The Bernard Herrmann Society

www.bernardherrmann.org /articles /special /happyprince

www.dradio.de

6th January 2007 3:05 AM !!!

Tonart - "Klassiker der Filmmusik"

The Wrong Man
Warner Bros. Studio Orchestra / Bernard Herrmann

The Trouble with Harry
Royal Scottish National Orchestra / Joel McNeely

Presented by Birgit Kahle

An article by Steve Vertlieb is now online:

www.bernardherrmann.org /articles /misc /torncurtain

re-recordings are coming from the team of John Morgan, Bill Stromberg and Anna Bonn.

They formed a new label: TRIBUTE FILM CLASSICS

Their first release is going to be:
MYSTERIOUS ISLAND (complete, including music and portions of cues that didn't make the final cut of the film)

followed by:
FAHRENHEIT 451 (complete) / WALKING DISTANCE (arr. for large string orchestra)

And coming from NAXOS:
THE KENTUCKIAN / WILLIAMSBURG-THE STORY OF A PATRIOT (both complete)

More info:
John Morgan: herrmann.uib.no /talking /view.cgi ?forum=thGeneral &topic=2576

Early xmas indeed!

For the past 15 years there has been a Helpline operating at the site of what was once Philips & Du Pont Optical UK Ltd (PDO) to replace CDs that have corroded due a manufacturing error for which PDO acknowledged responsibility. Between 1988 and 1993 they used a lacquer that was not suitable to withstand the corrosive effect of the sulphur content of paper used in the printing of CD booklets and other paper parts.

Several Bernard Herrmann CDs issued on the Unicorn Label are possibly affected.

The symptoms of corrosion are obvious. Audibly it manifests first towards the end of the disc (i.e. the outer edge) and sounds not unlike rhythmic LP surface noise. Visibly it manifests as a coppery-bronze discoloration, usually on the edge of the label side of the disc. (NB: It is NOT the overall yellow tint which is common to all PDO pressings. This is due to the addition of a tiny amount of yellow dye which PDO used to add to the polycarbonate for cosmetic purposes.)

This service stops November 30, 2006 !!!

PLEASE POST ONLY THE PHYSICAL CD'S , DO NOT SEND ANY CASES OR BOOKLETS TO:

ANDREA HOYLE
PDO HELPLINE
PHILIPS ROAD
BLACKBURN
LANCASHIRE
BB1 5RZ
ENGLAND

The British Film Institute's season of Herrmann scored films that started in July at the NFT, London and then toured the UK and Eire will finish on Oct 31.

From October 28 to October 31 the Queens Film Theatre in Belfast will end the tour:

www.bfi.org.uk /incinemas /tours /herrmann /venue /76

www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk /lifestyle /twentyfourseven /story.jsp ?story=710739

A show about the falling out between Alfred Hitchcock and composer Bernard Herrmann by David Knijnenburg:

www.theage.com.au /news /arts-reviews /hitchcock-amp-herrmann /2006 /10 /09 /1160246046132.html

"...an account of the working friendship between larger-than-life director Alfred Hitchcock, and composer Bernard Herrmann. They collaborated to create the most memorable suspense movies ever - then their relationship fell apart, and they never spoke again."


3 October 2006 to 14 October 2006
Northcote Town Hall
Melbourne, Australia...

PS: Hitch and Herrmann DID speak again ;)

Herrmann's personal friend the Britsh classical composer Sir Malcolm Arnold died on September 23, 2006, aged 84.

news.bbc.co.uk /1 /hi /entertainment /5374808.stm
news.independent.co.uk /people /obituaries /article1747108.ece
www.telegraph.co.uk /news /main.jhtml ?view=DETAILS &grid= &xml= /news /2006 /09 /25 /db2501.xml
www.timesonline.co.uk /article /0,,60-2373141,00.html
arts.guardian.co.uk /news /obituary /0,,1880238,00.html
www.nytimes.com /2006 /09 /25 /arts /music /25arnold.html
www.latimes.com /news /printedition /california /la-me-arnold26sep26,1,6465427.story

Les Reed's Chapter One Records is going to re-release "Les Bicyclettes de Belsize" which was famously paired with TWISTED NERVE on the old Polydor album.

Twisted Nerve, inspite listed, does not appear to be part of the re-release

www.chapteronerecords.com /album.asp ?album=189

Track List
Les Bicyclettes de Belsize - Instrumental
Les Bicyclettes de Belsize - Johnny Worth
Free As Air - Johnny Worth
Julie - Johnny Worth
Kate's Theme - Instrumental
All I Need Is Love - Jane Marlow
Julie - Instrumental
Gentlemen Of The Park - Episode Six
Julie - Johnny Worth
Les Bicyclettes de Belsize - Johnny Worth

The Filmhouse in Edinburgh features a season of Bernard Herrmann films from Aug 30 to Oct 5

www.filmhousecinema.com



There is also an article in the Scotsman:
news.scotsman.com /entertainment.cfm ?id=1261502006

www.irishfilm.ie /cinema /season2.asp ?PageID=59 &SID=109

Tuesday 8 August 2006
CITIZEN KANE 2.00|4.10|8.30
VERTIGO (70MM) 6.00

Wednesday 9 August 2006
CITIZEN KANE 1.45|6.15
VERTIGO (70MM) 6.00

Thursday 10 August 2006
TAXI DRIVER 4.00|8.30
VERTIGO (70MM) 6.00

Friday 11 August 2006
TAXI DRIVER 6.20

Saturday 12 August 2006
TAXI DRIVER 2.00
PSYCHO 6.30

Sunday 13 August 2006
TAXI DRIVER 2.00
PSYCHO 6.30

Monday 14 August 2006
TAXI DRIVER 6.20

Tuesday 15 August 2006
TAXI DRIVER 6.20

Saturday 19 August 2006
ON DANGEROUS GROUND 2.10

Sunday 20 August 2006
THE BIRDS 2.00

Saturday 26 August 2006
THE GHOST AND MRS MUIR 1.40

Sunday 27 August 2006
FAHRENHEIT 451 451 2.10

Wednesday 30 August 2006
NORTH BY NORTHWEST 6.10

Joshua Waletzky's brilliant documentary is coming finally to DVD thanks to the French DVD company "naïve vision":

www.bernardherrmann.org /news /videos.xdoc#158

Alan Hamer writes on Rozsa's Phase 4 recordings of Ben Hur and Quo Vadis:
"Vocalion has advised they will re-release the 2 Decca Phase 4 LPs, as conducted by the composer in the '70s, possibly in Oct or Nov this year. They should be on 2 separate cds in a set."
p222.ezboard.com /fmiklosrozsatherzsaforum.showMessage ?topicID=1345.topic

Dutton Vocalion already rereleased Herrmann's Phase 4 LP "Great Movie Thrillers"...

Many of Herrmann's Phase 4 recordings have been out of print for some time now. Hopefully this will change soon.

UPDATE: The recording is now available: www.duttonvocalion.co.uk /proddetail.asp ?prod=CDLK4332

The legendary Lyrita label returns

Bernard Herrmann conducted two albums with Cyril Scott's piano concerti for Lyrita in the 1970s who are very likely to be rereleased during 2007.


From David Threasher, Gramophone Magazine:

"A long-held wish has at last come true for lovers of British music with the reintroduction of the Lyrita Recorded Edition catalogue. Wyastone Estate Ltd, under whose aegis Nimbus Records continues, has reached an agreement with Lyrita to distribute the company's entire catalogue. The first discs to appear will be those CD transfers that had appeared in the 1990s (and which were then distributed via Nimbus); the remaining original analogue masters will subsequently be digitised and transferred to CD, making all of Lyrita's recordings available on CD for the first time.

Lyrita was founded in 1959 with the mission to record unfamiliar and previously unrecorded British music. Bowen, Reizenstein and others performed their own works in an initial piano and chamber music series. During the 1970s the label's repertoire broadened to cover orchestral music performed by the UK's top orchestras and conductors. Alwyn, Arnold, Bliss, Lennox Berkeley and Walton conducted their own music. First recordings were made of music by a host of composers including Finzi, Holst, George Lloyd, Cyril Scott and John Foulds.

Some of these recordings were remastered and appeared on a series of 37 CDs in the 1990s. At the end of that decade, however, Lyrita lost its distribution deal with Nimbus and the discs then became available only through Harold Moores Records in London's West End. Lyrita will be relaunched in the international marketplace with those 37 CDs; the rest of the catalogue, including digital recordings which have never been issued in any format, will follow over the subsequent 18 months, in time for Lyrita's golden jubilee in 2009.

Lyrita founder Richard Itter declares himself 'proud of the Lyrita recordings. I have been privileged to work with the most wonderful orchestras, conductors, soloists and instrumentalists [who] all became deeply involved in this marvellous neglected, forgotten or unknown music and breathed vibrant new life into it. With this new agreement many of you will be able to discover this for yourselves.'

