Search - John Mauceri, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra :: Great Waltz

A Little Night Magic

M. B Hazen | Jacksonville, Fla. | 07/10/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Do you want a disc that will provide you with 73+ minutes of hypnotic music for romance, or background music while reading a good frivolous book? Here's the Hollywood Bowl under John Mauceri bringing lovely, intelligent renderings of waltes from various corners of the realm. Sondheim's "Night Waltzes" from ":A Little Night Music" are so Fifth Avenue. Move on to Paris with waltzes from "Gigi", the to Moscow with the dark velvet "Waltz" from Cinderella by Prokofiev. "La Valse" by Ravel is a grand, sweeping evocative waltz that feels like a soak in the tub with lavendar and candles, and the "Waltz" from "Candide" also sparkles with Bernstein's Broadway. Other waltes in the mix are the sultry "Waltz" from "Murder on the Orient Express" by Richard Rodney Bennett, the plaintive "Waltz" from the score of "Madame Bovary" by Miklos Rozsa. Other waltzes are deliciously selected from "The Prince and the Pauper", "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" , "Jezebel", and several by the Strauss family, noted for their swirling music in three-quarter time.
This is a lovely collection of music, most of which hasn't hit Muzak, or the automated radio stations. It's marked with individuality and love. You may not immediately know these pieces, but you'll feel wonderful under the spell of their overall expressions."