A Certain Point of View: Writing, Film and Stuff

Cover  Design: Giulio Turturro; Cover Photo: Edward Steichen. (C) 1999 Sony Masterworks/Sony Classical On July 27, 1999, nearly two years after the successful debut of Cinema Serenade, Sony Masterworks dropped Cinema Serenade 2: The Golden Age, an album that reunited virtuoso violinist Itzhak Perlman and conductor John Williams for a 12-track collection of movie themes – or songs used in movies – during the Golden Age of Hollywood. For this sequel, Perlman and Williams are joined by “America’s Orchestra”: the Boston Pops, which Maestro Williams led from 1980 to 1993 and still serves today as the ensemble’s Laureate Conductor.  In contrast to their first album since their collaboration on Schindler’s List, Perlman and Williams chose a program of compositions heard in films released between 1936 ( Smile from Modern Times ) and 1952 (the traditional Irish gig St. Patrick’s Day from The Quiet Man ).  They chose wisely, for as the liner notes by Royal S. Brown point out, “t

(C) 2007 Sony BMG Music Entertainment and Florentine Films On September 11, 2007, Sony BMG Music Entertainment’s Legacy label published a soundtrack album titled Songs Without Words: Classical Music from The War: A Ken Burns Film.   This 10-track recording was one of four Legacy records that were made as musical tie-ins to Ken Burns and Lynn Novick’s seven-part documentary about the American experience during the Second World War. The other three recordings from The War’s soundtrack produced and released by Legacy are: The War: A Ken Burns Film – The Soundtrack Sentimental Journey: Hits from the Second World War – The War: A Ken Burns Film I’m Beginning to See the Light: Dance Hits from the Second World War – The War: A Ken Burns Film Legacy offered all four discs in a deluxe box set and as separate offerings; each album had a specific focus, both thematically and musically speaking, though in general terms Sentimental Journey and I’m Beginning to See the Light emp

(C) 2007 Sony BMG Music Entertainment and Florentine Films On August 21, 2007, Sony’s Legacy Recordings released The War: A Ken Burns Film – The Soundtrack, a 17-track compilation album of music from the eponymous seven-part documentary directed and produced by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick. The one-CD album was co-produced by Burns, Novick, Sarah Botstein, and Delfeayo Marsalis (the younger brother of jazz musician Wynton Marsalis, who served as music supervisor for The War and composed several original pieces for its score). With an eclectic mix of World War II-era performances, classical music composed many years after V-E and V-J Days, and original music written for the series, The War: A Ken Burns Film – The Soundtrack was one of four recordings dropped by Legacy Recordings and Sony Classical to coincide with the television series’ premiere on September 26, 2007. The other three records – sold separately and in a 4-CD Deluxe box set along with this album – are: