April round-up

John Williams is having something of a European moment. Following on from his hugely successful Vienna concert in 2020, the now 90-year-old returned across the pond for The Berlin Concert in late 2021. DG have gone all out in documenting what was another prestigious career high for Williams, releasing the performance in full on CD, Bluray and Vinyl. Williams presides over the Berlin players with a firm hand and a twinkle in his eye. Pleasingly, the programme varies enough from the Vienna set, with Williams’s 1997 Elegy (performed by principal cellist Bruno Delepelaire) a moving highlight. (DG 486 2003) ★★★★★

Less than two weeks before Williams was born, Mortimer Wilson died. An American classical composer who also penned scores for a clutch of silent films in the

’20s, he may be best known for Douglas Fairbanks’s The Thief of Bagdad (1924). This 2019 live recording represents painstaking work by Mark Fitz-gerald, who reconstructed the music from what was little more than a piano score and Wilson’s original notes on the project. Written at a time when most films were served by compiled scores of tunes by various composers, this really is one of the finest examples of early original film music. Wilson’s score is evocative and thrillingly performed – despite the odd intrusive live sound effect. (First Hand Records FHR126) ★★★★★

Move – The Trumpet As Movie Star sees Romain Leleu put the instrument front and centre in a selection of pieces originating in, mostly, European cinema. In some ways it’s an odd mix, the title work being a concerto by Baptiste Trotignon – a very cinematic piece, so you can understand the train of thought. Obscure items like

Ibrahim Maalouf’s theme from

In the Forests of Siberia (2016) sit alongside Irving Berlin’s ‘Cheek to Cheek’ (with a rather thin vocal). The winning items, though, are the pieces by Miles Davis and Michel Legrand, plus a suite of music from Nino Rota’s The Godfather. Leleu is a dazzling soloist throughout. (Harmonia Mundi HMM902600) ★★★

A film destined for cricital acclaim and audience amour,

Joe Wright’s Cyrano features a powerful soundtrack of original music and songs by The National’s Bryce and Aaron Dessner, Matt Berninger and Carin Besser. This big-screen retelling of Cyrano de Bergerac is a musical, delivered with a rawness of emotion that makes it stand out. The Dessners’ music is typical of the luscious soundscapes their fans have come to know – not to mention Bryce’s prior screen works. Víkingur Ólafsson’s piano and the London Contemporary Orchestra paint a vivid soundworld, but it’s the songs that impress the most. Peter Dinklage’s lead vocal may be gritty and imperfect, but that makes this all the more powerful. (Decca 385 1879) ★★★★

Channel 5’s All Creatures Great and Small is the small-screen reboot we never knew we needed. The original BBC series, based on James Herriot’s colourful tales of life as a Yorkshire vet, was massively popular for 12 years and so this new series had a lot to live up to. Johnny Pearson’s main title music in the BBC series is hard to beat, and Alexandra Harwood sticks close to the spirit of that. Her original scores (here from Series 2) are filled with warm orchestration, sweet melody and just a dose of pathos – perfectly pitched for cosy Sunday-night viewing. (Silva Screen SILCD1664) ★★★★