I've loved Honegger's symphonies for decades, especially #2 for strings (I love just about all big works for string orchestra). But I'm not familiar with his film music, and I don't know if today was the first time I've really listened to any of it. Now I really wanna see Mayerling.
Listen to this opening for a while and see if you get a Herrmann vibe - I certainly do (written in 1937, so like Bruce said, maybe Herrmann was influenced).
Ding, ding, ding - we have a winner! Honegger has been a favorite of mine for decades. Ironically, the first Honegger piece I ever heard was Pastorale d'ete on Mr. Herrmann's The Impressionists LP. I fell head over heels in love with it and have never heard a bum piece of music from Honegger yet. There's a reasonably priced box set of the symphonies conducted by Serge Baudo - those are great performances for all five. His cello concerto is fantastic. Of all the film music CDs, and there are many, mostly on Marco Polo, the one with Mayerling is fantastic and so is the one with the complete Les Miserables score - which is utterly fantastic music. Also Crime and Punishment is amazing and very much ahead of its time, as you'll hear.
Let us not forget too that a young struggling composer named Miklos Rozsa was dining with Honegger and lamenting about not having any work; that being a composer was a hard way to make a living. Honegger told him he should score films, because it paid well enough to stay alive.
And that happenstance dinner and discussion led to The Thief of Bagdad, Ben-Hur, Jungle Book, Double Indemnity, and all the rest.
Okay, here's another for your mental delectation. No cheating now That's the fun of this, at least I think that's the fun of this. This one might be a bit easier.
Perhaps an older hand Italian would be on the right track. If you think along the Honegger lines in terms of the clews you'll figure it out.
Could it be something by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco? I haven't heard much beyond a couple of his guitar pieces.
Ding ding ding! We have a winner. I love Castelnuovo-Tedesco and if folks don't know his work, seek it out. His violin concerto #2 is fantastic (recorded by RCA, played by Heifetz) as are these dances from Love's Labour's Lost, this one being the first of them. Also, his guitar concerto is great, as are most of the Shakespeare overtures. For those who don't know, he also wrote some pretty great film music scores, including And then There Were None, Return of the Vampire, The Brave Bulls, and many others.
I think it's fun to find these composers who straddled two musical worlds.
Someone else do one now, but I do have a few others ready to go.
What a GREAT and GRAND choice. I'll let others do the guessing, but this is a stunning piece of music by one of my all-time favorite composers When the guess is correct, I would like to know which performance this is.
Ding ding ding! We have a winner. I love Castelnuovo-Tedesco and if folks don't know his work, seek it out. His violin concerto #2 is fantastic (recorded by RCA, played by Heifetz) as are these dances from Love's Labour's Lost, this one being the first of them. Also, his guitar concerto is great, as are most of the Shakespeare overtures. For those who don't know, he also wrote some pretty great film music scores, including And then There Were None, Return of the Vampire, The Brave Bulls, and many others.
Any hope of Kritzerland releasing a Castelnuovo-Tedesco score (or even rarer concert work) some day, Bruce?
Sean, read the story that goes along with Lion Tamer - I posted it on Soundcloud.
Now, either others here don't like to have fun, are stumped but refuse to admit it, or are desperately trying to figure it out. Once revealed, I can make some reccomendations.
That's the fun of this, at least I think that's the fun of this. This one might be a bit easier.
