Korngold: 'The Sea Hawk' & “Devotion” – Complete Scores Moscow Symphony Orchestra & William Stromberg; Romishevskaya; Zagorinsky

• 1 Main Title 02:07
• 2 Spain: King and Alvarez - Dona Maria - Alvarez-Lopez - The Slaves 02:02
• 3 The Big Drum 04:29
• 4 The Albatross - Battle - Duel - Thanks for Convincing the Trumpeter 08:59
• 5 Slaves Release 07:06
• 6 Night Banquet 02:13
• 7 Love Scene on the Boat - The Throne Room 07:57
• 8 The Sea Hawks - The Monkey - Captain Thorpe's Entrance - Exit - Elizabeth and Thorpe 06:25
• 9 Map of Panama 02:03
• 10 Rose Garden 04:34
• 11 Albatross-Kroner - Chart Maker - Astronomer 03:20
• 12 The Chess Game - Farewell - Panama Montage - The Orchid 07:00
• 13 Thorpe's Men Hiding - Gold Caravan 02:30
• 14 Attack - You Know My Name - March - The Fight - In the Jungle - Relax - Thorpe cuts through Jungle - Ocean - The Hanging Man - The Trial - The Galley 13:29
• 15 Maria's Song - After Maria's Song - Maria Faints - Elizabeth Against Philip 03:49
• 16 After the Council - Maria's Bedroom - Spanish Boat - I am Abbott - Rebellion - Cadiz 09:22
• 17 The Slaves Liberate Themselves - The Murder 03:01
• 18 The Fight with the Guard 02:37
• 19 Knife Fight 00:42
• 20 Happy Sailing 01:26
• 21 The Arrival 01:18
• 22 Reunion - New Difficulties 05:18
• 23 Thorpe enters into Castle - Duel 05:04
• 24 Finale - End Cast 03:38
• 25 Original Theatrical Trailer 04:01
• 26 Main Title 01:38
• 27 Mysterioso 01:54
• 28 Jealousy - Tenderness 02:40
• 29 After the Party 02:52
• 30 A Pity 00:51
• 31 Preparation 01:06
• 32 Paraphrase 00:46
• 33 Newspaper 00:43
• 34 Mirror 01:33
• 35 Murder 01:50
• 36 Alibi 01:15
• 37 If 01:09
• 38 The End - The Cast 01:09
• 39 Original Theatrical Trailer 03:36
• 40 Cello Concerto (original version) 07:23
• Total Runtime 02:24:55

Info for Korngold: 'The Sea Hawk' & “Devotion” – Complete Scores

FIRST COMPLETE RECORDING OF THE SCORE for the 1940 classic film 'The Sea Hawk' - newly recorded and including music omitted from the final release version of the film. In addition, also for the first time, the complete Korngold score to the 1946 Bette Davis drama, 'Deception', includes Korngold’s Cello Concerto as presented in the film rather than the concert hall version.

After 'The Adventures of Robin Hood' (Naxos 8225268), 'The Sea Hawke' has been the most requested Korngold score by film music aficionados.

Often compared to Mozart, Korngold was one of the most gifted composing child-prodigies in musical history.

His film and concert music is enjoying an enormous resurgence in interest – it is passionate, melodious and richly orchestrated.

The mere fact that Erich Korngold's complete score for The Sea Hawk exists will probably be enough for most film-score buffs to leap up and grab this release, even were it not as fine as it actually is. What we have here, for all intents and purposes, is a vast symphonic poem only a couple of minutes shy of two full hours. It's all vintage Korngold: the heraldic fanfares and swaggering tunes for the 'good guys', the luscious love music, brooding atmospheric bits, and thrilling action sequences, all decked out in the most sumptuous orchestration imaginable. William Stromberg and his irrepressible sidekick John Morgan have outdone themselves in bringing all of this music to life. The performance is brilliant, the engineering among the best from this source.