Adrian Farmer and Antony Smith of Wyastone Estate acknowledge that the agreement is 'the fulfilment of a long-held ambition to restore a truly magical catalogue to its rightful place'. Andrew Achenbach will offer his assessment of Lyrita's pioneering recordings in the Awards issue of Gramophone."

www.gramophone.co.uk


From Lyrita's website:

"In order to satisfy international demand for the label, Wyastone and Lyrita have agreed to introduce simultaneously physical product, which will be widely distributed, available directly and via the Internet, and a downloading facility."

www.lyrita.co.uk

Herrmann mentioned in the Guardian and the Daily Telegraph:


The Telegraph writes:

Another revelation is Bernard Herrmann's astonishing score: by turns jazzy, sad and menacing, and, like Taxi Driver itself, redolent of 1940s film noir. It's no accident that the insomniac Travis, like many heroes of those earlier films, is a traumatised war veteran, weary of the degradation he sees everywhere.

www.telegraph.co.uk /arts /main.jhtml ?xml= /arts /2006 /07 /14 /nosplit / /bfeleven14.xml


The Guardian writes:

It was the great movie composer's final score: a compelling mixture of sinuous jazz and a declamatory orchestral soundtrack, denoting as nothing else could a presentiment of catastrophe.

arts.guardian.co.uk /filmandmusic /story /0,,1819676,00.html

Herrmann article in the New Statesman

www.newstatesman.com/Arts/200607100037

Bernard Herrmann's soundtracks proved too good for Alfred Hitchcock, writes Christopher Bray

Herrmann article in the Daily Telegraph:

www.telegraph.co.uk /arts /main.jhtml ?xml= /arts / /2006 /07 /01 / /bfherrmann01.xml

Bernard Herrmann's film scores spoke as loudly as any dialogue, says Mark Monahan

Over the past hundred years or so, a great many prodigiously talented people have devoted their lives to creating music for moving pictures. Cinema would be unimaginable without the magical orchestration of Erich Wolfgang Korngold, the propulsive jazz of Lalo Schifrin, the lush, louche romanticism of John Barry, the grandeur of John Williams. But above all these, more than 30 years after his death, one man still reigns supreme: Bernard Herrmann.

He was born in New York in 1911, to Russian Jewish immigrants. A precocious musical talent, he studied under Percy Grainger at NYU, and made his conducting debut on Broadway at just 20. In 1934, he began composing and conducting for CBS radio, which brought him into contact with the young Orson Welles. And when Welles moved to Hollywood, he took Herrmann with him.

As a Herrmann season just starting at the National Film Theatre demonstrates, the career that followed was one of astonishing length, breadth and depth. It began in 1941 with Citizen Kane and ended with 1976's Taxi Driver, with a hundred or so credits in between that include The Magnificent Ambersons, Cape Fear, Jason and the Argonauts and, above all, the very best of Hitchcock.

These scores tend to operate on a quite different level from most. Rather than merely setting the scene or complementing the action (though they do both magnificently), they virtually are the action, brilliantly elucidating the characters' gnarled inner lives. Herrmann's speciality was dark scores for dark films, heavy on discord and light on hummable melody. But, as a means of doubling the impact of a director's efforts while drawing minimum attention to itself, his work is without equal.

His radio apprenticeship was significant. On radio, sound is all, and he developed a rare talent for creating musical shortcuts into characters' psyches and surroundings. When combined with the heft of Welles's visuals, the effect was devastating.

Without Herrmann, Citizen Kane's opening climb up Xanadu's wire fence would be an impressive piece of cinematography. With Herrmann's bleakly descending brass-and-woodwind figure, it speaks of dread, regret and death of the soul: the entire movie signposted in a few notes.

Powerful work for Hangover Square (1945), The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) and On Dangerous Ground (1952) followed. Hitchcock's The Trouble with Harry (1955) marked the start of one of the most fruitful collaborations in the history of cinema.

The obsessively spiralling harps and thundering cellos of Vertigo (1958) make it a landmark of film scoring, and the following year, Herrmann hit upon the masterstroke of basing his music for North by Northwest on a barrelling 3/8 fandango rhythm. What more perfect counterpoint to Cary Grant's merry dance across the dusty Midwest?

Herrmann raised his game yet again with Psycho (1960), employing a strings-only orchestra, which he described as a sonic equivalent of black-and-white film. Everyone remembers the musical shrieks of the shower scene - what many forget is how Herrmann's furious rhythms stab you between the eyes from the very first second of the opening credits.

Work both pioneering (1963's The Birds) and powerful (1964's Marnie) followed, but Torn Curtain, in 1966, proved a sticking-point. In search of a late-career hit and keen to appease the studio, Hitch wanted a conventionally romantic score; Herrmann, famously prickly, perfectionist and uncompromising, disagreed. And that was that.

In fact, Herrmann's widow, Norma, says that he always blamed the studio rather than Hitchcock for their falling out, but their collaborative years were over. Thereafter, Herrmann found himself embraced by both the French and American New Waves, right up to his swansong score for Scorsese's Taxi Driver (released in 1976).

His decision to have De Niro fall out of love with New York - and into insanity - to a lovelorn cocktail-bar sax was brilliant, as is the menacing string descent (a near-quotation from Psycho) that accompanies De Niro's taxi, vanishing through the Manhattan mist, in the very last frame.

The composer said that this closing motif meant, "You know he's going to kill again!", and how chillingly the music nails it. Herrmann suffered a fatal heart-attack just hours after completing Taxi Driver, but, to the last, he was working at white heat. He knew no other way.

'Bernard Herrmann', NFT, London SE1 (020 7928 3232), today-July 31

29 June 2006

Bernard Herrmann 95th Birthday Anniversary

The Bernard Herrmann Society site celebrates the occasion with an update:

Four new articles are online:

- Running with the Kids: A Conversation with Norma Herrmann by Guenther Koegebehn
- Herrmann Music in Have Gun Will Travel and Other Classic CBS Television Series by Bill Wrobel
- Concert Review: John Williams and the New York Philharmonic by Kirsten Russell
- Concert Report: Nightmare Romance: Bernard Herrmann & Alfred Hitchcock by Guenther Koegebehn

Plus:
The return of the NEWS section!

In July the National Film Theatre in London will present a season of films scored by Bernard Herrmann

www.bfi.org.uk /incinemas /nft /seasons /herrmann /intro.php

Specials on Herrmann will be shown on the 3rd and the 6th

www.bfi.org.uk/incinemas/nft/film/6653

www.bfi.org.uk/incinemas/nft/film/6680

Sat 1 Jul
NFT1 4.00PM All That Money Can Buy
NFT1 6.20PM Citizen Kane
NFT2 8.40PM The Magnificent Ambersons

Sun 2 Jul
NFT1 3.30PM Psycho (1960)

Mon 3 Jul
NFT2 6.20PM Bernard Herrmann: An Introduction
NFT1 8.40PM Citizen Kane

Tue 4 Jul
NFT2 6.20PM The Magnificent Ambersons
NFT1 8.40PM The Birds

Wed 5 Jul
NFT2 8.40PM All That Money Can Buy

Thu 6 Jul
NFT2 6.20PM Crime Scene on Bernard Herrmann
NFT1 8.45PM Psycho (1960)

Sat 8 Jul
NFT2 8.20PM The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad

Sun 9 Jul
NFT2 6.20PM The Ghost and Mrs Muir
NFT2 8.40PM On Dangerous Ground

Tue 11 Jul
NFT2 6.20PM Hangover Square
NFT1 8.30PM Vertigo

Wed 12 Jul
NFT3 6.15PM It's Alive
NFT2 8.40PM The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad

Thu 13 Jul
NFT3 6.10PM Journey to the Centre of the Earth
NFT3 8.40PM The Ghost and Mrs Muir

Fri 14 Jul
NFT1 2.30PM Taxi Driver
NFT2 6.15PM On Dangerous Ground
NFT1 6.20PM Taxi Driver
NFT3 8.30PM The Trouble with Harry
NFT1 8.45PM Taxi Driver

Sat 15 Jul
NFT3 3.30PM Journey to the Centre of the Earth
NFT1 4.00PM Taxi Driver
NFT3 6.10PM The Man Who Knew Too Much
NFT1 6.20PM Taxi Driver
NFT2 8.40PM Hangover Square
NFT1 8.45PM Taxi Driver

Sun 16 Jul
NFT1 3.00PM Vertigo
NFT3 3.50PM Taxi Driver
NFT3 6.10PM Taxi Driver
NFT1 8.20PM North by Northwest
NFT3 8.30PM Taxi Driver

Mon 17 Jul
NFT3 6.10PM Taxi Driver
NFT3 8.30PM Taxi Driver

Tue 18 Jul
NFT1 6.10PM North by Northwest
NFT3 6.15PM Taxi Driver
NFT3 8.30PM Taxi Driver

Wed 19 Jul
NFT3 6.10PM Taxi Driver
NFT3 8.30PM Taxi Driver
NFT1 8.45PM Cape Fear

Thu 20 Jul
NFT3 6.10PM It's Alive
NFT3 8.30PM Taxi Driver
NFT2 8.40PM Mysterious Island

Fri 21 Jul
NFT3 2.30PM Taxi Driver
NFT3 6.10PM Taxi Driver
NFT3 8.45PM Taxi Driver

Sat 22 Jul
NFT1 3.50PM Taxi Driver
NFT2 4.00PM Mysterious Island
NFT2 6.10PM Cape Fear
NFT1 6.20PM Taxi Driver
NFT1 8.45PM Taxi Driver

Sun 23 Jul
NFT1 3.30PM Marnie
NFT1 6.00PM The Trouble with Harry
NFT3 6.10PM Taxi Driver
NFT1 8.30PM Vertigo
NFT3 8.40PM Taxi Driver

Mon 24 Jul
NFT3 6.10PM Fahrenheit 451
NFT1 6.30PM Taxi Driver
NFT3 8.30PM Obsession
NFT1 8.45PM Taxi Driver

Tue 25 Jul
NFT3 6.10PM Taxi Driver
NFT1 8.20PM Taxi Driver
NFT3 8.30PM Taxi Driver

Wed 26 Jul
NFT3 6.15PM Taxi Driver
NFT3 8.30PM Taxi Driver
NFT2 8.40PM Obsession

Thu 27 Jul
NFT3 6.10PM Jason and the Argonauts
NFT1 6.20PM Taxi Driver
NFT2 8.40PM The Bride Wore Black
NFT1 8.45PM Taxi Driver

Fri 28 Jul
NFT1 6.10PM Marnie
NFT2 8.40PM The Day the Earth Stood Still

Sat 29 Jul
NFT2 4.00PM Jason and the Argonauts
NFT2 6.20PM The Day the Earth Stood Still
NFT1 8.45PM The Man Who Knew Too Much

Sun 30 Jul
NFT2 4.00PM The Bride Wore Black
NFT2 8.40PM Fahrenheit 451

Mon 31 Jul
NFT1 6.20PM The Birds
NFT2 8.40PM Obsession

Bill Wrobel's Film Score Rundown site has been updated. Two new papers on Herrmann has been added, "Herrmann's CBS Television Years" and a "Bride Wore Black" sneak peek.

www.filmscorerundowns.net

Article in the Independent:

enjoyment.independent.co.uk /film /features /article1090272.ece

Film Studies: And the Oscar should have gone to... Bernard Herrmann
By David Thomson

The management of the Bernard Herrmann Estate has changed.

