Review: John Wilson and his Sinfonia of London at Bridgewater Hall, Manchester (15/11/2023).

 

Once again, legendary British conductor John Wilson has been on tour presenting some of the greatest hits of Hollywood, with renowned singers Kim Criswell, Matt Ford and Jamie Parker. The orchestra was Wilson’s own Sinfonia of London re-established by him in 2018.

 

The concert at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall, opened with the MGM Jubilee Overture which was arranged in 1954 by the studio’s musical director, Johnny Green. This instrumental medley features numerous MGM numbers such as Singin’ in the Rain, I’ve Got You Under My Skin, Over the Rainbow and The Trolley Song. Having heard the original recording of it as well as John Wilson's recording, Wilson conducted a little bit faster in places on this occasion. In my opinion this does not ruin the piece. On the contrary I think it helps to drive it along and works remarkably well in concert.

 

Kim Criswell and Matt Ford flawlessly delivered Cole Porter’s Stereophonic Sound from 1957’s Silk Stockings. Having recently sung this song with a friend at Dartington summer school, back in August, I can confirm that it is not the easiest song to perform. Matt Ford then left the stage and Kim Criswell then gave us a haunting and very emotional solo performance of Secret Love, that was originally performed by Doris Day in Calamity Jane. The Heather on the Hill from Brigadoon is a great example, not only of fine music and lyrics going together, but also of great arranging. The song was written for the film by Lerner and Lowe and was arranged by Conrad Salinger. Actor and singer, Jamie Parker performed the vocal refrain. His performance was nice and gentle, this contrasted with the ballet music that Salinger had arranged.

 

Another instrumental piece, was the overture from High Society, arranged from Cole Porter’s songs for the film by Conrad Salinger and Lloyd ‘Skip’ Martin. John Wilson conducted lightly and with finesse and the orchestra gave the music the articulation and colour that it needed. For me the highlight of the first half, was Matt Ford's performance of Pure Imagination, from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, in its original arrangement by Walter Scharf. As a fan of the film and its music I was paying particular attention to this performance, and I think it was electrifying.

 

Kim Criswell concluded the first half with I Got Rhythm from Girl Crazy. During the instrumental part, the audience applauded different sections of the orchestra as if they were jazz players, even the violins and violas, who stood up and gave us a spine-tingling virtuoso performance.

 

The second half began with the main title music from Singin’ in the Rain, this involved all three vocalists, who sang the first verse of the title song whilst walking across the stage. It was immediately followed by Good Morning. Both pieces were perfect representatives of such a film.

 

One rarity that was played, was the Jerry Herman ballad Love is Only Love written for the film version of Hello Dolly! and was originally performed by the star of the film, Barbra Streisand. Kim Criswell has an extraordinary ability to channel the great leading ladies of Hollywood and Broadway, including Streisand. Another glorious rarity was the original Irwin Kostal arrangement of Jolly Holiday from Mary Poppins, complete with members of the orchestra playing kazoos during the Penguin dance sequence.

 

Matt Ford gave a wonderful and moving performance of If ever I would leave you from Camelot and I think John Wilson was right to call it one of Frederick Lowe’s finest ballads. Jamie Parker’s rendition of I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face from My Fair Lady, may not have been an imitation of Rex Harrison, but he certainly was able to channel him. Learning all those words for such dramatic number must have been a huge challenge.

 

The penultimate piece of the evening was the unofficial Hollywood anthem That's Entertainment from 1953’s The Band Wagon. I could not help mouthing along to this number, knowing every word of it. The encore which brought the evening and the tour to an end was There's No Business Like Show Business, originally from Annie Get Your Gun. I am unfamiliar with the arrangement that was performed. But Kim, Matt and Jamie did splendidly with Kim taking the lead with here spot on Ethel Merman imitation.

 

I believe that this was a glorious performance as well as a wonderful end to a national tour. I sincerely hope that John Wilson and the team embark on another one next year. Also, I wonder if there’s any chance in the future of such a show returning to the proms.

