Solaris [Original Score]

by Cliff Martinez

Overview

Steven Soderbergh took a big risk when he decided to remake Russian master Andrei Tarkovsky's art house classic Solaris (both films based on the novel by Stanislaw Lem). Some critics felt he'd have been better off directing his considerable energy toward less hallowed material (like, say, Ocean's 11). Still others (notably J. Hoberman of The Village Voice) proclaimed it one of the best films of 2002. Just as science fiction was a new genre for Soderbergh to explore, it was also new for the director's longtime composer of choice, Cliff Martinez. As Soderbergh explains in the liner notes, "We were both pushing ourselves, trying things we'd never tried before." And just as the movie is more of a psychodrama than a conventional work of science fiction -- somewhat like director James Cameron's The Abyss -- Martinez doesn't gum up the works with grand gestures or quirky sound effects. He keeps things quiet, tense, dreamy -- or nightmarish, depending on your point of view. Solaris asks viewers to question what's real and what's merely a projection of the feverish imaginations of the various denizens (including George Clooney's widowed psychologist, Chris Kelvin) of the lonely space station orbiting the beautiful yet eerie, seemingly empathic planet of Solaris. All the while, these ambient instrumentals -- featuring treated strings and woodwinds, but no percussive elements like drums or piano -- bleed into one another with little distinction, just minor changes in volume and tempo. It doesn't make for the liveliest listen, but Martinez successfully establishes a distinctive mood, somewhat like the quieter passages in 2001: A Space Odyssey or the similarly underrated Andromeda Strain. ~ Kathleen C. Fennessy

Product Details

Release Date:	01/18/2011
Label:	La-La Land Records
UPC:	0826924116128
Rank:	53451

Tracks

1. Solaris~Is That What Everybody Wants
2. Solaris~First Sleep
3. Solaris~Can I Sit Next To You
4. Solaris~Will She Come Back
5. Solaris~Death Shall Have No Dominion
6. Solaris~Maybe You're My Puppet
7. Solaris~Don't Blow It
8. Solaris~Hi Energy Proton Accelerator
9. Solaris~Wear Your Seat Belt
10. Solaris~Wormhole
11. Solaris~We Don't Have To Think Like That Anymore

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Cliff Martinez   Primary Artist
Jeanne Evans   Violin
Amy Hershberger   Violin
Paul Cohen   Cello
John A. Reynolds   Horn
Armen Movsessian   Violin
Phillip Levy   Violin
Matt Cooker   Cello
Erika Duke-Kirkpatrick   Cello
Victoria Miskolczy   Viola
Phillip Teele   Trombone
Donald Ferrone   Bass
Steven Roberts   Clarinet
Cecelia Tsan   Cello
Charlie Bisharet   Violin
Marina Marukian   Violin
Clayton Haslop   Violin
Rafael Rishik   Violin
Michael Valerio   Bass
Richard Todd   Horn
Sarah Thornblade   Violin
Miwako Watanabe   Violin
David Riddles   Bassoon
Miran Kojian   Violin
Timothy Landauer   Cello
Stephen Erdody   Cello
Jorge Moraga   Viola
Kurt Snyder   Horn
Josefina Vergara   Violin
Nicolas Philippon   Bass
Susan Rishik   Violin
Malcolm McNab   Trumpet
Christian Kollgaard   Bass
Julie Gigante   Violin
Jim Self   Tuba
Dave Walther   Viola
David Washburn   Trumpet
Haim Shtrum   Violin
Barbara Northcutt   Oboe
Dave Shostac   Flute
Trevor Handy   Cello
Dan Neufeld   Viola
Eun Mee Ahn   Violin
Roberto Cani   Violin
Dane Little   Cello
Rose Corrigan   Bassoon
Charles Loper   Trombone
Shanti Randall   Viola
Endre Granat   Violin
Leslie Reed   Oboe
Dimitrie Leivici   Violin
Leanne Becknell   Oboe
Bruce Fowler   Conductor
Bruce Morgenthaler   Bass
John Walz   Cello
Drew Dembowski   Bass
Katia Popov   Violin
Ana Landauer   Violin
Alan Grunfeld   Violin
Joshua Ranz   Clarinet
Cassandra Lynne Richberg   Viola
Susan Greenberg   Flute
Sungil Lee   Violin
John Steinmetz   Bassoon
Sara Parkins   Violin
Michael O'Donovan   Bassoon
Louise di Tullio   Flute
Timothy Morrison   Trumpet
David H. Speltz   Cello
Tamara Hatwan   Violin
Steven Becknell   Horn
Tom Boyd   Oboe
Susan Ranney   Bass
Mark Robertson   Violin
Agnes Gottschewski   Violin
Gary Bovyer   Clarinet
Emily Bernstein   Clarinet
Janet Lakatos   Viola
Steve Kujala   Flute
Brian Dembow   Viola
Walt Fowler   Trumpet
William Frank "Bill" Reichenbach Jr.   Trombone
Armen Garabedian   Violin
Oscar Hidalgo   Bass
Victor Lawrence   Cello
William Booth   Trombone
Keith Greene   Viola
Kazi Pitelka   Viola

Technical Credits

Jim Titus   Art Direction
Steven Soderbergh   Liner Notes
Thomas D. Graham, II   Mixing,Digital Recording
Julie Kergo   Liner Notes
Charles Kim   Programming
Robert Kraft   Executive in Charge of Music
Nick Redman   Reissue Producer
Slamm Andrews   Mixing
Fredrik Sarhagen   Recording
Alan Meyerson   Mixing,Recording
Bruce Fowler   Orchestration
Tom Steel   Stage Crew
Tom Cavanaugh   Music Business Affairs
Michael Matessino   Reissue Mastering
Michael V. Gerhard   Executive Producer
Bill Talbott   Engineer
Leanne Ungar   Recording
Cliff Martinez   Composer,Producer,Score Producer
Matt Verboys   Executive Producer