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Hugo and the Classics

Hugo Friedhofer

Introduction - According to Gene Lees in Friends Along the Way, Hugo had several nicknames including ‘Hug’ and ‘The Red Baron’. Alfred Newman on the other hand would often refer to Hugo as ‘Johannes’ after Brahms, because of Hugo’s predilection for counterpoint in music. This nickname and the quotation “he truly was a master” by Tony Thomas are both well served given Hugo’s wisdom regarding, and connections to, the world of classical music. For example, his uncle Hans Koenig, a highly distinguished violinist with the San Francisco Symphony, trained with Joseph Joachim to whom Brahms dedicated his violin concerto. Hugo once wrote to the film music critic Charles Boyer (aka Page Cook) saying “a half-century of servicing the flicks is more than enough ... it’s my intention to channel what’s left of my creativity elsewhere.”


One area Hugo devoted his efforts to later in life, and which afforded him much pleasure, was composing chamber music and writing about classical music, a passion which extends back to his student years (1920s) in San Francisco when he was preoccupied with modern composers such as Bartok, Hindemith and Bloch. During the mid 1970s Hugo was engaged supplying liner notes to a small recording company Consortium Recordings founded in Los Angeles c1974 by the composer and orchestrator Herschel Burke Gilbert former president of the Screen Composers Association and president for seven years of the American Society of Music Arrangers (forerunner to ASMAC). Below is one such album containing Hugo’s extensive notes on two modern chamber compositions: Paul Hindemith’s early concerto Kammermusik no. 4 (1925) and Kurt Weill’s violin concerto (1924). This recording was first issued in 1964 on the Westminster label WST 17087 with notes by Irving Kolodin; Hugo's liner notes were for a re-release in 1974, ABC Records WGS-8269.


There are also at least two other classical LPs in this series with sleeve notes by Hugo demonstrating the depth and breadth of his knowledge and complete mastery of the classical repertoire: Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations, played by Daniel Barenboim, and an album of music inspired by Rossini (“Rossini Revisited”) containing Benjamin Britten’s Matinées musicales op. 24 and the popular companion piece Soirées musicales. Both of these latter works are drawn from unused material in Britten’s film score The Tocher (1937) a short ballet released in the UK by the GPO (General Post Office) Film Unit. As is well known Hugo also authored notes for his own soundtracks issued on vinyl, e.g. Boy On A Dolphin (originally released in 1957 by Brunswick Records LAT 8193, re-released in 1981 by Varèse Sarabande STV 81119) in which Hugo likens film scoring to the technique of stage set painting. William Snedden, 30 July 2018

20th Century Violin Concerti ABC Westminster Gold WGS-8269 - The Kammermusik No. 4 is one of a group of six compositions similarly titled written between 1920 and 1930. With the exception of No. 1, which is for small orchestra, they are all concerti for solo instruments variously accompanied. The instrumentation of No. 4, described by Hindemith as an “enlarged” chamber orchestra, consists of 2 piccolos, 3 clarinets, 3 bassoons, cornet, trombone, tuba, 4 violas, 4 celli, 4 contrabassi and 4 drums tuned to indeterminate, widely differentiated pitch levels.


The concerto is divided into five contrasting sections. I, entitled "Signal" (or Prelude) moves in a persistent non-varying four-beat pulse. Fairly dissonant, it is nonetheless related (however distantly) to the key of B flat. A trombone enters, giving utterance to a broad a-rhythmic statement, to which the cornet adds fanfare-like flourishes. The tension continues to mount, aided by several key-shifts as well as by the addition of trills and scalar passage-work by violas and celli, all poised on an ambiguous chordal structure which resolves surprisingly but altogether properly on an uncluttered B flat Major triad.


Section II, marked Very Lively, continues without pause as the solo violin enters with its own variant of the “Signal.” This is followed by a close-knit discourse in which the violin pursues a soloistic path against a contrapuntal pattern encompassing the entire range of the ensemble, retaining both integrity of line and thematic relevance. Presently the violin launches into a new and somewhat “Straussian” theme, which is answered imitatively by various orchestral groups, ultimately coming to rest in D flat Major. A brief interlude, marked Quietly, is followed by further contrapuntal manipulation leading to a shortened recapitulation of Section II.


