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Film Music Classics - Steiner: Son Of Kong, Etc
Naxos

Film Music Classics - Steiner: Son Of Kong, Etc

$19.99 Only 2 left

Details

Composer
STEINER
Artist
Stromberg, Moscow So
Format
CD
Discs
1
Label
Naxos
Released
Oct 31, 2006
Catalog #
8570183
UPC
747313018376

About



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

Tracklist 32 tracks

  1. 1 Main Title 01:52
    Track
    1
    Title
    Main Title
    Duration
    01:52
    Composer
    Max Steiner
    Ensemble
    Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    William Stromberg
  2. 2 Ship at Sea 00:57
    Track
    2
    Title
    Ship at Sea
    Duration
    00:57
    Composer
    Max Steiner
    Ensemble
    Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    William Stromberg
  3. 3 In Dakang 01:25
    Track
    3
    Title
    In Dakang
    Duration
    01:25
    Composer
    Max Steiner
    Ensemble
    Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    William Stromberg
  4. 4 Runaway Blues 01:39
    Track
    4
    Title
    Runaway Blues
    Duration
    01:39
    Composer
    Max Steiner
    Ensemble
    Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    William Stromberg
  5. 5 Fire! 02:35
    Track
    5
    Title
    Fire!
    Duration
    02:35
    Composer
    Max Steiner
    Ensemble
    Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    William Stromberg
  6. 6 An Offer of Help 04:17
    Track
    6
    Title
    An Offer of Help
    Duration
    04:17
    Composer
    Max Steiner
    Ensemble
    Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    William Stromberg
  7. 7 Memories 02:11
    Track
    7
    Title
    Memories
    Duration
    02:11
    Composer
    Max Steiner
    Ensemble
    Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    William Stromberg
  8. 8 Chinese Chatter 04:06
    Track
    8
    Title
    Chinese Chatter
    Duration
    04:06
    Composer
    Max Steiner
    Ensemble
    Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    William Stromberg
  9. 9 Forgotten Island 04:13
    Track
    9
    Title
    Forgotten Island
    Duration
    04:13
    Composer
    Max Steiner
    Ensemble
    Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    William Stromberg
  10. 10 Quicksand - Little Kong 03:57
    Track
    10
    Title
    Quicksand - Little Kong
    Duration
    03:57
    Composer
    Max Steiner
    Ensemble
    Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    William Stromberg
  11. 11 The Styracosaur 00:46
    Track
    11
    Title
    The Styracosaur
    Duration
    00:46
    Composer
    Max Steiner
    Ensemble
    Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    William Stromberg
  12. 12 The Black Bear 02:42
    Track
    12
    Title
    The Black Bear
    Duration
    02:42
    Composer
    Max Steiner
    Ensemble
    Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    William Stromberg
  13. 13 Finger Fixings 03:31
    Track
    13
    Title
    Finger Fixings
    Duration
    03:31
    Composer
    Max Steiner
    Ensemble
    Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    William Stromberg
  14. 14 Campfire at Night 03:24
    Track
    14
    Title
    Campfire at Night
    Duration
    03:24
    Composer
    Max Steiner
    Ensemble
    Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    William Stromberg
  15. 15 The Olde Temple 02:22
    Track
    15
    Title
    The Olde Temple
    Duration
    02:22
    Composer
    Max Steiner
    Ensemble
    Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    William Stromberg
  16. 16 Johnny Get Your Gun 00:35
    Track
    16
    Title
    Johnny Get Your Gun
    Duration
    00:35
    Composer
    Max Steiner
    Ensemble
    Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    William Stromberg
  17. 17 Finale 04:59
    Track
    17
    Title
    Finale
    Duration
    04:59
    Composer
    Max Steiner
    Ensemble
    Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    William Stromberg
  18. 18 Main Title 01:35
    Track
    18
    Title
    Main Title
    Duration
    01:35
    Composer
    Max Steiner
    Ensemble
    Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    William Stromberg
  19. 19 The Wreck 01:17
    Track
    19
    Title
    The Wreck
    Duration
    01:17
    Composer
    Max Steiner
    Ensemble
    Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    William Stromberg
  20. 20 The Approach 02:25
    Track
    20
    Title
    The Approach
    Duration
    02:25
    Composer
    Max Steiner
    Ensemble
    Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    William Stromberg
  21. 21 Russian Waltz 01:40
    Track
    21
    Title
    Russian Waltz
    Duration
    01:40
    Composer
    Max Steiner
    Performer
    Leonid Makarevich
    Ensemble
    Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    William Stromberg
  22. 22 Incidental Music 00:46
    Track
    22
    Title
    Incidental Music
    Duration
    00:46
    Composer
    Max Steiner
    Ensemble
    Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    William Stromberg
  23. 23 Agitato 02:23
    Track
    23
    Title
    Agitato
    Duration
    02:23
    Composer
    Max Steiner
    Ensemble
    Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    William Stromberg
  24. 24 The Iron Door 02:57
    Track
    24
    Title
    The Iron Door
    Duration
    02:57
    Composer
    Max Steiner
    Ensemble
    Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    William Stromberg
  25. 25 Night 01:04
    Track
    25
    Title
    Night
    Duration
    01:04
    Composer
    Max Steiner
    Ensemble
    Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    William Stromberg
  26. 26 The Count Approaches 02:20
    Track
    26
    Title
    The Count Approaches
    Duration
    02:20
    Composer
    Max Steiner
    Ensemble
    Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    William Stromberg
  27. 27 Misterioso Dramatico 03:57
    Track
    27
    Title
    Misterioso Dramatico
    Duration
    03:57
    Composer
    Max Steiner
    Ensemble
    Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    William Stromberg
  28. 28 The Chase 04:44
    Track
    28
    Title
    The Chase
    Duration
    04:44
    Composer
    Max Steiner
    Ensemble
    Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    William Stromberg
  29. 29 The Chase Continues 00:55
    Track
    29
    Title
    The Chase Continues
    Duration
    00:55
    Composer
    Max Steiner
    Ensemble
    Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    William Stromberg
  30. 30 The Waterfall 02:24
    Track
    30
    Title
    The Waterfall
    Duration
    02:24
    Composer
    Max Steiner
    Ensemble
    Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    William Stromberg
  31. 31 The Fight 01:27
    Track
    31
    Title
    The Fight
    Duration
    01:27
    Composer
    Max Steiner
    Ensemble
    Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    William Stromberg
  32. 32 Escape - Finale 01:59
    Track
    32
    Title
    Escape - Finale
    Duration
    01:59
    Composer
    Max Steiner
    Ensemble
    Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    William Stromberg