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Rachel Portman at the Oscars

Composer of the Week Rachel Portman (1960-present)
Episode 2 of 5

Donald Macleod and Rachel Portman discuss her Oscar-winning score for the film Emma.

Donald Macleod and Rachel Portman discuss the period when she won an Oscar for the film Emma

Donald Macleod this week joins the Oscar winning film composer Rachel Portman in her studio in London, to chat about her life and music for film and the concert platform. Portman was the first female composer to win an Academy Award, an Oscar, and a Primetime Emmy Award for her various film music projects, as well as many other Academy and Golden Globe nominations. In more recent years her music for the film The Duchess has been added to the A-level music syllabus. Portman also has an interest in ecology and environmental issues. There'll be an opportunity to hear part of her choral symphony The Water Diviner's Tale, a collaboration with Owen Sheers, plus the orchestral work Endangered specially recorded by the 大象传媒 Symphony Orchestra. Throughout the week there will also be music specially recorded by the 大象传媒 Singers including Portman's Magnificat, and her Christmas Carol We Were There composed in collaboration with Michael Morpurgo.

In Rachel Portman's studio in London, Donald Macleod joins the composer to chat about her film music projects in the 1990s. This included working with the American puppeteer and film-maker Jim Henson, where for one project they had to find a whistle that made the sound of rubies. Portman also discusses her process in writing for film, from playing freely at the piano without click-track, to providing a short-score with details of instrumentation for an orchestrator. In 1996 Portman worked on the film Emma, which won her an Oscar. Portman recounts her experiences of receiving that award, going to the ceremony, and how it impacted upon her career.

Portman
End Titles: Great Moments in Aviation
Studio Orchestra
David Snell, conductor

Portman
Chasing the Fox (War of the Buttons)
Studio Orchestra
David Snell, conductor

Portman
Terra Magica (The Adventures of Pinocchio)
Studio Orchestra
David Snell, conductor

Shostakovich
Violin Concerto No 1 in A minor, Op 99 (Passacaglia)
Nicola Benedetti, violin
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
Kirill Karabits, conductor

Portman
Emma (excerpts)
Studio Orchestra
David Snell, conductor

Portman
Beloved (excerpts)
Studio Vocalists
Studio Orchestra
David Arch, conductor

Producer Luke Whitlock.

1 hour

Last on

Tue 6 Mar 2018 12:00
大象传媒 Radio 3

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Rachel Portman at OxfordRachel Portman (1960-present)

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Rachel Portman and The Little PrinceRachel Portman (1960-present)

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Music Played

  • Rachel Portman

    End Titles (Great Moments in Aviation)

    Orchestra: Studio Orchestra. Conductor: David Snell.
    • Rachel Portman Sound Tracks.
    • Redial.
    • 21.

  • Rachel Portman

    Chasing the Fox (War of the Buttons)

    Orchestra: Studio Orchestra. Conductor: David Snell.
    • War of the Buttons Soundtrack.
    • Varese Sarabande.
    • 3.

  • Rachel Portman

    Terra Magica (The Adventures of Pinocchio)

    Orchestra: Studio Orchestra. Conductor: David Snell.
    • The Adventures of Pinocchio Soundtrack.
    • London.
    • 8.

  • Dmitry Shostakovich

    Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Op 99: Passacaglia

    Performer: Nicola Benedetti. Orchestra: Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Kirill Karabits.

  • Rachel Portman

    Sewing and Archery (Emma)

    Orchestra: Studio Orchestra. Conductor: David Snell.
    • Emma Soundtrack.
    • Hollywood.
    • 3.

  • Rachel Portman

    The Picnic (Emma)

    Orchestra: Studio Orchestra. Conductor: David Snell.
    • Emma Soundtrack.
    • Hollywood.
    • 13.

  • Rachel Portman

    Emma (1996): End Titles

    Orchestra: Studio Orchestra. Conductor: David Snell.
    • Emma (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack).
    • Hollywood.
    • 18.

  • Rachel Portman

    Beloved

    Ensemble: Studio Vocalists. Orchestra: Studio Orchestra. Conductor: David Arch.
    • Beloved Soundtrack.
    • EPIC.
    • 2.

  • Rachel Portman

    Cincinnati Streets (Beloved)

    Orchestra: Studio Orchestra. Conductor: David Arch.
    • Beloved Soundtrack.
    • EPIC.
    • 9.

  • Rachel Portman

    Denver Goes Out Yonder (Beloved)

    Orchestra: Studio Orchestra. Conductor: David Snell.
    • Beloved Soundtrack.
    • EPIC.
    • 12.

  • Rachel Portman

    Uhuru (Beloved)

    Choir: African Children's Choir. Ensemble: Studio Vocalists. Orchestra: Studio Orchestra. Conductor: David Arch.
    • Beloved Soundtrack.
    • EPIC.
    • 17.

Broadcast

  • Tue 6 Mar 2018 12:00
    大象传媒 Radio 3

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