Podcast: In Conversation With Matti Bye

In this episode, I speak to Swedish composer and silent film accompanist Matti Bye, about the scores that he has written for both silent and contemporary films. The interview was recorded in June, at the 2023 Il Cinema Ritrovato festival in Bologna, Italy.

Intrada’s Bernard Herrmann sessions: RSNO conducted by William Stromberg

In recent years, Intrada Records have used Kickstarter to fund their re-recording projects. This year, they have teamed up again with composer/conductor William Stromberg who, in the 1990s, pioneered re-recording classic film scores from start to finish. The goal of this Kickstarter project was to record two Bernard Herrmann scores, ‘On Dangerous Ground’ and ‘The Man Who Knew Too Much’. For both scores, it is the first time since the 1950s that they have been recorded in their entirety, so I am lucky to be one of only a handful of people who have heard them played live since that time.

 

On the first day of recording, the team started with the Prelude from ‘On Dangerous Ground’. I had only heard this piece a couple of days before. I was more familiar with ‘The Death Hunt,’ which is a piece from the film that a lot of people know of because of numerous performances and recordings. ‘The Death Hunt’ is written in a typical Bernard Herrmann style with lots of repetitive rhythms played by a huge orchestra. 

 

The first run-though of the Prelude blew us all away! And it gave us some idea of the standard of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO). The first run-through was not recorded, it was just used to acquaint the orchestra with the music. However, it was obvious that they knew the piece very well. By the time we started recording, it was as if they’d been playing it for years. 

(Bill Stromberg talking with Doug Fake and Mike Ross-Trevor.)

 

Cues were be recorded in full, and sometimes they would be recorded again in sections so that they could be edited together, if necessary, by Mike Ross-Trevor, who oversaw recording. Anna Stromberg, An orchestrator and Bill's wife, and I were sitting behind Bill, and we had the scores in front of us, as well as a crib sheet with approximate timings as to how long each cue should last. Although Bill wasn't conducting ‘to picture’, he wanted to try and be as close to the original film tempos as possible to be faithful to what Herrmann would have wanted. When it comes to Hermann’s original conception of the music, the Prelude contained a section that was cut from the original soundtrack recording; this coda was re-inserted in this new recording. I think this will be the first time anyone will have heard that section, and you will hear it on this new album. 

 

There were many people who had input into the recordings, not only Doug Fake in the control room, but also Anna and Bill’s colleague and friend John Morgan who was watching the livestream and was texting Anna with suggestions. I presume he also had the score in front of him. With the Prelude, I suggested to Bill that maybe the run-through was a little bit too fast because Hermann, as a conductor, was notorious for conducting slowly, at almost half the tempo the pieces were written. Bill agreed and conducted it at a little slower. Afterwards, Doug Fake came through on the intercom and said that it was perfect.

 

After lunch we started on ‘The Man Who Knew Too Much’. For this score, we recorded all of Herrmann’s original music for the film, plus the VistaVision title music written by Nathan Van Cleave. This piece requires lots of brass and percussion; 6 trumpets, 6 trombones, 2 tubas, 9 horns, and 9 percussion players. Tam Tam and crash cymbals were used because they are an integral part of the story. This brilliant fanfare blew everyone away! It's not often that you hear very short pieces of music played at full blast by a live orchestra because they are just meant to be heard on film soundtracks. We recorded both versions of the opening title music, but only one was used in the film.

 

Spoiler alert, for those who aren't familiar with ‘The Man Who Knew Too Much’ there is the famous concert scene filmed in the Albert Hall in which the composer, Bernard Herrmann, has a cameo. He was conducting the London Symphony Orchestra performing a piece that wasn't recorded for this album because wasn’t by him. This piece was written by Arthur Benjamin and called ‘Storm Clouds Cantata’ composed for the original film in the 1930s. The scene depicts an assassination attempt on the prime minister of a fictional country who is attending the concert. The music is part of the plot there is a crescendo, when the cymbals crash together, meant to mask the sound of the assassin’s gun going off. 

