In this talk, Gustavo Costantini explores the original and revolutionary ideas that Stanley Kubrick brought to the film soundtrack. After rejecting Alex North’s original score for 2001, A Space Odyssey, Kubrick decided to use pre-existing music, and the way it worked was a game-changer. From 19th Century Viennese waltzes to up-to-date avant-garde approaches by Ligeti, soundtracks were never the same again. We will discuss the interaction between the images, sounds and music, including symbolic content of certain pieces, the provocative counterpoint opposing the character of the scene with the character of music, and the connection between the modernism of Kubrick’s cinema with modern music. Analysis of clips from 2001, A Clockwork Orange, The Shining and Eyes Wide Shut, amongst others.
GUSTAVO COSTANTINI
Argentinean sound designer, musician, professor, and researcher, Gustavo received his PhD in Sound Design from the University of Buenos Aires (under the guidance of Michel Chion), and is now professor of Sound and Editing at the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) and at the National University of the Arts (UNA). As visiting professor he has taught at University of London (Goldsmiths and Royal Holloway), University for Creative Arts, London Film School, International Film School (Cologne, Germany), European Film College (Ebeltoft, Denmark), John Cabot University (Rome), and at ORT University and the University of La Republica (Montevideo, Uruguay), among others. He has worked in cinema, video, theater, and radio, in Argentina and internationally. He was a member of the Editorial Board of The Soundtrack and The New Soundtrack journals, along with Walter Murch, Michel Chion, Roberto Perpignani, Carter Burwell, among others. Previously, he has delivered the ‘Sound Design and Audiovision’ and ‘Music in Film’ series for the School of Sound.