Norwegian Wood [Soundtrack]

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The soundtrack for Norwegian Wood, director Tran Anh Hung’s film adaptation of Haruki Murakami’s bestselling novel, features an instrumental score by Jonny Greenwood performed by the BBC Concert Orchestra and the Emperor Quartet, as well as three tracks written and performed by '70s rockers Can. The Observer calls Greenwood's score "remarkable"; the Los Angeles Times calls it "extraordinary."

Description

Nonesuch released guitarist/composer Jonny Greenwood’s instrumental score to director Tran Anh Hung’s film Norwegian Wood on March 8, 2011. An adaptation of Haruki Murakami’s bestselling novel, the film was released in the UK in the spring of 2011 and will be released by Red Flag Releasing and Soda Pictures in the US beginning January 6, 2012. Norwegian Wood stars Kenichi Matsuyama, Rinko Kikuchi, and Kiko Mizuhara. The score is performed by the BBC Concert Orchestra led by Robert Ziegler, and the Emperor Quartet, and is produced by Graeme Stewart. The soundtrack album also features three tracks written and performed by the German group Can.

The Guardian said in its film review, “This movie is gorgeously photographed by Ping Bin Lee, and has a plangent, keening orchestral score by Jonny Greenwood. It rewards attention with a very sensual experience.” The Mail on Sunday said: “Jonny Greenwood wrote the film’s majestic music which features classical strings and modern experimental sounds that brilliantly enhance the emotional turmoil of young love and the stunning natural landscapes.”

Born in Kyoto, Japan, in 1949, Haruki Murakami published his first novel, Hear the Wind Sing, in 1979, earning him the Gunzou Literature Prize for budding writers. In 1987 he published Norwegian Wood, which gained him a domestic and global following, with its various editions and volumes combined selling more than 10 million copies in Japan and 2.6 million overseas to date; it will be reissued by Vintage/Random House on January 3, 2012. Murakami’s most recent novel, IQ84, was released in the fall of 2011 to great acclaim.

Tran Anh Hung’s directorial debut, The Scent of Green Papaya (1992), won the Camera d’Or at Cannes and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. His second film, Cyclo (1995), won the Golden Lion Award for Best Film at the Venice Film Festival. His other films include The Vertical Ray of the Sun (2000) and I Come with the Rain (2009).

In addition to his work with the band Radiohead, Jonny Greenwood has made a considerable name for himself as a composer in recent years. His Grammy– and BAFTA–nominated score for Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2007 film There Will Be Blood (Nonesuch) won the award for Best Film Score at the Evening Standard British Film Awards and the Ivor Novello Award for Best Original Film Score. His first solo project was a soundtrack for the Simon Pummell film Bodysong in 2003, and in 2004 Greenwood became BBC Radio 3’s Composer in Residence. His work under this appointment included Popcorn Superhet Receiver, which won the BBC Radio 3 Listeners’ Award at the 2006 British Composer Awards. Nonesuch will release an album of works by Greenwood and Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki in 2012 (exact date TBD).

ProductionCredits

PRODUCTION CREDITS
Soundtrack Produced by Jonny Greenwood
Mastered by Graeme Stewart at Abbey Road Studios

Executive Producer for Jonny Greenwood: Bryce Edge

Soundtrack Album Artwork by Shin Katan
Design by Dustin Stanton

Nonesuch Selection Number

526880

Number of Discs in Set
1disc
FormatRestrictions

This album is available from Nonesuch worldwide, excluding Southeast Asia.

Album Status
Artist Name
Jonny Greenwood
MusicianDetails

MUSICIANS
BBC Concert Orchestra

Rebecca Turner, Leader
Additional Orchestral Arrangements by Robert Ziegler
Conducted by Robert Ziegler
Soloists: Charles Mutter, violin; Timothy Welch, viola; Benjamin Hughes, cello

Produced & 5.1 Mixed by Graeme Stewart
Recorded by Simon Rhodes
Pro Tools Operator: John Barrett
Recorded at Abbey Road Studios

The Emperor Quartet
Martin Burgess, violin  Clare Hayes, violin  Fiona Bonds, viola  William Schofield, cello
with John Metcalfe, viola Joely Koos, cello

Produced, Recorded & Mixed by Graeme Stewart
Recorded at BF Studios

Additional Music Composed & Performed by Jonny Greenwood

Produced, Recorded, 2.0 & 5.1 Mixed by Graeme Stewart

Tracks 3, 7, & 12 written and performed by CAN

Cover Art
UPC/Price
Label
CD+MP3
UPC
075597977448BUN
Label
MP3
Price
9.00
UPC
075597977431
  • 526880

News & Reviews

  • Jonny Greenwood, who was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Score for Jane Campion's film The Power of the Dog earlier today, was the guest on NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross yesterday to discuss his work as a film composer—including his four Nonesuch soundtracks for Paul Thomas Anderson's films There Will Be Blood, The Master, Inherent Vice, and Phantom Thread—his album with composer Krzysztof Penderecki, and Radiohead. "Thank you for that music," Gross says of his Phantom Thread score. "I really love it." You can hear their conversation here.

