Disney For Scores

Iron Man and Game of Thrones composer Ramin Djawadi joins host Jon Burlingame to talk about his most recent partnership with Marvel Studios on Eternals. Djawadi reveals what it was like to work with Academy Award® winning director Chloe Zhao to create the timeless backdrop for a narrative that spans centuries and cultures. He also explains how a lucky coincidence changed the course of his career when he was offered the opportunity to work under Hans Zimmer.

In this special episode, Host Jon Burlingame sits down first with award-winning composer, lyricist and actor Lin-Manuel Miranda to discuss how his large family, The Little Mermaid and Colombian musician Carlos Vives influenced his work on Disney’s latest animated film, Encanto. After Lin reveals the inspirations behind his songs, Jon talks with composer Germaine Franco about how she integrated them into her score, along with the sounds of Colombia and magical realism.

Host Jon Burlingame speaks with conductor and Academy Award® nominated film composer David Newman about his role in translating Leonard Bernstein’s original music to Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story.” Newman explains how the team’s respect for the classical music canon and Broadway traditions led them to preserve as much original score as possible, with changes mostly confined to arrangement and placement.

Grammy® nominated music producer and supervisor Matt Sullivan sits down with host Jon Burlingame to discuss his role as executive music producer on Steven Spielberg’s newest film, “West Side Story.” Sullivan explains how he worked with legends like John Williams and Stephen Sondheim to coordinate music’s unique role in the rehearsal and filming process, and how he felt seeing his work translated to the screen.

Host Jon Burlingame sits down with composer Joseph Shirley to talk about his work on Season 3 of the Disney+ series, The Mandalorian, and the overall soundscape of the series, the Star Wars legacy and his longtime collaboration with Ludwig Göransson.

Host Jon Burlingame sits down with composer John Murphy to talk about his film score for “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” and collaboration with director James Gunn. They discussed the use of opera, the influence of Renaissance music and the reveal where the best percussion sound came from, as well as the challenge of writing music to the tonal shifts of the story.

Host Jon Burlingame sits down with Thomas Newman, the iconic composer whose latest work can be heard in Pixar’s new film Elemental. They talk about how Newman went about creating music and introducing vocal elements for the imaginary world of the film, as well as reveal the helpful advice Thomas’ cousin, the legendary Randy Newman, once gave him.

Legendary composer John Williams talks with host Jon Burlingame about his latest film score for Disney's Indiana Jones  and the Dial of Destiny. The two discuss an amusing story shared by Harrison Ford about the oddest place he ever heard Williams' iconic march, to the particulars of writing music for Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s mysterious character, Helena. Williams also reveals how he has successfully collaborated with some of the foremost filmmakers of the last two centuries to create many of the most recognized film scores of all time— with no signs of slowing down after nearly seven decades in the studio.

In For Scores, host Jon Burlingame takes listeners on a magical journey into the world of film and television composers, revealing never-before-heard special moments behind many of today's most beloved scores. This season, you'll hear personal stories from the composers of Marvel Studios Avengers and Pixar's Toy Story films, Captain Marvel, Coco, Ralph Breaks the Internet, and so much more!

Composer Alan Silvestri talks with host Jon Burlingame about his work on four Marvel Studios films including Avengers: Endgame. Alan also reveals the emotional process he goes through, how it has shaped his work in the film industry over the decades and how despite the wide range of movies he's worked on -- that it's all still a terrifying mystery to him.

Composer Pinar Toprak speaks with host Jon Burlingame about her amazing journey from studying violin at a conservatory in her homeland of Turkey, to becoming the first woman to score a film in the Marvel cinematic universe. She shares stories about the soundtrack that most influenced her career, her work scoring popular video games and the panic attack that helped her come up with the theme for Marvel Studios' Captain Marvel.

Composer Harry Gregson-Williams tells host Jon Burlingame how he helped make penguins seem even more charming and funny in Disneynature's documentary, Penguins. They go on to discuss why Harry actually enjoys the stress of conducting his own scores and how his own children are both his best audience and critics. Harry also gives a sneak peek into the music for the upcoming live-action Mulan film.

In this first of two episodes with composer Henry Jackman, he tells host Jon Burlingame how he rebelled against the classical music and choir singing of his childhood in England with drums and pop music. He also reveals how a surprise call from the legendary Hans Zimmer lead to his career in film scoring, as well as the secret homage he made to John Williams' iconic music from Star Wars in Ralph Breaks the Internet.

Host Jon Burlingame talks about Coco with composer Germaine Franco, who co-wrote several of the film's songs, and Tom MacDougall, the Executive Producer of the film's soundtrack. They reveal how they achieved the authentic sonic landscape of Mexico by recording there with local musicians and indigenous instruments, as well as weaving in musical styles like mariachi bands, banda and jarocho.

Composer Geoff Zanelli talks with host Jon Burlingame about his college internship in Hans Zimmer 's studio and how that jumpstarted his career working on all of the Pirates of the Caribbean films, The Odd Life of Timothy Green and, most recently, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil.Geoff also reveals how his father's deafness greatly influenced his appreciation of music.

Composers Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders talk with host Jon Burlingame about their most recent film Ford v Ferrari and their two decade partnership in film and TV scoring. They also reveal to Jon a few funny stories about their early days.

Oscar-winning songwriters Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez sit down with Host Jon Burlingame to talk about their work on Frozen and Frozen 2. They delve into the special moments and personal stories that influenced their songs, as well as reveal their creative process with an exclusive and impromptu singing session live on piano.

In this episode, Host Jon Burlingame talks with prolific and versatile composer Christophe Beck, whose film scoring can be heard in more than one hundred films including Ant-Man, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Frozen and most recently, Frozen 2. Beck reveals lessons he learned early in his career and his musical strategy for dealing with humorous scenes and characters in films.

In this nostalgic episode of FOR SCORES, Oscar-nominated composer John Debney reveals to host Jon Burlingame how meeting Walt Disney and the Sherman brothers during his childhood influenced his life's work on films including The Princess Diaries and The Jungle Book.

Composer and songwriter Randy Newman sits down with host Jon Burlingame to talk about Randy's long history with Disney and Pixar films, including his work on all four Toy Story movies, Monsters, Inc. and A Bug's Life. He also reveals why he loves using orchestras in his scoring and how the musical legends in his family influenced his life's work.