Masters and Commanders

Alfred [1] Newman (Composer), Miklos Rozsa (Composer), Klaus Badelt (Composer), Hans Zimmer (Composer), Erich Wolfgang Korngold (Composer), Luigi Boccherini (Composer), Elmer Bernstein (Composer), Franz Waxman (Composer), Henry Mancini (Composer), Bronislaw Kaper (Composer), Morton Gould (Composer), John Debney (Composer), Erich Kunzel (Conductor), Cincinnati Pops Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: Cincinnati Pops Orchestra
• Conductor: Erich Kunzel
• Composer: Alfred [1] Newman, Miklos Rozsa, Klaus Badelt, Hans Zimmer, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, et al.
• Audio CD (July 24, 2007)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Telarc
• ASIN: B000RHRG3A
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #49,437 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #10 in Music > Classical > Historical Periods > Modern, 20th, & 21st Century > Composers > Korngold, Erich Wolfgang

Editorial Reviews

From the Artist

"Cincinnati Pops fans know that I am very fond of sailing, and they are familiar with our popular `Victory At Sea' and `Sailing' albums on the Telarc label," says Kunzel. "Our latest musical adventure, Masters and Commanders, tells all kinds of tales of the high seas and captures on one album film composers of different generations and styles."

Product Description

Masters and Commanders, the newest release by Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra on the Grammy Award-winning Telarc label, is a swashbuckling musical portrait of valiant seamen, tempestuous captains, eccentric pirates, pious pilgrims and more. The new recording includes selections from classic films such as Captain Blood, Sea Hawk, Mutiny on the Bounty, The Buccaneer and Plymouth Adventure, as well as the recent Pirates of the Caribbean movies and Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World.

Highlights from Masters and Commanders include Academy Award-winning composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold's Captain Blood Overture and Suite from Sea Hawk. Captain Blood, which was the legendary actor Errol Flynn's first starring role, also was Korngold's first original film score. Korngold's evocative cinematic scores set a benchmark for numerous film composers who followed, including John Debney, whose score for the 1995 film, Cutthroat Island, was dedicated in part to Korngold and Miklós Rózsa. The end title from Cutthroat Island is heard on Masters and Commanders, as well as Morton Gould's Main Title from Windjammer and Henry Mancini's "Arctic Whale Hunt" from The White Dawn.

Miklós Rózsa, of Ben-Hur fame, composed "The Mayflower" for the film, Plymouth Adventure, in 1952. Franz Waxman's film music is represented with the Overture to Anne of the Indies and Suite from Captains Courageous.

Hans Zimmer, considered a worthy successor to Korngold's symphonic idiom, scored big with Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and the earlier Crimson Tide, both of which are represented on Masters and Commanders. Three selections from Klaus Badelt's score from Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, also are included.

The recording also includes music by Elmer Bernstein (selections from The Buccaneer); Alfred Newman ("Conquest" from Captain from Castile); and Bronislau Kaper (Main Title from Mutiny on the Bounty). A Richard Tognetti arrangement of Luigi Boccherini's Los Manolos is included from Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, the 2003 film starring Russell Crowe.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Shipshape recording, October 9, 2007

By 

R. A. Rubin (Astoria, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Masters and Commanders (Audio CD)

Kunzel does a fine job here, as he does in the vast majority of his recordings. Above all, he shows respect for the music at all times, and makes no attempt to glitz or schmaltz it up. In this reording, he brings out the majesty and fun of the music while respecting it. Great film scores are rare these days, and Kunzel, with recordings like these, is one of the few still taking up the cause

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Commanders in need of a little remastering, May 14, 2008

By 

Stuart Paine (Arlington, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Masters and Commanders (Audio CD)

I've enjoyed the Kunzel/Cincinnati Pops discs I've owned and have always appreciated the clever mix and variety of selections programmed - a few warhorses and some very out-of-the-way things.

Most of the music on MASTERS AND COMMANDERS is wonderful. A few other reviewers complain of the performance of the suite from Korngold's THE SEA HAWK, but for me it's OK. I find the Newman, Rozsa and Kaper very well done. I was completely unfamiliar with the ultra-romantic Waxman piece from ANNE OF THE INDIES and it's tremendous. So is his CAPTAINS COURAGEOUS. Other music I didn't know and am now very happy to have: the Bernstein, Mancini (very impressive) and the obscure Gould. The cue from Debney's CUTTHROAT ISLAND is a rousing finish, too.

However, the music by Klaus Badelt and Hans Zimmer for the PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN films is out of its league between two masterworks, Rozsa's PLYMOUTH ADVENTURE and Korngold's CAPTAIN BLOOD. I know it's good to include something from popular new films, but these pieces just don't hold up. I program the disc to skip over the offending tracks (3-7) and it's so much improved for the omission. Also, I don't know how the microphones were placed for these sessions but most of this CD sounds as if the orchestra were set up somewhere just outside the studio. The brass is getting through, but the strings are weak and turning up the volume doesn't solve the problem. The other Kunzel discs I've had haven't sounded like this to me.

Still, recommended for the appealing program.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars some music to swash and buckle by..........., August 26, 2007

By 

William W. Miller (Sparks, NV United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Masters and Commanders (Audio CD)

Not a classical music buff, but a fan of swashbuckler movies, I'd rate this first rate effort entertaining, fun and evocative of the movies from whence the material came. Thouroughly enjoyable. Mancini's Artic Whale Hunt never fails to impress me with the energy contained in the score. Can almost feel the cold water. Selections from Pirates of the Carribean are all first rate. And the bit from the forgettable Cutthroat Island is fine as well. If you like action movies depecting old time sailing vessels and the life aboard, real or fiction, you'll enjoy this disc.