The Soundtrack to Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis is Out Now
Milan Records, in collaboration with American Zoetrope, releases Megalopolis (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), an album of music from the new Francis Ford Coppola film by 2x Grammy Award®-winning composer Osvaldo Golijov. A longtime collaborator of Coppola, Golijov has also composed music for Youth Without Youth, Tetro, and B’Twixt Now and Sunrise. The composer was first approached by the iconic director over 20 years ago when Megalopolis was in its earliest stages of inception, the duo since working closely together to bring the musical vision of the modern, reimagined Roman epic to life. Recording with the Budapest Art Orchestra and an impressive lineup of renowned soloists, the album ranges from lavish orchestral cues to operatic arias and even modern pop music with the contribution of Grace VanderWaal, who wrote and performed two tracks in the film as her onscreen popstar character Vesta Sweetwater. Megalopolis the feature film is currently playing in theaters and in IMAX worldwide.
Pushing beyond the confines of traditional cinema, Megalopolis prompted Golijov to deliver a soundscape as grandiose and far-reaching as the film itself. One of the key starting points for the score came from Coppola himself, who requested a “big love theme” that would permeate the film’s many layers. Rooted in largescale orchestral movements, Golijov’s cues are often repurposed by way of specific instrumentation choices, namely the musical saw, glass harmonica, organ and a wide variety of percussion instruments, which he then infused with sound design elements like rhythmic percussive clocks to capture the propulsive nature of the story. Matching the expansiveness of Coppola’s vision, the resulting 32-track collection manages to maintain a clear sonic throughline while also capturing the various intricacies of the onscreen epic.
The composer also manages to pay homage to Coppola’s multitude of influences throughout the soundtrack, noting, “Francis asked for the soundtrack to contain specific references (e.g. Rozsa’s epic Roman music, Herrmann’s scores for Hitchcock, the ‘geometric’ love themes in Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet), which I twisted and combined in unexpected ways, so that they might help propel the film on its dazzling journey from ancient history towards the freedom of the unknown.”
Golijov has also composed the Megalopolis Suite, which draws on music from the film’s soundtrack. The piece will receive its world premiere on November 8-9 with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Riccardo Muti at Symphony Center – additional information and tickets can be found HERE.
ABOUT MEGALOPOLIS
MEGALOPOLISis a Roman Epic set in an imagined Modern America. The City of New Rome must change, causing conflict between Cesar Catilina (Adam Driver), a genius artist who seeks to leap into a utopian, idealistic future, and his opposition, Mayor Franklyn Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito), who remains committed to a regressive status quo, perpetuating greed, special interests, and partisan warfare. Torn between them is socialite Julia Cicero (Nathalie Emmanuel), the mayor’s daughter, whose love for Cesar has divided her loyalties, forcing her to discover what she truly believes humanity deserves.
Starring Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Kathryn Hunter, and Dustin Hoffman, the film is written, produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola and produced by Barry Hirsch, Fred Roos, and Michael Bederman.
Megalopolis is currently playing in theaters and in IMAX worldwide, and released through Lionsgate in North America.
MEGALOPOLIS (ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK)
TRACKLIST
- New Rome – Osvaldo Golijov
- The Map of Utopia – Osvaldo Golijov ft. Jeremy Udden & Yo-Yo Ma
- The Catilinarian Conspiracies – Osvaldo Golijov ft. Stephen Prutsman
- Suor Angelica: Senza mamma, o bimbo, tu sei morto – Renata Scotto / Composed by Giacomo Puccini
- Noir Love – Osvaldo Golijov ft. Edmar Colon
- Kiss in the Heights – Osvaldo Golijov
- Saturnalia: The Unveiling of Megalopolis – Osvaldo Golijov
- Sunny Descends – Osvaldo Golijov ft. Johnny Gandelsman
- My Pledge – Vesta Sweetwater**
- Rope – Osvaldo Golijov
- Entrance of the Gladiators – Julius Fucik / Arranged by Osvaldo Golijov
- Breathing Statues – Jeremy Flower ft. Dan Brantigan
- Sunny’s Room – Osvaldo Golijov ft. Rodrigo Puskas
- Time Shall Have No Dominion – Osvaldo Golijov, Jeremy Flower
- Cesar Descends – Cyro Baptista, Jeremy Flower, Osvaldo Golijov, Jamey Haddad, Jeremy Udden, Michael Ward-Bergeman
- Cesar Crosses the Styx – Franz Liszt / Arranged by Osvaldo Golijov
- No Turning Around – Vesta Sweetwater**
- Julia Sees the Future – Osvaldo Golijov ft. Natalia Pairuz, Janne Thgomsen
- The Wedding of Wow and Crassus – Osvaldo Golijov
- Catwalk – Osvaldo Golijov, Cyro Baptista, Jamey Haddad, Jeremy Flower
- Nush the Fixer – Jeremy Flower, Osvaldo Golijov, Cyro Baptista, Jamey Haddad, Michael Ward-Bergeman
- In the Bathhouse – Jeremy Flower
- Megalon Team – Osvaldo Golijov ft. Stephen Prutsman
- Mother – Osvaldo Golijov
- Julia Comes Home – Osvaldo Golijov
- The Golden Aleph – Osvaldo Golijov
- The Poison Letter – Osvaldo Golijov
- Cicero Versus Cesar – Osvaldo Golijov
- Insurrection – Jeremy Flower, Osvaldo Golijov
- Learning, Creating, Perfecting, Celebrating – Jeremy Flower, Osvaldo Golijov
- The Turn of the Seasons – Osvaldo Golijov
- Esperanza – Osvaldo Golijov ft. Janne Thomsen
**Denotes original vocal track written and performed by Grace VanderWaal as Vesta Sweetwater