KRAMER VS. KRAMER (UNUSED SCORE)

But this is not all: our album is dedicated to three scores from this extraordinarily prolific period in Shire’s career; a trio of scores that complement each other while highlighting the composer’s versatility and ingenuity. His contribution to “Kramer vs. Kramer” didn’t survive some late post-production decision-making; “The Defection of Simas Kudirka” earned him an Emmy nomination; and the credits for “The World According to Garp” (wrongly) list him as merely an adapter for a score that plays deliciously with the conventions of diegetic and non-diegetic music.

In 1979, producer Stanley Jaffe asked Shire to write the original music for “Kramer vs. Kramer,” a film that deals in excruciating detail with the pain and horror of a relationship coming to an end and a son getting lost in the ensuing divorce battle. Shire developed a score for strings, woodwinds, and brass. During test screenings, audiences and the producer found that the music pushed the film over the edge. Jaffe removed piece after piece. His music went unused.

One year before his experience on “Kramer vs. Kramer,” Shire had been nominated for a Primetime Emmy for his musical contribution to the celebrated television film “The Defection of Simas Kudirka.” It is one of his proudest achievements. Five years later, in 1982, Shire was hired to provide the score for “The World According to Garp,” an adaptation of John Irving’s bestselling quasi-Bildungsroman. David Shire managed to find the balance, though: his music being a complex, intricate composition that plays with the conventions of both diegetic and non-diegetic soundtracks throughout.

We are grateful to Warner Bros. for allowing us to release over 20 minutes of the latter score.

The 70th CD-release of Caldera Records features a detailed booklet text by Stephan Eicke and elegant artwork by Luis Miguel Rojas. The CD was mastered by Richard Moore and produced by Stephan Eicke and David Shire.