Word: philharmonia
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Dates: during 1940-1949
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Shakespeare: Hamlet (spoken excerpts by Sir Laurence Olivier, with the Philharmonia Orchestra, Muir Mathieson conducting; Victor, 6 sides). In addition to Laurence Olivier's fine soliloquizing, music lovers can hear on this album how good movie music can be. English Composer William Walton did a lot in Olivier's Henry V to lift the standards of film scores; in Hamlet he raises a craft to an art. The score never intrudes, but accompanies the spoken word like an orchestra accompanying the piano or violin in a concerto. Recording: good...
Mozart: Quintet for Clarinet & Strings, K. 581 (Reginald Kell, clarinetist, with the Philharmonia String Quartet; Columbia, 8 sides). Kell, playing one of Mozart's most winning chamber masterpieces, does better with it than Benny Goodman. Recording: good...
Shakespeare's Henry V (spoken excerpts by Sir Laurence Olivier, with music composed and conducted by William Walton, Philharmonia Orchestra of London and Chorus; Victor, 8 sides). Walton's music was superbly tailored to its job: that of complementing Henry V's sights, speeches and sound. Put on its own (as in the battle music), Walton's score is disappointing. It serves best as an accompaniment to Olivier's spine-tingling recital of "Now entertain conjecture of a time" and the St. Crispin's Day speech. Performance: excellent...