Universal Edition (UE) was founded in 1901 in Vienna and is one of the most renowned music publishers worldwide. Located in the famous Vienna “Musikverein”, UE is inseparably linked with the great composers and musical developments of the 20th and 21st century. Our catalogue of contemporary classical music encompasses more than 30,000 works and has been licensed for more films than any other publisher of contemporary classical music. The publishing history of UE is a mirror of the musical history of the 20th century. Along with such outstanding classics as Gustav Mahler, Arnold Schönberg, Kurt Weill, Dmitri Shostakovitch, Luciano Berio and Richard Strauss, we also publish contemporary composers like Arvo Pärt, Wolfgang Rihm, Georg Friedrich Haas, Pierre Boulez, Johannes Maria Staud and Friedrich Cerha.

Music on Request
We are happy to help you find the perfect film music for your current project. Our promotion team can provide you with CDs of music based on your brief, helping you to easily find the right music for your film. Contact: film@universaledition.com or call +43-1-337 23 – 118.

Film Music Newsletter 2'10 - Music has many faces

The sound of contemporary music changes the way we listen. Unlike the Viennese Classics, today there is no longer a binding musical grammar to adhere to. Each contemporary composer creates their own sound and aesthetics. Arvo Pärt, from Estonia, focuses for example on a simple, atmospheric, and extremely consolidated style. The German composer Wolfgang Rihm fascinates his listeners with provocative complexity. Georg Friedrich Haas from Austria creates exciting elements of friction and suspense with his micro-tonality. The result is an immense diversity of sounds and approaches. But New Music is not as strange as it may seem.

Film music with cult status

Contemporary music has played an important role in feature films for a long time. The science fiction movie “2001: A Space Odyssey” for example would hardly have achieved the cult status it has today without the music “Atmosphéres”, composed by György Ligeti. Whenever a movie reaches a dramatic moment, film directors often decide to use music which is unusual, exciting, and sometimes even provocative. We hear then cascades of surprising, stirring sounds. The creation of suspense and attention intended by film directors is best achieved with the use of contemporary music.

Insight into the world of contemporary music

TV-commercials also benefit from the emotions transported by contemporary music. The reason is that adverts with New Music attract attention. They are evidence of fantasy, innovation, utopia, future. In this way they achieve a greater level of suspense and attention.

Those who wish to attract attention with contemporary music are faced with a never-ending range of possibilities. The selection of music presented here opens the door to the world of New Music and gives examples of how the important composers of today create their fascinating world.

Sound Clips