This video pays tribute to the legendary film composer, Hugo Wilhelm Friedhofer, who received a much deserved Oscar in 1947 for his brilliant, much lauded score for the William Wyler directed film, "The Best Years of Our Lives." Friedhofer's score, which was analysed in several serious musicological journals at the time, presently ranks sixth in the American Film Institute's list of the 100 greatest film scores of all time. The Main Title represents Friedhofer's chance to make an important, quasi-overture music statement. It is to his credit that he was able to shape a strong, well developed lead-in lasting barely over a minute. The Main Title music immediately establishes the tone of optimism and nostalgia essential to the extreme ranges of the instruments. A warm combination of strings and French horn present a simple, straightforward theme, with background trumpets occasionally suggesting the film's military point of departure. This recording, produced by John Steven Lasher, is (P) (C) 2000 Fifth Continent Australia P/L t/a Fifth Continent Music Classics.

Be the first to comment