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Sinfonia Of London
Sinfonia of London is a session orchestra based in London, England, and conducted by John Wilson. The current orchestra is the third of three distinct ensembles of this name. The original Sinfonia of London was founded in 1955 by Gordon Walker, an eminent flautist of his time, specifically for the recording of film music. The orchestra came into being when there was a split in the future direction of the London Symphony Orchestra, many LSO players leaving to join the Sinfonia of London in order to undertake the more lucrative film soundtrack work. The orchestra appeared in the musical credits of many British and American films of the 1950s and '60s, including the 1958 soundtrack for the Alfred Hitchcock thriller ''Vertigo'' with Bernard Herrmann's score conducted by Muir Mathieson for Mercury Records and, in 1961, the soundtrack of the horror film '' Gorgo''. Among the original ensemble's most celebrated commercial classical recordings are the first recording made by Colin Dav ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Wilson (conductor)
John Wilson (born 1972) is a British conductor, arranger and musicologist, who conducts orchestras and operas, as well as big band jazz. He is the creator of the John Wilson Orchestra and Associate Guest Conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. Education Wilson was born in Gateshead, Tyne & Wear. He attended Breckenbeds Junior High School in Low Fell, then Heathfield Senior High School in Gateshead (now closed). In the late 1980s he studied music at A-level at Newcastle College, where he conducted a variety of ensembles including a 96-piece orchestra and choir for a concert version of ''West Side Story''. He wrote and directed his own pantomime during this period and he also conducted for many local amateur dramatic societies. Later he attended the Royal College of Music, first as a percussionist, and later studying composition and conducting. During this time he won the institution's Tagore Gold Medal for outstanding academic excellence. Career In 2004 Wilson was ap ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fantasia On A Theme Of Thomas Tallis
''Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis'', also known as the ''Tallis Fantasia'', is a one-movement work for string orchestra by Ralph Vaughan Williams. The theme is by the 16th-century English composer Thomas Tallis. The Fantasia was first performed at Gloucester Cathedral as part of the 1910 Three Choirs Festival, and has entered the orchestral repertoire, with frequent concert performances and recordings by conductors and orchestras of various countries. Background and first performance Vaughan Williams did not achieve wide recognition early in his career as a composer, but by 1910, in his late thirties, he was gaining a reputation. In that year the Three Choirs Festival commissioned a work from him, to be premiered in Gloucester Cathedral; this represented a considerable boost to his standing. He composed what his biographer James Day calls "unquestionably the first work by Vaughan Williams that is recognizably and unmistakably his and no one else's". It is based on a tun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RoboCop
''RoboCop'' is a 1987 American science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner. The film stars Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Daniel O'Herlihy, Ronny Cox, Kurtwood Smith, and Miguel Ferrer. Set in a crime-ridden Detroit, in the near future, ''RoboCop'' centers on police officer Alex Murphy (Weller) who is murdered by a gang of criminals and subsequently revived by the megacorporation Omni Consumer Products as the cyborg law enforcer RoboCop. Unaware of his former life, RoboCop executes a brutal campaign against crime while coming to terms with the lingering fragments of his humanity. The film was conceived by Neumeier while working on the set of ''Blade Runner'' (1982), and he developed the idea further with Miner. Their script was purchased in early 1985 by producer Jon Davison on behalf of Orion Pictures. Finding a director proved difficult; Verhoeven dismissed the script twice because he did not understand its satiri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tombstone (film)
''Tombstone'' is a 1993 American Western film directed by George P. Cosmatos, written by Kevin Jarre (who was also the original director, but was replaced early in production), and starring Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer, with Sam Elliott, Bill Paxton, Powers Boothe, Michael Biehn, and Dana Delany in supporting roles, as well as narration by Robert Mitchum. The film is loosely based on real events that took place in the 1880s in Tombstone, Arizona, including the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral and the Earp Vendetta Ride. It depicts several Western outlaws and lawmen, such as Wyatt Earp, William Brocius, Johnny Ringo, and Doc Holliday. ''Tombstone'' was released by Hollywood Pictures in theatrical wide release in the United States on December 25, 1993, grossing $73.2 million worldwide. The film was a financial success, and for the Western genre, it ranks number 16 in the list of highest-grossing films since 1979. Six months later, the similarly themed film ''Wyatt Earp'' was release ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stargate (film)
''Stargate'' is a 1994 Science fiction film, science fiction adventure film directed and co-written by Roland Emmerich. The film is the first entry in the Stargate, ''Stargate'' media franchise and stars Kurt Russell, James Spader, Jaye Davidson, Alexis Cruz, Mili Avital, and Viveca Lindfors. The plot centers on the premise of a "Stargate (device), Stargate", an ancient ring-shaped device that creates a wormhole, enabling travel to a similar device elsewhere in the universe. The film's central plot explores the theory of Extraterrestrials in fiction, extraterrestrial beings Ancient astronauts, having an influence upon human civilization. Originally theatrically released on October 28, 1994, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), the film received mixed reviews, with its atmosphere, story, characters, and graphic content both praised and criticized. The film grossed $196.6 million worldwide against a production budget of $55 million. Plot In 1928 in Giza, Egypt, Catherine Langford's fathe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Lawnmower Man (film)
