Hollywood Soundstage
CHSA 5294 (Chandos Records, SACD)
Multi-channel/Stereo
FIRST RELEASE (9 September 2022)
Playing time: 60'49"
Tracks: 8
Booklet pages: 36
℗ 2022 Chandos Records Ltd
© 2022 Chandos Records Ltd
Main country of recording: United Kingdom
Reviewer: Gerald Fenech
Review of Hollywood Soundstage published on 23 August 2022
Andy Wood, trombone (track 2)
Michael Lovatt, trumpet (track 6)
Sinfonia of London
John Mills, leader
John Wilson, conductor
Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897-1957):
1 Overture (The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex, 1939)
David Raksin (1912-2004):
2 Theme (Laura, 1944)
Herbert Stothart (1885-1949) / Harold Arlen (1905-1986):
3 Suite (The Wizard of Oz, 1939)
Frederick Loewe (1901-1988):
4 Transylvanian March and Embassy Waltz (My Fair Lady, 1956)
Max Steiner (1888-1971):
5 Suite (Now, Voyager, 1942)
Johnny Mandel (1925-2020):
6 Main Title (The Sandpiper, 1965)
Franz Waxman (1906-1967):
7 Suite (Rebecca, 1940) (first recording)
Alfred Newman (1900-1970):
8 Street Scene (How to Marry a Millionaire, 1953)
Recorded 6-8 September 2021 at the Church of St Augustine, Kilburn, London UK.
Sinfonia of London and John Wilson present an album that celebrates the golden age of Hollywood. Sinfonia of London rose to fame in the 1950s as the leading recording orchestra of the day, appearing in the musical credits of more than three hundred films, including the 1958 soundtrack by Bernard Herrmann for Hitchcock's Vertigo. It was reformed by John Wilson in 2018, initially as a recording orchestra, and is made up of some of Europe's finest orchestral musicians. Their recording of Korngold's Symphony in F sharp won the orchestral award of the magazine BBC Music and drew critical acclaim worldwide. The Overture from The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex, which opens this latest programme, is an excellent demonstration of Korngold's rich, chromatic soundworld, one that set the blueprint for the Hollywood sound for countless composers who followed. Although the songs were written by Harold Arlen, it was Herbert Stothart's score for The Wizard of Oz that won the Oscar, and it is his suite from the movie that features here. There are also Suites from Max Steiner's Now, Voyager and Franz Waxman's Rebecca (here receiving its first recording). Shorter pieces by David Raksin, Frederick Loewe, Johnny Mandel and Alfred Newman complete this rewarding programme.