 

On the second day of recording, we had a smaller orchestra, and this is when we recorded the viola d’amore solos from ‘On Dangerous Ground’. For those of you who don't know what that a viola d’amore is, it’s an early Baroque string instrument. Herrmann wrote several solos for the film for this instrument with, orchestral accompaniment. We also recorded some small pieced from ‘The Man Who Knew Too Much’, such as the three, so called, ‘Arab Trios’ using only three players: a harpist, a violinist, and a clarinettist. The ‘Arab Trios’ are source music that was played in the background during the sequences in Marrakesh. These were the last pieces that were recorded.

 

It was great sitting with Anna, behind Bill; you could say it was like being at one of the best concerts ever! Yes, it was a recording session where you're not allowed to clap and you expect the orchestra to make mistakes and keep stopping and starting, but it was a wonderful experience. It's not every day that you hear these full scores performed from start to finish. For highlights of these recording sessions see the Kickstarter page. 

 

Acknowledgements:

Thank you to Bill Stromberg who was kind enough to obtain a pass for me. Thank you to Anna Stromberg, Paul Talkington, the Intrada team, and people at the studio for their kind hospitality. And a huge “well done” to the RSNO!!!

Review: Kim Criswell, John Wilson and The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic

Last Thursday, whilst on a trip to Stockholm, I attended a concert of film music performed by Broadway singer Kim Criswell and The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic. It was conducted by the champion of film and theatre music, John Wilson. 

 

The concert opened with Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s title music from ‘King’s Row’. John Wilson paraphrased Andre Previn saying that people have often said that Korngold sounds like Hollywood, but in fact it was the reverse, Hollywood sounded like Korngold. The main title music from the film provided us a stirring fanfare somewhat reminiscent of what John Williams would later write for Star Wars. This is no coincidence, as it was what George Lucas wanted for his films. It was a very energizing opening. This was followed by Bronislaw Kaper’s overture to ‘Mutiny on the Bounty’. This music is somewhat of a rarity when it comes to live performances, and it is a score that I am not familiar. ‘Mutiny on the Bounty’ was written in the 1960s, but it sounds like one of those swashbuckling tunes of the 1930s from films like ‘Captain Blood’ and ‘The Sea Hawk’. To me, it sounded very Golden Age.

 

The theme of movie musicals began with George Gershwin’s overture from the film ‘Strike Up the Band’, which was a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film, produced by the Freed Unit. This is the same group that gave us musicals like ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ and ‘The Band Wagon’. After that, Kim Criswell came on stage to sing her first song of the evening, ‘I Get A Kick Out of You’, written by Cole Porter. Then came the ‘Wizard of Oz’ suite; a compilation of songs by Harold Arlen with the incidental music by Herbert Stothart. John Wilson has recently recorded this for his Hollywood Soundstage album with the Sinfonia of London for Chandos, which I reviewed in October. We then had a couple of love songs from Kim, one by the Gershwin Brothers called ‘Love Walked In’ from the film called ‘Goldwyn Follies’ and then a song called ‘Love’ that was originally sung by Lena Horne in the film “Ziegfeld Follies’. In comparison to ‘Love Walked in’, ‘Love’ is a slightly naughty, sexy song, and Kim really captured this mood. The song was composed by Hugh Martin with lyrics by Ralph Blane. Just before the interval, we had the ‘Ride of the Cossacks’ by Franz Waxman from the film ‘Taras Bulba’. This is a rhythmic piece, mimicking galloping horses. It makes use of instruments like Wagner tubers, which give it a unique sound.  

