The Classic Soundtrack Collection: Elmer Bernstein

Highly esteemed composer and conductor Elmer Bernstein produced some of cinema's most memorable soundtracks across a career that spanned more than 50 years. With such classic scores as those for the movies 'The Magnificent Seven', 'The Great Escape', 'Rat Race', 'Birdman Of Alcatraz', 'To Kill A Mockingbird' and Martin Scorsese's 1991 remake of 'Cape Fear' to his name, alongside numerous others, Bernstein will forever be remembered as one of the greatest and most influential composers of the 20th Century. While consistently prolific throughout his life, it was Bernstein's work in the 1950s and 1960s which remains the most iconic, challenging and pioneering of his career. After many nominations, Bernstein finally won an Oscar in 1967 for his soundtrack to the George Roy Hill musical 'Thoroughly Modern Millie', with Julie Andrews in the title role. He was immortalized with a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame in 1996, and earned an honorary doctorate from New York City's Five Towns College in 1999. He won lifetime achievement awards from numerous organisations, including the American Society Of Composers, Authors And Publishers (ASCAP), from whom he was also given a Founders Award in 2001 and a NARAS Governors Awards in 2004. This collection, spanning over five hours of music on four discs, collates the very best of Elmer Bernstein's scores. Featuring eight full, original soundtrack LPs, plus a selection of film themes from movies he scored that were not accompanied by full recordings, this delightful compilation allows the listener to experience some of the world's finest film scores as solely soundtrack recordings, a wholly different experience to the same pieces accompanying their relevant films.