Search - Richard Kaufman, London Symphony Orchestra, (Soundtrack) :: The High & The Mighty

A Perfect Recording

Film Music Fan | USA | 12/03/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"At its best, film music aurally heightens the drama, pathos, passion, joy and emotional intensity of the visual experience. And when film music is artfully written and skillfully performed, it can create a magnificent aesthetic experience.



Richard Kaufman and the London Symphony Orchestra have created an album featuring some of film music's greatest moments, all of them related to flight. The title track, "The High and the Mighty" features a theme that literally soars, capturing the sweeping energy and pensive drama of the film. Bruce Broughton's "The Boy Who Could Fly" is a beautifully lyrical and tender work.



There are many great films about military flight and fliers, and this recording features some of the best music of the genre. One of the highlights of this album is the great Prelude and Fugue from "Spitfire" by Sir William Walton. One feels the tension and courage exhibited by the great pilots of the RAF. Ron Goodwin's "633 Squadron" and Craig Safan's "The Last Starfighter" are two significant contributions to the genre.



Some of the best loved music about flying is from comedies, and there is no funnier and more clever score than the one Elmer Bernstein created for "Airplane!" Featuring a choir that literally screams, this music is laugh-out-loud funny. With it's homage to John William, "Airplane!" is joined on this disc by one of the greatest pieces of "flying" music ever written - John Williams' brilliant Flying Theme from "E.T. The Extraterrestrial."



While the music itself is brilliant, the performance by Richard Kaufman and the London Symphony is breathtaking. This orchestra has a long history of performing the soundtracks for motion pictures, but this recording features performances that are, for the most part, even better than the originals. The brass plays with more richness and the strings with more finesse than can be heard in a movie theater.



Richard Kaufman has created a perfect album - a compilation of film music built around the theme of flight that covers every emotion, every nuance and every sensation of the genre - performed with more skill and passion than has ever been captured on a recording before. You have to hear this one!

"

The High & The Mighty

JOANNE UEBLACKER | Chula Vista, Ca United States | 07/19/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Excellent music by London symphony. We used it during an airshow and it worked great! Very happy"