“Maestro in Blue” is probably the most discussed Greek-produced TV series of recent years and clearly the first Greek series to be broadcast worldwide through the Netflix. Many things contributed to this: the unique script by Christopher Papakaliatis, the high level of production, the beauty of Paxos island, the amazing cast as well as its captivating music. Besides, as the very title of the series reveals, its plot has a completely musical basis.
Every work of Christopher Papakaliatis, whether it is film or television, always arouses the interest of the Greek audience not only for their highly emotional stories but also for his musical choices. It is not only the songs he uses for his scenes but also his orchestral music. With both his movies, “What If…” and “Worlds Apart”, we had the opportunity to enjoy two original scores that were much loved. Both bear the signature of Kostas Christides, a great Greek composer who has been active in Hollywood since his very first steps in the industry of film music. Once again, he is by Papakaliatis’ side, investing the episodes of “Maestro in Blue” with new music that once again enhanced the audience’s emotion in every scene of the series.
But who is the real Maestro behind the “Maestro in Blue”? Kostas Christides works with the biggest studios in Los Angeles, such as: Universal, Sony/Columbia Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures, MGM, Disney, Miramax, Paramount Pictures, while he has worked with great directors and actors. His resume includes films such as: “Spiderman 3”, “Entrapment”, “Sweet November”, “Ghost Rider”, “Love Happens”, “The Exorcism of Emily Rose”, “Wonder Boys”, “The Hurricane”, “Teacher”, “Pet Sematary”, “Benji”, “Love & Gelato” and of course Greek productions such as “Eduart” and “Poker Face”.
Kostas Christides talked to SounDarts.gr about his brilliant journey in the world of film music, in an exclusive interview!
Kostas, welcome to SounDarts.gr! It is our honor to have you and thank you in advance for our conversation!
What are you up to at the moment?
I just arrived from Switzerland where I did a very nice project which is different from what I usually do. It has to do with cinema but also with concert. Christopher Young is a composer I’ve worked with a lot and he’s basically my mentor. We have worked together in about 50 films. From 1997 when he was my professor at USC (University of Southern California) and in 1998 when I got a job in his studio and I was commissioned to write music for his silent film “Nosferatu”, which is a thriller that celebrates 100 years this year and I think there will be a remake for it. So he wrote this 92 minute-piece, of continuous music, since it’s a silent film, performed by the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, a fantastic orchestra, in an amazing restored hall that’s like a museum inside, with paintings, chandeliers and a brand new church organ. I was the orchestrator for this project along with a group and went with Christopher to Zurich for the rehearsals from February 19th to 25th where two concerts were also held. It was a very different job, I met people from the concert world, a completely different world from film music, and the orchestra, the music, the hall, the energy were all amazing. A very beautiful project with a fantastic result as the orchestra is amazing.
Do you have any other project in the works?
The one project I’ve been working on recently was this and the next one that’s on the way, happens to be a concert project again. I have been commissioned by the Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra to write a piece about the Pontic Greek Genocide, which will be performed by T.S.S.O. on March 19. For me it is a tremendous challenge, as it is the first time that such a proposal has been made to me. I’m quite anxious to see what I’m going to write, because with movie scores you’re basically endorsing the movie. For this project the music I have to write is quite challenging on multiple levels. Firstly, because it has to do with concert hall music, secondly, this proposal comes from the orchestra of my hometown, Thessaloniki, which creates an incredible feeling, and thirdly and most importantly, because it concerns such a significant event of Hellenism. It is a huge honor for me and I feel a great responsibility to write it. I think it will be one of my most beautiful moments.
So, speaking of current affairs. Recently, we enjoyed the new television series of Christoforos Papakaliatis, “Maestro in Blue”, where you contribute with your original score. How did you experience “Maestro in Blue” through music?
With too much anxiety and stress! It was my third job with Christopher, and I knew in advance that it would be very demanding because you are dealing with a multi-talented man on many levels but he also has the madness of film music. He has confided to me that if he were not a director, a screenwriter or an actor, this would be the profession he would like to do. He has a tremendous musical ear and understanding of film music, i.e. dramaturgy, and he knows very well what kind of music to use in each scene. I’m not talking about the songs specifically because the songs are sometimes also montages, we put a song and cut over the song. What I’m talking about here is cutting a scene, editing it, and then deciding what kind of music to use underneath to support it without covering it up or getting lost. I experienced it with a lot of anxiety and stress because the teo previous collaborations, we were dealing with one film at a time, with two stories in “What If…” and three in “Worlds Apart”, but these too were created on a small scale, that is, the whole film ΄asts in about two hours. Here we were dealing with new, hour-long episodes, we have multiple stories and characters, all of whom are equal, and the soundtrack should “find” the right moments to fit, between the foreign songs, the Greek songs and those written in demand to support the thematic modules that needed emphasis.