As if that weren't enough, we also get the music from Deception, a Betty Davis vehicle that gave birth to Korngold's Cello Concerto (here performed as in the film, in its original, shorter form). While recognizably the work of the same composer, the score is darker and more subdued in keeping with the film's 'noir' ambience. What it all adds up to is almost two-and-a-half hours of 'golden-age' music from two golden-age movies, magnificently played and recorded. This isn't just essential for Korngold or film score collectors- this release also is perfect for long car trips, or any activity that needs a nice big chunk of orchestral music to while away an hour or two. If this isn't an irresistible bargain, then I don't know what is. (David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com)

Alexander Zagorinsky, Cello
Irina Romishevskaya, Soprano
William T. Stromberg, Conductor
Moscow Symphony Orchestra
Moscow Symphony Choir

As the 50th anniversary of Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s Todesjahr (“death year”) approaches, fans and admirers are treated to another new and complete recording of his film scores. This time the score is that of perhaps the greatest swashbuckler ever filmed, The Sea Hawk (1940), widely regarded as one of Korngold’s finest film scores. And if that alone wasn’t enough to inspire an immediate purchase, the complete original music for Korngold’s last film venture Deception (1946) rounds out the second of this new double-album from Naxos. As with their previous releases, the musical team of John Morgan (score restoration) and William Stromberg (conductor) provide the listener with first-rate performances for both movie scores.

The Sea Hawk score contains cues and sequences that were dropped or cut for the original release, and also contains the original four-minute trailer score, newly composed by Korngold, not just pieced together from the film’s already existing cues. The music is performed with the much of the same excitement and exhilaration of the original soundtrack, giving listeners the opportunity to almost relive the film even without the visual stimulus. We here agree with other reviews that “…the unforgettable choral return of the main title doesn’t convey the overwhelming surge of exultant emotion [as heard on Charles] Gerhardt’s account…”, and that “…Maria’s Song is, well, lost in translation.” The chorus members for the former seem often to be uncoordinated as a whole, and individual voices are too easily discernible on close listening, rather than blending to form the united chorus they are supposed to represent. Maria’s Song is performed a little better, but the soloist here still leaves something to be desired. Yet even with these – on the whole, minor – shortcomings, the remainder of the offering is outstanding, and should be deemed a necessary addition to any Korngold or movie-score collection.

Filling out the remainder of the second album is the entire original music Korngold composed for the 1946 Bette Davis drama Deception (1946), his last film for Warner Bros. The feature here, of course, is the movie-version of Korngold’s famous cello concerto, recorded for the first time ever in its shortened, seven-minute film version. The soloist Alexander Zagorinsky plays extremely well, conveying a strong sense of assuredness with the material. His warm singing tone brings out Korngold’s luxuriant melodies splendidly, and in the more fiery passages his nimble dexterity demonstrates his capabilities there as well.

To accompany such a tour-de-force recording, Naxos has provided a near-encyclopedic booklet, with generous contributions from film historian Rudy Behlmer and Korngold authority Brendan Carroll, in addition to notes from John Morgan and William Stromberg. The reader is treated to an excellent historical narrative of the film’s development, including detailed discussions of casting decisions, and setwork and costume designs. Discussions delve into descriptions of re-releases, cuts, extensions made for the original British release, commercial release in 1986, and even includes mention of footage being used in 1995 for a Miller Genuine Draft beer commercial. In short, the written details of the historical discussion will interest film historians as well as those interested in the music, especially the interesting and unique tidbits from Brendan Carroll’s personal interviews in the 1970s.

After hearing such a performance, we eagerly await Morgan and Stromberg’s next Korngoldian adventure.

Alexander Zagorinsky - Cello
Alexander Zagorinsky is the soloist of the Moscow Philharmonic and bears the title 'Honored Artist of Russia'. He also is a prizewinner of several national and international music competitions,-among them the ALL- Russian Musical Competition in 1985, the fifth | International Chamber Music Competition in Trapani (Italy) in 1988, and the ninth International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1990.
Zagorinsky was born in Moscow in 1962, graduated from the Moscow Conservatory in 1986 and worked as' probationer-assistant to Prof. Natalia Shakhovskaya until 1988. Since 1991 till 2000 he has been the first concertmaster of the cello-group of the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Moscow Philharmonic. Since gy 2000 - cello principal and soloist for the Moscow Chamber t Orchestra (conducted by C. Orbelian). Alexander Zagorinsky teaches music at the Gnessin Academy of Music in Moscow.
He maintains an active concert schedule, appearing in the ^ music halls of Moscow and other Russian cities, as well as' many other countries of the world. He has rich repertoire and excels equally in performing works by classical, romantic and modem composers. Musical reviewers do stress in performance of the musician great temperament, mastership in style, nobility and virtuosity. Many works were recorded by A. Zagorinsky for the Recording House Musical Foundation in Moscow, Russia, c ,g Zagorinsky is known for his close collaboration withj modem composers and as a first performer of several works by E. Denisov, V. Dashkevich, Yu. Kasparov, A. Rozanblat, A. Shchetynsky (Ukraine), Y. Galperin (France) and some other composers. Together with the brilliant jazz pianist and composer Nikolai Kapustin, he for the first time performed Kapustin's two jazzy sonatas, pieces, ensembles and also for the very first time performed concert for cello with chamber orchestra (Big Hall of Moscow Conservatoire, 2002).
Zagorinsky has performed with many renowned musicians, among them: pianists I. Zhukov, Yu. Rozum, E. Steen-Nokleberg, organist and pianist A. Shmitov, etc. Also he appeared with famous symphony orchestras under conductors V. Sinaisky, Yu. Simonov, K. Orbelian, M.

