{"product_id":"cello-cinema","title":"Cello Cinema","description":"\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12bi\"\u003eCELLOCINEMA \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"BULLET12\"\u003e • \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e Eckart Runge (vc); Jacques Ammon (pn) \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"BULLET12\"\u003e • \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e GENUIN 12220 (69:34) \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003eMusic by \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"COMPOSER12\"\u003eROTA, WAITS, HERRMANN, PIAZZOLLA, GARDEL, CATALANI, SHOSTAKOVICH, JANÁCEK, DALE, CHAPLIN, MORRICONE \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cspan\u003eFilm music is becoming an increasingly popular genre for classical musicians. In recent months I have reviewed, here and elsewhere, CDs with very similar repertory by the Aquarelle Guitar Quartet, the Austrian Salonists, and violinist Nicola Benedetti. All of them were rather bland and unadventurous, so I was skeptical about the present release. Despite the presence of what I am beginning to think of as “the usual suspects,” (Charlie Chaplin’s “Smile,” Ennio Morricone’s music from \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eCinema Paradiso\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e, Shostakovich’s Romance from \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eThe Gadfly\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e, etc.), \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eCellocinema\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e is a cut above the aforementioned discs. I think the reason for this is that cellist Runge and pianist Ammon (who worked jointly on the arrangements) do not treat the music with excessive reverence. They are respectful, but they also have a good time with it. They show some imagination. For example, at the start of Bernard Herrmann’s main title for \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003ePsycho\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e, Runge’s cello appears to be imitating a yowling cat . . . or is it the wind? But really, just the fact that Runge and Ammon took several sections of Herrmann’s score and arranged them for cello and piano is both funny and exciting. (The Montreal Guitar Trio also has recorded a fantastic arrangement of music from \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003ePsycho\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e. I just thought you should know!) A suite of Nino Rota’s music from \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003e8 1\/2\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e is surprising too, and done with an appreciation for the film’s humor, which is both manic and pathetic. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cspan\u003eRunge is a most expressive player. While he shows off beautiful cantabile playing in his arrangement of the famous aria from Catalani’s \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eLa Wally\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e (the one used in \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eDiva\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e) and in Chaplin’s “Smile,” at other times he roughs up his tone, or disguises it, “speaking” in a funny or choked voice as if he himself were a movie actor. Ammon is an equal partner in these proceedings, not allowing himself to be upstaged by Runge, but never competing with him either. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cspan\u003eThe only fault with this disc is the documentation. Herrmann’s first name was not “Bernhard” (I can imagine him screaming over this) and Janá?ek never wrote anything called \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eThe Unbearable Lightness of Being\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e, although music of his was used in the eponymous film. The selection included here is the third of that composer’s set of three \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eFairy Tales\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e, but you won’t know that from Genuin’s track listing or from Runge’s booklet notes. Most of the disc was recorded way back in 2003, but three of the tracks (Tom Waits’s “Helsinki Mood” from \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eNight on Earth\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e, Dick Dale’s “Misirlou” as used in \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003ePulp Fiction\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e, and “Smile”) are from 2012. No explanation is given for the nine-year gap, but you wouldn’t know it was there unless you read it, and of course that is a good thing. \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eCellocinema\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e is one of those rare birds: a crossover disc that is neither silly nor pandering, and one that reveals that the performers have a genuine affinity for the material. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cspan style=\"font-weight:bold\"\u003eFANFARE: Raymond Tuttle \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Genuin","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":49704618787096,"sku":"4260036252200","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/2042804.jpg?v=1777929768","url":"https:\/\/hbdirect.com\/products\/cello-cinema","provider":"HBDirect","version":"1.0","type":"link"}