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Alexandre Desplat

Composing The Folk Music Of A Made-Up Country

Ralph Fiennes and Tony Revolori as hotel concierge M. Gustave and his lobby-boy confidante, Zero, in The Grand Budapest Hotel. Fox Searchlight Pictures hide caption

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Fox Searchlight Pictures

Deceptive Cadence

Composing The Folk Music Of A Made-Up Country

The Grand Budapest Hotel might take place in a fictional world, but Oscar-nominated composer Alexandre Desplat was there to make it feel authentic.

Composing The Folk Music Of A Made-Up Country

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'Philomena' And The Power Of A Quiet Film Score

Judi Dench and Steve Coogan in the film Philomena. Alex Bailey/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Alex Bailey/Courtesy of the artist

Deceptive Cadence

'Philomena' And The Power Of A Quiet Film Score

Compared to his work on Zero Dark Thirty and the Harry Potter films, Alexandre Desplat's Oscar-nominated score is strikingly spare — yet the composer says it was one of the hardest he's ever written.

'Philomena' And The Power Of A Quiet Film Score

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The 81st Annual Academy Awards

Movie Music 2009: Oscar-Nominated Scores

Tucked in among the Oscars for Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Picture is a lesser-known category: Best Original Score. Film-music specialist Andy Trudeau has come to discuss the nominees every year since the 68th Academy Awards.

Movie Music 2009: Oscar-Nominated Scores

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Music Interviews

Curious Film Score Mimics 'Benjamin Button'

The score to The Curious Case of Benjamin Button works both backward and forward. Composer Alexandre Desplat drew his inspiration directly from the film, a story about a man who ages in reverse.

Curious Film Score Mimics 'Benjamin Button'

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Review

Song Of The Day

Joplin's 'Bethena' Sounds As New As It Is Old

When Scott Joplin wrote "Bethena (A Concert Waltz)" in 1905, his wife of two months had just died; Bethena may well have been her nickname. Now, more than a century later, "Bethena" sounds as fresh as it if were written just minutes ago, a tender and heartfelt remembrance of a love lost.

Bethena (A Concert Waltz)

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