 

After the interval, we had the overture from the film ‘My Fair Lady’. Again, this was a wonderful opening piece. The music was by Frederick Loewe and the arranger was Alexander Courage, who is best remembered for composing the theme to the original Star Trek series. The film ‘My Fair Lady’ won Andre Previn an Oscar for musical direction. We then had the suite from ‘Casablanca’ composed by Max Steiner. A completion of highlights from the film score, which included the famous piano solo, ‘As Time Goes By’, which isn’t by Steiner, but by Herman Hupfeld. We then had the overture from the movie ‘The Sound of Music’. The score was arranged by Irwin Kostal, who, at the time, had just worked with Julie Andrews on ‘Mary Poppins’. This overture is typical of Kostal, with horns, low woodwinds and heavy on percussion. Following the overture, the orchestra segued into the song, ‘I Have Confidence’, which was written specifically for the film version of ‘The Sound of Music’ by Richard Rodgers. He is credited with writing both music and lyrics, but it is said that that this song was ghost-written by Saul Chaplin, though Richard Rogers got the credit for it. Even so, it sounds very ‘Richard Rogers’. Kim did a ‘spot-on’ Julie Andrews-style performance. She is excellent at channelling famous singers and gave me a wonderful sample of her talent when I interviewed her for my podcast. ‘I Have Confidence’ is set at a point in the film when Maria is leaving the nunnery and going to work as a governess for Captain Von Trapp and his children. At first, she's frightened and nervous but tries to shake it off and pretends to have confidence, and as she sings she gets cockier, and the music matches her mood. The rhythm gets faster until eventually, at the climax of the song, we get trumpets blasting in a vaudevillian style. This is typical of Irwin Kostal arranging-style and is probably why he got the ‘Mary Poppins’ gig; his old vaudevillian sound also fits well with Julie Andrews because she was from an English music hall background. Irwin Kostal got an Oscar for music direction for ‘The Sound of Music’. 

 

Next, were the Barbra Streisand songs, which was something I was looking forward. The song ‘People’ from the movie ‘Funny Girl’ was arranged by Walter Scharf. I had heard his arrangements before, but I was really looking forward to hearing one in concert because he has a very atmospheric way of arranging. Kim really channelled her inner-Barbara Streisand for this song. Barbra Streisand and Julie Andrews, as well as Judy Garland, are some of Kim’s childhood heroes. If you want to know more about this, listen to my podcast with her. I really love Scharf’s arrangement for the film ‘Funny Girl’, but I’ve read that Jule Styne, the composer, actually didn't like his arrangement because he thought they were too pop orientated. But I completely disagree! I've listened to the original cast album, and compared it with the film version, and I think some of those film arrangements are much better. Scharf did a wonderful job at expanding, not just the orchestra size, but also adding additional textures and re-harmonizing and reworking parts and adding in quality that the stage version lacks.  

 

Next was John Williams, who is probably one of the greatest living composers. ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’ was directed by Steven Spielberg and, as John Wilson said at the performance, it is one of John Williams most ‘unique’ scores because it is avant-garde in places and involves a wide range of orchestral techniques. The highlight of the piece was the famous five-note motif, which the entire score pretty much derives from. I only wish that John Wilson could have performed some of the ‘Conversations’ music, which is perhaps some of the greatest music Williams has ever written. It is said that he composed it to 12 minutes of blank film!

 

Moving back to Barbra Streisand, the concert concluded with two numbers from Yentl, with music by Michel Legrand and lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman. Yentl was a film that Barbra Streisand not only starred in, but also directed and produced. The story is set in a traditional Jewish community in Eastern Europe. It is about a young Jewish girl called Yentl who wants to study so she disguises herself as a boy in order to fulfil her dream. ‘The way he makes me feel’ is about when Yentl falls in love with a young man at school. The final song ‘A Piece of Sky’ was the perfect ending to a concert. It was perfect in the sense that not only did it sound perfect, but, if you think of the chronology of movie musicals, Yentl was the most recent. I think the final two songs were probably the two best pieces of the evening. Legrand is one of those composers who is a great songwriter and arranger, a well as being a famous jazz pianist. He is probably best known for scoring films like ‘Ice Station Zebra’ ‘Summer of '42’ and ‘Never Say Never Again’. Yentil was released in 1983 and it won Legrand and the Bergman’s Oscars for their work. 

 

I have seen both John Wilson and Kim Criswell perform live before, but never together. So, it was a wonderful experience to see them collaborating on film music, supported by such a fine orchestra.

