THE GODFATHER, PART II is a rarity in Hollywood: a sequel that works as well as, or better than, the original. The film follows the Corleone mob family in two very different stories: the first with Michael (Al Pacino) in 1950’s Nevada and Cuba and the second with Robert De Niro playing a younger version [...]

It didn’t take me long to explore more of Nino Rota‘s concert music. In addition to the new release of his First and Second Symphonies on Chandos, I was recently sent a copy of a disc of three of Rota’s later works, performed by I Musici di Parma. Following his years as an arthouse favorite [...]

Consider the following equation: 33 years addicted to film music + 9 years of higher education = I never knew Nino Rota composed for the concert hall. And as such, I’m embarrassed to admit that I’d never heard a note of Rota’s concert music until I was sent a recent Chandos release of his first and [...]

As a pre-pubescent ten-year-old in 1972, I was at the theater watching SNOOPY, COME HOME with my Mom, while most of America was lining up to see THE GODFATHER. I heard songs by the Sherman Brothers, they heard one of the most influential film scores in the history of film music. No offense to the [...]