It is now run from the UK replacing the old US based management.

And a new website is in place...

www.thebernardherrmannestate.com

Article in the Guardian by Eddie Fiegel

arts.guardian.co.uk /filmandmusic /story /0,,1726989,00.html

Herrmann's great friend Elmer Bernstein died on August, 18 2004

Herrmann's friend David Raksin, the composer of Laura, The Bad and the Beautiful and dozens of other classic film scores, died of heart failure at 8:55 a.m. Monday, August 9, at his home in Van Nuys, Calif. He was 92.

From:
https://secure.filmscoremonthly.com/store/detailCD.asp?ID=281

Bernard Herrmann's career has no shortage of landmarks: Citizen Kane, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Vertigo, Psycho, Taxi Driver -- plus music for concert, television and radio. One of his greatest achievements is On Dangerous Ground (1952), a film noir produced by John Houseman and directed by Nicholas Ray, for which Herrmann wrote perhaps his quintessential score: furious chase music on the one hand, and heartfelt warmth on the other.

On Dangerous Ground stars Robert Ryan as a hard-boiled cop -- with a habit of brutalizing suspects -- sent from the big city to the snowbound countryside, where he must capture a dangerous murderer and rapist. Ryan becomes involved with a sympathetic blind woman, played by Ida Lupino, but when the blind woman turns out to be the murderer's sister, Ryan finds his ruthless pursuit at odds with his burgeoning emotions.

Ryan's character is expressed by drivingly rhythmic music with simple, triadic harmony and the conspicuous presence of a steel plate in the percussion section -- and the eventual appearance of eight virtuoso horns in the climactic "Death Hunt." Lupino's placid, sensitive character is evoked by a heartfelt, lyrical solos of the unusual string instrument, the viola d'amore, played by Virginia Majewski -- much more The Ghost and Mrs. Muir than Psycho.

This CD features Herrmann's complete masterwork in chronological order. Unfortunately, master tapes to RKO productions are long since destroyed, and this CD has been mastered from acetate discs in the Bernard Herrmann collection at the University of California at Santa Barbara. IMPORTANT: Although these discs have been transferred and denoised by specialists, the sound quality is entirely in mono. Many of the most important cues have been mastered from 16" 33 1/3 rpm discs in excellent sound (including the "Prelude" and major chase cues), but the remainder of the cues exist only on 12" 33 1/3 rpm discs with a great deal of surface noise. We have made every effort to improve the sound quality without distorting the music.

Liner notes are by Christopher Husted.

Lucille Anderson, wife of Bernard Herrmann from 1949 to 1964, has passed away after suffering a stroke. She was 82.

The Herrmann contents: (www.ifms-jfm.org)

William H. Rosar:
Bernard Herrmann: The Beethoven of Film Music?

Thomas DeMary:
The Mystery of Herrmann’s Music for Selznick’s A Portrait of Jennie

Ronald Burbella:
A Note on Commercial Recordings of Herrmann’s “Jennie’s Song” from A Portrait of Jennie

E. Todd Fiegel:
Bernard Herrmann as Musical Colorist: A Musicodramatic Analysis of His Score for The Day the Earth Stood Still

James Wierzbicki:
Grand Illusion: The “Storm Cloud” Music in Hitchcock’s The Man Who Knew Too Much

David Cooper:
Film Form and Musical Form in Bernard Herrmann’s Score to Vertigo

William Wrobel:
Self Borrowing in the Music of Bernard Herrmann

Review:
Richard Littlefield: A Heart at Fire’s Center: The Life and Music of Bernard Herrmann by Steven C. Smith

Evénement le 14 Novembre 2003
CONFERENCE SUR BERNARD HERRMANN DONNEE PAR ALEXANDRE TYLSKI
lors de la première édition du Festival Cinéma Croches

"Du cinéma plein les oreilles." Le lien "Image et son" à l'honneur pour la première édition d'un festival inventif que Cadrage.net a tenu à soutenir, à l'occasion du 25ème anniversaire du Cinéma Charles Boyer de Figeac.

Ciné-concerts, expositions et ateliers jeunesse sont au programme, ainsi qu'un débat animé par Alexandre Tylski, rédacteur en chef de Cadrage, autour du compositeur de cinéma Bernard Herrmann. Un documentaire sur le musicien sera projeté à cette occasion.

Cadrage est partenaire éditorial du Festival, et soutient de longue date les initiatives liées à la musique au cinéma. Cadrage éditera en 2004 un site pédagogique inédit consacré au compositeur Bernard Herrmann.

Conférence sur Bernard Herrmann donnée par Alexandre Tylski.
Vendredi 14 novembre: 18h au Cinéma Charles Boyer, Figeac, France:

Téléphone: + 33 05 65 34 24 Email: cinefigeac@wanadoo.fr
Cinéma Charles Boyer. 2, boulevard Pasteur, 46100 Figeac (France).

http://www.cadrage.net/actus/herrmann.htm

Promethus continues issuing Herrmann TV scores with a 2nd Volume of "The CBS Years".

Acc. to some internet posters the contents are:

Walt Whitman Suite
Ethan Allan Suite
Desert Suite
Collector´s Club Suite
Moat Farm Murders Suite
Brave New World Suite
Theme from Landmark

(Without liability.)

From
www.filmscoremonthly.com /articles /2003 /03_Oct---Film_Score_Friday.asp

A piece of "film music" familiar to many soundtrack collectors which has actually never been featured in a film before will be heard in the new film WONDERLAND, a docudrama about porn star John Holmes' involvement in a brutal murder in the early 80s. Along with the inevitable songs and the Cliff Martinez score, one scene is scored with "I Work the Whole City," one of Dave Blume's jazz-pop reworkings of Bernard Herrmann's original music from the old Taxi Driver soundtrack. The Sony CD of Wonderland does not include this cue, nor does it feature any of Martinez' score.


Cliff Martinez, the composer of WONDERLAND, has the following to say about Herrmann:

“He’s one of the pioneers of minimalism in film. He had an amazing ability to take a simple three-note motif and spin off endless variations that not only held your interest, but created great emotion as well.”

www.laweekly.com /ink /03 /46 /music-burk.php

Herrmann's "Twisted Nerve" is used in Tarantino's KILL BILL, part I. Also on the CD release.

Bernard Herrmann: The CBS Years Vol. 1: "The Westerns".

PROMETHEUS will shortly be releasing a new CD of Bernard Herrmann music composed for CBS.

This disc includes music that was released on CERBERUS RECORDS some 20 years ago as well as the premiere release of Herrmann's score for the GUNSMOKE episode THE TALL TRAPPER.

The CD will feature notes by Jon Burlingame.

Here is a breakdown of what will appear on this disc:

THE WESTERNS-BERNARD HERRMANN: THE CBS YEARS Vol #1

Music Composed and Orchestrated by Bernard Herrmann

HAVE GUN,WILL TRAVEL pilot: "Three Bells to Perdido"
1.) Suite (10:19)

WESTERN SUITE
2.) Prelude (1:26)
3.) The Ambush (2:55)
4.) Tranquil Landscape (3:28)
5.) Dark Valley (2:15)
6.) The Meadows (3:21)
7.) Bad Man (1:53)
8.) Gunfight (1:34)
9.) Rain Clouds (2:58)
10.) Sun Clouds (1:24)

GUNSMOKE: THE TALL TRAPPER
11.) Suite (9:24)

THE INDIAN SUITE
12.) Indian Ambush (3:28)
13.) Indian Echo (1:11)
14.) Indian Signals (2:18)
15.) Indian Fight (2:10)

WESTERN SAGA
16.) Prelude (:55)
17.) Street Music (1:44)
18.) Open Spaces (3:29)
19.) The Hunt (2:08)
20.) The Watching (3:09)
21.) The Canyons (2:23)
22.) Gunsmoke (1:55)
23.) Gunfight (1:15)
24.) Victory! (:44)

Green Room Cinema Show
19:00 to 20:00
Wednesday 2nd July on Lyric FM

Aedin Gormley presents excerpts from Dead Poets Society and Singin' in the Rain. Plus the last score Bernard Herrmann ever wrote and a classic song from Marilyn Monroe.

