'The Brutalist' Soundtrack by Daniel Blumberg: An Architectural Symphony of Sound

Soundtrack Review

Title: The Brutalist Soundtrack

Composer: Daniel Blumberg

Label: Milan

Publication Date:

Purchase Link: Amazon (affiliate link)

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Daniel Blumberg’s score for The Brutalist is an evocative, unrelenting force that mirrors the film’s thematic weight. Much like the brutalist architecture that lends the film its name, the score is both stark and grand, unflinching in its depiction of struggle, resilience, and artistic ambition. Blumberg’s compositions are an essential component of the film’s narrative structure, threading through its intimate and colossal moments with an acute emotional precision that enhances Brady Corbet’s sweeping vision.

From the very first note of the overture, Blumberg establishes a sonic environment that is both oppressive and hopeful. “Overture (Ship),” which plays over the opening scene of protagonist László Tóth’s arrival in America, is a masterclass in tension-building. The instrumentation—groaning brass, dissonant woodwinds, and an insistent metallic tapping—mirrors the claustrophobic environment of the ship’s hull, evoking Tóth’s haunted past as a survivor of Buchenwald. As he steps onto American soil, the score momentarily swells into a triumphant brass crescendo, only to have its undercurrents of dissonance remain, signaling that the promised land is not as welcoming as it seems.

One of Blumberg’s greatest strengths is his ability to use music as a counterpoint to the visuals. Rather than merely amplifying the emotional beats of a scene, his compositions often introduce an undercurrent of tension or irony. The track “Erzsébet” accompanies Tóth’s long-awaited reunion with his wife and niece, offering delicate piano melodies that initially suggest warmth and relief. However, layered beneath these gentle notes are unsettling sonic textures—distant children’s cries, scraping metal, hurried footsteps—that suggest a history of trauma lingering beneath their embrace. This juxtaposition is particularly effective throughout the film, where moments of supposed triumph are always tinged with a lingering sense of loss.