Two of my favourite contemporary composers go toe to toe in a forum square go. Who is better?
Greenwood is undoubtedly a comprehensive instrumentalist with an insanely varied output. Levi has just her inimitable style, the Under The Skin soundtrack is incredible and hard to beat.
Which of the two is better?
I actually think they’re rather similar in a lot of ways. Both use heavy electronic elements in their music - Jonny with the ondes, Mica with those digitally-edited strings from Under the Skin - and they’ve both done orchestral work that swings from romantic to modern modes. If I had to set the two against each other however I’d probably go with Greenwood, simply because he’s been in the game longer and has more music as a result.
There are definite similarities between the Under The Skin scores and There Will Be Blood, particularly in the long drawn out string sections. Greenwood definitely has a lot more percussion going on in most of his scores and perhaps works in more varied forms and styles than Levi.