The soloist again resumes his role as protagonist as the accompanying texture grows increasingly dense and elaborate, through which the violin billows upward like a smoke wreath, coming to rest on its topmost “D”, supported by a murmuring D Major triad in the lower strings (again marked Quietly). Once more the tempo accelerates to a Coda based on the Straussian theme, thus concluding the movement.


Section III is called “Night Piece.” The basic time-signature is 12/8, and the strings are muted throughout. The movement opens with a quiet phrase announced by the clarinet supported by the lower woodwind, alternating with divided strings. The solo violin enters (Quasi Recitativo) in the fourth measure, introducing a broadly expressive Cantilena, marked piano, with utmost calm, to which quietly moving violas and celli add both harmonic and rhythmic interest. The songful Cantilena continues, ever-expanding and rising in pitch and intensity.


Gradually the entire accompaniment pattern changes as the bass clarinet, bassoons and contrabassoon in a two-octave unison announce a restatement of the Cantilena at a different pitch-level - actually a fugal answer at the fifth below. The violas divided in octaves add to the excitement with florid passage work, while the celli and bassi (also in octaves) fall into a rhythmically unvarying pattern of eighth-notes, pizzicato.


The violin line is interrupted by the hitherto silent E flat clarinet, which usurps the main melodic interest for one measure, marked Poco Accellerando e Crescendo Molto, followed by the indication Slower than the Original Tempo. All the strings and lower woodwinds fall silent as piccolos and clarinets (E flat and B flat) establish a new rhythmic pattern (Pianissimo and Staccato), under which the solo violin enters quietly with a melodic line quite different from the original Cantilena, though obviously some subtle relationship exists. As the violin continues, the rhythmic pattern gradually expands, and presently the celli enter with a free canonic imitation at the lower octave. The rhythmic pattern shrinks to its original proportion as the solo clarinet announces a recapitulation of the original Cantilena, to which the violin now adds a florid, fanciful embroidery. As the clarinet ends its song, the solo violin, accompanied by divided violas and celli, drifts into a thrice-repeated three-note figure (d, f, e), two of which are accompanied alternately by woodwind and strings, while the third, written in notes of longer value, stands quite alone, coming to rest on an E natural under which the low strings add the rich sonority of C sharp Major!


Section IV, in ¾ time, bears the tempo indication Lively Quarters. The cornet announces a jaunty march-like theme, accompanied by the low strings in a busy two-voiced texture. Some sixteen measures in length, it is straightway repeated in the upper octave by the clarinets. The cornet and trombone in octaves alternate with violas and piccolos in exposing a new countermelody over a consistent pattern of eighth-notes played by an octave of celli and contrabassi. This double exposition concluded, the cornet again assumes leadership, developing and expanding the new countermelody, closely imitated by the low strings.


Now the solo violin enters, working its way (via a fragment of the new countermelody) into a restatement of the principal theme, against which the consistent eighth-note pattern, somewhat transformed, is presented by a trio consisting of cornet, trombone and tuba alternating with the lower woodwinds and strings, presenting the pattern by inversion.


Having concluded its statement, the solo violin plunges headlong into a display of virtuosity. A new thematic fragment is exposed by an octave of clarinets and bassoons, the trombone moves chromatically downward as the original eighth-note pattern emerges again, making a mighty crescendo culminating in a powerful six-octave unison, which is followed by a species of Trio, Quasi Cadenza, played by the solo violin, accompanied by an asymmetrical pattern on the four tuned drums, struck lightly with felt mallets. The tuba makes an occasional comment (Pianissimo) the last of which leads to a much varied recapitulation followed as before by the Trio, Quasi Cadenza, but without comment from the tuba. Presently the percussion pattern vanishes, leaving the solo violin alone with four measures of a repeated pattern which merges without pause into the last section.


Section V (in cut time) with the tempo indication As Fast as Possible, is actually in the manner of a Perpetuum Mobile. Delicately scored, its dynamic level never rises above a Mezzopiano with but few exceptions, confined largely to the solo violin. The high point of the section occurs at measure 113, marked Like a Waltz. Pizzicato strings play in a cross-rhythm, thus - 123/412/ 341/234 and so on.


