo and having a lot of fun working on the score. Tom Waits of course is a very talented creator, and that was an experience. I do not know if you know a movie called ‘I, the Jury’ that is another jazz score, jazz scores are always fun to do, but it is the players that make them alive,… you ask players create on top of the music that’s written and that makes it much more exciting.
What can you tell us about your score for “Victory” (1981)?. How was to work with John Huston?. This is, probably, one of your most complete symphonic scores and, thematically speaking, quite varied. Why this extraordinary score has never been released?
Yes, you know, the releasing of soundtracks on cd or records was or is dependent on the success of the movie. If the movie enjoys a lot of success, then they will think about putting out the score because there is a repayment for the musicians for a different media. It is not like to have the music on tape, which we do. If you put it out again, you must repay the musicians again, so many scores are not available to buy. John Huston, the film maker, had put in pieces in a temporary way, not the whole picture but just some parts. He had this classic feel for it that he wanted to maintain. He liked the music that I did very much, and I enjoyed working on it a lot.
How was to work with John Huston apart from the music…. is he a demanding man? …. is he a open-minded person?…. how was your relationship with him?
I will relate working with John Huston almost the same way as working with John Cassavettes or I might say almost with Paul Mazursky. The people that know acting allow you to be free, they do not ask, in other words, the director can also have very specific thoughts about the music, very specific and, to your best, then you try to recreate the thoughts and feelings the director have, but in the case of these Actors-Directors, all wanted to know what I felt about it. They may have said many words about the music but, generally speaking, they really give you free reign to let you do it yourself. They did not ask you to change this note or do not do that note as some people do, and that’s ok because this is part of the job but, in the case of John Huston or John Cassavettes they did not.
In that same year 1981, you scored “For your eyes only”, a great entry into the hall of fame of musicians who contributed to the James Bond saga. Which are your memories of this score and how important for you was John Barry’s previous approach to James Bond movies for composing yours?
For some reason, John Barry did not do that movie and he recommended me to do the score for ‘For your eyes only’ which I am forever grateful.
Were you a close friend of John Barry for recommending you?
I like John and we have eaten together, but he does not live in Los Angeles so we do not get to see each other very much. I like him very much and his wife and, as I said, he recommended me for the movie and brought me into the Broccoli family. Albert Broccoli was the producer. They were wonderful people to work with, they were of the first category again, there was established a kind of James Bond feel. When I did the James Bond movie, we had James Bond movies for 20 years at that time, already. John Barry had established the format on how you do it. The song of course is always special and, if you get a choice to write a good Bond song, hopefully you do it justice and John Barry’s sense with Shirley Bassey or with great performers that have been in Bond movies. I am very happy that Sheena Easton sang the song.
For John Glenn, this was his first James Bond movie he directed so I went to London with my family for three months to write music for the Bond movie rather than stay at home. We were all very close together at that time…. it was a very enjoyable experience for me.
Also with Stallone, you scored ‘Lock up’ in 1989 which, luckly, has been released recently. Along with an elegiac main theme for piano, there is a powerful action theme for the football game scene. Which were for you the most important aspects to be conveyed in the movie?
Well, every movie has all of these. Music is not literal, music is always fantasy, music always best describe emotions. That is why Plato wanted you to study gymnastics -gymnastics for young people, gymnastics for your body, music for your emotion. When you go to a movie like that, every emotion is very important. In other words, if someone has said you are supposed to do that, that emotion you will do it your way in terms of the movie. You have to feel that and do that.
Another score of yours which we would not like to pass by, is your wonderful score for John Cassavettes’ “Gloria” (1980). The using of voice, guitar and sax makes this score a very personal one, a kind of real concert for guitar and sax. Considering how minority and risky Cassavettes movies can be, were you able to chose freely the thematic and the music?
Well, of course. I first met John for the movie and said what do you feel about the music and he said to me that’s why I hired you!: I want your music so you can do whatever you want. I used the same saxophone player from “An unmarried woman”, that is, Antonio Ortega and the guitarrist was Amy Tedesco. When he heard the music and the saxophone, he also suggested a singer from the very beginning: "Now, here’s this man who I want to sing". I said: "What would you like him to sing?". He said: "let him come to the session… we will use him!…" "but John, what is he going to say?" I reply, and John thinks: "Why doesn’t he just say “Mama”?". I said: "It sounds good to me".
