Memoirs of a Geisha

The cinematic adaptation of Arthur Golden's successful novel Memoirs of a Geisha has been on Steven Spielberg and John Williams' to do-list for many years, constantly delayed due to other projects. In the end, however, Spielberg ended up producing the film, instead of directing it - a job which went to Rob Marshall (best known for Chicago, from 2002) - but, thankfully, with John Williams still attached as the film's composer. And, together with two of the most famous soloists the classical world has to offer today - violinist Itzhak Perlman and cellist Yo-Yo Ma - Williams has delivered a charming and beautiful score, that probably will be his ticket to next year's Academy Awards.

With Williams collaborating with Itzhak Perlman and Yo-Yo Ma, parallels can, and will, of course be made between Memoirs of a Geisha and the composer's scores for Schindler's List and Seven Years in Tibet. The first, which featured Perlman on the violin, is one of Williams's best scores ever, while the latter - with cello solos by Yo-Yo Ma - perhaps isn't one of the composer's stronger, or more memorable, efforts, despite its gorgeous main theme. And similarities to Seven Years in Tibet can be found. Partly because of Yo-Yo Ma's contribution, of course, but also because Williams in Memoirs of a Geisha at times leans towards musical ideas - and above all harmonies - found in that score. Not so surprising, perhaps.

The score for Memoirs of a Geisha is a very serious piece of music and probably as far as one can possibly come from the bombastic music most people think of when Williams's name is mentioned. It's restrained, beautiful and at times introvert and minimalistic. Were it not for Yo-Yo Ma's cello and Perlman's violin, the music would probably have seemed a little cold, detached and lifeless, but the solo instruments adds a lot of colour and warmth to the music - in a sense they give the music its life and its heart.

The theme for the film's main character, Sayuri, is a lovely and beautiful piece, which holds a lot of sadness, mostly due to the fact that it usually is carried by the solo cello. Its appearance in cues like the wonderful "Becoming a Geisha" and the absolutely gorgeous "Confluence", where the theme is reprised by the entire orchestra, in one final and powerful statement, are all highlights. The score's secondary theme is dominated by Perlman's violin and appears in full in "The Chairman's Waltz" and this is where Schindler's List comes to mind at times. With the same composer and the same soloist, the music is bound to evoke memories of past collaborations.

Mostly very relaxed and intimate, some darkness and tension creeps in from time to time. "Destiny's Path" is a rythmic piece, with lots of ostinatos and repeated patterns, similar to parts of Williams's score for A.I. and some of Philip Glass's music, and the seven minutes long "The Fire Scene and the Coming of War" introduces the listener to syncopated percussion - timpani and woodblocks among other things - and dissonance, as well as excerpts from the Japanese traditional song "Ogi No Mato".

The ethnic influences are plentiful, of course, and Williams makes use of shakuhachi (performed by Masakazu Yoshizawa), koto (provided by Masayo Ishigure and Hiromi Hashibe), erhu (by Karen Han) and many other Japanese instruments, in lots of tracks. Over all, Memoirs of a Geisha is a successful blend of East and West, and of new and old. "Going to School" is a perfect example - a nice mix of solo violin and Asian instruments and harmonies. Also, parts of the score actually sounds genuinely Asian, such as the charming "Brush on Silk".