The solo violin continues, utterly disregarding the crossrhythm, while a piccolo intones the rarest suggestion of a waltz-strain, after which order is restored. Measure 143 is marked Still Faster, if Possible and the section comes to a smiling conclusion, tinged with just the barest hint of a sly chuckle.


In most instances, audiences tend to be far better acquainted with a composer's early work than with the creative output of his maturity. Almost everyone knows Beethoven's 5th, but how many have ever heard his String Quartet, Op. 135?, Schoenberg's VERKLARTE NACHT, as compared to MOSES AND AARON, or Stravinsky's FIREBIRD vs. AGON? But the creative career of Kurt Weill is a complete reversal of the accepted norm.


Before his arrival in the U.S. in 1938, aficionados of the Musical Theater in America, with the exception of a relatively small “in” group, were unaware of his importance as a creator of numerous stage works in Europe. And it was not until the enormous success of KNICKERBOCKER HOLIDAY, LADY IN THE DARK, STREET SCENE, LOST IN THE STARS and others, that his American reputation became firmly established. Finally, his THREEPENNY OPERA (thanks to Mark Blitzstein's brilliant translation of the Brecht libretto) became known, and ultimately beloved in this country. Its popularity was aided and abetted by the astounding success achieved by the late Bobby Darin's recording of MACK THE KNIFE. Numerous hit songs from his Broadway productions have also gained a firm foothold in the repertory of practically every “pop” vocalist in the country. The success of THE THREEPENNY OPERA has also revived interest in a number of his earlier European stage works, particularly those written in collaboration with Berthold Brecht.


Hopefully, this recording of the CONCERTO FOR VIOLIN AND WIND ORCHESTRA will arouse a like interest in his earlier instrumental compositions. The Concerto is a fine work, written in 1924 shortly after Weill's three-year period of study with Ferrucio Busoni. In some respects it is a typical product of that first wave of avant-gardism which became endemic throughout Western and Central Europe, following the unpleasantness of 1914-1918. (For the enlightenment of those who were born in the ’40’s, it should be kept in mind that the avant-garde did not spring into existence ca. 1950; neither at Donaueschigen, Warsaw, Princeton, Ann Arbor or wherever. The avant-garde, like the poor, we have always with us!).


Happily, whatever latent tendency toward nihilism he might have had were held firmly in check by disciplines acquired from Busoni. Consequently the work is firmly knit, and reveals an extraordinary insight into the possibilities of the instrumental ensemble at the composer's disposal.


Although the Concerto demands a virtuoso technique, it is not in any way a mere vehicle for the display of virtuosity. Too many things of significance are happening in the surrounding ensemble  - subtle changes of color, rhythmic shifts, organisation of related thematic fragments, etc.


Particularly interesting is the tripartite middle movement. It begins with a “Notturno” lightly scored for woodwinds and the melodic use of a xylophone. Most importantly, it gives us a glimpse of Weill's early melodic facility.The second part is in the form of a “Cadenza,” both with and without accompaniment, which is followed by the third and final section called “Serenata”. The delicate interplay of color values surrounding the soloist is both subtle and beautiful. The “Finale” (marked Allegro Molto un Poco Agitato) has all the feeling of a Moto Perpetuo, interrupted twice for interludes in slower tempi, but in the end the initial tempo is resumed for a whirlwind finish.

The Diabelli Variations ABC Westminster Gold‎-WGS-8272 - On the 9th of June, 1824, Anton Diabelli (1781-1858), Viennese music publisher and sometime composer, announced the publication (in two parts) of “Variations on a given theme, composed by the foremost composers and virtuosi of Vienna and the imperial and royal Austrian states.”


Part one was confined to Beethoven’s thirty-three variations, while part two contained fifty variations by a like number of worthies who (with the notable exception of Schubert, Czerny and Liszt) are now, for the most part, only items in Grove or some other sarcophagus of similar design.


Diabelli's theme is, in itself, a thirty-two measure trifle, scarcely worth a second glance. However, Beethoven glimpsed possibilities far beyond the ken of ordinary mortals. Resultantly, his thirty-three variations might well be envisioned as the center panel of an enormous triptych, flanked on the left by Bach's GOLDBERG VARIATIONS and on the right by the BRAHMS-HANDEL VARIATIONS. 