Lyric FM

Dear Members,

After a long wait, the website of the Herrmann Society has finally been updated with the following:

CURRENT STATE OF THE SOCIETY
A TALK ON THE WILD SITE : Elmer Bernstein remembers his friend Bernard Herrmann
"JUST LISTEN TO THE BLOODY MUSIC" : A concert review

Coming attractions:

An all new NEWS and EVENTS section
The HERRMANN DATABASE

all the best,
Günther Kögebehn
Kurt George Gjerde

Author's abstract:
The radio music of Bernard Herrmann (1911-1975) is an area of his output that has escaped serious scrutiny and study. This dissertation examines the composer's development as discerned through his compositions intended to accompany radio dramas, bringing attention not only to his craft but also to the very neglected field of radio music. The Columbia Workshop (beginning in 1936) was the first regular series for which he consistently composed new music. As its music director, Herrmann was able to formulate, develop, and refine his compositional responses to narrative situations. His music for the Columbia Workshop therefore forms a logical unit for study. A brief survey of the state of music on radio reveals that composers made adjustments in orchestration and musical style due to the needs of broadcasting. These alterations lead to the creation of an idiomatic use of music on the radio. The origins and significance of the Columbia Workshop are discussed, focusing on the experimental and adventurous nature of the program. Begun by producer/director Irving Reis (who had begun work as an engineer), the Workshop sought to explore and find innovative ways of using the radio and putting these innovations to work for dramatic narrative. Herrmann's familiarity with theatre and his compositions for ballet sequences in Broadway plays prepared him for composing music for the radio. His first works for the medium, a genre he called "Melodrams," consisted of poetry recitations to musical scores. This provided a foundation for his introduction to the Columbia Workshop, which began with dramatizations of poetry. His initial efforts for the Workshop revealed certain issues that would remain significant throughout his career on radio as well as in his later work for film and television. These issues involved borrowing and reuse of previously composed music, the influence of narrative sound effects on music, the problem of underscoring dialogue, the creation of a musical continuum parallel to the dramatic narrative, and the creation of structural organization. Various excerpts of incidental music from plays composed during the period 1937-39 are discussed, concluding with an examination of Herrmann's collaborations with author Norman Corwin, in particular the latter's play Untitled. The history of Herrmann's development as a composer is but one part of a larger history of radio music that has yet to be written. This dissertation may serve as the foundation for such a history.

Available at:
http://wwwlib.umi.com/dissertations/search [search for Pub Number (PN): AAT 9986347]. The 300-page dissertation can be ordered as a PDF-file download or as bound softcover or hardcover copies. 24-page preview available online.

Just a quick line-up of what to expect in 2001.

Fifth Continent have already started the ball with Battle of Neretva and Sisters released last month. Later this year we'll also get Night Digger and The Kentuckian.

Film Score Monthly have now opened for pre-ordering of the long awaited original tracks from Beneath the 12-Mile Reef (1953).

Coming in March is McNeely's rendition of The Three Worlds of Gulliver (Varese Sarabande).

By the end of the year Macro Polo will release Stromberg and Morgan's new recording of The Snows of Kilimanjaro and Five Fingers.

The last one on my list is Elmer Bernstein's 1975 recording of The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (Amber).

Not a totally bad year :) - See the for more details.

New DVD releases coming up. First out is The Bride Wore Black (Truffaut, 1968) on January 23. On February 13 Anchor Bay is releasing Endless Night (Gilliat, 1971). On March 6 Universal continues their Hitchcock series with The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) and The Trouble of Harry (1955) (Torn Curtain is also in that batch but that's not Herrmann, or is it? [no it's not!]). All of these DVD's are region 1 USA/Canada. See the for more details.

The 25th anniversary of Herrmann's death on December 24, 1975. The entire two-and-a-half hour radio documentary Bernard Herrmann: A Celebration of His Life and Music is made available on this site between December 22 and January 15.

Press Release, September 1, 2000:

JOHN STEVEN LASHER, Managing Director of Fifth Continent Australia Pty Limited,will celebrate his 25th anniversary in the music profession on 8th September,the company announced today.

Mr Lasher started his own record label, Entr'acte Recording Society, in Chicago,Illinois [USA], producing several gramophone albums featuring music by Bernard Herrmann, Max Steiner, Hugo Friedhofer, among others.

Since his migration to Australia in 1990 he has played a significant role in the promotion, recording, production and distribution of albums featuring music composed and/or performed by Australians. His recordings of the original motion picture scores from 'The Magnificent Ambersons' and 'Citizen Kane' [both Bernard Herrmann], performed by the Australian Philharmonic Orchestra under conductor Tony Bremner, recieved the German Music Critics Prize in 1991 and 1992, respectively.

The CD album of the original soundtrack from 'The Quiet Earth' [John Charles], which he produced, received the APRA Award for Best Soundtrack Album in 1993. Lasher has also produced albums featuring contemporary music by the Australian composers, George Dreyfus, Dulcie Holland, Miriam Hyde and Peter Sculthorpe.

Lasher is the only producer in Australia who has worked with many of the greatest names in the Hollywood film music community, including the likes of John Barry ['Francis'], George Duning [the original 'Star Trek' TV series], Marvin Hamlisch ['Sophie's Choice'], Alex North ['Dragonslayer'], Jack Nitzsche ['The Razor's Edge'], Basil Poledouris ['The Blue Lagoon'], Lalo Schifrin ['The Four Musketeers'] and Bruce Smeaton ['Iceman'], among others.

"Unfortunately, my work in Australia has largely been ignored by an industry in which I have devoted so many years. Perhaps, this is because I do not belong to any factions or claques, do not attend launches of the latest album by some Katoomba potgrower, or hob-nob with the rich-and-famous", Lasher remarks philosophically.

"However, the bottom line is the pleasure my albums bring to those consumers who purchase them. I cite the newly remixed and remastered CD of Hugo Friedhofer's legendary 1946 score for 'The Best Years of Our Lives' (released on 28th August in Australia and the UK by Didgeridoo Music), which has already received rave reviews on several websites and publications. This pleases me no end".

In 1993 Lasher expanded his expertise in the enterainment industry to include the production of short-subject films shot in the unique three-film widescreen KINOPANORAMA [tm] format. He is presently at work on the screen story of his second film, 'The Kinopanorama Experience', which will commence principal photography later this year. John Charles has been engaged to compose the score, which will be conducted by Christopher Gordon.

This NEWSLETTER is dedicated to the memory of Jack Nitzsche, who died on Wednesday [August 30] of a heart attack at the age of 63.

(c) 2000 Fifth Continent Australia P/L. All Rights Reserved.

Herrmann's first wife, Lucille Fletcher, dies on August 31, 2000, at St. Mary's Hospital, Lanhorne, USA.

The Bernard Herrmann Web Pages (started in 1994) is discontinued and the Bernard Herrmann Society is born.

Universal will be releasing two Hitchcock "Collector's Edition" DVDs this spring: The Birds (March 28) and Marnie (May 30). Both discs will be in letterbox (widescreen) format and willl include theatrical trailers and "making of" documentaries (but again, no separate music tracks). The discs are region 1 coded (USA).

In an e-mail message announcing the release of Varese Sarabande's Anna and the King of Siam, co-producer Rick Victor writes: "This world premiere release is the third and concluding volume of the Bernard Herrmann at Fox series [...]". Varese have released a total of 5 (splendid) Herrmann/Fox CDs starting with Journey to the Center of the Earth and The Ghost and Mrs. Muir in 1997; but all things must come to an end, I guess. What will now happen to Beneath the 12-Mile Reef?

While we're at it; Film Score Monthly has announced that they are working on CD/CDs of Herrmann's music. No info on exactly what.

Marco Polo Records and its regular orchestrator/conductor team John Morgan/William T Stromberg will be recording two classic 1952 Bernard Herrmann scores: the Gregory Peck adventure The Snows of Kilimanjaro and Joseph L Mankiewicz's spy thriller Five Fingers. This is the project Morgan/Stromberg originally wanted to do before The Egyptian but were stopped by Deutsche Grammophone. Release date probably 2001.

American soprano Deborah Schmidt has showed her interest in Herrmann's opera Wuthering Heights. Hopefully she will do performances of one or more of its arias (no, we're not talking about the complete 3-hour thing). We'll keep you posted.

The 1963 Twilight Zone episode Ninety Years Without Slumbering will be released on DVD (region 1, USA) on March 14. A month later, on April 25, the HBO movie RKO 281, about the making of Citizen Kane, will get the same treatment.

In Europe (region 2) The 7th Voyage of Sinbad will be out on April 3, and Vertigo (incl. a 28-minute documentary) on April 24. There are also rumous about a DVD of Scorsese's remake of Cape Fear.

The original recording of Herrmann's Anna and the King of Siam (1946) will be released by Varese Sarabande on February 29, 2000. The CD which is part of Varese's 20th Century Fox series will be presented in stereo (1946!). And, in addition to 'Anna' the disc will also have a few surprises!

There are no news of other upcoming Herrmann/Fox releases at this point.

Herrmann's original 1946 recording of Anna and the King of Siam will be released by Varese Sarabande on February 29, 2000.

Stromberg and Morgan's re-recording of Bernard Herrmann and Alfred Newman's The Egyptian is now available for order at Screen Archives. Most other shops still operates with the original release date of November 23rd.

In addition to the recently released Fox CDs, Bernard Herrmann at Fox, vol. 1 and 2, a third CD is being prepared. This will have music from Herrmann's Anna and the King of Siam (1946). Date of release is not set (should we guess on early 2000?).

The long awaited recording of Citizen Kane will finally be released on November 9. One week later, on November 16, they will release a complete rerecording of all of Herrmann's music for The Twilight Zone. And next year will see the release of Herrmann's score for Alfred Hitchcock's Marnie (1964). All conducted by Joel McNeely and produced by Robert Townson.

