It’s tough, because it’s sort of asking a musician what are your favorite pieces of music. And the truth is, there’s so many. It seems tough and unfair at the same time to single out a few. But I’d be happy to talk about composers, or film composers, that I think just had a significant impact. I’m not the first one to be a big fan of Bernard Herrmann. I think really that what I mentioned before to take a step back as a composer and acknowledge that maybe you’re not the genius. Maybe you’re here to fulfill a function. That function has to do with simplicity and maximizing effect. This is really something that Bernard Herrmann was a first one to apply into film music. It’s the reason why his scores are so effective is that he took a step back and he really served the movie first.

Next on that list I would put Enya Morecona, simply because I think in terms of emotional support for movies, I don’t know any other composer who has been able to get under my skin the same way with some of the scores. And it’s funny, too, because I know he’s doing film scores quasi on the side. He’s not seeing that as his main focus. And maybe that’s one of the reasons why it’s so successful and why it’s so effective.

So those would be my two legends to uphold. And from current composers, I do like Antonio Pinto very much, who’s come out of nowhere really and did some scoring in Collateral that I though was very effective. Did Lord of War. He also did Central Station. And a movie I extremely like called Cronicas. So I like him a lot. And I like Alexander Desplat, who did The Girl with the Pearl Earring and then Birth. So those are my eclectic choices for film composers I admire.

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