Although Bernard Herrmann is one of the most celebrated film composers, writing music was never his real ambition; that was to be a great conductor in the concert hall. While the input of great conductors is hugely important in the ability to bring music to life, I think it would have been a far greater loss had Herrmann actually become a conductor. He managed to push the boundries of film music composition beyond the more romantic idioms that had gone before and introduced a more economical approach to writing film music, as well as his more oblique take on orchestration. Of course, to become a famous conductor one must be extremely accomplished and I've never felt that Herrmann's conducting talents even came close to matching his talents as a composer. I wonder whether this might be as a result of the style he wrote, which was often somewhat blustery; where raw energy, vigour and not a little anger was poured into the performance. Ideal if you're conducting the Prelude from Psycho or 7th Voyage of Sinbad, but not always appropriate to the music of other composers.
The first and most lengthy selection presented here is from a Russian production, which was scored by the highly respected concert hall composer Shostakovich. Along with Prokofiev, Shostakovich wrote several scores for cinema and his stylings can often be heard in some modern scores (James Horner being perhaps the most prominent fan of Russian classical music). Shostakovich's approach is somewhat low key and fairly terse and is perhaps the closest in style to something Herrmann might himself have written. There is a disturbing creepiness about it and certainly none of the gentle richness that anyone used to Patrick Doyle's Hamlet; this is pretty bleak stuff, even the Ball at the Palace has a distinct edginess.
Before Kenneth Branagh, most of the well known Shakespearean adaptations were the work of Laurence Olivier and where Branagh has Doyle, Olivier had William Walton. So, for Richard III once again features a score by Walton, which is usually heard these days as part of a concert suite. Only the lengthy Prelude is featured here, but it is wonderful cue on its own and a particular favourite of mine. The album is rounded out by a suite from Rozsa's Julius Caesar which is as immediately striking as Rozsa's music is always prone to be. The final track is an especially thrilling cue once it gets going and brings the album to a close in fine style.
The selections featured are certainly very worthy, although the question of Herrmann's interpretation is something that I am not entirely convinced about. In the case of the Walton, I don't think that either Herrmann's somewhat turgid conducting nor the close miked recording suit Walton's music. A more expansive recording and smoother performance would certainly be my preference. The often subliminal Shostakovich could almost be compared to Herrmann's Citizen Kane in general ambiance, but a slightly more flighty performance on occasion would have been welcome. Herrmann brings a fairly weighty feel to the Rozsa which works better than anything else on the album. A difficult album to recommend since Herrmann's style is perhaps a little idiosyncratic to get a feel for the original performances, but the playing is generally good and the recording very crisp, although that is perhaps as much a hindrence as it is a help.
Rating ~ 
Total Time ~ 44:20