  • Jonny Greenwood is on the podcast Penderecki in Memoriam to talk with host Max Horowitz about his compositional work and his connection to that of the late Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki, with whom Greenwood released an album on Nonesuch in 2012. "What I responded to is the rule-breaking, partly," Greenwood says of Penderecki's music. "It was seeing that just because music is written on paper, it doesn't necessarily have to fit within the confines of written limitations. And suddenly you realize, anything is possible." You can hear the conversation here.

Buy Now

  • About This Album

    Nonesuch released guitarist/composer Jonny Greenwood’s instrumental score to director Tran Anh Hung’s film Norwegian Wood on March 8, 2011. An adaptation of Haruki Murakami’s bestselling novel, the film was released in the UK in the spring of 2011 and will be released by Red Flag Releasing and Soda Pictures in the US beginning January 6, 2012. Norwegian Wood stars Kenichi Matsuyama, Rinko Kikuchi, and Kiko Mizuhara. The score is performed by the BBC Concert Orchestra led by Robert Ziegler, and the Emperor Quartet, and is produced by Graeme Stewart. The soundtrack album also features three tracks written and performed by the German group Can.

    The Guardian said in its film review, “This movie is gorgeously photographed by Ping Bin Lee, and has a plangent, keening orchestral score by Jonny Greenwood. It rewards attention with a very sensual experience.” The Mail on Sunday said: “Jonny Greenwood wrote the film’s majestic music which features classical strings and modern experimental sounds that brilliantly enhance the emotional turmoil of young love and the stunning natural landscapes.”

    Born in Kyoto, Japan, in 1949, Haruki Murakami published his first novel, Hear the Wind Sing, in 1979, earning him the Gunzou Literature Prize for budding writers. In 1987 he published Norwegian Wood, which gained him a domestic and global following, with its various editions and volumes combined selling more than 10 million copies in Japan and 2.6 million overseas to date; it will be reissued by Vintage/Random House on January 3, 2012. Murakami’s most recent novel, IQ84, was released in the fall of 2011 to great acclaim.

    Tran Anh Hung’s directorial debut, The Scent of Green Papaya (1992), won the Camera d’Or at Cannes and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. His second film, Cyclo (1995), won the Golden Lion Award for Best Film at the Venice Film Festival. His other films include The Vertical Ray of the Sun (2000) and I Come with the Rain (2009).

    In addition to his work with the band Radiohead, Jonny Greenwood has made a considerable name for himself as a composer in recent years. His Grammy– and BAFTA–nominated score for Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2007 film There Will Be Blood (Nonesuch) won the award for Best Film Score at the Evening Standard British Film Awards and the Ivor Novello Award for Best Original Film Score. His first solo project was a soundtrack for the Simon Pummell film Bodysong in 2003, and in 2004 Greenwood became BBC Radio 3’s Composer in Residence. His work under this appointment included Popcorn Superhet Receiver, which won the BBC Radio 3 Listeners’ Award at the 2006 British Composer Awards. Nonesuch will release an album of works by Greenwood and Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki in 2012 (exact date TBD).

    Credits

    MUSICIANS
    BBC Concert Orchestra

    Rebecca Turner, Leader
    Additional Orchestral Arrangements by Robert Ziegler
    Conducted by Robert Ziegler
    Soloists: Charles Mutter, violin; Timothy Welch, viola; Benjamin Hughes, cello

    Produced & 5.1 Mixed by Graeme Stewart
    Recorded by Simon Rhodes
    Pro Tools Operator: John Barrett
    Recorded at Abbey Road Studios

    The Emperor Quartet
    Martin Burgess, violin  Clare Hayes, violin  Fiona Bonds, viola  William Schofield, cello
    with John Metcalfe, viola Joely Koos, cello

    Produced, Recorded & Mixed by Graeme Stewart
    Recorded at BF Studios

    Additional Music Composed & Performed by Jonny Greenwood

    Produced, Recorded, 2.0 & 5.1 Mixed by Graeme Stewart

    Tracks 3, 7, & 12 written and performed by CAN

    PRODUCTION CREDITS
    Soundtrack Produced by Jonny Greenwood
    Mastered by Graeme Stewart at Abbey Road Studios

    Executive Producer for Jonny Greenwood: Bryce Edge

    Soundtrack Album Artwork by Shin Katan
    Design by Dustin Stanton

  • Format Availability

    This album is available from Nonesuch worldwide, excluding Southeast Asia.