Haunting ‘The Brutalist’ Score Sets the Stage for a ‘Disorienting Sensory Overload’ — Listen Now
There is a brutal beauty to “The Brutalist” score, as composed by Daniel Blumberg.
The now Golden Globe-nominated score will be released as a full album this Friday, December 13. Prior to its unveiling, IndieWire shares two of the score’s key themes, “Erzsébet” and “Construction.”
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Writer/director Brady Corbet’s “The Brutalist” centers on Adrien Brody’s immigrant architect László Tóth, who arrives in the U.S. after WWII. László’s marriage to his wife Erzsébet (Felicity Jones) is rebuilding stateside, just as he begins construction on a massive complex commissioned by wealthy and prominent industrialist Harrison Lee Van Buren (Guy Pearce).
Composer Blumberg wrote the music, which will be released by Milan Records. Blumberg worked closely with Corbet across the seven-year gestation period for the film, resulting in almost two hours of original music, including for the 15-minute intermission. Per an official press statement, Corbet and Blumberg “identified early on that music would need to play a crucial role in conveying the film’s central themes, not least due to the difficulties of depicting the inanimate form of architecture on screen,” especially with the music developing a sonic epitome of László’s designs.
Blumberg collaborated with musicians across the UK and Europe to record in a custom-built remote recording set up for all players to be on location. Among the musicians are German trumpeter Axel D?rner, British saxophonist Evan Parker, and solo pianist John Tilbury.
A live jazz version of his theme was composed on set, with Pierre Borel on saxophone, Simon Sieger on piano, Joel Grip on bass, and Antonin Gerbal on drums. Vince Clarke, known for his genre-defining work with Erasure, Depeche Mode, and Yazoo, was the synthesizer on the album’s closer “Epilogue (Venice).” The Golden Globe-nominated score was mixed and co-produced by Peter Walsh.
“The Brutalist” already picking up Best Film and Best Actor from the New York Film Critics Circle, Best Production Design from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, and seven Golden Globe nominations, including Best Motion Picture — Drama, Best Actor in Motion Picture — Drama for Brody, Best Supporting Actress in Motion Picture — Drama for Jones, Best Supporting Actor in Motion Picture — Drama for Pearce, and Best Director for Corbet.
The film opens with the three-part Overture, titled “Overture (Ship),” “Overture (László),” and “Overture (Bus),” a suite of cues that set the scene for the onscreen narrative.
“Brady and I wanted there to be continual music for the first 10 minutes of the film, and the entire opening sequence was actually shot and choreographed to the music using my initial demos,” Blumberg said of the Overture. “The Overture introduces the main players who appear throughout the film – including pianists John Tilbury, Sophie Agnel and Simon Sieger; Axel D?rner on trumpet; Evan Parker on saxophone — and it also covers the full spectrum of sounds and dynamics, the cacophony of the brass, the repetition of the prepared piano, the more lyrical piano melodies, and the instrumental techniques that blur with the diegetic sound. With the Overture I wanted to create this extremely disorienting, sensory overload that immediately immerses you in the film.”
The first key theme, “Erzsébet,” plays when Jones’ character arrives in the U.S. after surviving the Holocaust. The song is one of the solo piano love themes.
“‘Erzsébet’ opens the second half of the film when we meet László’s wife for the first time, and László’s theme that has been recurring throughout the film develops into this romantic piece of music,” Blumberg told IndieWire. “When they were shooting the scene at the train station, I was playing an acoustic piano live on set because Brady wanted the actors to hear it. Eventually, I decided to incorporate the diegetic train station sounds into the final version of the recording.”
Meanwhile, “Construction” is a more experimental track — and the first piece of music Blumberg wrote for the film.
“I made an early demo long before the film even went into production using a prepared piano at Cafe Oto in London. Working with my friends Billy Steiger and Tom Wheatley, we were literally wedging screws, clips and objects into the piano strings to create percussive sounds to invoke the sounds of construction,” Blumberg said.
“The Brutalist” is Blumberg’s second feature-length film score after his debut on Mona Fastvold’s “The World To Come,” which won an Ivor Novello award for best film soundtrack. Blumberg has released three solo albums on Mute Records with “Gut” (2023), “On & On” (2020), and “Minus” (2018). The London-based composer is also a visual artist who draws with silverpoint and has exhibited at Deichtorhallen Hamburg, Kunsthal Rotterdam, Balice Hertling Paris, MACRO Rome, and KW Berlin.
Check out the full track list for “The Brutalist” here and preorder the album now. A24 will release “The Brutalist” in select theaters on December 20 with a nationwide rollout to follow.
1. “Overture (Ship)”
2. “Overture (László)”
3. “Overture (Bus)”
4. “Chair”
5. “Van Buren’s Estate”
6. “Library”
7. “Jazz Club”
8. “Porn”
9. “Monologue”
10. “Up the Hill”
11. “Pennsylvania”
12. “Bicycle”
13. “Steel”
14. “Intermission”
15. “Erzsébet”
16. “Handjob”
17. “Bath”
18. “Building Site”
19. “Ribbon Cutting”
20. “Picnic by the Lake”
21. “Gordon’s Dinner”
22. “Looking at You”
23. “Train Crash”
24. “New York”
25. “Stairs”
26. “Carrara”
27. “Marble”
28. “Tunnel”
29. “Construction”
30. “Heroin”
31. “Search Party”
32. “Epilogue (Venice)”
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