Search - Mantovani :: Early Years 2

Not The Famous Cascading Strings Of "The Mantovani Sound"

10/15/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Annunzio Paulo Mantovani was born on November 15, 1905 in Venice, Italy where his father served as concert master for La Scala Orchestra led by the famous Arturo Toscanini. After he and his family relocated to Great Britain in 1912, the young Mantovani eventually enrolled at the Trinity College of Music in London where he learned classical violin, and soon after graduating in the early 1930s he formed his own orchestra. locating in the Birmingham region..



In 1935 he had his first North American hit record when his version of Red Sails In The Sunset, from the British musical Provincetown Follies, made it to # 2 that December after being released on Columbia 3097 (the flip was a tune by some band called The Savoy Hotel Orpheans). A year later he had his second hit here when Serenade In The Night, based upon Violino Tzigano topped out at # 7 b/w Me And The Moon on Columbia 3159.



These, and others of his early music, were also hugely popular in the U.K., where he also served as musical director for several musicals, including a few by the legendary Noel Coward, and when the Second World War broke out in September 1939 his was one of the most popular big bands around, including broadcasts over the BBC. At that time he did not employ the flowing strings that would later bring him even greater international fame, and while those early hits are not included here, his performances on the 23 tracks included here, all recorded from 1940 to 1949 (details on the reverse of the CD) follow the same pre-strings format. Several are heard for the first time, in fact, never having been previously released.



By 1946 he was concentrating primarily on album recordings and it was in this period that he met arranger/composer Ronnie Binge who convinced him to adopt the "cascading strings" sound that would become his hallmark. Recording for London Records, he returned to the North American charts in 1951 with Charmaine, originally written to promote the 1927 silent movie What Price Glory. This reached # 10 in late 1951, and from there to 1960 he would have nine more hit singles over here to go along with many more in the U.K. He also released over 40 LPs in North America up to 1972 (he passed away on March 29,1980).



The ADD sound quality of this volume, released by Vocalion in the U.K. in 2000, is excellent, and in the insert are six pages of liner notes by Colin MacKenzie, author of Mantovani: A Lifetime In Music."