2001: A Space Odyssey (soundtrack) mankind's eventual replacement by overmen ("Übermensch") in Nietzsche's work "Thus Spoke Zarathustra". "Gayane's Adagio" from Aram Khachaturian's "Gayane" ballet suite is heard during the sections that introduce Bowman and Poole aboard the "Discovery", conveying a somewhat lonely and mournful quality. In addition to the majestic yet fairly traditional compositions by the two Strausses and Khachaturian, Kubrick used four highly modernistic compositions by György Ligeti that employ micropolyphony, the use of sustained dissonant chords that shift slowly. This technique was pioneered in "Atmosphères", the only Ligeti piece heard in its entirety in the film. Ligeti admired Kubrick's film but, in addition
The Killing Fields (soundtrack) films before (see "The Exorcist" and "The Space Movie"), this was the first time he had written specifically for film, and so far the only time. Oldfield composed the album on a Fairlight CMI. Like many movies, the album is not a comprehensive record of all the Oldfield soundtrack music used in the film. Most notably, the music accompanying the darkroom sequence does not feature on the album. The single from the album, "Étude", is taken from the Francisco Tarrega piece "Recuerdos de la Alhambra". Oldfield's work on the score was partially instigated by Virgin boss Richard Branson when he