Listeners who demand no more of music than its value as a harmless sedative or as a bland unobtrusive accompaniment to social chit-chat, must in all fairness be advised either to change their listening habits or failing that, to leave this particular Beethoven severely alone.


Since their publication in 1824, the Diabelli variations have probably had less public exposure than any other of the so-called “third period” keyboard works. Their great length (approximately sixty-one minutes) presents an enormous challenge, not only to the performer’s strength, endurance and virtuosity, but above all else to his musical insight.


These variations are by no means “easy” listening, and a concert-hall performance once every year or two will scarcely suffice to reveal, even to the most enthusiastic and attentive auditor, the miraculous transformation of  a Diabellian mole-hill into a Beethovenian Matterhorn.


It is indeed fortunate that the advent of the long-playing record has done much to alleviate this condition, since it affords the dedicated listener ample opportunity to hear the work, either sectionally or in its entirety, times without number.


By so doing, one eventually will grasp the fact that however obscure the relationship twixt theme and variation may appear to be at first hearing, this magistral architect/inventor presents to us a compendium of the idioms and gists and personal ways that could come within the orbit of Beethoven’s perceptivity, and nobody else’s


In a way, these variations are an act of artistic aggression, as of a challenge taken up and violently hurled back. It has been said by some that great art does not spring from bad manners. In most instances this is probably true, but in the case of Beethoven, the Chesterfieldian yardstick cannot possibly apply. Beethoven the militant churl, and Beethoven the seer, the transcendental visionary, are but two faces of the same coin; hence, inseparable.

