/ 01/25/2023
Wednesday is Netflix’s most watched series of all time. The music played in it was recorded in Hungary, at the Budapest Scoring Studio, with Hungarian musicians under the personal direction of composer Danny Elfman, and directed by Tim Burton. Mátyás Ölveti played the main character’s cello solo at the client’s personal request.
What do you want to know about Budapest’s history?
Palent Subsection: I founded Budapest Scoring in 2012 with the aim of connecting Hollywood demand with show in Hungary, keeping in mind that we have excellent musicians and qualified sound engineers in Hungary. In 2007, I moved to Los Angeles, where, although I was mainly engaged in composing and arranging film music, it turned out that after a while I was also involved in this. Life is what you actually brought.
How strong is the international competition in this field?
PALENT SUBJECTS: At the international level, there are many orchestras recorded in the world, as well as in Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Dozens of large films were traditionally shot in London and Los Angeles, but now Budapest seems to have overtaken the orchestras of neighboring countries and moved to third place, and huge performances also come to us regularly.
What movies and series did you work in?
Palent Subsection: We have been in many Oscar-winning productions, and I can mention our four Academy Awards They are aliveet al., or a Get out! the movie. Among the series, I would like to highlight star Wars animated films (Rebels, bad batch), which we have worked on regularly for years, and Squid game (win your life), it is A stranger from home
(the intruder), a Establishment (establishment) or Cobra Kai series, where the music of the Budapest record can also be heard.
How was the band chosen for this work?
PALENT SUBJECTS: Danny Elfman and I had worked together before, so we were no strangers to each other. The series’ other composer, Chris Bacon, had also heard very good things about us, so in the end they both decided to side with us. The original concept was that the cello soloists would be recorded in Los Angeles. It was like that at first, but after they heard it Matthias kills himconductor of the cello ensemble, and has since been assigned the soloist in place of a Los Angeles-based cellist.
According to them, composers have never known you.
Matthias Olviti: number. In this case it works on trust, so during the first session they wrote one or two smaller solos, but were so satisfied with them that they entrusted all the solos after that to me. Also, we negotiated constantly to make sure I would be there at every recording.
How was the registration? How did composers face you?
PALENT SUBJECTS: Los Angeles-based Danny Elfman and Chris Bacon listened to the recordings online and gave instructions to the band. Thanks to modern technology, it is no longer necessary to travel to Budapest, and the author can even catch up on our work from his bedroom in his pajamas if he likes. Of course, it’s still best if the author is here in the studio, but most of the time, given the amount of work, it just doesn’t fit into their time.
What was the recording of the cello solo like: does the protagonist imitate the previously performed piece, learning the real movements, or are his movements not related to this piece?
Matthias Olviti: Tradition worked the other way around, so the music came first, Gina Ortega knew that, and played that on the final record. As far as I know, he had studied this instrument himself, so the task was no stranger to him.
What does this work mean to you?
Palent Subsection: It was a great honor and at the same time a great challenge Wednesday to work on his music. We usually record over 40 minutes of music for an episode in a four hour shoot, which is quite an accomplishment. This required above-average focus on the part of the orchestra and conductor, Peter Illini, as well as lightning-fast sound engineering work, which was achieved by Victor Szabo. Musically, being involved in the production was a great experience, because Elfman and Bacon’s music is of a very high standard, and it was a pleasure to play it.
Matthias Olviti: It was a great honor and inspiration for us to make this soundtrack, to work with such amazing people. With next season now officially out, hopefully the crew will vote their faith in us again.
Opening photo: cellist Mátyás Ölveti
Photographs: Victor Szende
