Orquesta Filarmónica de Málaga, José María Moreno Valiente - Henry Mancini Centennial (2024) [DSD64]

Henry Mancini Centennial is a celebration of the legendary Film Composer’s music on his 100th Anniversary. Featuring José María Moreno Valiente conducting Orquesta Filarmónica de Málaga on the IBS Classical label.

The album features 19 Mancini classics including Theme From The Pink Panther, Peter Gunn, Moon River, Charade, The Days of Wine and Roses, Two For The Road, Dear Heart, Baby Elephant Walk and The Great Waldo Pepper March. It is Exclusively Available in Stereo DSD 512, DSD 256, DSD 128 and DSD 64 at NativeDSD.

With the endorsement of certain composers outside the realm of entertainment, film music has emerged as the last bastion of symphonic expression. It’s worth recalling the foundational elements of the recognizable tradition in this regard. It’s not far-fetched to consider the extent to which the ideal of a soundtrack encompasses a significant portion of the finest orchestral compositions of the past century—a domain where it’s difficult not to spotlight Henry Mancini as a leading figure in this sonic legacy. Moreover, if we were to identify the artist who most effectively distilled the perfect synergy between music and cinema, it would be fair to attribute such distinction to the American maestro.

Henry Mancini, born Enrico Nicola Mancini to Italian immigrants, began his musical journey under the tutelage of his father, a jazz-loving flutist. Despite initially being drawn towards following his father’s footsteps and mastering the flute, he soon found himself immersed in the study of piano.

A pivotal moment arrived in 1958 with his composition for Orson Welles’ Touch of Evil. This score, containing the signature elements for which Henry Mancini would be remembered—the obsessive four-four rhythm, the introduction of Latin percussion, the syncopated pulse of jazz, and deeply emotive melodies—caught the attention of director Blake Edwards.

Blake Edwards promptly hired Mancini for his television series Peter Gunn. The music Mancini crafted for this assignment, mimicked endlessly in the following decades, made a staggering impact at a time when television was just becoming a mass-consumption phenomenon.

The Edwards/Mancini collaboration captivated audiences worldwide throughout the 1960s with films like Breakfast at Tiffany’s (featuring the unforgettable Moon River), Days of Wine and Roses, and The Pink Panther.

Yet Mancini’s musical legacy extends beyond, leaving indelible marks through scores for directors such as Stanley Donen (Arabesque, Charade, Two for the Road), Howard Hawks (Man’s Favorite Sport, Hatari!), and Vittorio de Sica (Sunflower). The rest, after four Academy Awards, around twenty Grammy Awards, and a Golden Globe, is the history of cinema and music. However, it is a living history, let it be noted, unfolding in the present tense.