''The Lawnmower Man'' is a 1992 science fiction horror film directed by Brett Leonard, written by Leonard and Gimel Everett, and starring Jeff Fahey as Jobe Smith, an intellectually disabled gardener, and Pierce Brosnan as Dr. Lawrence "Larry" Angelo, a scientist who decides to experiment on him in an effort to give him greater intelligence. The experiments give Jobe superhuman abilities, but also increase his aggression, turning him into a man obsessed with evolving into a digital being. This film is adapted from the merging of a 1975 short story by Stephen King with an original screenplay entitled "CyberGod." While King's story focused on the titular character, a demon-possessed devil-worshipper who strips naked and eats grass like a goat, who can control his lawnmower with mystical powers, the film has the same character controlling the lawnmower by means of the untapped potential of the human brain, which has been stimulated by advanced, but unethical scientific experiementa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lost In Space (film)
''Lost in Space'' is a 1998 American science-fiction adventure film directed by Stephen Hopkins, and starring William Hurt, Matt LeBlanc, Gary Oldman, and Heather Graham. The plot is adapted from the 1965–1968 CBS television series of the same name (itself inspired by the 1812 novel ''The Swiss Family Robinson'' by Johann David Wyss). Several actors from the TV show make cameo appearances. The film focuses on the Robinson family, who undertake a voyage to a nearby star system to begin large-scale emigration from a soon-to-be uninhabitable Earth, but are thrown off course by a saboteur and must try to find their way home. ''Lost in Space'' received negative reviews from critics and grossed $136.2 million worldwide with an $80 million budget. Plot In 2058, Earth will soon be uninhabitable due to the irreversible effects of pollution and ozone depletion. In an effort to save humanity, the United Global Space Force sends Professor John Robinson, his wife Maureen, daughters Jud ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tomb Raider
''Tomb Raider'', also known as ''Lara Croft: Tomb Raider'' between 2001 and 2008, is a media franchise that originated with an action-adventure video game series created by British gaming company Core Design. Formerly owned by Eidos Interactive, then by Square Enix Europe after Square Enix's acquisition of Eidos in 2009, the franchise focuses on fictional British archaeologist Lara Croft, who travels around the world searching for lost artefacts and infiltrating dangerous tombs and ruins. Gameplay generally focuses on exploration of environments, solving puzzles, navigating hostile environments filled with traps, and fighting enemies. Additional media has been developed for the franchise in the form of film adaptations, comics and novels. Development of the original ''Tomb Raider'' game began in 1994; it was released two years later. Its critical and commercial success prompted Core Design to develop a new game annually for the next four years, which put a strain on staff. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Mummy Returns
''The Mummy Returns'' is a 2001 American adventure horror film written and directed by Stephen Sommers, starring Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, Arnold Vosloo, Oded Fehr, Patricia Velásquez, Freddie Boath, Alun Armstrong, and Dwayne Johnson in his film acting debut. The film is a sequel to the 1999 film ''The Mummy'' and was distributed by Universal Pictures. ''The Mummy Returns'' inspired the 2002 prequel film ''The Scorpion King'', a spin-off that is set 5,000 years prior and whose eponymous character, played by Dwayne Johnson (The Rock), was introduced in this film. ''The Mummy Returns'' was a commercial success despite mixed reviews. Plot In 3067 BC, the Scorpion King leads an army to conquer the world. However, they are defeated and exiled to the desert of Ahm Shere. The king vows to give Anubis his soul in return for the power to defeat his enemies, so an oasis and pyramid magically form, and he is given an army of warriors. The Army of Anubis sweeps ac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Batman (1989 Film)
''Batman'' is a 1989 superhero film based on the DC Comics character of the same name, created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger. Directed by Tim Burton, it is the first installment of Warner Bros.' initial ''Batman'' film series. The film was produced by Jon Peters and Peter Guber and stars Jack Nicholson, Michael Keaton, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl, Pat Hingle, Billy Dee Williams, Michael Gough, and Jack Palance. The film takes place early in the title character's war on crime and depicts his conflict with his archenemy The Joker. After Burton was hired as director in 1986, Steve Englehart and Julie Hickson wrote film treatments before Sam Hamm wrote the first screenplay. ''Batman'' was not greenlit until after the success of Burton's ''Beetlejuice'' (1988). The tone and themes of the film were partly influenced by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland's '' The Killing Joke'' and Frank Miller's ''The Dark Knight Returns''. The film primarily adapts and diverts from the "Red Hood" origin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Egmont (Beethoven)
''Egmont'', Op. 84 by Ludwig van Beethoven, is a set of incidental music pieces for the 1787 play of the same name by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. It consists of an overture followed by a sequence of nine pieces for soprano, male narrator, and full symphony orchestra. The male narrator is optional; he is not used in the play and does not appear in some recordings of the complete incidental music. Beethoven wrote it between October 1809 and June 1810, and it was premiered on 15 June 1810. The subject of the music and dramatic narrative is the life and heroism of 16th-century nobleman Lamoral, Count of Egmont from the Low Countries. It was composed during the Napoleonic Wars when the First French Empire had extended its domination over vast swathes of Europe. Beethoven had famously expressed his great outrage over Napoleon Bonaparte's decision to crown himself Emperor in 1804, furiously scratching out his name in the dedication of the '' Eroica Symphony''. In the music for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical music repertoire and span the Transition from Classical to Romantic music, transition from the Classical period (music), Classical period to the Romantic music, Romantic era in classical music. His career has conventionally been divided into early, middle, and late periods. His early period, during which he forged his craft, is typically considered to have lasted until 1802. From 1802 to around 1812, his middle period showed an individual development from the styles of Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and is sometimes characterized as heroic. During this time, he began to grow increasingly Hearing loss, deaf. In his late period, from 1812 to 1827, he extended his innovations in musical form and expression. Beethoven was born in Bo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