I wrote something else, and the words were mama, the whole opening of Gloria. It was one of the thrilling moments. We had 12 clarinet players, saxophones, percussion, strings, no other woodwinds, guitar. John loved the music.
Do you see any difference between composing for a so-called intelectual movie maker as John Casavettes -with whom you collaborated later on ‘Big trouble’- and a more commercial-oriented movie?
No, you know, in the end, in the final analysis, the music again gets back to make me happy, make me cry, make me sad, go into battle with the score or song. If the film is really serious, the music should be serious, not frivolous. Music is a part of our life, music is everywhere, on the radio, television, etc.…. most people enjoy music because it touches the soul deep inside them.
In 1983, your score for “The right stuff” made you win an Accademy Award, the only one you have. The inspiration of Holst’s The Planets seems to be quite present. Any comments about that?
Holst was a part of the movie but not the whole movie. The director had put in the kind of music he would like to hear, and I recorded it, not all but in a couple of scenes. The director asked me to get closer to the Holst and I did but, again, most of the original score has little to do with Holst.
We recall your impressive march for “The Coolangatta gold” (1984). This stunning ability for composing marches, so vitalistic and melodic alike, where does it come from?
It comes from the opera that I heard last. I went to hear Verdi’s ‘Aida’. It was wonderful!. I must say that my Italian heritage, Verdi, Puccini…. It’s the music I love. I hear the chorus from Nabucco…. Aida… that’s the kind of music I love …(laughs)…. so if I write like that, I am sorry, that’s the music I love!.
During the 80’s, your name was associated with many, highly successful TV-series. We are convinced that your scores were an essential part for such successes. As you may have guessed, we refer to “Dinasty”, “Falcon Crest”, “Cagney and Lacey” and “North and South”. Have you accorded the same importance to scoring for TV with respect to movies?
The important thing with TV is the amount of time. In other words, the main title of the movie is like telling a story that is once upon a time. If the story goes on and on, you can take all the time you want to tell the story. In television, because people can change the station, as soon as they hear something new, it would be nice if the theme came on and it was interesting. Oh!, I like to hear this show, that happens because there is an immediacy to hear the song and if he didn’t see “Dinasty” for the first time, there is always a first time… it is the same with “North and South”, the very first time they hear it, if the music and the title is interesting, from today they hear it, so it’s much more important to be immediate in TV whereas in the movies you take the time.
Also for Television, we have by all means to point out your extraordinary score for “Murderers among us: The Simon Wisenthal story” (1989). When it comes to dealt with the Holocaust, do you think that a certain emotional involvement/implication is needed for scoring such a sad story?
Well, always yes, I mean unfortunately, the Holocaust is historical, it’s there, and anyone who knows the story knows that it is a very sad story, and the music can take you in all of those big places and I think how you do it is more important to explain that, if the pictures sometimes are telling the story so much that you do not need to hear any music, sometimes it is best, but if the film needs a little help, maybe the music helps it a lot, but sometimes it can get too much. I mean music for a sad story reflects that story. It is part of that, music has no morality.
You have also scored Keith Merrill’s Imax documentaries ‘Grand Canyon’, ‘Yellowstone’ and ‘Niagara Falls’. What led you into Imax film scoring?
Well, the idea of having a film so large for such a small audience, I mean a place where you could make music. Apart from an experience -a film or a movie is always an experience- Imax at the time was like a thrill ride, like going on a rollercoaster. The audience sat right in the middle of it, heard every note of the music, it is really exciting for musicians. I love doing it.
It seems this has been the only occasion in which you decided to release your scores on your own account. I am thinking of “Grand Canyon” and “Yellowstone” particularly. How was the experience?…. because there are some other magnificent scores of yours like “Gloria” which has never been released.
That’s the same thing again, in other words, when you do, let’s say the Imax ‘Yellowstone’, where I own everything and pay for everything and could release the album. It is only dealing with me, but in the case of ‘Gloria’ which was a Columbia pictures, they would have to repay all the musicians and they might have decided not to put it out. I paid for the score for ‘The Right stuff’ and ‘North and South so, it’s a matter of money, you know, and there are many scores that have not been put out because people are not going to pay for it.
