The Brutalist

Description

Nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including Best Original Score, and shot in the glorious, vintage VistaVision format, Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist stands as a monumental achievement in filmmaking. Opening with a mesmerizing and continuous 10-minute overture, composer Daniel Blumberg’s music sets the stage for the film’s epic narrative, which spans multiple decades and follows fictional Hungarian architect László Toth (played by Adrien Brody) as he rebuilds his life in post-war America. Encompassing large-scale brass orchestrations, intimately lyrical piano melodies and freewheeling, improvisational jazz, The Brutalist’s score is as ambitious and broad in scope as the film itself. Envisioning the score as slabs of sound – rich and resonating while also measured and restrained – the music developed into the sonic embodiment of the Brutalist design aesthetic, where imposing scale and raw textures meet values of simplicity and economy. To craft its singular sound, Blumberg worked with a cast of boundary-pushing musicians and improvisers, traveling across the UK and Europe with a custom-built remote recording setup to capture his players on location. Exploiting the tension between the fluidity of improvised music and the meticulous precision of film scoring, Blumberg coaxed out beautifully rich and resonant performances from his collaborators, including avant-garde innovators Axel Dörner (trumpet), Evan Parker (saxophone), Sophie Agnel (piano), and John Tilbury (piano), to name a few.

Tracklisting

Disc 1
1. Overture (Ship) – Various Performers
2. Overture (L szl¢) – Various Performers
3. Overture (Bus) – Various Performers
4. Chair – Various Performers
5. Van Buren’s Estate – Various Performers
6. Library – Various Performers
7. Jazz Club – Various Performers
8. Porn – Various Performers
9. Monologue – Various Performers
10. Up the Hill – Various Performers
11. Pennsylvania – Various Performers
12. Bicycle – Various Performers
13. Steel – Various Performers
14. Intermission – Various Performers
Disc 2
1. Erzs‚bet – Various Performers
2. Handjob – Various Performers
3. Bath – Various Performers
4. Building Site – Various Performers
5. Ribbon Cutting – Various Performers
6. Picnic By the Lake – Various Performers
7. Gordon’s Dinner – Various Performers
8. Looking at You – Various Performers
9. Vidui – Various Performers
10. New York – Various Performers
11. Stairs – Various Performers
12. Carrara – Various Performers
13. Marble – Various Performers
14. Tunnel – Various Performers
15. Construction – Various Performers
16. Heroin – Various Performers
17. Search Party – Various Performers
18. Epilogue (Venice) – Various Performers