I got it today and it's WONDERFUL!

Did anybody know it was even OUT?

That damned lack of info for us woeful film score folk.....

Shaun, if you find time between your day job and your dancing gigs,
(didn’t add wh..who..whor..ing as no son of mine would , you know.. ),
please elaborate on Bernstein’s concerto for us. One concerto only? How
long? Small ensemble? Full orchestration behind a guitar? Reminiscent of
any of his movie themes or sound? Teach us!!

There, that ought to keep you busy and off the streets.

There.

I mentioned it.

HAPPY?

Hey Shaun-Mr. John Travolta aka Saturday Night Fever wannabe be
in a G String instead of a white polyester suit-we’re still waiting to
hear about the music. (The Bernstein music dear, not your hot rocking
dancing numbers.)

-Woodstock Fair, 1946

-Pennsylvania Overture, 1958

-Concertino for Ondes and Orchestra, 1983

-Songs of Love and Loathing, 1990

-Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra, 1999

I have heard both his Songs of Love and Loathing and his guitar concerto. Both are really awesome.

If you can ever get your hands on concert works by film composers, do it! Some of the best music has been written in the concert genre. Here are some examples:

Now don't expect totally tonal music with these. Some are on the more creative side of music.

First off, check out this cd of some great concert and chamber stuff:

**Reel Life: The Private Music of Film Composers Volume 1.

-Works by: Bob James, Howard Shore, Micheal Kamen, Rachel Portman, Bruce Broughton, and David Raskin.

These composers all have written some small ensemble pieces and I highly recommend this cd! I believe it is available from Arabesque Records.

John Williams has written some fantastic concert music.

-Essay for Strings
-Symphony #1(which was brought upon by Hermann)
-Sinfonietta for Wind Ensemble(recording available of the Eastman Wind Ensemble.)
-America, the Dream goes on
-All his wonderful Fanfares(Dukakis, for Seiji!, Jubilee 350, etc.)
-His concertos(Tuba, Violin, Clarinet)
-Five Sacred Trees(Bassoon Concerto)

and many many others!

Another composer of concert works is Elliot Goldenthal. You need to go bye one of his opera's or concert works! Same with Corigliano!

A composer that really surprised me was Don Davis. Check out his webpage and check out his list of concert commissions. I have only heard a few of these, but they are damn good!

Thanks,
Aaron

quote:

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Originally posted by Aaron Collins:

John Williams has written some fantastic concert music.

-Symphony #1(which was brought upon by Hermann)

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As for the Bernstein Guitar Concerto--I ordered it!!

IT'S WONDERFUL!!!

Great stuff. Shaun's earlier "review" was accurate: some great moments of bombast, and lush orchestrations throughout. I like this as much as anything Mr. Bernstein has done in the last 15 years or so.....

If you don't have this yet, you need to get it. Beautiful, beautiful music.

I just got this in the other day. I didn't know what to expect. The liner notes suggest that Elmer had a hard time composing this, making two earlier attempts he was unhappy with.

Which is exactly what I dislike about it. Parkening deserves better than Elmer's fuddy-duddy diatonicism. There's a whole new world of chromatic subtlety out there and Elmer chose to ignore it. The result is musical banality. Don't get me wrong. It succeeds on its own terms and I enjoy it. But like Elmer himself said, the harmonic language is strictly squaresville.

The first movement is loud and kinetic. And because of the guitar's softness, there's not much simultaneous playing from the guitar and the orchestra. So what you hear is the goofy spectacle of a soft guitar alternating with a bombastic orchestra. There's better interaction in the second & third movements. I like the quiet sinister passage at the very end of the REFLECTIONS movement.

FROM JOHN DEMMA VAN HAGEN'S REVIEW AT SONICNET: "Elmer Bernstein bombards the listener with thick and distracting orchestration. The first movement, 'Guitar', seems an almost direct quote from a militaristic action flick, complete with an overzealous battery of percussionists and low strings. This over-orchestration leaves the brilliant performance of Christopher Parkening at a bit of a disadvantage, almost forcing him to produce a tinny sound by playing closer to the bridge. Other movements fare slightly better, but it remains a mystery why Bernstein did not use a more jazz-infused harmonic language, as he did in the score for THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN ARM."

Welcome to the discussion, buddy!

Shaun

oh, it's a good piece, but there are other concerti that are much more interesting in the long run.