Tag Archives: Star Wars

Prokofiev, Classic Film Scores


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Reference FR-73SSACD

Strictly speaking this is a recording a a film score suite and a cantata derived from a film score but these are perhaps among the finest examples of film score music.  The earliest piece here is actually Prokofiev’s first commission, the 1934 Lieutenant Kije.  This film (released in the US under the title of “The Czar Sleeps”) is a satire/comedy film based on a novella.  The score is by itself very tuneful and entertaining and deserves to be heard more often.

The larger work here, Alexander Nevsky (1938), the cantata extracted one year later from the film score by the composer is of course the score to one of the early masterpieces of cinema.  The film is the slightly fictionalized account of the reign and military prowess of one Alexander Nevsky (1200-1263).  It is without doubt one of the most successful pairings of image and sound at its time.  One need only listen to a snippet of John Williams’ score for the battle on the ice planet in the Star Wars series to hear the homage he gives to this score.

Both works here receive a very fine performance and recording by the Utah Symphony conducted by Thierry Fischer.  He is assisted by the Utah Symphony Chorus, the University of Utah A Capella Choir, and the University of Utah Chamber Choir under the direction of Barlow Bradford as well as soloist, mezzo soprano Alisa Koslova.  Fischer’s tenure would seem to be the surest and most successful since that of the much lauded and beloved Maurice Abravanel.  In addition we have here a recording by the reliably high quality Reference Recordings label.

Many collectors will already have a recording of Alexander Nevsky but this performance and recording, along with the inclusion of the earlier film score make this a marvelous addition to any library.  And if you have one of those fabulous sound systems you will hear the intricate detail of the recording and feel those bass drum thumps most viscerally.  This is an exciting release of exceptional quality on all fronts.

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CD Review-Hegarty, Steinbeck and Robles: Time/Space, an atypical jazz trio


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An old school twelve tone composer, an AACM composer and Julliard composer walked into a bar.  They sat down to play an out came, well, this album. And the bar I am imagining is perhaps a sort of post beat, post bop version of the bar from Star Wars.  I guess I am awash with metaphors here.

Imagine, if you can, a melding of musical styles.  Take a little Milton Babbitt, a little Anthony Davis, a touch of Wadada Leo Smith and perhaps a bit of Oscar Peterson (there is a little bit of a traditional lounge jazz touch here).  I have struggled to characterize this music and struggled perhaps even more to envision its ideal audience but that is not a criticism and is not intended to say anything negative about this album.

To be fair one of the main reasons I think I am struggling to describe this release is that it is a download only release which fortunately is accompanied by some nice cover art by Anna Hegarty and some liner notes which are essentially a  quote from some reviews but contain very useful information about the musicians and their history.  I guess I would feel differently if this had been a physical instead of digital release but perhaps I am just being nostalgic.  Oh, and keep in mind this is a free download.

The varied backgrounds of these musicians have resulted in a blending of styles creating a unique and enjoyable listening experience.  You can listen to this relatively short pieces as chamber music of a new classical variety but I think that would be missing the point.  This is basically an album of lounge jazz written and performed by some really good musicians who play well together.  Calling it “avant-garde” serves only to add a layer of fear and confusion to what should be a pleasant or at least innocuous experience.   That is why I called these guys an “atypical” jazz trio in the title of this review.

The musicians include James Hegarty on piano, Paul Steinbeck, electric bass and Shane Del Robles on drums.  According to the liner notes these musicians  have a pretty varied experience including free jazz,  AACM jazz, rock and various other projects.  They come together here very well.

In 12 short pieces (a metaphor for serialism?) this album manages to be lyrical and understated.  A few tracks use some studio effect of playing the tape backwards but most of what you hear is just acoustic instruments playing short numbers whose titles may mean more to the musicians than to the music itself but that is consistent with the type of music they are playing.  The music and the musicianship are good and sincere.

I would love to hear these guys play live in a smoky bar while sipping single malt scotch and hobnobbing with some kindred artistic spirits but I’ll have to settle for hearing it on my CD player (you have to hear this on a decent sound system).  I might even try to slip this in to some background music at a party just to see if anyone would notice it as different from whatever other background music might be played.  Very nice album and you can’t beat the price.

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