Charles Gerhardt & Classic Film Scores

by Pascal Dupont • 10 May, 2024
Charles Allan Gerhardt English version adapted by Doug Raynes - FRENCH VERSION AND COLLECTION had a reputation as a great conductor, record producer and musical arranger. His major work at RCA on the Classic Film Scores series earned him recognition from film music devotees of Hollywood’s Golden Age, as well as other renowned conductors of his day. Born on February 6, 1927 in Detroit, Michigan, Charles Gerhardt developed a passion for music and percussion instruments from an early age. At the age of five, he took piano lessons, and by the age of nine, had established a solid reputation as an orchestrator and composer. He spent his early school years in Little Rock, Arkansas, then after 10 years, having completed his schooling, moved with his family to Illinois for his military duties, he served in the U.S. Navy during World War II as a chaplain's aide in the Aleutian Islands, then became an active member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. He went on to study at the University of Illinois, at the College of William and Mary, and later at the University of Southern California. Throughout his time at school Gerhardt was attracted not only to music, but also to the sciences. Passionate about the art of recording, he joined Westminster Records for five years, until the company ceased operations, and then joined Bell Sound. One day, he received a phone call from George Marek to meet with the heads of Reader's Digest, to discuss producing recordings for their mail-order record business; a contact that was to secure his musical future and a rich career spanning more than 30 years. Gerhardt's first job for Reader's Digest was to produce a record; “A Festival of Light Classical Music”; a 12 LP box set that he produced in full. One of Gerhardt's finest projects was the production of another 12 LP box set, “Les Trésores de la Grande Musique (Treasury of Great Music)”, featuring the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by some of the leading figures of the day: Charles Munch to Bizet and Tchaikovsky, Rudolf Kempe to Strauss and Respighi, Josef Krips to Mozart and Haydn, Antal Dorati to Strauss and Berlioz, Brahms 4th Symphony by Fritz Reiner and Sibelius’ 2nd Symphony by Sir John Barbirolli. In the 1950s he conducted works by Vladimir Horowitz, Wanda Landowska, Kirsten Flagstad and William Kapeli. In the early 1960s, Gerhardt lived in England, where he made most of his recordings, but kept a foothold in the United States, mainly in New York. Often, when he went to the United States after a period of recording sessions, he would stop off in Baltimore and spend some time listening to cassettes of his new recordings. Gerhardt loved percussion instruments, especially tam-tams. One of his favorite recordings was the Columbia mono disc of Scriabin's Poem of Ecstasy, with Dimitri Mitropoulos and the New York Philharmonic. He had great admiration and respect for the many conductors he worked with, starting with Arturo Toscanini, with whom he worked for several years before the Maestro's death. It was Toscanini who suggested that Gerhardt become a conductor, which he did! His career as an orchestra director began when he had to replace a conductor who failed to show up for rehearsals. It was a position he would later occupy for various recording sessions and occasional concerts. His classical recordings include works by Richard Strauss, Tchaikovsky, Wagner, Ravel, Debussy, Walton and Howard Hanson. Hired by RCA Records, he transferred 78 rpm recordings of Enrico Caruso and other artists to 33 rpm. He took part in recordings by soprano singer Kirsten Flagstad and pianist Vladimir Horowitz. He worked with renowned conductors such as Fritz Reiner, Leopold Stokowski and Charles Munch, from whom he learned the tricks of the trade. Still at RCA, he assisted Arturo Toscanini, with whom he perfected his conducting skills. Then, in 1960, he produced recordings for RCA and Reader’s Digest in London, and joined forces with sound engineer Kenneth Wilkinson of Decca Records (RCA's European subsidiary), The two men got on very well and shared a passion for recording and sound quality, making an incredible number of recordings over a 30-year period. Also in 1960, RCA and Reader's Digest entrusted him with the production of a 12-disc LP box set entitled “ Lumière du Classique (A Festival of Light Classical Music) ”, sold exclusively by mail order. With a budget of $250,000, Gerhardt assumed total control of the project: repertoire, choice of orchestras and production. He recorded in London, Vienna and Paris, and hired such top names as Sir Adrian Boult, Massimo Freccia, Sir Alexander Gibson and René Leibowitz. The success of this project, in terms of both musical quality and sound, earned him recognition from his employers. Other projects of similar scope followed… A boxed set of Beethoven's symphonic works with René Leibowitz and The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. A boxed set of Rachmaninoff's works for piano and orchestra with Earl Wild, Jascha Horenstein and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the above mentioned 12 LP disc set “Trésor de la Grande Musique (Treasury of Great Music)” with the Royal Philharmonic conducted by some of the greatest directors of the time: Fritz Reiner, Charles Munch, Rudolf Kempe, Sir John Barbirolli, Sir Malcolm Sargent, Antal Dorati and Jascha Horenstein, with whom Gerhardt had sympathized. In January 1964 in London, Gerhardt joined forces with Sidney Sax, instrumentalist and conductor, to form a freelance orchestra. This successful group went on to join the National Philharmonic Orchestra of London, an impressive line-up that would later become Jerry Goldsmith's orchestra of choice. With Peter Munves, head of RCA's classical division, he conceived the idea of recording an album devoted exclusively to the film music of Erich Wolfgang Korngold, one of his favorite composers. Enthusiastic about the project, Munves gave