The Childhood of a Leader
Original Soundtrack by Scott Walker
Released: August 19, 2016. Label: 4AD
The Childhood of a Leader is Scott Walker’s second soundtrack album. It was commissioned for director Brady Corbet’s debut film, a historical coming-of-age drama of the same name, based on Jean-Paul Sartre’s short story about the childhood of a future fascist dictator in post-World War I Europe. It was premiered as the closing film at the 2016 International Film Festival Rotterdam, where the score of the film was performed live. Corbet went onto direct Vox Lux, for which Walker also did the score, and The Brutalist, for which he won the Golden Globe and Silver Lion for Best Director.
“He’s my hero,” Corbet said of Walker in a 2016 interview with film magazine. “There’s nobody that would have been the right combination of classical and totally punk other than Scott. That was a defining characteristic of what we set out to do. When he said yes, we were kind of shocked. It seemed too good to be true. And when I had moments of doubt, he spoke to me in a very comforting way. He was like, ‘You’ve got to shoot for the moon.’”
Track listing
Orchestral Tuning Up 0:17
Opening 5:32
Dream Sequence 2:20
Village Walk 1:30
Run 0:49
Down the Stairs 0:32
Up the Stairs 1:07
TheLetter 0:38
Versailles 1:24
Cutting Flowers 0:41
Boy, Mirror, Car Arriving 1:37
Third Tantrum 1:57
Printing Press 1:06
On the Way to the Meeting 1:05
The Meeting 3:36
Post Meeting 1:47
Finale 3:04
New Dawn (Synth Layout for Cut Scene) 1:15
Credits
Original Score Composed & Produced by Scott Walker
Co-Produced & Recorded by Peter Walsh
Orchestrated & Conducted by Mark Warman
Mixed by Peter Walsh & Scott Walker
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Original Score Composed & Produced by Scott Walker
Co-Produced & Recorded by Peter Walsh
Orchestrated & Conducted by Mark Warman
Mixed by Peter Walsh & Scott Walker
Orchestra Recorded at Angel Studios, London by Steve Price Assisted by Jeremy Murphy & Chris Parker
Orchestral Contractor Andy Barnwell, Musical Co-Ordination Services Ltd
Additional Recording & Mixing at Miloco Westpoint Studios, London
Assisted by Filippo Barbieri
Photography Agatha A. Nitecka
Design Philip Laslett
Taken From The Childhood Of A Leader
Direcied by Brady Corbet
Produced by Chris Coen
Written by Mona Fastvold
Violin
Paul Wiley (Leader), Tom Pigott-Smith, Tim Warburton, Steve Bentley-Klein, Jefe Moore, Dave Ogden, Laura Melhuish, Nina Foster, Matthew Elston, Michael Keelan, Dave Smith, Brian Wright, Matthew Scrivener, Steve Morris, Clive Dobbins, Debbie Widdup, Elizabeth Wexler, Ruth Ehrlich, Nikki Gleed, Julian Trafford, Marianne Haynes, Julian Tear, Emil Chackalov, Charlie Brown, Funa Jacobs-Lim, Richard George, Abigail YoungViola
Jim Sleigh, Polly Wiltshire, Sarah Chapman, Ian Anderson, Rachel Robson, Reiad Chibah, Suzanne Evans, Chris PitsilledesChello
Frank Schaefer, Nerys Richards, Phil Taylor, Vicky Matthews, Jamie Pringle, Jonathan Tunnell, Joely Koos, Dom Pecheur, Tamsy Kanee, Jacqueline PhilipsDouble Bass
Enno Seft, Stacey Watton, Steve Rosselt, Stephen Warner, Alice KentTrumpet
John Barclay, Mike Lovatt, Pat White, Andy Gathercole, Owain HarriesFrench Horn
Nick Korth, Corinne Bailey, Simon Rayner, Richard Bayliss, Matt GunnerBass Trombone
Andy Wood, Dave Stewart, Roger Argente, Ed Tarrant, John Higginbotham, Adrian Hallowest
“Scott and I hit it off instantly after I’d got in touch about doing the score for ‘The Childhood of a Leader” We had lot of conversations about Julius Eastman and Terry Riley and good minimalism. It’s’ funny, it’s a maximalist score on the one hand, but then the base of every track has very redundant patterns. It’s sort of what Scott does, the peaks and valleys of his work. He was as interested in silence as he was in cacophony.
We mostly spoke about films. He was an incredible cinephile. I’m surprised that he didn’t do more film scores, because he was so passionate about it. He loved Robert Bresson and we had a lot of conversations about Volker Schlondorff and, Young Torless. One thing we bonded over was melodramas. He loved Douglas Sirk and Billy Wilder. On Vox Lux especially, that score has some incredibly romantic cues. There’s one that feels really evocative of Bernard Herrmann but he takes it to these sonic heights.
He passed away while we were preparing The Brutalist. Working on the score with Daniel Blumberg and Pete Waslh was really healing for all of us, being able to share the experience with one another. Scott was the one who’d brought Pete and I together. So he was certainly on our minds a lot. When I think about what he was doing for 40-something years, it’s hard to think of anyone more radical. He was a once-in-a generation talent”
Brady Corbet
Rob Hughes, Uncut - August 2025
“Walker’s full orchestral soundtrack… in combination with British DoP Lol Crawley’s atmospheric 35mm photography and Corbet’s assured direction of an excellent cast, it makes for an edgy, poetic mix with the dramatic potency of a good nightmare.”
Lee Marshall Screen International
Best score: Avant-legend Scott Walker's terrifying orchestrations in The Childhood of a Leader.
The best of the Venice film festival The Observer
A brilliant framing device involving a stunning orchestral score by, of all people, Scott Walker gives the film a nerve-wracking urgency.”
Damon Wise Eye For Film
“Walker’s astounding score that leaves you stunned and terrified in your seat”
Jo-Ann Titmarsh Hey You Guys
“Scott Walker’s orchestral score is astonishing”
Jonathan Romney
