FRANZ WAXMAN: LEGENDARY HOLLYWOOD VOL. 1

Citadel Records

$15.95 
SKU: STC77143

(UPC: 712187492317)

CD Includes Digital Download / Digital Booklet
Click Here for Digital-Only Album

Citadel Records, a division of BSX Records, presents FRANZ WAXMAN: LEGENDARY HOLLYWOOD VOL. 1, featuring music from several films from the composer’s lengthy filmography, focusing on Westerns and World War II centered films. The music is performed by the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Richard Mills.

FRANZ WAXMAN: LEGENDARY HOLLYWOOD VOL. 1 includes music from RED MOUNTAIN, CIMARRON, THE INDIAN FIGHTER, THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN, UNTAMED, THE FURIES, TASK FORCE, DESTINATION TOKYO, HOTEL BERLIN, MISTER ROBERTS and OBJECTIVE, BURMA!.

Composer, conductor and impresario, Franz Waxman was best known for his prolific career as a composer for the motion picture industry, spanning 150 scores throughout the 1930-1960s. Waxman won two Oscars for Best Score, was nominated twelve times and was the first to receive the honor in two consecutive years. Waxman was also an accomplished concert composer and conductor. In 1947, Waxman founded the Los Angeles Music Festival and, over the course of two decades, used it as a platform to champion American composers and introduce significant international composers with over seventy premieres, including work by Stravinsky, Shoenberg and Shostakowitz. His massive filmography includes legendary films such as BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, REBECCA, SUSPICION, WOMAN OF THE YEAR, SUNSET BLVD, A PLACE IN THE SUN, THE SPIRIT OF ST. LOUIS, SAYONARA, PEYTON PLACE, THE NUN’S STORY, THE STORY OF RUTH, MY GEISHA, TARAS BULBA and many, many more.

Richard Mills is a central figure in Australia’s musical life. He is one of the country’s most frequently commissioned and performed composers and a regular guest conductor of all Australia’s leading orchestras. Mills pursued his advanced musical studies under Edmund Rubbra (composition) and Gilbert Webster (percussion) at the Guildhall School of Music, London. He is currently the artistic director of Victorian Opera, and formerly artistic director of the West Australian Opera and artistic consultant with Orchestra Victoria. He was commissioned by the Victoria State Opera to write his opera SUMMER OF THE SEVENTEENTH DOLL and by Opera Australia to write the opera BATAVIA.

Since its first concert in March, 1947, the Queensland Symphony Orchestra has established itself as a major cultural force within the city of Brisbane and the state of Queensland, Australia. Over 100,000 people attend more than 100 performances by the orchestra each year.

This series of recordings is a natural progression from SUNSET BOULEVARD: THE CLASSIC FILM SCORES BY FRANZ WAXMAN, which Charles Gerhardt recorded with the National Philharmonic for RCA in the 1970s. Like that disc, most of the music heard in this series was faithfully reconstructed from the original scores especially for these recordings. Originally presented as four volumes of LEGENDS OF HOLLYWOOD: FRANZ WAXMAN on compact disc by Varese Sarabande in the 1990s, those volumes have become very scarce over the years. Citadel Records, a division of BSX Records, is proud to bring these recordings back into the marketplace in a series of new volumes with the music newly remastered by James Nelson at Digital Outland and liner notes written by John Waxman and author Randall Larson.

Franz Waxman: Legendary Hollywood Vol. 1  is a limited edition release of 500 units and is expected to begin shipping the week of May 3rd.

WESTERNS
1. THE PIONEER SUITE 10:23
Music From Red Mountain, Cimarron and The Indian Fighter

2. THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN Overture 6:18
3. UNTAMED 7:18
Suite: Prelude; Capetown Street; By the River; Vorwarts & Finale

4. THE FURIES 7:01
Suite: Prelude; Juan & Vance; The Mark Of The Furies;
The Romance Revived & The King Of The Furies
WORLD WAR II
5. TASK FORCE Liberty Fanfare 0:50
6. DESTINATION TOKYO 6:22 A Montage For Orchestra
7. HOTEL BERLIN Cafe Waltzes 8:32
8. MISTER ROBERTS 3:19
Suite: Prelude; Main Title; Final Scene; End Cast
9. OBJECTIVE, BURMA! 12:06
Suite: Prelude; Take-Off; In the Plane; Jumping; The Patrol;
Stop Firing; No Landing; Up the Hill; Invasion; Retreat; Finale
Total Time: 62:33

Reviews:

Franz Waxman - Legendary Hollywood, Volume 1: Westerns/World War II ****
Citadel STCDG77143
9 tracks - 62:07
Following in the footsteps of Charles Gerhardt’s 1970s Golden Age compilations, Richard Mills and the Queensland Symphony recorded a set of compilations surveying the music of the legendary Franz Waxman (1906-1967). These were released as four volumes on the Varèse Sarabande label in the 1990s, and Buysoundtrax now partners with Citadel to reissue them digitally, beginning with this first volume. Other items from the Citadel catalogue have also slowly, and somewhat quietly, rolled out over the past year, with a variety of treasures available to be rediscovered.

This first Waxman volume features selections from nine of the composer’s scores, bundled loosely across western or WWII subjects. Regardless, there is great music on offer, with highlights including a suite from Untamed (1955), “Café Waltzes” from Hotel Berlin (1945), and selections from Objective, Burma! (1945).

The opening track is a suite of excerpts from some of Waxman’s western scores (Red Mountain, Cimarron and The Indian Fighter). Selections from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Furies, Task Force, Destination Tokyo and Mister Roberts fill out this classic soundtrack compilation.

The new generation of film music fans could certainly do worse when it comes to an introductory survey of one of the Golden Age greats, even if it’s genre based. There has been some remastering done here as well, and a digital booklet is available with your purchase. For additional information and to hear samples, head to BuySoundtrax’s website. —Steven A. Kennedy

Comments regarding this review can be sent to: stev4uth@hotmail.com.