CD REVIEW - THE SOLOIST


The Soloist
Music by Dario Marianelli (after Beethoven)
DECCA 178 9282
15 Tracks 47:51 mins

Based on a true story, director Joe Wright's latest sees an LA journalist's attempts to aid a homeless, mentally ill, Julliard-trained cellist, and stars Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr.
The music is credited to Dario Marianelli, but consists largely of his adaptations of the works of Beethoven. Of course, the composer has integrated classical pieces in his work for Wright before, but at least then original score enthusiasts had some of his own themes to cling on to. Here, however, there's nothing really for them to appreciate, save for the skill of Marianelli's adaptations which, it has to be said, are entirely appropriate in the context of the film's plot and lead character.
Of course, if you are swept up by the film's plot, this album will make for an excellent memento, but as a stand-alone item, classical fans will most probably already have the Beethoven originals, and original film score fans will most likely give it a miss, unless they are inspired enough by the use of the music in the film to use it as an intro to the work of the great composer.
Whatever, it should be said that the music is performed most excellently by the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Cellist Ben Hong and, in closing, I would point you in the direction of www.musicfromthemovies.com, where you can find absorbing interviews with both composer Marianelli and director Wright on the film's music.