Not Film Music from Film Composers
John Williams, Bernard Herrmann (pictured) and Hugo Friedhofer are best known for their film scores. At 94, Williams hardly needs an introduction. Herrmann was Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘composer-in-residence’, but also wrote, for example, the score for Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver. Friedhofer worked in the music department at 20th Century Fox and won an Oscar for his score for the 1946 film The Best Years of Our Lives.
However, all three composers also wrote orchestral music, concertos and even chamber music. A CD featuring examples of this repertoire was recently released on the PentaTone label, including John William’s dark Essay for Strings and Bernard Herrmann’s pastoral Souvenirs de voyage.
In the final quarter of this edition of Unheard, we’ll listen to the piano cycle Tonadas (Melodies) by Spanish-Cuban composer Joaquín María Nin-Culmell (1908-2004). In 1956-57, he arranged 48 Spanish songs and dances for solo piano and divided them into for books, with pianist Pablo Martínez playing the first book.
Playlist:
- John Williams: Essay for Strings (1965)
Singapore Symfonie Orkest conducted by Joshua Tan - Bernard Herrmann: Souvenirs de voyage (1967) (Arr.)
I. Lento: Molto tranquillo – Allegro moderato – Lento: Molto tranquillo – Adagio
II. Andante: Berceuse
III. Andantino: Canto amoroso
Ma Yue (clarinet), Singapore Symfonie Orkest conducted by Joshua Tan
PentaTone PTC 5187 528 - Joaquín María Nin-Culmell: Tonadas, book 1 (1956)
Pablo Martínez (piano) - Joaquín María Nin-Culmell: Tonadas, book 2 – parts 1 and 2 (1957)
Pablo Martínez (piano)
IBS Classical IBS62026