Track listing

Bernard Herrmann
THE TWILIGHT ZONE
Conducted by Joel McNeely

DISC ONE

1. Main Title (1:22)


WHERE IS EVERYBODY?
(10/2/59)

2. The Man (:46)
3. The Door (:40)
4. The Truck (1:47)
5. The Telephone (:47)
6. The Phone Booth (1:00)
7. The Stationhouse (1:08)
8. The Cell (:38)
9. The Sun (1:26)
10. The Mirror (1:02)
11. The Bookrack (1:22)
12. The Lights (1:00)
13. The Film (:49)
14. The Bicycle (:34)
15. The Breakdown (:55)
16. The Button (:45)
17. Finale and Credits (1:08)


WALKING DISTANCE
(10/30/59)

18. Intro (:43)
19. The Drugstore (:53)
20. Memories (2:50)
21. The Park (1:48)
22. The House (1:51)
23. The Curtain (:18)
24. The Parents (2:01)
25. The Merry-Go-Round (:49)
26. Martin's Summer (2:12)
27. Elegy (4:45)
28. Finale (1:16)


THE LONELY
(11/13/59)

29. Twilight Zone Theme (:47)
30. Intro (1:37)
31. The Waiting (1:34)
32. The Box (1:12)
33. Alicia (1:58)
34. Mockery (1:28)
35. Eleven Months (:53)
36. The Stars (1:42)
37. Fear (:53)
38. Farewell (1:13)
39. Finale (:48)


EYE OF THE BEHOLDER
(11/11/60)

40. Twilight Zone Theme (2nd Revision) (:46)
41. Patience (:21)
42. The Nurse (1:07)
43. The Hospital (1:18)
44. The Doctor (:28)
45. The Plea (:52)
46. Lead In (:10)
47. Declaration (:04)
48. The Bandage (1:36)
49. The Last Bandage (:57)
50. Hysteria (1:35)
51. The Revelation (:46)

52. End Title (1:21)


DISC TWO

1. New Twilight Zone Theme Opening (:43)


LITTLE GIRL LOST
(3/16/62)

2. Where Are You? (2:20)
3. Gone (:10)
4. Emptiness (1:55)
5. Dog Gone (:51)
6. Hole In Wall (1:15)
7. Third Dimension (2:17)
8. Coin Disappears (:32)
9. Move Around (:26)
10. Look For Her (2:00)
11. Fourth Dimension (3:26)
12. Half In Zone (:47)


LIVING DOLL
(11/1/63)

13. Tina Arrives (1:18)
14. Tina Talks (:37)
15. Eric Throws the Doll (:48)
16. Supper (:18)
17. Tina Talks Again (:53)
18. Tina Threatens (:30)
19. In the Cellar (1:01)
20. I'm Going to Kill You (:14)
21. Talking Doll (:19)
22. Tina Disappears (:27)
23. Eric Finds Tina (1:00)
24. Destroy Tina (1:36)
25. Indestructible Tina (1:07)
26. Eric Returns Tina (1:10)
27. Finale (:58)


NINETY YEARS WITHOUT SLUMBERING
(12/20/63)

28. Ninety Years I (1:13)
29. Ninety Years II (:37)
30. Ninety Years III (:38)
31. Ninety Years IV (1:17)
32. Ninety Years V (:13)
33. Ninety Years VI (1:03)
34. Ninety Years VII (:28)
35. Ninety Years VIII (:38)
36. Ninety Years IX (1:49)
37. Ninety Years X (:24)
38. Ninety Years XI (3:25)
39. Ninety Years XII (:49)
40. Finale (:21)

41. New Twilight Zone Theme Closing (1:14)


Produced by Robert Townson

Recording Engineer: Jonathan Allen / Orchestra Contractor: Isobel Griffiths / Music Preparation: Vic Fraser and Jill Streater / "Where Is Everybody?" Score Reconstruction: Larry Kenton / Cover Paintings by Matthew Joseph Peak

Special thanks to John DiLorenzo and Timothy Edwards

Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London on September 17, 18 and 20, 1999

(p) 1999 Varese Sarabande Records, Inc. (c) 1999 Masters Film Music. All rights reserved.



Comments by Bill Wrobel

Two important points can be made about the Varese/McNeely Twilight Zone CDs:

(1) It is COMPLETE (all the cues of all the Herrmann episodes are there!

(2) It is completely SEQUENTIAL (all the cues are presented in their proper order as originally aired)!

These are certainly two powerful motivators to buy these albums without a moment's hestitation. Of course, the old saying goes: "The spirit is willing, but the bank account is weak!" This aside, the Varese/McNeely set could very well be THE Herrmann album of the year, and this has been a very, very good year for the release of Herrmann music!

SO FAR, the best of the lot is the fabulous, nearly flawless rerecording of Jason and the Argonauts, conducted by Bruce Broughton, and produced by Douglass Fake for Intrada. The greatest flaw is not anything with the content but with what is NOT included in the content (it is not a complete presentation of the score). Otherwise the conducting matches Herrmann's own remarkably, and the sound recording in 20 bit digital technology is perfect.

The Varese/McNeely TZ album is also 20 bit digital recording (superior to the standard 16 bit stereo recording). A friend of mine compares it, in rough analogy, to the difference between an EP versus an SP recording. You get greater clarity, a fuller sound allowing for subtle yet distinctive nusances being heard.

Joel McNeely of course conducted the sessions at Abbey Road Studios in London just over two months ago in mid-September, 1999. He has conducted several times for Varese including Psycho, Trouble With Harry, and the less than acceptable sound recording of Torn Curtain (too much echo of the brass with the concert miking, etc). Abbey Road Studios, however (also known as EMI/Abbey Road Studio), is an excellent choice. Some of my favorite recordings were done there, including Jerry Goldsmith's dynamic Supergirl and the soaring score to Night Crossing. Moreover, the smaller orchestra for the TZ episodes provides a minimalism (especially for "Living Doll" with only the bass clarinet, celeste, and two harps playing) which lends itself more comfortably to studio close miking recording.

The recordinng engineer is Jonathan Allen, who also worked on Trouble With Harry and The 7th Voyage of Sinbad for Varese. Paintings/artwork by Matthew Joseph Peak is encouraging. He worked on the above and also Vertigo and Psycho. I thought the Sinbad artwork was the best of the lot.

Of course I am writing this "review" PRIOR to the release date of Tuesday, November 16 without ever hearing a note of the recording. This is simply an anticipatory celebration of what I THINK will be a truly remarkable album. If they do not screw it up (eg., uninspired conducting, too slow or too fast of the original Herrmann/episode speed, low volume, echo-reverb, etc) then indeed this will be, as mentioned earlier, THE recording/release event of the year of Herrmann material.

I can only only hope or pray that in the future, if sales are terrific, that Varese will consider rerecording Herrmann television music such as other CBS material (Gunsmoke, Story of Nathan Hale, Police Force, Desert Suite, etc) and Universal-tv material (Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Bob Hope's Chrysler Theatre, Richard Boone Show).

Best to Varese for having the courage to produce these non-motion picture Herrmann scores! I believe the risk involved in forging into new territory will reap great rewards.

Bill Wrobel
Tuesday, October 26, 1999 9:30 pm PDT

Herrmann films are also starting to appear on region 2 DVDs (Europe, PAL). Three discs have recently been released: Psycho (1960), Total DVD (UK magazine) gives this disc a rating of 8 out of 10; Psycho '98 gets a rating of 5 (technically a great disc but the film itself pulls the rating down); and Jason and the Argonauts gets 9 (all of these discs are also available in US region 1 versions). Another region 2 disc released in Japan (NTSC format) is Citizen Kane. This film is currently not available in other versions.

Silva has released a 4 CD set of original tracks from the Twilight Zone TV series. Contains Herrmann's Where is Everybody?, Walking Distance, The Lonely, The Outer Space Suite (CBS stock music), The Hitchhiker, and 6 different Main and End Title themes.

Fifth Continent Music Classics has announced the rerelease of classic analogue recordings from its master tape catalogue in HDCD. Included are Herrmann's Battle of Neretva (OST), The Kentuckian (cond. Steiner) and Night Digger (OST). The HDCD audio CD albums will be released in 2000. Additional information from .

The DVD version of The 7th Voyage of Sinbad has been delayed. This was announced to be released on August 24 but is now scheduled for November.

A total of four Herrmann/Hitchcock CDs has been released during the summer.

Hitchcock Presents... Signatures in Suspense (Hip-O Records)
Includes original tracks from Torn Curtain and Marnie (see June 29).

Alfred Hitchcock: Music from His Films (MoMA)
Released by The Museum of Modern Art, New York. People outside the US should get this from Footlight Records (http://www.footlight.com) as MoMA will charge very much for shipping!

Hitchcock 100 Years (Milan)
Excerpts from the 1992 recording conducted by Elmer Bernstein (Bernard Herrmann Film Scores). Try to get the original CD instead of this one. However, this CD has some additional Herrmann interview clips.

Music from the Great Movie Thrillers (London/Decca)
That's right. The 1969 recording conducted by Herrmann himself has been reissued, again (this time as DEM 436797). This might still be the best of the four discs, though.

Tony Bremner's recording of Citizen Kane (PRCD 1788) and the compilation CD The Inquirer (PRCD 1789) have been reissued. The latter includes music from Williamsburg, The Kentuckian, Night Digger, Battle of Neretva, The Magnificent Ambersons, and more. The CDs may be ordered from Hot Records; email: .

The first of the two upcoming Varese Sarabande/20th Century Fox CDs will be released on September 7. This will have original tracks from Tender is the Night, A Hatful of Rain, and The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit.

The second disc will be released later this year; with Garden of Evil, Prince of Players and The King of the Khyber Rifles.

"As it has done in the past two years, this year the New York Philharmonic will be issuing a deluxe 10-CD set of live concert material. Last year's theme was Mahler. This year's theme is American music. The set will be entitled An American Celebration.

Among the items to be included are the 1949 NY Philharmonic performance of the suite from The Devil and Daniel Webster. Leopold Stokowski is the conductor.

Each of the works included on the set had to be ok'ed by current music director Kurt Masur. I've heard that he was very intrigued and had positive comments about the Daniel Webster suite.

The official release date of the 10-CD set is October 1. The price is set at US. (The CDs are not available individually.)"

Go to New York Philharmonic.

The July 22nd film music concert in LA organized by the Argonaut Foundation has been cancelled. The concert which was part of a Harryhausen tribute was to be conducted by William B. Stromberg.

