Originally posted on February 18
“Born at the intersection of music, visual arts, and the world of cinema, this vibrant new program by producer Robert Townson brings together ten internationally renowned composers in world-premiere compositions. Pictures at an Exhibition: The Paintings of Bob Peak is modelled after the timeless concept of one of Mussorgsky’s greatest works and brought to life by the Los Angeles Film Orchestra, under the baton of the legendary conductor Leonard Slatkin. Each one of the ten new movements is inspired by a unique piece from the oeuvre of the American illustrator Bob Peak (1927–1992), known for his posters for films including West Side Story, Superman, Apocalypse Now, and the original Star Trek movies, but also a prolific artist of commissions for Time magazine, the Olympics, and countless others.” [Warner Classics]
Review…
This stimulating sequence opens with the ‘Promenade’ that cues Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, as he wrote it, for piano, played by Robert Thies – the scene is set for a contemporary musical exhibition, each of the ten newbies inspired by one of Bob Peak’s designs, all helpfully reproduced in the excellent and informative booklet.
A keen sense of anticipation before pressing the ‘play’ button was both my excitement while having it tempered by possible disappointment; but, no, all ten pieces are winners and make an attractive and varied collection, with a swinging start provided by Maria Newman, a celebrated surname-dynasty in Hollywood (Alfred, Lionel…), and each piece stands tall without needing to check-out the corresponding Peak illustration, most of the compositions referencing back to the glamorous Hollywood scores of yesteryear, a time there was. Exceptions, if with no diminishing of listening pleasure, are the Danna (exotic-sultry, pop-vocal, nice voice), the Beltrami (a witty outdoors portrait of the gentleman golfer, Jack Nicklaus), with singer-composer Marc Shaiman’s sentimental Audrey Hepburn number further away, if with amusing lyrics, while Michael Abels’s Jesse Owens piece exemplifies the Olympics motto,”Citius, Altius, Fortius – Communiter” (Faster, Higher, Stronger – Together).
The Los Angeles Film Orchestra, a full-size virtuoso ensemble, plays superbly, and has been vividly recorded (June 2024), with Leonard Slatkin the ideal conductor because of his own LA/Hollywood lineage (his parents – Felix Slatkin & Eleanor Aller, violin & cello respectively – were first-chairs in two of the leading film-studio orchestras) and he himself has a current radio show, Soundtracks of Our Lives, on Friday evenings broadcast on Classic 107.3 (St. Louis), easily found on the Internet.
So a very warm welcome to Pictures, on Warner Classics 2173276255, which is released on March 6.
Repertoire…
MUSSORGSKY: “Promenade I” from Pictures at an Exhibition (piano solo: Robert Thies)
Maria NEWMAN: Rhapsody for a Golden Age, 1937 Academy Players Directory (with Robert Thies, piano)
Mychael DANNA: “Mother Teresa” (with Azam Ali, vocals)
Harry GREGSON-WILLIAMS: “Two Girls with Sparklers”
Ihab DARWISH: “Curva Grande”
Jeff BEAL: “New York World’s Fair 1964–1965”
Marco BELTRAMI: “The Spirit of Sport: Jack Nicklaus”
Michael ABELS: “Unbound: Jesse Owens,” 1936 Olympics
Marc SHAIMAN: “A Song About Audrey,” Audrey Hepburn (with Marc Shaiman, vocals)
Don DAVIS: “Golden Eagles”
Bill CONTI: “The Great Bridge,” Brooklyn Bridge 100th Anniversary
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