The Queen’s Gambit
This summer I had the opportunity to reunite with Emmy-winning composer, Carlos Rafael Rivera, to orchestrate his stunning score for “The Queen’s Gambit.” Little did we know it would become the “it” show of the year!
Rivera’s score subtlety unfolds throughout the 7-part mini-series, revealing depth to Beth Harmon’s inner mind as she grows as a chess player, and as a young adult working through her substance abuse issues.
My role was orchestrating his score for the Budapest Art Orchestra, as well as co-producing the recording sessions. Given the summer of Covid-19, this was all done remotely over video and audio software. I would wake up every morning at 4:30am in order to record throughout the rest of the day, while Carlos was in Miami, and Tom Kramer (the music editor) was in New York. We had similarly worked this way on his score for “Godless,” but this time we were all in different cities. Thankfully, it worked out beautifully.