News & Events: AGATHA - BEST CLASSIC FILM MUSIC RELEASE USA 2020

AGATHA - BEST CLASSIC FILM MUSIC RELEASE USA 2020, Here, alphabetically, are our choices for the best classic film music releases of 2020: Agatha (on the Dragon's Domain label). English composer Howard Blake's original score for the 1979 movie about Agatha Christie's 1926 disappearance was thrown out at the behest of star Vanessa Redgrave. This first release shows it to be a richly romantic and dramatic work that deserved better. The pandemic may have cancelled live performances and moviegoing for most of 2020, but for film-music buffs, that just meant more time at home listening to their favorite music, including many releases of music never before heard outside their original cinematic contexts. "There is still an unquenchable thirst for classic scores, both previously unreleased and reissues of scores that are expanded, re-mastered, or both," says Matt Verboys, co-owner of L.A. label La-La Land Records. "As technology keeps advancing, many previous releases can now get a sonic upgrade that makes the music well worth a revisit." The business challenges remain unchanged, however, he says: "Who holds the rights to a given score and can those rights be obtained? Do the music elements even exist and if so, can they be rounded up? Once obtained, is the audio good enough to release, or does massive restoration work need to be done?" Perennial favorite composers Bernard Herrmann, John Williams and Jerry Goldsmith — always assured to generate strong sales — were again represented this year on several different labels. Here, alphabetically, are our choices for the best classic film music releases of 2020: Agatha (on the Dragon's Domain label). English composer Howard Blake's original score for the 1979 movie about Agatha Christie's 1926 disappearance was thrown out at the behest of star Vanessa Redgrave. This first release shows it to be a richly romantic and dramatic work that deserved better., The pandemic may have cancelled live performances and moviegoing for most of 2020, but for film-music buffs, that just meant more time at home listening to their favorite music, including many releases of music never before heard outside their original cinematic contexts. "There is still an unquenchable thirst for classic scores, both previously unreleased and reissues of scores that are expanded, re-mastered, or both," says Matt Verboys, co-owner of L.A. label La-La Land Records. "As technology keeps advancing, many previous releases can now get a sonic upgrade that makes the music well worth a revisit." The business challenges remain unchanged, however, he says: "Who holds the rights to a given score and can those rights be obtained? Do the music elements even exist and if so, can they be rounded up? Once obtained, is the audio good enough to release, or does massive restoration work need to be done?" Perennial favorite composers Bernard Herrmann, John Williams and Jerry Goldsmith — always assured to generate strong sales — were again represented this year on several different labels. Here, alphabetically, are our choices for the best classic film music releases of 2020: Agatha (on the Dragon's Domain label). English composer Howard Blake's original score for the 1979 movie about Agatha Christie's 1926 disappearance was thrown out at the behest of star Vanessa Redgrave. This first release shows it to be a richly romantic and dramatic work that deserved better.

• *AGATHA (Opus 0265)

https://variety.com/2020/music/news/best-classic-film-music-albums-2020-1234877250/

The Best Classic Film Music Albums of 2020

By Jon Burlingame

• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  

The Film Music Society