Ludovico Einaudi - Doctor Zhivago (2002)

Maurice Jarre's score to David Lean's 1965 big-screen adaptation of Boris Pasternak's classic novel Doctor Zhivago remains one of the most memorable soundtracks in postwar Hollywood history -- scoring a 2002 British television miniseries remake would seem a thankless task at best and a fool's errand at worst, but Italian composer Ludovico Einaudi's Doctor Zhivago is as breathtaking as Jarre's original, yet cut from a very different cloth. Einaudi eschews the epic sweep and Russian instrumentation that characterized Jarre's efforts in favor of a minimalist approach differentiated by its nuanced, hypnotic piano melodies and placid atmosphere -- the main theme is as gentle and dreamlike as a lullaby, while a series of solo vocal performances capture the passion and melancholy of Pasternak's love story in ravishing detail. Forget the Jarre comparisons -- Einaudi's Doctor Zhivago is its own distinct creation, and a remarkable one at that.