JAMES THATCHER

James Thatcher began his professional career at the age of 16 when he played and studied in Mexico with his uncle, Gerald Thatcher, a former principal horn player of the National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico. James Thatcher is a member of many bands, but is mostly a studio player. For twenty years he has been many composers' favorite first horn player: John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, James Newton Howard, Randy Newman, John Barry, James Horner, Alan Silvestri…

Source: Wikipedia – USC Thornton School of Music

TITANIC LIVE IN CALIFORNIA: AN EVENT NOT TO BE MISSED

In 2013, we published a story informing you that James Horner's visit to Hollywood in Vienna was an exceptional event not to be missed. We discussed the city, the symbols, Harry Horner, Max Steiner... Even though the Maestro didn't lead the orchestra, the magic was there. Today the composer only exists in our hearts and through his music, but that magic will reappear when Titanic Live makes its one-night-only west coast premiere in the United States. [divider] The date [/divider] This is no coincidence. Our readers know this date well. The concert will take place exactly 4 years to the day of

COLLAGE – THE LAST WORK

Collage - The Last Work is a James Horner compilation album that you’ll definitely want to listen to - and will revisit time and again. It not only presents the concert piece that lends the album its title, but also serves up generous re-recordings of cues from previous scores, one in an absolutely stunning new arrangement. To put the icing on the cake, the album offers two excellent suites from the 2012 student film, First in Flight, one of Horner’s final scores, in a stellar orchestral performance that enriches the score originally recorded for the film, which was performed electronically

COLLAGE – THE LAST WORK – EXCLUSIVE REVIEW

It is only one year and a half after its world premiere performance in London that Collage is at last brought to the general public’s knowledge on a dedicated album: Collage – The Last Work. Recorded in London on May 30th, 2015, Collage is indeed James Horner’s last recording and his last concert work. A few weeks after we learnt about his passing, it was revealed that James had composed suites and themes for Antoine Fuqua’s latest film The Magnificent Seven, based on the script only. So it would appear that those suites are James Horner’s last work, at least

COLLAGE: NEW DETAILS AND TWO COPIES TO WIN

In early June we announced the release of Collage for this fall. Amazon.com and Beucher.de have provided new details. The album, titled "Collage - The Last Work" will be released on September 23, 2016. Mercury Classics will make an official announcement in a couple of days which will be followed by audio excerpts, video footage ... [divider]FIRST DETAILS[/divider] Aside from Collage which has a 22 minute duration, the album will feature new interpretations of music from Legends of The Fall, For Greater Glory, Wolf Totem, Iris, Aliens and for the first time two pieces of music from the 2012 short film First in

EXCLUSIVE: A CD FOR JAMES HORNER’S COLLAGE

It has been a year now that so many of you have inquired about a release of Collage. We just received information that it will be physically released this fall. We cannot tell you more because the record label naturally prefers to keep all the information for its official announcement in a couple of weeks. Just know that this album will be full of surprises! Collage was recorded by Simon Rhodes on May 30, 2015, with The London Philharmonic Orchestra, the four horn players (Richard Watkins, David Pyatt, John Ryan and James Thatcher), conductor Jaime Martin and composer James Horner. It was

COLLAGE: SOUVENIRS FROM LONDON

Photo credit: © Etienne Walter After the overwhelming revelation that was Pas De Deux and the magical days we spent with James Horner and Hakon and Mari Samuelsen in Liverpool during November 2014, it was hard for us to resist attending the world premiere of Collage, a concerto for four horns. So we set out to London toward the end of March 2015, full of enthusiasm and eager to discover this new concert work. Five months prior to the premiere, James Horner had told us that he hadn’t really started work on Collage, even though he was toying with a few ideas.

JAMES HORNER'S 62ND BIRTHDAY: ALL IS THERE

Photo credit: © Sylvia Wells James Horner left this world, leaving us stunned and inconsolable. It was the day after Father's Day, the second day of summer. After this tragic and absurd June 22, we ran as our headline, "All is Lost,” a track title from the beautiful The New World. Since the departure of the composer, we must learn to live in this new world. A world without James Horner. So many notes will not be written. In an interview about The New World (and for now only available in French), James Horner said: "Timelessness is not what we are but what we

FSM ONLINE: A TRIBUTE TO JAMES HORNER

A month after James Horner’s tragic death on June 22, Film Score Monthly honors him with the following program: - An article written by Tim Burden with previously unpublished images like the photo at top picturing, left to right, James Thatcher, John Ryan, James Horner, David Pyatt and Richard Watkins. This photo was taken on the evening of the world premiere of Collage in late March 2015. The article features a conversation with Hugh Seenan, friend of the composer and principal French horn London Symphony Orchestra between 1984 and 1997. Here is an excerpt from that conversation: "James Horner was a wonderful and

COLLAGE - THE WORLD PREMIERE IN LONDON

The world premiere of Collage, the new concerto for four horns and orchestra composed by James Horner, took place on Friday, March 27, 2015 at the Royal Festival Hall in London. The last rehearsal with the composer was held in the morning. Like in Liverpool on the occasion of Pas de Deux, we could see James Horner provide his final comments to the musicians and conductor Jaime Martin. In the afternoon, we had the honor to interview horn player David Pyatt on the creation of Collage, the place of the horn in James Horner’s music, and a possible recording of the

COLLAGE BY JAMES HORNER: D-10

10 days from now will be the world premiere of the latest work in concert composed by James Horner. Its name has been known for a few days: Collage: A Concerto for Four Horns and Orchestra. The composer regularly draws parallels between music and painting. The name may refer to the collage technique of combining separate elements of different natures. We think, for instance, of the famous collages by Henri Matisse. This work is co-commissioned by the Houston Symphony and the International Horn Society. Next year the Houston Symphony will perform the North American premiere of the concerto. More information here: houstonsymphony.org

NEW JAMES HORNER COMMISSIONED WORK - FOR FOUR HORNS!

The London Philharmonic Orchestra reports that they will perform several commissioned works the 2014-2015 season, including the world premier of a concert work by James Horner, "for four horns." On March 27, 2015, Horner's new concert work will be showcased between performances of Tchaikovsky's Fantasy Overture from Romeo and Juliet and Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade. This proceeds another concert work we've also reported on: a double concerto for violin and cello, to premier in Liverpool this November. One of the four horn players is frequent James Horner collaborator, James Thatcher. The composer himself has a special relationship with the French horn, both

BOBBY JONES - BEAUTY OF THE DAY

The four seasons. Have you ever once linked an album to a season as, when you discovered it, it highlighted a period of the year, or because its colours particularly remind you of a cold winter evening or a dazzling summer day? By playing with all the colours of his musical palette, James Horner has this ability to give his scores very specific seasonal shades. Thus it can be entertaining to choose the season that would best fit one of his pieces or albums. At the beginning of spring, as the dark fades away from our days, we may feel an irrepressible desire