I was music editor for “Babylon Berlin”. All music was written by Johnny Klimek and Tom Tykwer.
Working so closely and for so many month with everyone in post-production was one of the greatest professional experiences in my life. Usually as film composers we come in at the very end of a project, but since Johnny and Tom write the music before even shooting a film this whole process is turned upside down and as a result I had the pleasure of following how all the film edits and the storytelling developed over time.
Listen to the music on iTunes
I have a question about the Mahler song used in episode 3. The episode credits state that it is performed by Magdalena Kozena with Claudio Abbado and the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, and I agree. But a sharp-eared Mahlerite has pointed out that the opening line of the song is from another recording (he says it’s Kathleen Ferrier). If you listen to the Youtube video carefully, you can definitely hear the change in voice (and recording ambience) at about 1:55, even though the editing is cleverly done. Was that done so that the song would initially start with an older recording, to better fit the time period? But Ferrier’s was made in 1952, which is much too late for the setting. There is a recording of the song made in 1930, but the poor sound quality would have been distracting in the scene. So why didn’t you just use one recording or the other? Regardless, it’s an amazing scene, especially because of the music chosen. Well done!
Hello David,
thank you for taking the time to write about this.
I don’t recall having any version other than the Claudio Abbado recording you mentioned of this music anywhere in my workflow. Also, there wasn’t really a discussion about using recordings from different periods.
It’s very good to know that there are people out there who are paying close attention. Keeps us on our toes.
Kind regards
Hans