Review: "Hollywood Soundstage"; John Wilson and the Sinfonia of London.

(Hollywood Soundstage, available on SACD from Chandos Records.)

Since 1994 the John Wilson Orchestra, with British conductor John Wilson at the helm, has become renowned throughout the world for their performances of music from the golden age of Hollywood and Broadway. In 2018, Wilson shifted focus and reestablished one of the most iconic orchestras in UK, the Sinfonia of London. The orchestra is best remembered for being on many great movie soundtracks, from “North by Northwest” to “The Snowman”. For this latest album, released in September on Chandos, John Wilson returns to the Golden Age of Hollywood.

The album begins with Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s stirring overture from “The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex” (1939). The piece consists of the typical Korngold fingerprints, such as regal and swashbuckling themes.

This is followed by David Raksin’s theme from “Laura” (1944), a piece which I think sounds ahead of its time. This recording features a superb trombone solo from Andy Wood and the piece consists of some wonderfully written variations on the main theme.

The next piece is the “Wizard of Oz” suite (1939), which consists of melodies from Harold Arlen’s songs as well as Herbert Stothart’s incidental music. It immediately transports you to those vibrant technicolour images in the MGM film directed by Victor Fleming, who also directed “Gone With The Wind”. The A-flat bicycle bell of Almira Gulch (a.k.a. the Wicked Witch of the West) makes an appearance.

Next is Frederick Loewe’s composition for both the stage (1956) and film (1964) versions of “My Fair Lady”. The film version of his “Transylvanian March” and “Embassy Waltz” is orchestrated by Alexander Courage, who is well known for writing the original Star Trek theme as well as orchestrating the film scores of composers like John Williams and Jerry Goldsmith.

Next is a suite from Max Steiner’s music to “Now, Voyager” (1942), which conductor John Wilson has arranged himself. I first heard performed live by the John Wilson Orchestra at the 2019 BBC Proms.

The next piece composed by Johnny Mandel is the main title from “The Sandpiper” (1965). Mandel is best remembered for composing the song “Suicide is Painless” (1970), the theme from “M*A*S*H”. The theme from the “Sandpiper”, also known as “The Shadow of Your Smile” features a brilliant trumpet solo perform by Mike Lovatt, former principal trumpet player of the John Wilson Orchestra.

Next is Franz Waxman’s suite from “Rebecca”, which was an Alfred Hitchcock film from 1940, his first American project. The score made use of two Novachords which was a form of early electronic instrument not dissimilar to a synthesiser. To recreate the sound on this track, Wilson uses modern keyboard instruments.

Finally, the street scene from “How to Marry a Millionaire” (1953) is Alfred Newman’s homage to Gershwin. I also think it also has traces of Charlie Chaplin’s score for “Modern Times” (1936), which Newman conducted and which David Raksin arranged with Edward Powell.

This SACD should be in the collections of all music lovers, even those are not keen on film scores. Also, I particularly like the brass playing on this album. The only criticism is… there should be more!

Acknowledgements…

Presto Music Classical Podcast: https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/articles/4858--presto-music-classical-podcast-episode-30-music-from-the-golden-age-of-hollywood-with-john-wilson
Chandos Records: https://www.chandos.net/products/catalogue/CHAN%205294
Sinfonia of London: https://sinfoniaoflondon.com
John Wilson: https://johnwilsonconductor.com

Podcast: In Conversation With Timothy Brock

In this episode I speak to composer and conductor Timothy Brock. Who is renowned for numerous performances of his silent film scores and the music of Charlie Chaplin. The interview was recorded on July 1, 2022. In Bologna, Italy.

Podcast: In Conversation With William Stromberg

In this episode, I talk to American composer, conductor and orchestrator William Stromberg. Who is renowned for his re-recordings of classic film scores.

This episode was recorded via Zoom on 24/04/2022.

Title music from “The Man” (composed by Jerry Goldsmith), courtesy of Roger Feigelson.