William T. Stromberg - Composer
Born in 1964, William Stromberg was introduced to the world of classical music at a very early age. His filmmaker father filled the house with the sounds of classic film scores by such great composers as Erich Korngold, Bernard Herrmann, and Max Steiner. Through the constant study of the classical scores that inspired these film composers, he developed a passion for music that laid the foundation for his career. A native Californian, Stromberg moved to Hollywood when he was eighteen to study privately under the tutelage of film-composer John Morgan. He soon began conducting his own film scores and garnered a well-respected reputation as a gifted composer and conductor. He has scored more than a dozen feature films including the thriller Other Voices, the documentary Trinity and Beyond, Killing Streets and Edge of Honor.

His devotion to classic film scores cultivated several joint ventures with John Morgan in reconstructing and recording the works of such composers as Max Steiner, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Alfred Newman, Philip Sainton, Adolph Deutsch, Hans J. Salter, Victor Young and Sir Malcolm Arnold, available on the Marco Polo and Naxos labels. The success of these film recordings led him to the opportunity of conducting and preserving this new series of seldom heard American classics. He has also conducted several much-praised Naxos albums devoted to concert works by American composers, including two albums of music by Ferde Grofé.

In 2008, he led the Moscow Symphony Orchestra in a massive re-recording of Bernard Herrmann’s Mysterious Island for his and John Morgan’s own label Tribute Film Classics. Stromberg is much in demand among Hollywood composers as a conductor of film music and sound-track recordings, as well as undertaking engagements to conduct renowned European orchestras.

The Moscow Symphony Orchestra
Founded in 1989, the Moscow Symphony Orchestra is one of the leading orchestras in the capital today. Since its inception, the orchestra became an active participant in the musical life of Moscow, having performed under famous Russian and foreign conductors: Vladimir Ziva, Arnold Katz, Sergey Stadler, I. Golovchin among them, and with outstanding soloists such as Yuri Bashmet, Victor Tretiakov, Vadim Repin, Alexander Knyazev and Alexander Rudin.

The Moscow Symphony Orchestra is well known in Russia and abroad. The Orchestra has successfully toured in United States, Japan, South Korea and Western Europe.

Aside from extensive concert programs the orchestra is recognized for its outstanding recordings. Recordings of 'The Snow of Kilimanjaro' and 'Five Fingers' entered the 2001 top ten recordings of the year in 'The Economist' magazine. The recording of the symphonies by Italian composer Malipiero was named 'Disk of the Month' by US magazine 'CD Review' and became the winner of the 'Diapason d’Or' prize.

The Moscow Symphony Orchestra has a long tradition of participating in charity projects, such as concerts for the Ronald McDonald Children’s Foundation for disabled children, charity concerts for the Russian Medical Doctors` Association, and a special concert commemorating the Memorial Day of the Genocide of the Armenian People. Now in its 5th year, the MSO along with the orchestra’s General sponsor 'Nestle' and state museum “Archangelskoe” began a series of outdoor summer concerts with all the proceeds going towards the reconstruction of Archangelskoe Palace.

Since 1996 under the general sponsorship of 'Nestle' the MSO performs an annual series of concerts in the Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatory. The professionalism and outstanding repertoire of the MSO has established the orchestra in Moscow’s musical sphere and built a devoted and appreciative audience.

This album contains no booklet.