Laurence Rosenthal is set to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 23rd edition of the World Soundtrack Awards, which takes place as the concluding event of Film Fest Gent on Saturday 21 October.
Rosenthal is a seasoned writer who has written music for over a hundred films and television shows. These include George Lucas’ “The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles” (1992) and its subsequent TV movies.
Photo credit: Matthew Joseph Peak
Nadia Boulanger and Salzburg
Born in Detroit in 1926, Rosenthal began his music studies at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. Upon graduation, he moved to Paris to study composition with Nadia Boulanger and to Salzburg to learn conducting at the Mozarteum. After his military service, he went back to New York and began composing for Broadway theatre and motion pictures.
Rosenthal’s early work for feature films includes the scores for Daniel Petrie’s “A Raisin in the Sun” (1961) and Arthur Penn’s Oscar-winning film “The Miracle Worker” (1962). In the 60s, he enjoyed a strong creative partnership with actor-director Peter Glenville, for whom he wrote three original film scores. His first was an exotic score for a Broadway theatrical version of the classic Japanese film of Kurosawa, “Rashomon”.
Awards for TV
Over the years, Rosenthal has also composed extensively for television, winning seven Emmy Awards and two Academy award nominations . His best-known work for television is the triple Emmy-winning music for “The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles” and its complementary TV films, along with the iconic “Fantasy Island” (1977).
The World Soundtrack Awards
The World Soundtrack Awards were launched in 2001 by the Film Fest Gent (Belgium). The goal was to promote the understanding of film music and celebrate its auteurs. The event takes place yearly in Ghent, with a ceremony that is accompanied by the Brussels Philharmonic under the baton of Dirk Brossé.
Apart from the three main categories, the World Soundtrack Awards recognize other accomplishments in film music, such as:
- the Discovery of the Year
- Public Choice Award
- Lifetime Achievement Award
- Sabam Award for the Most Original Composition by a Young International Composer
- Major Contribution to the Art of Film Music and Sound
- Most Creative Use of Existing Material on a Soundtrack
- Best Original Score of the Year Not Released on an Album
- Best Original Film Score of the Year,
- and Best Original Score for a Belgian Production.
The list of 2022 winners included Jonny Greenwood, Nicholas Britell, Eiko Ishibashi and Bruno Coulais.
