Solo piano concert: tribute to the music of James Horner

When I learned of the plane crash yesterday, I immediately searched for the film music of James Horner. Still in shock, I quickly assembled a blog post on the theme from the Titanic. In the spur of that moment, I decided to give a solo piano concert of his music to share with local audiences here on Wednesday July 1st.

This blog post will be edited between now and Wednesday July 1st, 2015, with titles of pieces I will select to play. It will also be a journey down memory lane of the movies whose music struck and stuck in my life. Horner had 158 credits in film, TV, and documentaries.

In my research, I discovered movies I want to see because of the beautiful music of James Horner that I had not known existed. I have not seen “Casper” or “An American Tail” or The Land Before Time” or “The Rocketeer” or “The Amazing Spider Man.”

At the same time, I revisited the music of films I’ve already seen and appreciated them once more. Avatar. Braveheart. A Beautiful Mind. Titanic. Legends of the Fall. The Perfect Storm. The Mask of Zorro. The New World.

Soundtrack from movies belong to what I call “background music.” Unless they are used repeatedly and elsewhere and even standalone, most people won’t recognize it even if they have seen the movie. Songs written specifically for movies can become hits on their own. Such was the case of the hit singles Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” and Leona Lews’s “I See You” from Avatar.

I asked my audience to imagine an orchestra, for James Horner wrote for the orchestra and conducted it himself.

Wed. July 1st @ 1 pm Roselani Place, Maui

• Somewhere Out There, from “An American Tail”
• Rooftop Kiss from “The Amazing Spider Man”
• I See You from “Avatar”
• Theme from “Braveheart”
• The Ludlows from “Legends of the Fall”
• Southampton from “Titanic”
• My Heart Will Go On from “Titanic”

Instead of devoting the remaining half-hour to the following set, I chose songs the audience knew — old favorites, patriotic songs (from two albums given to me by a retired opera singer and now best-selling novelist) for the upcoming Fourth of July, and “Tulips from Amsterdam” for my friend Astrid in the audience.

• The Gift of Mortality from Bicentennial Man
• Casper’s Lullaby from Casper
• Main Theme from Cocoon
• Coming Home from the Sea from The Perfect Storm
• To the Rescue from The Rocketeer
• Theme from A Beautiful Mind
• Zorro’s Theme from The Mask of Zorro

Youtube is full of tributes to the music of James Horner. Below is one such fan.