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Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZMANTOVANI(b Annunzio Paulo Mantovani, 15 November 1905, Vienna; d 30 March 1980, Tunbridge Wells, England) Violinist, composer, conductor. His father was a violinist under Toscanini at La Scala, Milan. He worked in London at 16, led Hotel Metropole orchestra '25, began broadcasting, recording; conducted for many stars such as Noel Coward. Those who enjoyed his later albums rarely knew that he had recorded in a potted-palm hotel style with bass, drums, accordion and half a dozen strings, some doubling on guitar, mandolin, accordion etc, with vocals by George Barclay, Stella Roberts and Al Bowlly; a few of these records were hits in the USA as early as '35-6 with instrumentals 'Red Sails In The Sunset', 'Serenade In The Night'; he also composed amusing instrumental novelties, such as 'Bull Frog' late '40s. Then 'Charmaine' was lifted from an album in 1950 and sold a million copies, his treatment of the 1913 song introducing the 'cascading strings' gimmick, and he became the king of orchestral mood music, helped by excellent post-war Decca/UK sound quality. Ten-inch LPs of Strauss waltzes etc allegedly sold millions; he was the first recording artist to sell a million stereo albums. 'Song From Moulin Rouge' was no. 1 UK '53 but competed with Percy Faith in USA; above all he was an album seller, with 51 hit LPs in the USA '53-72, most in the top 50, all instrumental except Kismet '64, the Broadway score with music by Borodin, sung by Robert Merrill, Regina Resnik and chorus. Sixteen CDs were still listed in the Schwann catalogue '97, almost as many more by the Mantovani Orchestra conducted by Stanley Black. |