A large orchestral piece, inspired by the classic film music of science fiction cinema, perfect for cross-over, pops programs. A symphonic love letter to science fiction!

Anyone familiar with the 1980s sci-fi cinema boosted by the success of Steven Spielberg should note the obvious reference in the title of this piece. The 1987 sci-fi adventure, directed by Joe Dante and produced by Spielberg, was one of my favourite movies as a teenager.

When the enthusiastic Gothia Concentus commissioned me to write Innerspace, the task was to write a stand-alone concert work that would serve as companion piece to an impressive set list of well-known genre works primarily from the world of film, but also video games. Since all of the other pieces were written for sci-fi adventures taking place in outer space, I wanted to go in the other direction - inwards.

My piece and its storyline is inspired by that of Joe Dante’s movie, and of course, even more so by the ingenious 1960s sci-fi gem Fantastic Voyage. I would not say, though, that the music itself is particularly inspired by the scores written for these films (by Jerry Goldsmith and Leonard Rosenman) - it’s more of a love letter to all of the great sci-fi music written in the past century.

Innerspace is in large doses based on an octatonic scale which I developed based on a chord progression that has been in my head since I was a teenager, just waiting for the righ opportunity to “come out”. The piece makes a condensed journey from the stark and alarming opening, through atmospheric passages which are almost bitonal in character, via stirring action and heroic scherzo motifs to a triumphant finale.

It is my intention that this piece should be entertaining, fun and exciting for the post-modern symphony audience, as well as a lot of fun for the players and conductor who share my love for the great sci-fi movies!

Duration: ca 7:30

Instrumentation: 3(1.2.pic)3(1.2.eh)3(1.2.bcl)3(1.2.cbn) - 6652(1opt) - timp.3perc - hp.pno - str.

Mikael Carlsson
January 2019