How is your collaboration with Christoforos?
Working with this man is a “blessing”, even though we have many moments that we argue or disagree, we both know that we are doing it for the common denominator, which is the best possible outcome for the film and now for the series .
Will we have the official release of the score of “Maestro in Blue” anytime soon?
We decided that the best time to release the score would be close to the world premiere of the series on Netflix, which is scheduled for March 20th. Even though we had a lot of music written for this series -we have about two and a half hours of music- the score will be about 30 to 35 minutes long and will contain only the very “strong” parts in my opinion. I don’t want to include all of the non-thematic music. I want it to be a work that will be very solid and pure, that when listening to it one will not try to press the button to go to the next track.
How was the music for the series created?
I think that with “Maestro”, we are returning to the very old and good times of Greek television in the 70s and 80s, for which many pieces were written live for series. Now I was given the opportunity to be able to do three sessions of four hours, with an orchestra of about 40 strings and harp. We recorded around 45 minutes of music out of the 2.5 hours that were there. Even if the listener doesn’t understand the electronic processing from the live recording, is subconsciously doing a great job.
Indeed! Many of our readers have been dying to know what the theme music is in the end credits of the series.
This, the theme with solo piano and orchestra or the theme when Dionisis died and Alexiou is over his tomb, are pieces that were written live with an orchestra and had an immediate impact on the audience.
Who were your main collaborators in this venture?
In such a tight schedule, I had by my side the arranger Dimitris Marinakis, who is my right hand man here in Greece, the arranger Michael Eastwood and Nikiforos Chrysoloras. We recorded in Bratislava with the conductor Vladimir Martinka, who is the long-time conductor I work with. The music was mixed in Rome by Goffredo Gibellini, who I met in a big project I did for Netflix last March, “Love & Gelato”. However, what I want to underline is that without the support and persistence in the production of the director, Christopher Papakaliatis, nothing could have been done. His contribution was very important as he demanded from the production to have even these three sessions to be done live.
How do you appraise the fact that “Mastro in Blue” is the first series of Greek production that is shown globally on Netflix?
I think that the die has finally been cast for the Greek film world, and to be honest, there are many things that we could have released on a global scale. I think it was the right time with the right project. I’m not saying that because I’m a part of this work but it’s a really special one from a technical point of view and a production level. It is very important for people to understand that for platforms like Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, HBO, that they want every new production at a very high level. Unfortunately, this is because there is huge competition. Although for me this is my fourth job at Netflix, this is my favorite because it has something to do with Greece and I am very honored to participate in the first Greek production that is released worldwide through Netflix.
What is the most important reason or motive for you to collaborate with someone? Whether this is a producer, a director or a musician.
We don’t know people beforehand do we? This question has two answers. Of course in a first and superficial approach it is what they have done in so far. Their work. Now if it happens to end up working with them, from then on the understanding and perception we have artistically of each project matters to me a great deal. For example, with Christopher I no longer consider whether he will do a good project or not, or with Brandon Camp, with whom we met through Christopher Young and we did a film called “Love Happens” with Jennifer Aniston in 2008 and after that we collaborated on another film called “Benji”. We worked together as if we shared the same mind, there was an absolute identification of the approach we both had for the music of the film. When you identify relatively quickly with your collaborators and as a personality, you manage to resolve all the artistic differences that may occur, if there is a good mood and mutual respect. This is very important! When you write a score with 60-70 minutes of music, certainly it can’t be approval straight away. There are changes or disagreements. There have been many times when I’ve listened to my directors when they ask me to change the music completely in a scene and while I might be a little hesitant at first, then when I do what they ask me to, I end up saying “you know what? they were right.”
You are a Greek who has chosen to consolidate his professional career mainly abroad. What excites you the most about your life and your career outside of Greece?
It was my job that chose me to live abroad. When I said that I wanted to make film music in the 80s, it wasn’t something bad but I seemed like an “alien”, especially if you take into consideration that there was no internet back then. In 1997 when I moved to Los Angeles the internet was in its infancy. I went overseas in 1992 and I couldn’t go to any city other than Los Angeles to work in this field. I was very lucky because immediately after studying there in 1997, I got a job straight away as an assistant to a then-up-and-coming composer, Christopher Young, and I fwll into “deep water” as there was no other place of such a professional level back then. Abroad I’m excited by the tremendous professionalism that generally exists in the Los Angeles film world. It excites me that Los Angeles is the first city to be approached by the technology sector, as it is the center of film making. It also excites me how many people work in this field. You can exchange information with other composers, with other arrangers, for programs, there are forums and a tremendous core of energy, information and development, so you are right in the center of the next big project.
Is it easy for a Greek artist to “survive” among the speed and the greatness of Hollywood? I mention the word “greatness”, because for most Greeks, all of this seems big! How did you experience this situation?
