Question: who composed the music for beauty and the beast
Answer: Originally released on October 24 , 1991 , by Walt Disney Records , the album 's first half -- tracks 2 to 9 -- generally contains the film 's musical number s , all of which were written by composer Alan Menken and lyricist Howard Ashman , while its latter half -- tracks 10 to 14 -- features its musical score , composed solely by Menken .