Caldera Records proudly presents David Shire’s unused score for Kramer vs. Kramer.

But this is not all: our album is dedicated to three scores from this extraordinarily prolific period in Shire’s career; a trio of scores that complement each other while highlighting the composer’s versatility and ingenuity. His contribution to Kramer vs. Kramer didn’t survive some late post-production decision-making; The Defection of Simas Kudirka earned him an Emmy nomination; and the credits for The World According to Garp (wrongly) list him as merely an adapter for a score that plays deliciously with the conventions of diegetic and non-diegetic music.

In 1979, producer Stanley Jaffe asked Shire to write the original music for Kramer vs. Kramer, a film that deals in excruciating detail with the pain and horror of a relationship coming to an end. Shire developed a score for strings, woodwinds, and brass. During test screenings, audiences and the producer found that the music pushed the film over the edge. Jaffe removed piece after piece.

The Defection of Simas Kudirka and The World According to Garp complement Kramer vs. Kramer: they are three of Shire’s proudest achievements from the same prolific period in this versatile composer’s career.

We are grateful to Warner Bros. for allowing us to release over 20 minutes of the latter score.

Make sure to check out our sound clips!