Alfred Newman Thoughts

We received several responses to John Cutts's article on about a recent Alfred Newman recording on the Koch label:

From: "Pulliam, Ron, GSA-RPM" <RPULLIAM@gsa.mail.co.alameda.ca.us>

I enjoyed reading John Cutts' review of this Richard Kaufman-conducted program.

He might be interested to know that the CD was never "withdrawn" -- rather, its first pressing was "recalled" due to some technical glitches. This can be validated by the usual mail order outlets who sent their first batches back to Koch and received newer pressings within about a month.

It's always gratifying when a recording of Newman music is made, and this CD happens to be one of the major successes of Newman being performed by another conductor. I was much more taken with the breathtaking and splendiferous "Wuthering Heights" suite Steiner made of original Edward B. Powell orchestrations, but I cannot fault Mr. Cutts review. We each have our own expectations and these albums either rise to the occasion or they don't. I was particularly impressed by his assessment of Stromberg/Morgan's "The Adventues of Mark Twain/The Prince and the Pauper" CD -- it is, indeed, alive with orchestral power.

I do believe, however, that Maestro Kaufman succeeded very well in capturing the spirit of Newman's music better than most who have attempted in the past.

From: Mark Hasan <markh@istar.ca>

Page Cook may not have cared much for John Barry, Maurice Jarre and Dimitri Tiomkin (the term 'Tiomkinites' still rings loudly), but his writings were always a delight to read, particularly his acrid insults at the aforementioned three (boy, how he loathed Jarre's electronic 'dribbles').

Cook also was extremely generous in helping those who dearly enjoyed film music for the music, and would graciously spend the time transferring beautiful music to tape for those wanting the best the great film composers had to offer. It's a definite contrast to the present day, where the collector mentality (and I'm just as guilty as the rest) has caused strange bidding frenzies, accusations of hoarding limited releases for future profit, and ascribing inane monetary values on mediocre music, while far better music suffers in the marketplace from poor sales.

Cook had a wealth of experience, admiration, and close relationships with many of the great composers. He once recounted how Bernard Herrmann had given him the master tapes to MARNIE, since Cook seemed to be one of the few who regarded the score at that critical time in Herrmann's career as the product of sheer musical brilliance.

Page Cook's correspondences were often peppered with his own high enthusiasm for film music, and he was one of a select few who managed to champion this art form for many years in his regular and eagerly awaited monthly column. It's a shame he's no longer with us to enjoy the full-digital re-recordings and archival remasterings of classic film scores, but his legacy certainly lives on in the people who became admirers of this musical art, some of whom I'm sure became composers and record producers in their own right - new champions of film music.

From: Jack Smith, Films in Review <JSMITHHE@aol.com>

My old friend Page Cook would have delighted in your assessment of the Koch Alfred Newman CD. But he would have gone one step further, flatly labeling it as inept, at best inane, and totally worthless as representation of Newman's genious. For those of us who have heard the orginal music represented in this collection, all we can do is shake our heads. One contemporary film composer, hearing PRINCE OF FOXES on the Koch CD, then a suite from the original score commented: "The one is lethargic concert hall, the other, truly filmusic of the first order..."

I have used my copy of this thing as coaster for after-dinner brandy...

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