Can a musician get the rights for certain scores in case, for instance, Columbia or Universal decide not to release the score, so that soundtrack lovers would benefit from a music that Columbia or other producers seem not to care much about?
The musicians have to be repaid. Even though let’s say, Columbia would allow you to put out the soundtrack, you must repay the musicians for a record session. You do not have to do the session, but do have to repay them to put out the record because it is a different medium. They were paid to do the film, now if you make a cd you must pay them again. To put it on a cd., not everybody can pay for it again.
During the 90’s, you seem not to be so active in movie scoring but three movies, quite diverse each other in thematic, are worth mentioning: the Americana in “The adventures of Huck Finn” (1993), the latin rythms in “Blood in Blood out” and the jazzy and nostalgic “The Thomas Crown affair”. Which is your favorite score of this decade and also, are you being offered projects interesting enough, away from the musical clichés and commercialism which seem to be the rule in Hollywood nowadays?
Well, two things, the three movies you mention. The Spanish touch in the “Blood in blood out” story, I was on for nine months!. Taylor Hackford was a wonderful director and I really loved working on that. The “Americana” that was in “The Adventures of Huck Finn” was so much fun because it reminds you of all of that Aaron Copland feeling music of America. The “Thomas Crown affair” was a remake and the original score by Michel Legrand was wonderful, but I said to the director: "What do we do?", and he said: "let’s do something different". The story is not going to be the same either, it’s going to be different…. that was wonderful, and I really loved working on them, and because I worked so hard in the 70’s and the 80’s I felt like I could take a rest… (laughs).. you know, save your money and maybe you just don’t have to go 100 miles an hour all of the time.
Which is your favorite score of this decade….the one you love more?
I like ‘The Thomas Crown affair’ very much.
At present, what projects are you involved in, and what about the ones for the future?
Well, the first thing that makes my life shorter is that I´ve directed the Oscar show in a week or so. This has been the seventeenth time I have directed the Accademy Awards show.
I am currently working on a video game and it is ‘The Godfather’.
Are you going to score video games as well?
Well, I am enjoying this, this video game will come out next Christmas and it has the voices of Marlon Brando, Al Pacino and all the people in ‘The Godfather’. That’s very interesting and I like that and, because I am a supersticious man, my Agent is talking about another movie coming up soon, but I cannot talk about it because that would be bad luck… (laughs) …
We would like to talk briefly about your activity as orchestra conductor and very specially for the Academy Awards ceremonies. Any anecdotes or unforgettable moments which occurred during the many times you participated in this event conducting the orchestra on which you would like to comment?
Oh yeah, there are many stories but the best one I think of, it was in my very first year, in 1977… there were 50 musicians, 15 singers in the pit. I had video monitors, audio controls, I had the script, the music, microphones and foot pedals to talk to different people at different times and, in the middle of the show, when it was the most tense because the orchestra comes in maybe a 115 times, again and again…. The winner is, with the right music and with the right winning picture, one of the musicians grabbed my leg and said “we smell smoke in the pit” and the firemen had to come (laughs), but nothing important really happened. I think this was the scariest one of them all.
How did you get involved in Australian movies such as “Napoleon” and “The real McCaw”?
There was a director, Mario Andreacchio who made a phone call to me because of the “Coolangatta Gold”. This was the first Australian picture I did and then, for Napoleon and the real McCaw, Mario, who was also involved in these projects, called me back and… you know, it just takes a phone call as the director says I like the music of this composer … it’s only a matter of picking up the phone and that is what I do.
Something I am a bit curious about is why did you include Gregorian chants in your score for ”The year of the gun”?
I used the opening of Dante’s “Inferno” and it was just an idea, something to do. I thought it was interesting, something different, and the director, John Frankenheimer, liked it a lot too.
Well, we come to the end of this pleasant interview. I want to thank you Mr. Conti for your courtesy and for the generous time you have accorded to us.
Thank you also for a wonderful interview.
Special thanks to Irwin Ashley, for his kindness collaboration with us. Without him, we wouldn´t have had this interview.
6-may-2005
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