Customer Reviews

Sunset Blvd: Classic Film Scores of Franz Waxman

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This CD is a wonderful place to start your collection of Franz Waxman film music.

Waxman's sense of melodic line and tasteful harmonies are masterful. Of particular note are his suites from Prince Valiant, and The Bride of Frankenstein (also used in the old Flash Gordon serials). Charles Gerhardt does a fine job conducting this wonderful collection of jems.

Charles Gerhardt was just the right conductor to revive these classic scores from the prolific film composer, Franz Waxman: His lush, melodramatic interpretations of the music do not fit every genre, but he feels right at home here with the sweeping melodies of the silver screen.

A good selection of Waxman's film music can be found here, including his most acclaimed, Sunset Boulevard. (It certainly has a sparkle that Joel McNeeley's recent rerecording seemed to lack, even if the score is not present here in its entirety.) Other highlights are the stirring themes of Prince Valiant and the eerie and sinister tones of his score for The Bride of Frankenstein. A particular favourite of mine is Rear Window, sadly absent here, though to my knowledge only one recording exists (Lalo Schifrin and the San Diego Pops, Hitchcock: Master of Mayhem): Fans can take solace in the fact that one of the Rear Window tunes appears here in its earlier form as we heard it in A Place in the Sun.

If you are a film music buff, this is definitely worth a place in your collection. Gerhardt captures the essence of Waxman perfectly.

Brilliant collection of music written for films by Franz Waxman. Great tunes, harmony and orchestration by a great but neglected composer!

Excellent playing and sound recording too.

This CD sounds splendid. It is very rich and moving. A PLACE IN THE SUN is beautiful. REBECCA is very pensive and very much what you may expect in a Hitchcock film. However, the best cut on this CD is from TARAS BULBA. What a piece of music. It is both rousing and inspirational. Outstanding!

This CD has some of the great music from the golden era of hollywood movies. Along with other great composers Franz Waxman composed music that stands by itself in beauty and craftsmanship. If you've seen the films included in this CD the music conjures up images of classic scenes. If you haven't seen the films the music itself will inspire you it's so good.

The musical scores in this CD can be listened to over and over and over again with such pleasure. A great CD!!

Many times the score makes the movie. In this case Franz Waxman Film Scores contributed well. However as a stand alone collection this really does not have a place other than a once in a while listen to remember the particular movies.

Each piece is preformed well by the National Philharmonic Orchestra. However I do not see situation for listening to this album. It does not make good driving musing or reading music, or just sitting and listening to music. This does have a place if you are collecting various composers' works.

The list includes:
Prince Valiant (1954)
A Place in the Sun (1951)
The Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
Old Acquaintance (1943)
Rebecca (1940)
The Philadelphia Story (1940)
Taras Bulba (1962)

Many of the scores are used again in later movies. You can hear scores of Franz Waxman in about three hundred movies.

i love waxman's music. i think of his work in the same way i think of kurt weill's music. the melodies are so rich, so complex and the harmonies stir the soul. the diversity of musical genres both covered was also wide and rich.

but as much as love the gerhardt/rca recordings, i am not fond of the selection of works chosen to respresent waxman. it is good to know that there are many other cds of waxman's work out on the market to be found and appreciated.

but i do like the 'elegy for strings' from old acquaintance, the ' a place in the sun' suite and 'sunset boulevard'.