If you've been following this site's message board for the last week you will know this already:

Hip-O Records, a division of MCA/Universal, will release the CD Alfred Hitchcock Presents... Signatures in Suspense in July this year. Among the 18 tracks, most of which have been released before, you will find, for the first time, excerpts from the original 1966 recordings of Herrmann's rejected score for Torn Curtain. From the 9 cues (and 17 takes) recorded before Hitchcock notoriously broke off the session Hip-O has selected 3 cues for the CD; Prelude/Torn Curtain, The Ship and Radiogram.

Tracks:
1. Theme from Alfred Hitchcock Presents (Funeral March of a Marionette)
2. Theme from I Confess (Tiomkin)
3. Theme from Dial M for Murder (Tiomkin)
4. Juke Box #6 from Rear Window* (Waxman)
5. Scene d'Amour from Vertigo (Herrmann)
6. The Wild Ride from North by Northwest (Herrmann)
7. Psycho - A Narrative for Orchestra (Herrmann, 1968 re-recording)
8. Prelude* from Marnie (Herrmann)
9. Marnie* (Herrmann)
10. Main Title from Torn Curtain (Addison)
11. Prelude* from Torn Curtain (Herrmann)
12. The Ship* from Torn Curtain (Herrmann)
13. The Radiogram* from Torn Curtain (Herrmann)
14. March from Topaz (Jarre, re-recording by Bateman)
15. The London Theme from Frenzy (Goodwin, re-recording by Bateman)
16. A Portrait of Hitch from The Trouble with Harry (Herrmann, 1968 re-recording)
17. Prelude from The Wrong Man (Herrmann, re-recording by Bernstein)
18. End Credits & End Titles from Family Plot* (Williams)

Original recordings unless otherwise noted
* previously unavailable

Multi-media artist Douglas Gordon had a piece of installation art on exhibit in the Atlantis Gallery, London, in April. The piece features extreme close-ups (only) of conductor James Conlin conducting the Paris Opera House orchestra playing Herrmann's complete score to Vertigo. We'll try and let you know if this installation is set-up elsewhere in the future.

A revised version of the ballet Macguffin or How Meanings Get Lost is currently touring the US for 21 performances. The ballet featuring Mikhail Baryshnikov has been adapted from Herrmann's score to Psycho (1960).

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation will broadcast a concert on June 19 from the Festival International du Domaine Forget featuring Herrmann's Souvenirs de Voyage (1967).

On Wednesday October 13th, 1999, the New York FILMharmonic Orchestra (cond. John Mauceri) will present a concert at Carnegie Hall, featuring music by legendary composers Bernard Herrmann*, Franz Waxman, and Dimitri Tiomkin. The preliminary program features music from Vertigo*, Psycho*, North by Northwest*, Strangers on a Train, Dial M for Murder, Rear Window, Rebecca and Suspicion. See http://www.nyfo.com for details.

This year's Promenade Concerts (Proms, London) are going to feature an evening of film music. Carl Davis will be conducting the BBC Concert Orchestra in a programme that will include Psycho and Vertigo. All of the Proms are broadcast on radio, usually on BBC Radio 3, and some are occasionally televised... The programme of the Proms will be available at http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms on June 11.

The complete 1991 recording of Citizen Kane (1941) conducted by Tony Bremner has been re-released by US budget label Laserlight (Laserlight 21 232). The liner notes reproduces Bremner's "Notes on the music" & "About this recording" by John Lasher from the original Preamble CD. One source for this CD is amazon.com (title=Score, Artist=Citizen Kane) but I'm sure you can also get it from http://www.screenarchives.com.

Currently in production is a film about the making of Citizen Kane (HBO/Scott Free Productions). The film which is produced by Ridley and Tony Scott will feature Liev Schreiber as Orson Welles and John Malkovich as Herman Mankiewicz. Bernard Herrmann will be "featured" in a small scene (what, small?!), and Herrmann's music will be used in the film's finale.

To be released on June 8 by Virgin Records is Danny Elfman and Steve Bartek's adaptation of Herrmann's music for Psycho from the 1998 remake.
The CD will have the following cues: 1-Intro/Logos, 2-Prelude, 3-The City, 4-Marion And Sam, 5-Temptation, 6-The Rainstorm, 7-The Peephole, 8-The Murder, 9-The Clean Up, 10-The Car, 11-The Swamp, 12-The Curtain, 13-The Search, 14-The Stairs, 15-The Knife, 16-The 1st Floor, 17-The Search B., 18-The Hill, 19-The Bedroom, 20-The Cellar Pt. 1, 21-The Discovery, 22-The Finale.
The video and DVD releases of the remake will also be out on June 8 (US/Canada).

During the summer Varese Sarabande will release two new CDs of Herrmann's music for 20th Century/Fox films. One will feature Tender is the Night, The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit and A Hatful of Rain, the other one will be Garden of Evil, Prince of Players and King of the Khyber Rifles. This has earlier been reported as a double CD but will now be released as two individual CDs instead. I guess the fact that they left out Beneath the 12-Mile Reef is a good sign...?

Intrada released their new recording of Jason and the Argonauts yesterday. Intrada says:

"The world premiere recording of Bernard Herrmann's fantasy score to the Ray Harryhausen classic, JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS is now available. Conducted by Bruce Broughton, this 60-minute CD is performed by the amazing Sinfonia of London, expanded to handle the enhanced brass, wind, and percussion sections demanded by Herrmann's orchestration."

A press release has been posted to {talking-main-001}. Until May 9 the CD is exclusively available through http://www.intrada.com.

The new "label" Reference has recently released a bootleg CD of Bernard Herrmann's 1975 score to Brian De Palma's Obsession (RO-0001, stereo, 73 minutes). The CD claims to contain the complete score and doubles the length of the original Decca LP. With "The Herrmann Chronicles" printed on the back this gives the impression of being the first in a series of bootlegs. Also includes cues not used in the film.

The 2-disc MGM compilation including a suite from Herrmann's 1965 score Joy in the Morning will be released on May 4. The premiere release of music from this film will contain the cues: The Hallway/The Staircase/(Despair/Reunion/Delivery). The complete track list is available on http://filmscoremonthly.com (4/16/99).

The non-profit organization, The Argonaut Foundation, is planning a three-day tribute to Ray Harryhausen, who will be in attendance. A highlight of the tribute will be a concert at UCLA's Royce Hall featuring classic film music from Steiner, Korngold, Waxman, and others. Of course, no film music concert would be complete without the works of Bernard Herrmann, particularly since he scored four of Harryhausen's best films. The event will take place on July 22nd at 8pm; ticket prices are , and . Contact the Argonaut Foundation on 818-890-4492 (fax: 818-896-6613). A link to the foundation's upcoming web site will appear here shortly.

Intrada's new recording of Jason and the Argonauts (1963) is currently being manufactured and Intrada is expecting copies by the last week of April. This would give a release date around May 11.

Probably the next disc out will be Intrada's new complete recording on Jason and the Argonauts (1963). This one is conducted by Bruce Broughton and is expected in May. :: Other big events include Varese Sarabande's complete recording of Citizen Kane (1941) conducted by Joel McNeely (most likely the last of the Varese/McNeely co-projects), and Marco Polo's release of Herrmann and Alfred Newman's The Egyptian (1954). The latter by the Morgan/Stromberg team. :: Another item from Varese Sarabande will be a double CD of unreleased original tracks from Herrmann's years at 20th Century Fox. Hopefully containing as much as possible from Beneath the 12-Mile Reef ? :: An odd one is the rather conservative Deutsche Grammophone doing Five Fingers/The Snows of Kilimanjaro. Don't know much about this project. :: Also, Fifth Continent is presently negotiating with DTS and Image Entertainment with the respect to the production and distribution of their planned DTS 5.1 CDs. Included here is the original tracks of Night Digger. This might be a good year too...

Sony/NPR have released a compilation CD entitled Milestones of the Millennium: Music in Film. Among all the film music from this millennium they have managed to squeeze in Herrmann's Prelude from Vertigo (3 min) and "The Murder" from Psycho (1 min). Both previously released, conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen. :: Another compilation out now is Sonic Images' Watch the Skies. This sci-fi CD opens with Erich Kunzel's 1990 rendition of the prelude from The Day the Earth Stood Still (2 min).

"MACGUFFIN OR HOW MEANINGS GET LOST is a new ballet choreographed by Neal Greenberg apapted from Bernard Herrmann's score to Psycho. The work was premiered at "An Evening of Music and Dance with Mikhail Baryshnikov" on Jan. 12 in New York City, a benefit for dancers responding to AIDS. Jonathan Sheffer conducted the Eos Orchestra. The ballet is approx. 20 minutes long, and will have a US tour with Baryshnikov to some 15 cities in May and June."

Rhino will be releasing a new 2CD set of main titles. Included will be the first ever release of Herrmann's Joy in the Morning. Expected late spring.

Silva has recently released a double CD containing every Herrmann-recording from their catalog. In addition, they have included a new recording of a suite from The Naked and the Dead. The CD is currently only available in the UK but will be released in the US by the end of March. See also http://www.silvascreen.co.uk/wnss1.htm.

CHARLES GERHARDT, 71 died quietly in his sleep yesterday after a short illness.

Conductor Charles Gerhardt is best known for his Classic Film Scores recordings for RCA in the 1970's. The album "Citizen Kane: The Classic Film Scores of Bernard Herrmann" recorded in 1974, is still regarded as one of the best recordings of Herrmann's music.

Composer John Addison has passed away. To Herrmann "fans" he is probably known for his score to Hitchcock's Torn Curtain (for which Herrmann's score was rejected). He also composed music for Tom Jones (Academy Award winner), A Bridge Too Far, Sleuth and Murder She Wrote. Our condolences to his family and friends.

