Leonard Pennario - Concertos Under the Stars

Concertos Under the Stars  

By: Leonard Pennario Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra

Good Condition. (A small plain white sticker on the inside of the front insert. 

A Review:

I'm very pleased to have found, ordered and received this CD. My family (my parents) owned the original 1959 Capitol LP "Concertos Under the Stars," with pianist Leonard Pennario and Carmen Dragon conducting the Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra. I grew up LOVING the superb quality of the performances on this album, and eventually I inherited the LP. Unfortunately, somewhere along the way, the vinyl record acquired a full-through radial break that makes it unplayable.

Below, is an EXCERPT of a March 11, 2006 review by J. Townley that provides interesting history about this 1959 album, "Concertos Under the Stars."
His review is about the 2000 CD, "Piano in Hollywood: Classic Movie Concertos" (pianist Santiago Rodriguez), but he begins his review ("A Neary Worthy Competitor to the Granddaddy of Movie Concertos Recordings") by describing the "Granddaddy" -- the 1959 Capitol LP "Concertos Under the Stars."

What is not well known is that the best-selling LP's MASTER TAPE WAS LOST IN A FIRE that gutted the Capitol Records Main Offices on Vine and Gower in Hollywood in the mid-sixties and Capitol Executives hastily contacted Pennario and Dragon and begged them to make another master. The original was well-rehearsed and therefore came off sounding splendid--pianist and orchestra synchronized perfectly. The second was not as good, probably owing to budget and lack of rehearsal time. Consequently there are several parts where soloist and orchestra are out of sync, especially the brass in the final moments of the Swedish Rhapsody where they are really called upon to shine in order to give the piece a rousing close.
END OF EXCERPT

NOTE: Townley's 2006 review is the only place I've ever found that mentions the mid-sixties fire at Capitol Records that destroyed the master tapes of the original 1959 LP, "Concertos Under the Stars."

The CD of "Concertos Under the Stars" has 12 tracks (7 that were on the original LP, plus 5 additional).

Tracklist