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Off-Ramp

WHEN did Alex North find out Kubrick didn't use his score for '2001?'

About the Show

Over 11 years and 570 episodes, John Rabe and Team Off-Ramp scoured SoCal for the people, places, and ideas whose stories needed to be told, and the show became a love-letter to Los Angeles. Now, John is sharing selections from the Off-Ramp vault to help you explore this imperfect paradise.

Funding provided by:

Corporation for Public Broadcasting

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WHEN did Alex North find out Kubrick didn't use his score for '2001?'
KPCC's Program Director and Classical Music aficionado Craig Curtis explains what happened to Alex North's unused score for 2001: A Space Odyssey.

American Cinematheque programmer Grant Moninger says, "If you haven't seen '2001' in 70mm, you have not seen the film." His colleague Gwen Deglise says they get so many requests to screen Kubrick's 1968 sci-fi masterpiece, they have to run it at least once a year.

Put the two together, and you have the Cinematheque's 5-year exclusive deal with Warner Bros. to show a brand new 70mm print of "2001: A Space Odyssey." They're planning two extended showings every year, the first of which runs Dec. 9 - 27 at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood.

Now, when you go, you probably won't be surprised by the music in the movie. "Also Spake Zarathustra," the "Blue Danube," the etherial Ligeti choral pieces. But one person who was surprised was composer Alex North, whom Kubrick commissioned to score the movie! He didn't find our Kubrick dumped his music until he went to a preview.

Listen to the audio to hear Craig Curtis tell you the whole story.

Off-Ramp's classical music expert and NASCAR enthusiast Craig Curtis. On Off-Ramp, he teaches us how to say Gennady Rozhdestvensky.
Off-Ramp's classical music expert and NASCAR enthusiast Craig Curtis. On Off-Ramp, he teaches us how to say Gennady Rozhdestvensky.
(
John Rabe
)