Henry Mancini Centennial

The Malaga Philharmonic Orchestra addresses here an irresistible project for any music lover, regardless of their regular musical preferences. To the evocative power of Henry Mancini's themes, which with just a few notes have the ability to immerse us in the cinematographic worlds for which they were conceived, are added orchestrations of great elaboration and variety that turn their soundtracks into heirs of the great symphonic authors.

Under the direction of José María Moreno, the Orquestra Filarmonica de Malaga (OFM) acts as an ideal guide when it comes to introducing us to the stories, characters and settings behind this music, and the album selection is varied enough to appreciate the range of composer's resources.

The orchestra's color palette and its forceful performance make this a perfect occasion to revisit, on the one hand, melodies as heard and perhaps as hackneyed as those of ‘Moon River’ or ‘The Pink Panther’, and on the other, to delve into his lesser-known titles such as ‘Dear Heart’, ‘Mr. Lucky’ or ‘Peter Gunn’. The Malaga Philharmonic has the opportunity to deploy all its power in the most energetic songs, such as ‘Ohio Riverboat’ or ‘Strings on Fire!’.

Along with this, the album also helps to identify a certain warm and intimate sound that characterizes Mancini's music and that would later be adopted as a reference in audiovisual music. I think, for example, of ‘Lujon’, an original piece with Jazzy air that has been included in several films throughout the 20th Century. In this case it has a delicious arrangement by José Carra.

Two marches end this tribute, ‘March with Mancini’, which brings together diverse marches in a kind of suite in tribute to the genre, and the famous ‘Great Waldo Pepper March’. This is a brilliant closing for a tribute that, in the words of the script, recovers our ‘sentimental memory’ and puts one of the greats back on the map.

Maravilloso!

This is not a reissue but an exciting new release from an unusual source at that. The Orquesta Filarmónica de Málaga of over 60 players was founded in the Andalusian city in 1991, and is clearly a quality ensemble conducted here by José Maria Moreno Valiente, who holds the title of Superior Professor of Orchestral Conducting at the Conservatory of Valencia.

The album features a 19-track selection of tuneful pieces from the pen of the genial pipe-smoking Hank Mancini – one of the film music greats. Seven in distinctive arrangements by Composer and Jazz Pianist, José Carra, a member of the orchestra.

Some of "the usual suspects" are included, like Charade, Days of Wine and Roses, Dear Heart, Baby Elephant Walk, Moon River and The Pink Panther. Of added interest to me, there are also titles that are not found on a number of the over 90 Mancini albums I already have: Lightly Latin, Lujon (Slow Hot Wind), March with Mancini, Nothing to Lose (The Party), Ohio Riverboat, Overture to a Pops Concert, Strings on Fire, and The Great Waldo Pepper March.

Knowledgeable booklet notes are provided by Pablo Bujalance, the award-winning Spanish writer and journalist.

Mancini, whose centennial fell on April 16, 2024, won Album of the Year at the inaugural Grammy Awards in 1959 for The Music from Peter Gunn, and was the first composer to win back-to-back Oscars for best original song (Moon and Days, both written with lyricist Johnny Mercer) in 1961-2. Readers may recall that in total he won four Academy Awards, a Golden Globe and 20 Grammy Awards, plus a posthumous Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995.

All involved in the enterprise of making this album should be commended for giving us much to enjoy in these increasingly turbulent times around the globe.