Gerhardt carte blanche, and was offered a helping hand by George Korngold, producer and son of the famous Viennese composer, who owned all the copies of his father's scores. The Adventure Began : The Sea Hawk: Classic Film Scores of Erich Wolfgang Korngold. For this first disc, Gerhardt selected 10 scores by Korngold, which he recorded in the Kingsway Hall Studio in London, renowned for its excellent acoustics. The disc thus benefits from optimal recording conditions, favoring at the same time the performances of the National Philharmonic (and its leader, Sidney Sax), a formidable orchestra made up of London's finest musicians and freelance soloists. Each album was recorded in the same studio, with Kenneth Wilkinson as sound engineer and George Korngold as consultant/producer. As soon as it was released, the album's success received strong acclaim in classical music circles and received a feature in Billboard No. 37, a first in this category in December 1972. It took no less than a year to sell the first 10,000 copies in all the specialist record suppliers and the album went on to sell over 38,000 copies, making it the fifth best-selling album in the “classical” category in 1973. On the strength of this success, Peter Munves and RCA entrusted Charles Gerhardt with the production of further discs devoted to other world-renowned composers of Hollywood music. The program includes several albums dedicated to Max Steiner and Erich Wolfgang Korngold plus one each to Miklos Rozsa, Franz Waxman, Dimitri Tiomkin and Bernard Herrmann, followed by 3 volumes associated with specific film stars such as Bette Davis, Errol Flynn and Humphrey Bogart. Then, a disc devoted to Alfred Newman, a composer who was a pillar of the famous Hollywood sound, who Gerhardt admired and had met: “Newman was a charming man, full of good humor. He was friendly, fun and always had a joke. With his eternal black cigar in hand, he was a composer by trade, down-to-earth, discussed little about himself but was a first-rate advisor in my life. “ Gerhardt would consult certain composers in advance about how to recreate suites from their works, or when this wasn't possible, he would rearrange the suites himself and submit them to the composers for approval. "Some critics complained that my suites were too short, but my aim in the case of each album was to present a well-split 'portrait' of the composer, highlighting his many creative facets". Although Korngold, Newman and Steiner were no longer around to lend their support, Gerhardt was lucky enough to still work with Herrmann, Rózsa and Tiomkin as consultants who turned up at the recording studio to lend a hand. Gerhardt also had the idea of creating albums focusing on a single film star. Three specific volumes were devoted to music from the films of Humphrey Bogart, Errol Flynn and Bette Davis. Although these albums suffer from too great a diversity of genres, they still offer the chance to hear and discover rare and previously unpublished compositions. The best conceived album was arguably the one devoted to Bette Davis. Conscious of the important role played by music in her films, the legendary actress took part in the conception of the album, knowing that it favored scores by Max Steiner designed for Warner Bros. The Collection Begins ! Gerhardt's passion for certain composers knows no bounds, but he soon envisages a disc devoted to Miklos Rozsa, including suites for “Spellbound” and “The Red House”, one of his favorite scores, which he will exhume to create one of the longest suites in the series. At the same time, he received various fan wish lists and films to watch, such as “The Four Feathers”, which he had never seen and which gave him the opportunity to discover a splendid score by Miklos Rozsa that he had never heard before. He was disappointed, however, not to be able to conceive a longer “Spellbound” sequel for rights reasons. Despite RCA's full approval, Gerhardt realized that it was not easy to record film music in its original form, as few were ever edited, played and made available for rental. For The Sea Hawks album, things were simpler, as Georges Korngold had copies of his father's scores, and Warner Bros had also archived material in good condition. From the outset, Gerhardt encountered other major problems in the search for and discovery of scores hidden away in other studios, often with the unpleasant surprise of discovering missing or incomplete conductors, or others heavily modified by orchestrators during recording sessions, or the surprise of discovering, in certain cases, instrumentation information noted in shorthand on the edges of the conductor score. For the disc dedicated to Max Steiner, for example, the conductor score for “King Kong” had disappeared from the RKO archives, having been shipped in 1950 to poorly maintained warehouses in Los Angeles where it had become totally degraded and illegible. With the help of Georges Korngold, Gerhardt was able to reconstruct a substantial suite from the piano models left by Steiner at the time. This experience was repeated when the conductor score for Dimitri Tiomkin's “The Thing” was discovered in the same warehouse, in an advanced state of disintegration. Fortunately for Gerhardt, Tiomkin, who was still alive, had been able to provide precise piano maquettes with orchestration information in shorthand, revealing a complex and highly innovative style of writing. Tiomkin always composed at the piano, inscribing very specific information and signs on the edges of the scores in pencil, an ingenious system of his own invention that was difficult to decipher. “Revisiting the score of ‘The Thing from Another World’ was a complex task, involving experimental passages and an unorthodox orchestra. You can understand that I had a huge job on my hands. When I approached the recording sessions, it was not without some trepidation. However, the composer present made no criticism or comment on my work, and was delighted. He was delighted.” For “Gone With The Wind”, Steiner was against