2001: A Space Odyssey (soundtrack) Like North's score, Cordell's work was recorded at the now demolished Anvil, Denham studios. "2001" is particularly remembered for using pieces of Johann Strauss II's best-known waltz, "The Blue Danube", during the extended space-station docking and Lunar landing sequences. This is the result of the association that Kubrick made between the spinning motion of the satellites and the dancers of waltzes. It also makes use of the opening from the Richard Strauss tone poem "Also sprach Zarathustra" performed by the Vienna Philharmonic conducted by Herbert von Karajan. The use of Strauss's "Zarathustra" may be a reference to the theme of
2001: A Space Odyssey (film) what remains is notable for its banality (making the computer HAL seem to have more emotion than the humans) juxtaposed with epic space scenes. Kubrick's decision to avoid the fanciful portrayals of space in standard popular science fiction films of the time led him to seek more realistic and scientifically accurate depiction of space travel. Illustrators such as Chesley Bonestell, Roy Carnon, and Richard McKenna were hired to produce concept drawings, sketches and paintings of the space technology seen in the film. Two educational films that came out previously, the 1960 National Film Board of Canada animated short documentary "Universe"