Entertainment

'Grand Budapest' Soundtrack is here!

by Anna Klassen

You can buy the soundtrack on Amazon starting March 3, but you can listen to the soundtrack for The Grand Budapest Hotel online now. While Wes Anderson's kitschy film won't be released until March 7th, you have an entire week to bask in the glory of the music that will accompany the motion picture an entire week early. There is 20 tracks in all, and with the first track dubbed, "s'Rothe-Zäuerli Öse Schuppel," you know you're in for a real hard-to-pronounce treat.

As Amazon.com says of the track list, it "features music from Academy Award®-nominated composer Alexandre Desplat and performances by the Osipov State Russian Folk Orchestra. To help create the film's musical character, the team chose a combination of Desplat's original compositions, traditional Russian folk songs and an exquisite Vivaldi piece to set the scene for a chase through the snowy tundra in this gripping tale of intrigue."

So what does a "chase through snowy tundra" really sound like? Well, sort of exactly what you'd imagine. The first track opens with a chorus of yodelers harmonizing over one another's varying pitches. Other tracks feature long interludes of horns and accordions that set the mood perfectly for an alpine journey. A light, dancing piano melody called "Mr. Moustafa" is reminiscent of taking a night time stroll under a giant looming moon in Italy. Overall, many of the tracks appear to be the instrumental counterparts of those produced by Mumford & Sons, just with more accordions (in case you thought that wasn't possible).

You can listen to the entire soundtrack here.

Image: Fox Searchlight