In March 2015, Spielberg's regular collaborator John Williams was set to compose the score for the film.[3] However, Williams exited from the project two weeks later, citing health issues,[4][5] and was replaced by Thomas Newman;[2] John Williams would however score for The BFG.[6]
While Newman worked with several directors in his two-decade long career, he felt working with Spielberg was a "little intimidating" and further said "You sit with him in a room, and you're playing something — a piece of music. And you trust how he responds. And so I would just try to get those feelings that evoked that in him. His instincts are pretty unerring. It was very clear, but it was never doctrinaire, it was never dogmatic at all. I think he was very interested in getting into the creative heart of anyone he collaborates with."[7]
The score consisted of piano cues layered with string motifs, implementing many of his previous scores, but also met Spielberg's aesthetic on its own terms, favoring "big, unembarrassed emotions and moments of uncynical beauty".[7]
Critical reception
James Southall of Movie Wave wrote "Bridge of Spies is the third of Newman’s four scores this year. It’s a diverse bunch – a gentle comedy, a moving documentary, a political thriller and a Bond movie. They’re all very good but for my money this is the pick of them. It’s got real life to it and, while Newman employs a number of familiar techniques, he manages to keep everything sounding fresh and always engaging. It’s already been announced that John Williams will return for Spielberg’s next movie, The BFG, but when the time does eventually come to choose his successor, the director need look no further."[8] Jonathan Broxton stated "Thankfully, Newman did not try to write a John Williams score for this film – it would have served no-one if Newman failed at being Williams, while simultaneously failing at being himself. It bears all his personal idiosyncratic compositional hallmarks, many of which will be over-familiar to some listeners, and as such may elicit accusations of Newman writing the same old score again." and concluded "Whether Thomas Newman will go on to be Steven Spielberg’s regular collaborator in the future is unclear, but if Bridge of Spies tells us one thing, it’s that the legacy of John Williams will be in good hands if he does."[9]
Mfiles.com wrote "In an era of so much mass-produced, homogenous film music, it's a bracing joy to know that unique talents like Thomas Newman are being utilized on superb films like Bridge of Spies. He's a rare composer with a truly, almost defiantly singular voice, a keen dramatist who carefully builds a sense of mood across each of his soundtracks before richly rewarding the listeners in the home stretch."[10]Filmtracks.com wrote "Depending on your mood for this type of introspective thriller music with a wholesome bent, Bridge of Spies could be a three-star or four-star effort, though given its smart match for the film, the latter rating is fairer for the patient listener."[11]
The Guardian's Mark Kermode called Newman's score as "surprisingly understated".[12] Anthony Lane of The New Yorker opined "while Spielberg has shifted in his choice of composer, from John Williams to Thomas Newman, the shift is not far enough. He should have taken his cue from Otto Preminger, who leavened Anatomy of a Murder his courtroom masterwork of 1959, with the music of Duke Ellington. We even saw the Duke onscreen, playing piano with Jimmy Stewart. The lilt and the kick of the soundtrack didn’t compromise that movie. They gave it cool."[13]
Recording – Shinnosuke Miyazawa, Larry Mah, Armin Steiner, Tommy Vicari
Editing – Bill Bernstein, Jordan Corngold, Michael Zainer
Mixing – Tommy Vicari
Mastering – Bernie Grundman
Music contractor – Leslie Morris
Music co-ordinator – George Doering, Shinnosuke Miyazawa
Copyist – Reprise Music Services
Executive in charge of music – Mitchell Leib
Instruments
Bass – Christian Kollgaard, David Parmeter, Domenic Genova, Geoffrey Osika, Jeff Bandy, Oscar Hidalgo, Stephen Dress, Thomas Harte, Timothy Eckert, Bruce Morgenthaler, Nico Abondolo
Bassoon – Judy Farmer, Kenneth Munday, Will May, Rose Corrigan
Cello – Carolyn Litchfield, Christina Soule, Dane Little, Erika Duke-Kirkpatrick, Kim Scholes, Giovanna Clayton, Melissa Hasin, Steve Richards, Suzie Katayama, Timothy Landauer, Trevor Handy, Vahe Hayrikyan, Xiao-Dan Zheng, Dennis Karmazyn, Stephen Erdody
Clarinet – Ralph William, Gary Bovyer
Flute – Diane Alancraig, Steve Kujala
French Horn – Alan Fogle, Dan Kelley, Dylan Hart, Jenny Kim, Joseph Meyer, John Reynolds, Justin Hageman, Kristy Morrell, Phillip Yao, Mark Adams, Steve Becknell
Harp – Gayle Levant
Oboe – Joseph Stone, Lara Wickes, Leslie Reed
Percussion – Daniel Greco
Trombone – William Reichenbach, Charles Loper, William Booth
Trumpet – Malcolm McNab, Wayne Bergeron
Tuba – Jim Self
Viola – Aaron Oltman, Alma Fernandez, Carolyn Riley, Darrin McCann, Dmitri Bovaird, Jennie Hansen, John Hayhurst, Karie Prescott, Kate Reddish, Keith Greene, Marlow Fisher, Matt Funes, Meredith Crawford, Robert Berg, Robert Brophy, Scott Hosfeld, Shawn Mann, Thomas Diener, David Walther, Victoria Miskolczy
Violin – Amy Hershberger, Ana Landauer, Charles Bisharat, Darius Campo, Elizabeth Hedman, Eun Mee Ahn, Gil Romero, Gina Kronstadt, Grace Oh, Haim Shtrum, Jay Rosen, Jennifer Levin, Jennifer Munday, Joel Derouin, Hohn Wittenberg, Josefina Vergara, Julie Rogers, Kathleen Robertson, Kenneth Yerke, Kevin Connolly, Liane Mautner, Lily Chen, Lily Ho, Lisa Dondlinger, Maia Jasper, Marina Manukian, Mark Robertson, Mike Markman, Natalie Leggett, Nina Evtuhov, Norman Hughes, Peter Kent, Phil Levy, Rebecca Bunnell, Richard Altenbach, Robert Matsuda, Roberto Cani, Roger Wilkie, Ron Clark, Sara Parkins, Sarah Thornblade, Serena McKinney, Sharon Jackson, Tamara Hatwan, Tiffany Hu, Yelena Yegoryan, Yutong Sharp
Orchestra
Orchestration – J.A.C. Redford
Choir contractor – Sally Stevens
Concertmaster – Sid Page
Soloist – Dan Greco, George Doering, Rick Cox, Steve Tavaglione, Thomas Newman
