The soundtrack is composed by Alexandre Desplat, who worked with Anderson previously on Fantastic Mr. Fox and Moonrise Kingdom. It is co-produced by Anderson with music supervisor, Randall Poster; they, too, worked together on Moonrise Kingdom. The original music is by Desplat, along with Russian folk songs together with pieces composed by Öse Schuppel, Siegfried Behrend, and Vitaly Gnutov,[51] and performed by the Osipov State Russian Folk Orchestra.[52]
Wes Anderson and Randall Poster chose the distinctive sound of the balalaika to establish the musical voice of the film[53] and managed to gather two orchestras for a total of 35 balalaika musicians for the recording of the soundtrack including the France-based "Saint Georges" Balalaika Orchestra (fr) and the State Academic Russian Folk Ensemble "Russia" (ru) from Moscow.[54][55] Desplat’s use of the balalaika begins with “Moustafa” but it returns over and over again.[56] Other instruments in this soundtrack include alphorns, whistles, organ, male choir, bells and cimbalom.[57][58]
The 32 tracks, with orchestral elements, keyboard instruments and balalaikas, feature eclectic variations and central European melodic themes. Balalaikas are used in "Overture: M. Gustave H" and church organs in "Last Will and Testament". A music box interlude punctuates "Up the Stairs / Down the Hall", and there are haunted-house piano stylings in "Mr. Moustafa". Harpsichords and strings are featured in the baroque piece, "Concerto for Lute and Plucked Strings I. Moderato".[59] The opening song, the Appenzell yodel "s'Rothe-Zäuerli" by Ruedi and Werner Roth, is from the Swiss folk group's Öse Schuppel's album Appenzeller Zäuerli.[60]