“Gorky Park” is an excellent score. As James Horner put it, the score has its traditional side (“The Jerry Goldsmith side of me,” said Horner) during its romantic scenes, while the rest of the score is more unconventional, especially in the use of unusual instrumentation.
“This film is the ‘James Horner’ me, the kind of music I like to write best,” he said. The closest I can compare it to is Miklós Rózsa’s “The Power” – very unique, driving, and dynamic. Due to the film’s Russian setting, Horner makes use of balalaikas in addition to a cimbalom (which Rózsa used in “The Power”), two synthesizers, accordion, piano, a few strings, and timpani.
The final scene of the picture was scored two different ways and director Michael Apted (“Continental Divide”, “Agatha”, “Coal Miner’s Daughter”) will decide in the final mix which version he prefers.
The first version is Horner’s adaptation of Tchaikovsky, while the second version is an original Horner cue. Obviously the young composer hopes Apted chooses the original cue, but since the film was ‘temp-tracked’ with Tchaikovsky, Apted insisted it be done both ways, with the final choice to be decided later.
Horner recently scored Peter Yates’s “The Dresses” in England and while he was there he re-did his “Brainstorm” score for Varése Sarabande. (The picture was scored in the U.S., but record re-use fees proved to be too high, so Horner gladly agreed to redo it.)
He is now considered Hollywood’s ‘hottest’ young composer. Although he is only twenty-nine years old, Horner is highly sought-after by producers. As far as the studio executives are concerned, he’s the new ‘boy genius’.
He just completed “Streets of Fire” and the made-for-cable “Between Friends” (starring Elisabeth Taylor and Carol Burnett). He also hopes to score “Star Trek III”. Basil Poledouris was slated to do “Last River to Cross” (which may be re-titled “Uncommon Valor”), but Paramount executives have demanded James Horner score it.
James Horner studying his score for "Gorky Park". Scoring sessions for the film were held August 26, 27, and 28 at Record Studios Scoring Plant M (Paramount).