Two new bootleg CDs has been released on a new 'label': Anna and the King of Siam (58 minutes, mono/stereo, complete) and Jane Eyre (60 minutes, complete).

Intrada's new recording of Jason and the Argonauts (1963) is now set for release in March 1999. While we're waiting, Intrada has made four audio clips available on their web site - http://www.intrada.com/jason.htm. The clips will be alternating, one by one, on a weekly basis until the release.

As reported earlier, Universal Pictures and director Gus Van Sant is remaking Hitchcock's Psycho (1960). Bernard Herrmann's original music will be used in the film, produced and adapted by composer Danny Elfman. Three cues from the new (October) recording--Prelude, The Murder, and Finale-- will appear on a "soundtrack" CD on December 1st. The rest of the CD will be songs unrelated to the film (sigh). More info is available at http://www.universalpictures.com/psycho. A trailer is also available but I would recommend spending the download time on the new Star Wars trailer instead (http://www.starwars.com, completely unrelated to Herrmann, though). The new Psycho will open in US cinemas on December 4th. Wonder if they'll let you see the ending first...

The new re-issue of De Palma's 1972 film Sisters will hopefully be out in cinemas during the first quarter of 1999. Unfortunately, due to lack of footage, there will not be a "Director's Cut". But, the new print will have a stereo soundtrack of Herrmann's music. The film is distributed by Kit Parker Films.

Bernard Herrmann along with Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Max Steiner, Franz Waxman, Alfred Newman and Dimitri Tiomkin will appear on a new set of US first-class (33 cents) postage stamps of Hollywood Composers in September 1999. An amazing recognition of film music and of these legendary composers.

Herrmann's elder daughter Dorothy Herrmann appeared on C-Span (US TV) on October 24 in an interview about her new biography--"Helen Keller: A Life". The book has been widely reviewed and quite well received. When asked what her next book would be, her reply was that it might be a memoir about her family. Yes, please.

The new recording by Renee Fleming, I Want Magic, have been selected 'Recording of the Month' in the November issue of Gramophone Magazine. Track one on the CD is Herrmann's aria "I Have Dreamt" from WUTHERING HEIGHTS, and this is also track one on the supplement CD which accompanies the magazine.

As reported earlier, the first pressing of Varese's new recording of Herrmann's The Trouble with Harry had a minor defect at the end of track 3. The CD has now been repressed and fully functional copies have shipped to stores. While this does not insure against the fact that a given store could have an "old" version still laying in wait, all new shipments are trouble-free. Now there's no reason for not buying it.

One of the trailers for the DreamWorks/PDI computer-animated film, Antz, features the overture from Herrmann's NORTH BY NORTHWEST (Hitchcock, 1959). It plays over the closing seconds and credits on the trailer. The film premiered on October 2nd (USA).

The trailer is available for download at http://www.pepsi.com/sept/movies/feature/main (needs the Flash plug-in; select "Video", then "Trailer II"), or directly: 4mb version | 9mb version

The first batch of the new CD of THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY (Varese Sarabande, cond. McNeely) released on October 6th, has a pressing error; a pop at the end of track 3. People having bought this CD will be able to return it for a flawless copy which will be available in about two weeks.

Here's what Robert Townson, the producer, says about it:

"The master I delivered to [JVC] was error free. All CDs manufactured in Europe, Japan etc. will be fine. In America we are having this corrected now. The very day I received my discs and discoved the problem I stopped all shippments and had our distributor (MCA) return every disc they had to JVC. By this time, however, most CDs had already shipped to stores. I would expect that the new copies should start hitting stores in about two weeks. People should maybe notify the store where they bought it that they will be coming back but wait just a little while before exchanging them since, at the moment, there are simply no defect-free copies to be had. Very disappointing and such a shame."

The original soundtrack recordings of Mysterious Island and The Three Worlds of Gulliver, and the soundtrack compilation Classic Fantasy Film Scores (Herrmann's Harryhausen scores), all released by Cloud Nine Records, have now been deleted. There are still copies in stores so if you want these, get them now.

The October 9th issue of Entertainment Weekly reports that, as a part of the continuing trend of reissuing vintage films to theaters, an expanded "director's cut" of Sisters (Brian De Palma, 1972) is slated for release in early 1999. No information was given on who will distribute this film.

The production of the DTS 5.1 Digital Surround CD of Night Digger (OST, 1971) is expected to begin in March, 1999. DTS CDs are not playable on regular CD players without a DTS decoder. Fifth Continent is also considering giving the same treatment to Sisters (OST, 1972). Speaking of which...

Marco Polo's recording of Bernard Herrmann and Alfred Newman's score for The Egyptian, with William Stromberg conducting the Moscow Symphony Orchestra, will be released in winter or early spring 1999.

Stromberg and Morgan originally wanted to do the complete music of Five Fingers and about 35 minutes of The Snows of Kilimanjaro. This was stopped by Deutsche Grammophon who also wanted to do these titles. But nothing has been done yet.

Intrada's recording of Herrmann's Jason and the Argonauts with Bruce Broughton conducting the Sinfonia of London will be released in February 1999. The score has been assembled from Herrmann's original manuscript by Christopher Husted at the Bernard Herrmann Archives, UCSB, and will feature about an hour's worth of music.

Jerry Goldsmith will conduct the Real Orquesta Sinfonica de Sevilla (Spain) on November 4th in a concert tributing Bernard Herrmann. The concert is part of the "Encuentros internacionales de musica de cine" festival and the recently altered program includes music from The Man Who Knew Too Much, Jane Eyre, Mysterious Island, Citizen Kane, The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad, The Trouble with Harry, Vertigo, North by Northwest, Marnie and Torn Curtain. On the 7th, Goldsmith will conduct the same orchestra in a concert of his own music.

On November 9th-11th the concerts will be followed by a seminar on Herrmann, focusing on his music for Welles and Hitchcock films. Among those attending will be Royal S. Brown.

For more information (in Spanish) see Teatro de la Maestranze: Conciertos, Teatro de la Maestranze: Seminarios, Real Orquesta Sinfonica de Sevilla.

Also, there are plans for staging Herrmann's opera, Wuthering Heights, in Sevilla in the year 2000. We will get back to this at a later date.

Opera singer Renee Fleming's new CD, I want magic, is a collection of arias from operas by American composers. One of the selections is I Have Dreamt from Bernard Herrmann's opera WUTHERING HEIGHTS.

The title of this CD is based on an aria from the upcoming opera A Streetcar Named Desire by film composer/arranger Andre Previn, in which Fleming will create the role of Blanche.

The CD will be released on September 15, on London (Decca) 289 460 567-2.

The four published Bernard Herrmann scores earlier distributed by MMB Music, Nocturne and Scherzo, Silent Noon, Sinfonietta and Souvenirs de Voyage, will soon be available again, now from Bernard Herrmann Music directly. The first score, Souvenirs, will be available later this year. [Also a lot of other scores from Herrmann's radio and concert music will be handled by BHM].

Panasonic has announced the release of 7 Twilight Zone DVDs. Inicluded is Herrmann's Where is Everybody?, Walking Distance, The Lonely and Eye of the Beholder. No, the DVDs does not have separate music tracks.

A new recording of Bernard Herrmann's first collaboration with Alfred Hitchcock -- The Trouble with Harry -- conducted by Joel McNeely, is set for release by Varese Sarabande on October 6. This will be the first time this score is available in more than suite form.

On September 8, Varese is releasing the 7th Voyage of Sinbad in a new recording by John Debney. Their Citizen Kane disc (Joel McNeely) has been postponed till 1999.

Yet another Herrmann site is now up-and-running at http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Agora/1985/bern2.html. The site mostly contain RealAudio clips from Herrmann's film music.

The web site Film 100 (http://www.film100.com) ranking the 100 most influential people in the history of cinema is now available in a book version featuring a lengthier biography and an extensive justification for Herrmann's ranking. The book now available in major book stores and online sellers (like amazon.com) includes a foreword by director Robert Wise (The Day the Earth Stood Still).

Silva recorded the Main Title and Radar Cues from The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) for the double CD Alien Invasion released earlier this year. [Silva FILMXCD 190]

Varese Sarabande has reissued the 1990 and 1991 recordings of Herrmann's clarinet quintet (1967) and string quartet (1965). The music performed by the Lyric Art Quartet, Houston, and the Texas Festival Quartet was originally released on Bay Cities (and Milan) CDs. [Varese Sarabande VSD-5559]

Also released today was a sampler of music from the 20th Century Fox archives called Music from the Golden Age of 20th Century Fox. In addition to cues from The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (Andante Cantabile) and Journey to the Center of the Earth (Sunrise), the CD includes the following Herrmann tracks: Beneath the 12-Mile Reef (To Sea, 1:04), Anna and the King of Siam (2:03), Prince of Players (2:19), Garden of Evil (2:38), and The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit (1:55). Hopefully a taste of what's to come...

Marco Polo has just released the long-awaited new recording of Garden of Evil and a suite from Prince of Players. Bill Stromberg conducts the Moscow Symphony Orchestra in Bernard Herrmann's only Western film score. Liner notes by Steven C. Smith.

See {P:article-luchs-morgan-001}.

Varese Sarabande is releasing a brand new complete recording of Herrmann's 1958 score of The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad.

Joel McNeely has conducted 5 recordings of Herrmann's music for Varese in recent years, Fahrenheit 451, Vertigo, Psycho, Torn Curtain and the upcoming Citizen Kane (coming October 20, 1998). Now, the series is taken over by John Debney.

Varese Sarabande: "Truly one of the all time classic film scores, Bernard Herrmann's The 7th Voyage of Sinbad has never sounded better or been more complete. Wildly exotic, lushly romantic, bombastic, violent, magical, epic... this score has everything! Conductor John Debney, perhaps most famous for his own score for Cutthroat Island, here takes over Joel McNeely's series of Bernard Herrmann recordings and does so in the grandest manner. This first CD of four recordings of Herrmann's work for Ray Harryhausen is destined to become one of the staple recordings necessary in every film music collection. A film music masterpiece!"

