Thomas Newman is the youngest son of Alfred Newman, and, like his elder brother David and cousin Randy, he has chosen to pursue a career in the family business: film scoring. This is good news for soundtrack collectors, as his work for film is expressive, articulate and highly individual. In a series of diverse assignments, including the highly acclaimed and Oscar-nominated The Shawshank Redemption and Little Women (both 1994), he has established a personal style of Americana in which Coplandesque string and brass writing vies with contemporary, occasionally ambient effects and an eclectic use of solo instruments, from zither to ‘submarine flute’ and synthesized samples.
Oscar and Lucinda reunites Newman with Gillian Armstrong, director of Little Women, and both scores share a common root in Copland, but the young composer’s subtle and characterful voice is always recognizable, particularly here in the solo passages for woodwinds and electronic keyboards. The use of a boys’ choir, supported by tinkling percussion, keyboards and robust brass textures, is the most immediately striking feature of this score. Often cited by his contemporaries as one of the best film composers active today, Oscar and Lucinda will do nothing to dent Newman’s already impressive reputation. Mark Walker