Solo 28: Interview with Iain Farrington (Pianist for Solo: A Star Wars Story)

Star Wars Music Minute

Iain Farrington played piano and celeste for the Solo: A Star Wars Story soundtrack! In this episode, we listen to some of our favorite piano moments from the Solo soundtrack, and Iain talks about what it was like to record those cues. He also shares stories from the recording sessions and gives us insight into how he approaches different types of piano cues.

Timestamps:

• 00:00 - Hello there!
• 00:39 - Why was the Solo score recorded in London?
• 04:08 - "Meet Han" (piano solo toward the beginning of the film).
• 10:55 - When Ron Howard came to the sessions.
• 13:46 - Watching John Powell write the Elgarian Imperial March arrangement during lunch, then recording different versions.
• 23:11 - How did Iain "get the call" to do this gig?
• 26:16 - "L3 and the Millennium Falcon" - What it was like to play the Star Wars Main Theme on the celeste (when we meet the Millennium Falcon in the movie).
• 41:14 - How does Iain approach recording piano with an orchestra vs. recording for a solo piano project?
• 51:07 - "Dryden's Long, Long Fight" (romantic piano solo during Han and Qi'ra's last scene together).
• 1:02:23 - Xanthe's random, specific questions about the recording process (how many days? headphones? what was in his monitor mix? challenges?)
• 1:15:13 - How does Iain balance his work as a composer, arranger, and performer?
• 1:29:27 - "I Still Call Australia Home."
• 1:34:13 - SWMM Questionnaire.

Things to Check Out:

• Playlist of SWMM Conversations with Star Wars musicians: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE4n8ygyS0MLbbtk0Hzpb0Z3JlShtuf_U
• Mahler - 1st Symphony, 1st mvt (piano solo arranged by Iain Farrington) - https://youtu.be/ET8UNKBzUgI
• "I Still Call Australia Home" Qantas ad: https://youtu.be/Kwfuo8ESa5E
• Iain Farrington's "I still call Australia home" arrangement is the second track on this list: https://www.iainfarrington.com/songs.html
• Solo 3: Imperial March Diegesis (Minutes 11-15 with Samantha Tripp) - https://youtu.be/Kj9EAuzCY68
• Frank Lehman's Complete Catalogue of the Musical Themes of Star Wars: https://franklehman.com/starwars/

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STAR WARS MUSIC MINUTE QUESTIONNAIRE:

1. In exactly 3 words, what does Star Wars sound like?

• That's an orchestra.

2. What's something related to Star Wars music or sound that you want to learn more about?

• Would love to see John Williams's original sketches for Star Wars.

3. What's a score or soundtrack you're fond of besides anything Star Wars?

• E.T. (composed by John Williams)

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Guest: Iain Farrington

• Website: https://www.iainfarrington.com/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/IainFarrington
• YouTube (where you can find his piano arrangements of Mahler symphonies): https://www.youtube.com/user/iainfarrington

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