As Bruce Broughton is doing a recording of Jason and the Argonauts for Intrada, does this mean there'll be two releases of this score?

The Royal Scottish National Orchestra, conducted by John Debney, on Varese Sarabande VSD-5961 will be released on September 8, 1998.

The web site's guestbook is now back online after being unavailable for quite some time.

A new Herrmann web site called The Twelve Mile Reef is up and running at http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/8407. Check it out.
[The new web site is not associated with The Bernard Herrmann Web Pages]

On July 7th, at 7:00pm The Enigma Ensemble conducted by Ben Foster will be performing the suite from VERTIGO in a concert of contemporary music at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London, EC2Y, UK.

Two cues from The Day the Earth Stood Still were included on the Preamble CDs The Inquirer and The Kentuckian. In the recordings database of this site these are listed as being the same recording conducted by Tony Bremner. This is not the case. Here's a part of a letter from producer John Steven Lasher:

"Just a minor revision with respect to the PRCD 1777 CD of 'The Kentuckian' is in order: the 2 cues from 'Day the Earth Stood Still' were conducted by Fred Steiner on this CD. Actually, these 2 cues were recorded during a break between sessions of KING KONG in October, 1996, at the Church of All Saints, Barbican, London. I remember the players complaining about having to do this on such short notice -- they were quite exhausted after 'huffing-and-puffing' through Max Steiner's KONG.

The 2 cues of 'Day the Earth Stood Still' conducted by Tony Bremner were recorded at Olympic Studios, Barnes, London in October 1987 during a break between sessions of the 2 volume set of STAR TREK compilations. Funny, this, as the 'Day' cues were always an 'afterthought' on my part. Wonderful music, this, particularly 'Benny's' use of the C trumpet."

Varese Sarabande will release two compilation albums featuring Herrmann's music from the 20th Century Fox archives. First out is Best of 20th Century Fox (sampler, with cues from Garden of Evil, Prince of Players and Beneath the 12-Mile Reef, plus All About Eve, The Stripper, Love is a Many Splendored Thing, Leave Her to Heaven and more). This will be out any day now. The second CD is a Herrmann-only compilation called Bernard Herrmann at 20th Century Fox.

Pearl Records (England) have released Orson Welles' Macbeth (1940) with Herrmann's incidental music on CD. This was the first ever full-length recording of Shakespeare's play and was the last of the Mercury Text Records, released on 78 rpm by Columbia. Pearl catalogue number: GEMMCD0011.

Joel McNeely's recording of Herrmann's rejected score for Torn Curtain (Alfred Hitchcock, 1966) was released by Varese Sarabande on June 2nd.

Here are some reasons to consider DVD. The following films are available: Beneath the 12-Mile Reef (letterbox), Fahrenheit 451 (letterbox), Psycho (letterbox, with documentary), Taxi Driver (letterbox), Vertigo (letterbox, with documentary). And soon to be released: Jason and the Argonauts (letterbox), Snows of Kilimanjaro.

The 1976 CBS Camera Three documentary on Herrmann is available on VHS from Creative Arts Television (price .95 + shipping). See {article-andres-camera3-001}.

Dan Auiler's book Vertigo: The Making of a Hitchcock Classic is now available at most US bookstores and through http://amazon.com. The book includes "an ample section" on Hitchcock and Herrmann.

The exhibit Encore: More Music for the Cinema has been extended until June 30.

The special collector's edition of Psycho on LaserDisc and DVD (letterbox, with documentary) was released today. The LaserDisc also features the music on isolated tracks.

Naxos has released a low budget CD titled Warsaw Concerto and other Piano Concertos from the Movies featuring Herrmann's Concerto Macabre from HANGOVER SQUARE. The CD with RTE Concerts Orchestra conducted by Proinnsias O'Duinn also features music by Miklos Rozsa, Nino Rota, and others.

It looks like Marco Polo is now finally releasing GARDEN OF EVIL and a suite from PRINCE OF PLAYERS. The long awaited new recording by William Stromberg and John Morgan is set to be released on June 26.

Arista has now released the extended version of this classic score on CD. Liner notes is by Martin Scorsese. Arista 19005 (58 minutes).

It has been reported that there will be a remake of the classic 1960 Alfred Hitchcock film Psycho. Updated for the Generation X the remake will be shot by shot identical to the original but with "new hip actors/actresses" (and in color). The film will be directed by Gus Van Sant. It is unknown at the moment whether Herrmann's original music will be used in any way. See http://www.cinescape.com and do a search for 'Psycho' for more information. This must be just what the world needs.

It's Alive and It Lives Again (It's Alive II) with music by Herrmann and reuse of the same music respectively has been released on a double bill LaserDisc (letterboxed). The special edition of Psycho will also be released on DVD in addition to LaserDisc. Also on DVD is the restored version of Vertigo.

While we're still waiting for the new recording of Garden of Evil to be released (Marco Polo, get your act together) Varese Sarabande has announced that the new recording of the complete rejected score for Hitchcock's Torn Curtain with Joel McNeely conducting the National Philharmonic Orchestra will be out on June 2, 1998.

The bootleg CD of the original soundtrack from Taxi Driver has been released in spite of the threats and announced legal release from Arista. The CD has 56 minutes of music including an alternate finale. The disc has been released in very limited numbers and is not available through regular bootleg outlets.

MCA/Universal is releasing a special letterboxed LaserDisc of Psycho with Herrmann's music isolated on separate tracks. This will be the first legal release of the original soundtrack to this notorious 1960 Hitchcock film. The disc will also include a documentary on the making of the film, the shower scene with and without music, and more. The estimated street date is May 26, 1998. For more information visit Blam Entertainment on http://www.blamld.com/Universal/SignatureCollection.htm.

Bob Kosovsky now has an extended version of his 1997 exhibit on display in the Amsterdam Gallery of the New York Public Library of the Performing Arts (Lincoln Center, NY). Included in the exhibit is the opening page of Herrmann's manuscript for the radio melodram City of Brass. The music was later incorporated into Jason and the Argonauts for the scene where Triton allows the boat carrying Jason and his crew to safely pass through the dangerous rocks. The exhibit is on display till May 22.

Bill Stromberg and John Morgan will go to Moscow in April to record Bernard Herrmann and Alfred Newman's The Egyptian. It will be 60-70 minutes with choir and with more Herrmann cues than on the the original album (the 1954 rerecording). It will also identify the composer for each cue. The Stromberg/Morgan recording of Garden of Evil/Prince of Players is now set for April. Both albums will be on the Marco Polo label.

During 1998 Intrada will do a complete recording of Herrmann's 1963 fantasy score from Jason and the Argonauts conducted by Bruce Broughton. "Reconstruction of the complete score is well underway, and the entire score will be recorded, including music that wasn't heard in the film." I know many of you have been waiting for this for a long time.

Just for the record here's a short list of albums annouced for release during 1998.

Garden of Evil/Prince of Players - new recording by Stromberg and Morgan (Marco Polo). This was originally scheduled for release at the end of 1996, but has been pushed back and forth ever since. Announced now for April 1998.

Torn Curtain - conducted by Joel McNeely (Varese-Sarabande); sometime 1998

Citizen Kame - conducted by Joel McNeely, soprano by Janice Watson (Varese-Sarabande); sometime 1998

Taxi Driver - extended OST album (Arista); 1998

Night Digger - OST in DTS digital surround (Fifth Continent), not playable on regular equipment; 1998

Silva will do a new recording of THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, probably the suite, for release in 1998.

In the early seventies a label called Sound/Stage Recordings released a number of Herrmann bootleg LPs. So what would be a better name to use for a new Herrmann bootleg CD label in the 90s? Soundstage Records have released 4 CDs in recent years without getting booked, and now was the time to do Taxi Driver. But Arista didn't like that, they said "We're gonna get those boys."

Arista have owned the rights to the original recordings since the movie came out in 1976, when they put out an LP (and later CD) consisting of some original tracks, some original tracks with dialogue, and one side of 'disco' arrangements by Dave Blume.

Herrmann fans have waited for a proper release ever since and it now looks as it's going to happen. Arista have annouced a complete stereo CD for release in 1998, produced by Didier C. Deutsch. To bad it would take bootleggers to make this happen.

One concern, though. The original LP/CD has become some sort of a cult album for non-filmmusic fans and I wonder whether Arista will resist the temptation of including dialogue and Blume cues, making less room for the Bernard Herrmann original score.

It should also be noted that credits for the two Taxi Driver Theme recordings from the original album (the original and the Dave Blume version) have gotten mixed in recent CD releases. Tom Scott plays saxophone only on the Dave Blume version and this is the one with a disco ending.

If you have one of those new DVD players installed at home you might want to get the letterbox version of FAHRENHEIT 451 which is now available (don't know if it's got separate music tracks or not).

For those who reads music, http://www.jwpepper.com has a new sheet for sale, Echoes - Herrmann's 1965 string quartet.

Also recently out is a new CD of the original broadcast of WAR OF THE WORLDS. From Listener's Choice.

London/Decca have released another of their Herrmann conducted albums on CD. Music from the Great Shakespeare Films includes Shostakovich's Hamlet, Walton's Richard III Overture and Rozsa's Julius Caesar. Cat.no. 4 455 156-2. Originally released in 1975.

Stromberg and Morgan's new recording of GARDEN OF EVIL/PRINCE OF PLAYERS has been delayed again. This time till summer 1998. But it'll be worth the wait. [see 10 February 1998]

However, for those of you in that part of the world, PRINCE OF PLAYERS will be shown on CINEMAX on December 20th.

Soundstage will release