Dawn breaks over a crescent moon to burgeoning brass - we take a closer look at the most famous sunrise in Hollywood ahead of our performances of Cinematic later this month.

Stanley Kubrick changed cinema forever with the release of 2001: A Space Odyssey. The iconic opening, a cosmic sunrise soundtracked by the booming timpani of Strauss’ Also sprach Zarathustra set the scene for one of the most influential films ever made.

But Kubrick nearly bankrupted the film’s studio and broke hearts in the creation of the soundtrack for the unforgettable opening.

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Illustration inspired by the opening scene of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Grafiker61, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Kubrick commissioned several different composers to write original scores for the film, with none of the artists managing to satisfy Kubrick’s meticulous vision.

Deciding that spending money on numerous composers wasn’t putting enough financial pressure on the Metro-Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) studio already, a week before MGM bigwigs were due to fly in for an update on the film, Kubrick gave Tony Frewin, his 19-year old assistant, as much petty cash as he could muster to go to a downtown record store and buy as much classical music as he could. Frewin couldn’t believe his luck – he had been given enough money to buy the store.

Frewin took a station wagon downtown and bought so much vinyl, he was worried the police would pull him over due to the car sagging from the weight of it! Kubrick and Frewin sat and listened to vinyl for days, trying to find the perfect classical works to accompany the film.

MGM were unimpressed with the approach. At the time of the film’s production, hearing an original score was part of the appeal of going to the cinema. MGM pressured Kubrick into hiring composer Alex North in another attempt to give the film an original soundtrack.

North, under immense pressure from Kubrick, did compose a full score for the film, though he nearly had a nervous breakdown doing it. The composer is said to have been in a hospital bed on wheels that was rolled into recording sessions, due to muscle spasms in his back from the pressure applied by Kubrick in his pursuit for the perfect score.

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Stanley Kubrick (right) on the set of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Dmitri Kessel/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

During post-production, Kubrick chose to abandon North’s music in favour of the classical works, including Also sprach Zarathustra, that had been in place as temporary music for the film from the very beginning. As for North – the composer did not learn that Kubrick had abandoned his score until he saw the film’s premiere in New York.

Without breaking North’s heart, it’s possible that the most famous sunrise in movie history would have sounded very different to what has become ingrained in cultural legend.

Experience the epic moment for yourself when WASO perform Also sprach Zarathustra as part of Cinematic later this month.

Cinematic
Fri 26 & Sat 27 Aug 2022, 7.30pm
Perth Concert Hall