Film Music Classics - Steiner: Son Of Kong, Etc

$13.99
Label
Naxos
Release Date
October 31, 2006
Format
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    Featuring ⌄
    • COMPOSER
      STEINER
    • PERFORMER
      Stromberg, Moscow So
    Product Details ⌄
    • RELEASE DATE
      October 31, 2006
    • UPC
      747313018376
    • CATALOG NUMBER
      8570183
    • LABEL
      Naxos
    • NUMBER OF DISCS
      1
    • GENRE
      Orchestral & Symphonic
    Works ⌄

    1. Main Title

      Composer: Max Steiner

      Ensemble: Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra

      Conductor: William Stromberg

    2. Ship at Sea

      Composer: Max Steiner

      Ensemble: Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra

      Conductor: William Stromberg

    3. In Dakang

      Composer: Max Steiner

      Ensemble: Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra

      Conductor: William Stromberg

    4. Runaway Blues

      Composer: Max Steiner

      Ensemble: Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra

      Conductor: William Stromberg

    5. Fire!

      Composer: Max Steiner

      Ensemble: Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra

      Conductor: William Stromberg

    6. An Offer of Help

      Composer: Max Steiner

      Ensemble: Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra

      Conductor: William Stromberg

    7. Memories

      Composer: Max Steiner

      Ensemble: Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra

      Conductor: William Stromberg

    8. Chinese Chatter

      Composer: Max Steiner

      Ensemble: Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra

      Conductor: William Stromberg

    9. Forgotten Island

      Composer: Max Steiner

      Ensemble: Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra

      Conductor: William Stromberg

    10. Quicksand - Little Kong

      Composer: Max Steiner

      Ensemble: Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra

      Conductor: William Stromberg

    11. The Styracosaur

      Composer: Max Steiner

      Ensemble: Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra

      Conductor: William Stromberg

    12. The Black Bear

      Composer: Max Steiner

      Ensemble: Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra

      Conductor: William Stromberg

    13. Finger Fixings

      Composer: Max Steiner

      Ensemble: Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra

      Conductor: William Stromberg

    14. Campfire at Night

      Composer: Max Steiner

      Ensemble: Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra

      Conductor: William Stromberg

    15. The Olde Temple

      Composer: Max Steiner

      Ensemble: Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra

      Conductor: William Stromberg

    16. Johnny Get Your Gun

      Composer: Max Steiner

      Ensemble: Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra

      Conductor: William Stromberg

    17. Finale

      Composer: Max Steiner

      Ensemble: Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra

      Conductor: William Stromberg

    18. Main Title

      Composer: Max Steiner

      Ensemble: Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra

      Conductor: William Stromberg

    19. The Wreck

      Composer: Max Steiner

      Ensemble: Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra

      Conductor: William Stromberg

    20. The Approach

      Composer: Max Steiner

      Ensemble: Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra

      Conductor: William Stromberg

    21. Russian Waltz

      Composer: Max Steiner

      Ensemble: Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra

      Performer: Leonid Makarevich

      Conductor: William Stromberg

    22. Incidental Music

      Composer: Max Steiner

      Ensemble: Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra

      Conductor: William Stromberg

    23. Agitato

      Composer: Max Steiner

      Ensemble: Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra

      Conductor: William Stromberg

    24. The Iron Door

      Composer: Max Steiner

      Ensemble: Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra

      Conductor: William Stromberg

    25. Night

      Composer: Max Steiner

      Ensemble: Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra

      Conductor: William Stromberg

    26. The Count Approaches

      Composer: Max Steiner

      Ensemble: Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra

      Conductor: William Stromberg

    27. Misterioso Dramatico

      Composer: Max Steiner

      Ensemble: Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra

      Conductor: William Stromberg

    28. The Chase

      Composer: Max Steiner

      Ensemble: Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra

      Conductor: William Stromberg

    29. The Chase Continues

      Composer: Max Steiner

      Ensemble: Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra

      Conductor: William Stromberg

    30. The Waterfall

      Composer: Max Steiner

      Ensemble: Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra

      Conductor: William Stromberg

    31. The Fight

      Composer: Max Steiner

      Ensemble: Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra

      Conductor: William Stromberg

    32. Escape - Finale

      Composer: Max Steiner

      Ensemble: Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra

      Conductor: William Stromberg




STEINER (recons. Morgan) The Son of Kong. The Most Dangerous Game • William Stromberg, cond; Moscow SO • NAXOS 8.570183 (77:19)


The informative program notes for this album present a vigorous case for these scores being as good as King Kong , and therefore ranking with Steiner’s best music. There is no doubt about the resemblance to King Kong. The Most Dangerous Game and The Son of Kong immediately preceded and followed that landmark picture and score. The music is typical of Steiner’s RKO years, but it certainly does not rank with his best scores. To be truthful, there are numerous Steiner scores worthier of being recorded, even to the extent that it is almost a shame that so much effort was devoted to the recording of this music. That said, The Son of Kong and The Most Dangerous Game will still be a feast for Steiner zealots.


This is another Naxos reissue from the “Marco Polo Golden Age Film Classics” series with identical sound but less snazzy program notes. For The Son of Kong , Steiner utilized much of the thematic material from King Kong in a fairly subtle way, but most of the score consists of new music in the same style. If you like King Kong , there is no reason why you won’t enjoy The Son of Kong. The Most Dangerous Game is stylistically similar with just as much rambunctious brass, but it doesn’t have the hook of being the offspring of a bona fide film classic. In both scores, there are plenty of stock Steiner suspense cues and braying brass that don’t quite reach the sense-numbing level of King Kong. The Son of Kong contains some luscious bluesy music that anticipates some of the thematic material for the 1950s Gone with the Wind wannabe that also starred Clark Gable, Band of Angels (which contains a remarkably good Steiner score for a really bad film).


For budgetary reasons, The Son of Kong employed a 28-piece orchestra including the grand total of six violins! In comparison, King Kong used 46 musicians on the original soundtrack, many of them playing multiple instruments. As in many other releases in this extremely valuable series, the importance of the work of John Morgan cannot be overstated. He fully reconstructed and orchestrated the music from Steiner’s original sketches. The result is a perfect reproduction of the well-known, full orchestral Steiner sound that is treasured by so many film music fans. Conducting the music is clearly a labor of love for William Stromberg, and the Moscow Symphony Orchestra is magnificent. It never fails to amaze me how this team manages to come so close to reproducing the authentic music of the Golden Age emanating from the legendary studio orchestras of Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox, and to a lesser extent, MGM and RKO. The sound is big, fat, juicy, and refulgent. It perfectly suits Steiner’s style with an up-front aural perspective. There is plenty of inner detail, including the many instrumental doublings. Despite the volume of the brass instruments, they always remain focused in the back of the orchestra with a soundstage that doesn’t collapse at the massive climaxes. There is no chance that these scores will ever be better recorded or played. If you are a Steiner fan, nothing more needs to be said. If not, the relentless onslaught of decibels may wear you out despite the high quality of every aspect of the production.


FANFARE: Arthur Lintgen