Goltzius and the Pelican Company

(Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Director Peter Greenaway

Music by Marco Robino

Label Plaza Mayor Company Ltd

C Hendrik Goltzius, a late-16th-century Dutch printer and engraver of erotic prints, seduces the Margrave of Alsace into paying for a printing press to make and publish illustrated books.

Composing the score for Goltzius and the Pelican Company was a defining experience for me. Since the music was written before filming began, it was possible to have it played on set, allowing the actors to synchronize their movements to its rhythm. I vividly recall the moment when F. Murray Abraham was required to dance half-naked while my music was blasting through powerful speakers—a memory that fills me with pride. However, beyond this fleeting sense of delight, a deeper realization emerged: the music no longer belonged to me. This feeling became most profound when I was asked to perform a small role in the film, alongside fellow members of Quintetto Architorti. As we stood before an enormous green screen, immersed in that surreal environment with the playback echoing around us, I understood that the music had become an integral part of the film, taking on a life of its own. For me, this is the ultimate reward.

Marco Robino