DISCUSSING BOOKS

On film music: the word of an expert

In his review of Brainstorming by Irena Paulus, Vladimir C. Sever argues that the book fills a serious void in contemporary Croatian music criticism. Namely, the great increase in availability of film scores hasn’t been accompanied by a comparable increase in the number of adequately informed and competent film music critics, which resulted in their offhand treatment by the reviewing critics en masse. The author had thus filled a considerable void through her writings in the magazine Vijenac. Collected in this book, they offer a valuable set of insights in the current international film music, while her essays dedicated to contemporary Croatian score writing are practically the only texts available on the topic. The author’s approach is eminently readable and always enhanced by its greater sensitivity to the gender issues. Minor complaints are given to the lack of thorough technical information regarding the albums reviewed within the book, especially in the section devoted to the often rerecorded vintage scores.

Vladimir C. Sever