Interview with arranger Jan Dušek

How long have you been involved in film music and what is it about it that appeals to you?

Film music has appealed to and interested me since I began studying at the conservatory. In those days I naturally hadn’t grasped how it was actually made. I became more deeply interested in that question in connection with my dissertation work, which was focused on the compositional approaches of the composers of Czech film music. It is extremely interesting to observe the similarity of the musical resources that various composers have drawn on in completely different eras to accompany scenes of a similar character (for instance, cycling is very often accompanied by dance music – the waltz, foxtrot, etc.); or, by contrast, to observe the inventiveness and originality of some exceptional composers.

Do you follow world film music or Czech film music exclusively?

Naturally, I do try to maintain at least a broad overview of world film music. I think in many ways we were at a very high standard in the 1960s and ‘80s, comparable to other countries (and sometimes even higher). We should bear in mind that here such music was mainly composed by important names from the concert world – Havelka, Fišer, Sommer, Kurz. Perhaps only Liška was the pure exception that proves the rule. It’s also noteworthy that the music in even the stupidest comedies or Communist propaganda films was of a high quality. Their credits reveal that the producers were happy to pay for the services of composers like Liška, Havelka and Sommer. Naturally, everything was performed by the Film Symphony Orchestra under the conductors František Belfín, Štěpán Koníček, and others. The quality of composition and interpretation of Czech film music was phenomenal! I can’t imagine today’s composers of film music writing scores that complicated and demanding to play.

How do you view the standard of music in contemporary Czech films? Does it follow that strong tradition?

Unfortunately, and this saddens me, the standard of Czech film music has deteriorated markedly in recent years and I think we are falling a long way behind other countries. There most films (even commercial ones) feature live music. Here, however, the trend is to hire “composers” who work on a computer. This also applies to big movies which deserve to have quality music. At the same time, these “composers” often have no musical education, or don’t know notation well enough to be able to handle instrumentation. Then the music often has in essence nothing in common with the film. It doesn’t use psychological elements or comment on or create the atmosphere of a scene. It’s just a sound. And that’s all the sadder. The problem in my view isn’t with composers as such. It’s more because of contemporary directors, who have no sense of music. They actually aren’t interested in it at all. The days of your Vláčils, Kachyňas, Lipskýs and many others are gone. Another problem lies with critics, who hardly ever evaluate the music and if they do, only superficially.

Do you also write for film? Or where does the focus of your compositional work lie?

Today there are scant opportunities to write music for film. It’s linked to a decline in film production. So if I do get involved in such work the film is either short or silent. With the Orchestra BERG I have performed live music to silent films several times as part of the Cinegogue project. The film East and West with music composed by me is coming out in October 2012. As you see, film music is by no means my main compositional activity. I mainly compose concert music. I regularly work with, for instance, the Nederlands Blazers Ensemble from Amsterdam. Also in recent times I’ve written a clarinet concerto for Irvin Venyš (which premiered in June 2011), while I’ve done other compositions at the request of Czech and international ensembles or soloists.

What film music has impressed you recently?

That’s a very difficult question. Recently I’ve been predominantly focussed on Czech film and, for the reasons mentioned, mainly older ones. I now sense a kind of deformation in myself – I always follow the music in all films extremely closely and often it doesn’t work at all for me. Frequently I can’t understand what it’s actually there for. I really respect English film music, which is a lot more traditional while at the same time being affecting and sensitively used. Naturally, it’s almost always performed live! The music of Christopher Gunning is close to me – his music is used in the Hercule Poirot series or in the Edith Piaf movie (La vie en rose). Gunning and two colleagues won a Czech Lion award here for the latter.

In conclusion, I can’t not ask – do you believe in a brighter tomorrow for Czech film music?

I’m quite sceptical about that. Today’s world is ruled by money, and as far as I know money and culture have never been the best of friends, and even less so in the Czech Republic. It is very difficult for producers, often pure business people with calculators instead of hearts, to understand why a film should have high-quality music performed by a live orchestra. Commissioning it would cost many times what they’re willing to pay! So they don’t budget for it. Computer generated music fills the same role well and is much cheaper. Answering your question rather saddens me. I don’t believe in a brighter tomorrow for Czech film music, but I do hope for it, a bit…