Ivanova2
11-30-2016, 10:51 PM
I have another great Rozsa rarity for you all today: Over 20 years ago, Intrada released two volumes of Rozsa film music, arranged for piano by Daniel Robbins who also performed them. The same Daniel Robbins who also reconstructed Ivanhoe and Julius Caesar for Intrada's Excalibur rerecording series. In fact, in 1994 Robbins did Ivanhoe and the first piano volume, MAF 7057D, subtitled "Knight Without Armor" after Rozsa's very first film score which provides the first cut. The following year he reconstructed Julius Caesar and produced and performed the second piano volume, MAF 7064D, which had no subtitle (simply called "Film Music for Piano Volume Two"). Sadly Rozsa also died that year, and no further Robbins piano volumes or orchestral reconstructions followed from Intrada. All four albums had been done with the composer's knowledge and blessing.
These two rare piano albums, never before shared on the forum, are my own rips from CD. Though I assume they were recorded a year apart, I decided to simply combine them into one album for iTunes, in part because I could find no decent quality cover for the second album (even the one for the first isn't great, but is at least 500x500). But it all flows very nicely together as one program of Rozsa piano arrangments done by a talented admirer. The only thing that is a little odd are the Lydia selections. Many know there was a Lydia suite for solo piano that's been reissued and used as filler for various Rozsa albums. Well, there are also six Lydia piano tracks between these two discs but most of those tracks do not correspond with the suite and are alternate piano arrangements. The first volume has Lydia: Concerto Theme (track 2) but also strangely Time Out of Mind: Concerto Theme (track 8) which the notes explain was a film not scored by Rozsa but which used his music from Lydia...so why not label it as "Lydia" on the CD? The second volume provides a further four piano arrangements from Lydia to open the disc.
Interestingly, these discs provided the first representation of any music from many early Rozsa scores, some of which have since had some exposure through re-recordings (The Man in Half Moon Street, The Red House) or with fragments of the original film recordings (The Woman of the Town, So Proudly We Hail), most released in the past few years by Intrada (and The Strange Love of Martha Ivers by Kritzerland). But many early Rozsa scores are still completely unrepresented by even a single track, outside of a theme's piano arrangement on these discs: Because of Him, The Macomber Affair, The Other Love, A Woman's Vengeance, Kiss the Blood Off My Hands, and The Bribe. I'm sure we would all prefer orchestral versions of these themes, but getting them recorded on piano is still better than nothing!
Here is a link for both albums in iTunes AAC format (256 kbps). Since these are not orchestral recordings and only solo piano, few would be able to tell the difference in sound vs. lossless. Enjoy, and please say thanks or leave rep with your handle so I know who's interested! (I won't send these links by PM because I'm not on the forum as often.)
https://www.sendspace.com/file/or11rj
One final note in regards to the final track of the second album, titled "Memories of Paris, 1935" which turns out to be a true rarity indeed. Quoting from the notes by Tony Thomas: "In his autobiography Rozsa admitted to something that had been a secret until then -- that as a struggling young composer in Paris in 1935 he wrote a number of pieces of popular music under the name Nic Tomay. Many of them were fox trots and a few were novelty songs. Whatever they were they were tuneful and catchy, with more than a dozen published and recorded. Rozsa has always claimed the music as being of no value and not worth bothering with. However, after a great deal of steady persuasion he finally agreed to three of the pieces being resurrected...We who are his friends and admirers feel the music needs no apology."
These two rare piano albums, never before shared on the forum, are my own rips from CD. Though I assume they were recorded a year apart, I decided to simply combine them into one album for iTunes, in part because I could find no decent quality cover for the second album (even the one for the first isn't great, but is at least 500x500). But it all flows very nicely together as one program of Rozsa piano arrangments done by a talented admirer. The only thing that is a little odd are the Lydia selections. Many know there was a Lydia suite for solo piano that's been reissued and used as filler for various Rozsa albums. Well, there are also six Lydia piano tracks between these two discs but most of those tracks do not correspond with the suite and are alternate piano arrangements. The first volume has Lydia: Concerto Theme (track 2) but also strangely Time Out of Mind: Concerto Theme (track 8) which the notes explain was a film not scored by Rozsa but which used his music from Lydia...so why not label it as "Lydia" on the CD? The second volume provides a further four piano arrangements from Lydia to open the disc.
Interestingly, these discs provided the first representation of any music from many early Rozsa scores, some of which have since had some exposure through re-recordings (The Man in Half Moon Street, The Red House) or with fragments of the original film recordings (The Woman of the Town, So Proudly We Hail), most released in the past few years by Intrada (and The Strange Love of Martha Ivers by Kritzerland). But many early Rozsa scores are still completely unrepresented by even a single track, outside of a theme's piano arrangement on these discs: Because of Him, The Macomber Affair, The Other Love, A Woman's Vengeance, Kiss the Blood Off My Hands, and The Bribe. I'm sure we would all prefer orchestral versions of these themes, but getting them recorded on piano is still better than nothing!
Here is a link for both albums in iTunes AAC format (256 kbps). Since these are not orchestral recordings and only solo piano, few would be able to tell the difference in sound vs. lossless. Enjoy, and please say thanks or leave rep with your handle so I know who's interested! (I won't send these links by PM because I'm not on the forum as often.)
https://www.sendspace.com/file/or11rj
One final note in regards to the final track of the second album, titled "Memories of Paris, 1935" which turns out to be a true rarity indeed. Quoting from the notes by Tony Thomas: "In his autobiography Rozsa admitted to something that had been a secret until then -- that as a struggling young composer in Paris in 1935 he wrote a number of pieces of popular music under the name Nic Tomay. Many of them were fox trots and a few were novelty songs. Whatever they were they were tuneful and catchy, with more than a dozen published and recorded. Rozsa has always claimed the music as being of no value and not worth bothering with. However, after a great deal of steady persuasion he finally agreed to three of the pieces being resurrected...We who are his friends and admirers feel the music needs no apology."