It’s hard to believe that the luscious, Romantic music that Alfred Newman wrote for these three films was composed by the same guy who did the jazzy, urban main title of “Airport”. But then again, versatility is the hallmark of the film composer, and unlike his colleagues with more recognizable personal styles (Korngold, Rozsa, and Waxman, for example), Newman was the consummate professional, always ready to submerge his individuality in support of the action on screen. And yet, as Bill Whitaker points out in his excellent booklet notes, it was the Connecticut native Newman more than anyone else who was responsible for the “Hollywood” sound of the 1940s and ’50s, and whose gift for creating a seemingly endless stream of Romantic melody really made the style and achievement of his immigrant colleagues possible. Newman’s lyrical gifts are everywhere in evidence on this disc, from the haunting tune that dominates the second half of the suite from “All About Eve”, to the music he devised to represent the gypsy girl Esmeralda in “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”. The performances and recordings are up to the high standards of this wonderful series. A first rate tribute to one of Hollywood’s musical giants.