Very easy, as long as you want to work. As human beings and not only as Greeks, we tend to be comfortable in miserable situations, because it makes it easier for us and thus very easily we can find excuses not to do something! The point is to want to work. No one in Los Angeles comes from there, it’s really rare. Everyone in this city come from different places all over the world. There is no discrimination, you are not seen as something different. On the contrary, being Greek is something exotic and works in your favor. “Don’t lose your accent”, Elmer Bernstein told me while studying in the university in 1997. After so many years of living abroad I feel very lucky to be able to be proud of my ancient ancestors and the culture my country produced.
Christopher Young, Elmer Bernstein… What other great composers did you meet as professors while studying in Los Angeles?
I had Jerry Goldsmith as professor and Joe Harnell for a few lessons, we had James Horner who had come once, Thomas Newman etc.
I realize, however, that the name that stands out to you the most is the one of Christopher Young. What does he mean to you?
Chris to me is a mentor, a friend, a father and the person that we still work with. I love him unconditionally! He is the one who kept me in U.S.A. I asked him to sponsor me in order to stay in the country and instead he offered me a job. Since then we’ve worked together on 50 films so for me, he’s a big part of my career. I have learned so much alongside him and not only how to do or not to do things during a production.
Which of your professional projects has been the easiest so far?
One of my nicest projects that was “easy” and gave me the freedom to do whatever I wanted was when I did some parts for the documentary about the life of Stan Lee. I recorded with a full orchestra at Capitol Records. There were 88 students. The highlight was when Stan Lee came to the studio, who thought he would see just a guitar and a piano and when he entered the studio, he was shocked. We didn’t have professional musicians, we couldn’t afford it and the producer made a very smart move: he emailed to all the music schools in U.S.A. in search of musicians. In the end, we got around 2,000 applications from musicians who would pay with their own money to come and play. Of course, I also had a lot of trouble with the musicians’ union in Los Angeles, explaining to them that this was our only option, and I’m offering the kids the experience of a recording session that they may never have had before, at Capitol Records, a tremendously historic studio and they will have the opportunity to meet Stan Lee in person. We singled out 120 students, there was high energy, we recorded and it was an “easy” job because I wrote whatever I wanted for an orchestral based score, in the Marvel style that I love. The fact that I saw Stan Lee being impressed, happy and congratulating me was a priceless moment.
And which one was the most difficult?
The hardest project for me was “Worlds Apart” because I had written a lot of music and as the film was being edited we would go back and change it. So we had to rewrite scenes and think about them differently. It kept changing so I worked on this score for about 10 months which is way too much time spent for a film, -usually it takes about two or three months- but this was more difficult in terms of conception. “Benji” was difficult too. It had 52 minutes of action music with a full orchestra. This was difficult in terms of performance but we gοt along pretty well with the director and it worked out for us just in time. However, in “Worlds Apart” with Christopher we had a very good collaboration but because the editing was constantly changing we had to go back and erase and rewrite until we found it and so it took us a long time. Of course, to tell the truth, he did well and it was created that way because I am happy with the final result. It was something that both the film and I needed, to ferment with the music more in the project, and it came out the way it is!
When you decided you wanted to work into the music industry, was film music your first choice?
Yes! I have said it in many interviews so far that as a child I was born when I started playing the piano at the age of six. I was studying a lot but also I was improvising a lot. I had this madness of improvisation which is the first steps of someone who wants to compose music. I always liked classical and orchestral music and paid attention to many bands like Queen, Supertramp, Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, but I always listened to the music and therefore I never knew the lyrics. So all this, connected with the cinema which at that time had these very well-known themes of the 80’s such as: “Star Wars”, “Indiana Jones”, “ET”, “Out of Africa”, “Willow” etc. There was also the possibility that anything you would write could be heard because the difficult thing in the concert world is that you can write pieces that will never be played or will only be played once. On the contrary, what you do for a movie will stay forever. I was very impressed by this. From a young age I collected soundtracks like crazy. I spent almost all my pocket money on them. From Friday’s 5.000 (drachmas pocket money), I spent 4,800 to Rock100 (record store), in Thessaloniki. My ultimate goal was always to go to Los Angeles and in order to do that, I had to go through England because first I had to do study composition, study with free tuition due to the European community and then I had to go to Los Angeles and luckily it worked out for me just fine.
And if I asked you what kind of music does Kostas listen to in his free time, what would you tell me? What are your favorites?
Silence! Absolute silence! Because I work very long hours and there are no weekends or holidays in my job. In a typical day I may have to work up to 16 hours as the deadlines are often brutal. So I’ll either choose not to listen to something or I’ll listen to soundtracks, classical or electronic music, old hard-rock bands like the ones I mentioned earlier and I also really like old jazz and bebop.
What’s your motto in life?
(see Kostas Christides’ answer in the following video)
Interview: Thodoris Kolliopoulos
