Charles Gerhardt's Acclaimed Classic Film Scores Series Reissued by SONY MASTERWORKS

NEW YORK, Feb. 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- SONY MASTERWORKS proudly announces the reissue of Charles Gerhardt's acclaimed Classic Film Score series.  In the 1970s, the Classic Film Scores series introduced a new generation to the sumptuous sound of music in Hollywood's "Golden Age."  The following releases will be available March 1, 2011 on CD and through major digital service providers: Citizen Kane, Sunset Boulevard, Elizabeth and Essex, Spellbound, Now, Voyager, Classic Film Scores for Bette Davis and The Film Scores of David Raksin; the first six titles were released in October 2010.

It is widely accepted that together with the 1977 film release of Star Wars, Charles Gerhardt's Classic Film Score series re-introduced moviegoers to orchestral scores and helped usher the modern era of film music. Using the original orchestrations, heard in rich stereo sound, Gerhardt and the National Philharmonic Orchestra recreated the great moments from the legendary scores of Hollywood's most memorable films. Re-mastered for the first time using the original analog masters and including the original LP liner notes, the Classic Film Scores are once again available for both collectors and a new generation of listeners.

In 1972 Gerhardt conducted the National Philharmonic Orchestra in the recording of RCA's first LP in the Classic Film Score series: The Sea Hawk, featuring the music of Erich Wolfgang Korngold.  The album, produced by Erich's son George Korngold, became an unexpected hit for the label, receiving favorable reviews and even landed on the Billboard charts.  Other albums followed -- some highlighting an individual composer (Max Steiner, Miklos Rozsa, Franz Waxman, Alfred Newman, Dimitri Tiomkin, Bernard Herrmann), some focusing on a particular actor (Errol Flynn, Bette Davis, Humphrey Bogart).  

The late Charles Gerhardt began his career at RCA Records, transferring 78-rpm recordings to tape so they could be pressed as LPs.  By the early 1960s he relocated to London to oversee RCA's productions in England and to produce records for Reader's Digest.  Because of the need for a large orchestra to record these albums, Gerhardt and Sidney Sax formed a group comprised of London's top musicians in 1964.  In 1970, the group incorporated and became the National Philharmonic Orchestra.  

Sony MASTERWORKS USA comprises the MASTERWORKS Broadway, MASTERWORKS, MASTERWORKS Jazz, RCA Red Seal and Sony Classical imprints. For email updates and information please visit www.SonyMasterworks.com.

AVAILABLE ON MARCH 1, 2011

Citizen Kane - The Classic Film Scores of Bernard Herrmann

Includes selections from On Dangerous Ground / Citizen Kane / Beneath the 12-Mile Reef / Hangover Square / White Witch Doctor

Sunset Boulevard - The Classic Film Scores of Franz Waxman

Includes selections from Prince Valiant / A Place in the Sun / The Bride of Frankenstein / Sunset Boulevard / Old Acquaintance / Rebecca / The Philadelphia Story / Taras Bulba

Elizabeth and Essex - The Classic Film Scores of Erich Wolfgang Korngold

Includes selections from The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex / The Prince and the Pauper / Anthony Adverse / The Sea Wolf / Deception / Another Dawn / Of Human Bondage

Spellbound - The Classic Film Scores of Miklos Rozsa

Includes selections from The Red House / The Thief of Bagdad / The Lost Weekend / The Four Feathers / Double Indemnity / Knights of the Round Table / The Jungle Book / Spellbound / Ivanhoe

Now, Voyager - The Classic Film Scores of Max Steiner

Includes selections from Now, Voyager / King Kong / Saratoga Trunk / The Charge of the Light Brigade / Four Wives / The Big Sleep / Johnny Belinda / Since You Went Away / The Informer / The Fountainhead

Classic Film Scores for Bette Davis

Includes selections from Now, Voyager / Dark Victory / A Stolen Life / The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex / Mr. Skeffington / In This Our Life / All About Eve / Jezebel / Beyond the Forest / Juarez / The Letter / All This, and Heaven Too

Laura / Forever Amber / The Bad and the Beautiful - David Raksin Conducts His Great Film Scores

Includes selections from Laura / Forever Amber / The Bad and the Beautiful

RELEASED OCTOBER 19, 2010

THE SEA HAWK – The Classic Film Scores of Erich Wolfgang Korngold

Includes selections from The Sea Hawk / Of Human Bondage / Between Two Worlds / The Sea Wolf / The Constant Nymph / Kings Row / Anthony Adverse / Deception / Devotion / Escape Me Never

GONE WITH THE WIND

Includes all the unforgettable music from Max Steiner's epic score

CAPTAIN FROM CASTILE – The Classic Film Scores of Alfred Newman

Includes selections from How to Marry a Millionaire / Captain from Castile / Wuthering Heights / Down to the Sea in Ships / The Song of Bernadette / The Bravados / Anastasia / The Best of Everything / Airport / The Robe

CASABLANCA – Classic Film Scores for Humphrey Bogart

Includes selections from Casablanca / Passage to Marseille / The Treasure of Sierra Madre / The Big Sleep / The Caine Mutiny / To Have and Have Not / The Two Mrs. Carrolls / Sabrina / The Left Hand of God / Sahara / Virginia City / Key Largo

LOST HORIZON – The Classic Film Scores of Dimitri Tiomkin

Includes selections from Lost Horizon / The Guns of Navarone / The Big Sky / The Fourposter / Friendly Persuasion / Search for Paradise

CAPTAIN BLOOD – Classic Film Scores for Errol Flynn

Includes selections from The Adventures of Don Juan / The Sea Hawk / They Died with Their Boots On Dodge City / Objective, Burma! / The Sun Also Rises / The Adventures of Robin Hood

SOURCE SONY MASTERWORKS