John Smyth writes:

>...  (Today, doesn't Oscar=death knell for the serious composer?) I've
>read that earlier in the century crossover wasn't such an issue. ...

Well, John Corigliano's career doesn't seem to have suffered at all after
his Oscars for <Altered States> and <The Red Violin>.  His new Violin
Concerto, written for Joshua Bell and based on the <Red Violin> music
that Bell played on the soundtrack, will be played by the Atlanta Symphony
in November.  And he won the Pulitzer Prize in 2001 for his Symphony No.
2.

Seems to me that the great divide between "serious" composers and
soundtrack composers has largely been filled in and planted over.
Tan Dun works both sides with great success.  Classical compositions
by soundtrack greats Korngold and Rozsa are being rediscovered by
performers and other music lovers.

Thank heaven we're dumping our past notion that good composers in one
field can't produce good music in another.  The crossing over between
classical and popular is at an all-time high.  Check out John Harbison's
<Remembering Gatsby: Foxtrot for Orchestra>, Christopher Rouse's <Bonham>,
David Schiff's <Stomp>, and Michael Daugherty's <Desi> (as in Arnaz),
all grouped with other crossover pieces by respected classical names --
many of whom played in rock bands in their youth -- on the Zinman/Baltimore
Symphony CD "Dance Mix" (Argo 444 454-2).

Nick Jones
Atlanta, Ga.