Conversations (1976)
In 1976, at the famous UCLA (University of California at Los Angeles), James Horner received a “Master’s Degree” in theory and music composition. On this occasion he wrote a piece of chamber music entitled “Conversations” for a total of 16 musicians, including two sopranos, and based on a text by the Russian poet Andrei Vosnesenskii.
Spectral Shimmers (1978)
James Horner had worked hard on this 1978 avant-garde composition, which had been played once and only once by the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, on January 25, 1979, in a room half full. This is actually that piece that pushed him to abandon the university community and caused a decisive turn for the young artist’s career.
A Forest Passage (2000)
A composition commissioned by the Cleveland Orchestra in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Cuyahoga Valley National Recreational Area in Ohio.
Flight (2010)
This 12-minute work was written for The Flying Horsemen, a trio of P-51 aerial acrobatics pilots with whom Horner occasionally flies. This piece is sometimes referred to as “Flight Demonstration Music”, as the Flying Horsemen have choreographed their air show routines to this music. The piece was available in early 2012 in the iTunes Store under the title, “Write Your Soul”, along with a 4-minute piece titled, “The Fourth Horseman”, presumably a musical reflection on his own experiences flying with the three aerial aces.
“In 2010, I was part of an aerobatic display team whose members asked me to compose and record an orchestral piece that would epitomize the beauty of flight, to which the team could choreograph and perform a thrilling aerial “dance” of precision loops and rolls at 800 feet for an audience often numbering close to 160,000 people! The concept was to give the impression of a live symphony orchestra performing outdoors against the backdrop of a vast airplane-filled sky… something that had never been done before.”James Horner Source: pacificsymphony.org
Pas de Deux (2014)
A Double Concerto for violin and cello, which will premiere at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, reopening for the occasion after five months of renovation. It will be performed by Mari and Hakon Samuelsen, and the orchestra will be conducted by Vasily Petrenko. This event will mark the beginning of the 175th season of the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.
An album is to be released by Mercury Classics (Universal) in spring 2015.
[divider]Collage (2015)[/divider]
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. This work was co-commissioned by the Houston Symphony and the International Horn Society. Next year the Houston Symphony will perform the North American premiere of this concerto.
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