the idea of remaking a complete soundtrack, as he felt that too many passages were repeated. It was an opportunity for him to revisit his own score, integrating his favorite melodies. This synthesis gave him the opportunity to revitalize his music by eliminating the least interesting parts of the score. Conceived as long suites or isolated themes, the discs reflect the essence of the composers' work. The “Classic Film Scores” series by Franz Waxman, Bernard Herrmann and Miklos Rozsa etc will become a big hit with collectors. For Gerhardt, this will be an opportunity to unearth forgotten or rare scores such as Herrmann's “The White Witch” and “On a Dangerous Ground”, Hugo Friedhofer's “The Sun Also Rises” and early recordings for Waxman's “Prince Valliant” and Rozsa's “The Red House”, all with new, impeccable acoustics. For “Elisabeth and Essex”, Erich Korngold had already prepared a suite in the form of an Overture, which was given its world premiere in a theater. The suite for “The Adventures of Robin Hood” also pre-existed. Franz Waxman created his own suite for “A Place in the Sun”, which was also performed in concert. Dimitri Tiomkin, Miklos Rozsa and Bernard Herrmann acted as consultants and contributed arrangements to their scores. For the continuation of “White Witch Doctor”, Bernard Herrman added percussion to link the different musical tableaux. He did the same for the different parts of “Citizen Kane”. Miklos Rozsa saw an opportunity to add a male choir to the suite from “The Jungle Book”, based on an idea by Charles Gerhardt. For the record dedicated to Errol Flynn, Gerhardt re-orchestrated the theme “The Lights of Paris” from Hugo Friedhofer's “The Sun also Rises”, as the original was no longer available. “I wanted to go back to that time and systematically explore the very substance of the great film scores of the late 30s and 40s, sending them back directly to their images as dramatic entities. The desire to rediscover tunes we know and to take into account the contexts in which they were originally used. I decided to recreate these scores with their original orchestrations, and this could only be done by returning to the ultimate sources, as the composers had originally conceived them.” Keen to open up the collection to other genres, such as science fiction, Gerhardt dedicated two further albums to the series in 1992. The first featured contemporary sequels to “Star Wars” and “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”, promoting the work of John Williams, a leading composer of new film music. Then another called “The Spectacular World of Classic Film Scores”, presenting a disappointing compilation of scores that had already been recorded, except for the creation of a sequel to Dimitri Tiomkin's “The Thing From Another World” and Daniele Amfitheatrof's rarely heard theme “Dance of the Seven Voiles” from Salome. In 1978, the collection was published in Spain by RCA Cinema Treasures. In the USA and Europe, the Classic Film Scores LP series was reissued in the early 80s with a black art deco cover and colored star index. All Volumes in the First Series Were Reissued : By the end of the '80s, the series was running out of steam, and Charles Gerhardt planned to relaunch his collection with albums dedicated to famous American actresses, a new volume for Max Steiner and the Western, a volume reconstructing the score of Waxman's “The Bride of Frankenstein”, followed by volumes devoted to Alex North, Hugo Friedhofer, Victor Young and Elmer Bernstein... But RCA would not support Gerhardt in these projects, preferring to release the collection on CD for the first time. In early 1990, RCA asked Gerhardt to supervise and co-produce the collection, which he saw as an opportunity to revisit some of the volumes, inserting tracks that had not appeared on the LPs or extending certain suites. The volume devoted to Franz Waxman, “Sunset Boulevard”, was the first to be released. The CD did not benefit from any particular promotion, but sold very well, as did the other CDs that followed... A collection marked by a new design in silver pantone. The CDs series was reissued in 2010, still under the RCA Red Seal label, but distributed by Sony Music Entertainment. RCA Victor's Classic Films Scores series represents a unique collection in the history of film music recordings. 14 recordings of rare quality, produced by Georges Korngold and Charles Gerhardt to become one of the revelations of the reissue phenomenon. Other Concepts... Later, Gerhardt spent most of his time in London, continuing to make recordings. After retiring from RCA in 1986, he returned to independent work for Readers Digest and other record labels, a position he held in production and musical supervision until 1997. Since 1991 he had lived in Redding, California. In later years, he did not appear professionally, refusing all public invitations because of his desire to remain discreet. In his entourage he was close to three cousins, Lenore L Engel and Elizabeth Anne Schuetze, both living in San Antonio, and cousin Steven W Gerhardt of St. Pete Beach, Florida. In late November 1998 Charles Gerhardt was diagnosed with brain cancer and died of complications following surgery on February 22, 1999. He was 72 years old. Thus ends this tribute to Charles Gerhardt and the most famous collection of film music records: The Classic Film Scores series.

Exodus

by Doug Raynes • 24 Jan, 2024
Following on from Tadlow’s epic recording of El Cid, the same team – Nic Raine conducting and James Fitzpatrick producing – have turned their attention to a completely different type of epic film for the definitive recording of Ernest Gold’s Academy Award winning score for Otto Preminger’s Exodus (1960). The score is something of a revelation because aside from the main theme, the music has received little attention through recordings. Additionally the sound quality of the original soundtrack LP was disappointing and much music was deleted or cut from the film.
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