by Warren M. Sherk
The lilting, familiar strains of “This Then Is Texas,” masterfully rendered by the Pacific Symphony and gracefully conducted by Richard Kaufman, filled the hall. It was the world concert premiere of a suite from Giant, one of the highlights of the Pacific Symphony Pops concert Saturday, November 8, the close of a three-night performance at the Orange County Performing Arts Center’s Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall.
Over the course of the evening, Kaufman and the orchestra excelled at interpreting a diverse selection of film and television music by Tiomkin. Patrick Russ, who carried out the orchestrations for the Giant suite as well as the Rawhide theme and selections from Fall of the Roman Empire, and this writer met with Kaufman backstage during intermission. Both conductor and orchestrator were pleased with the performance. Like athletes talking strategy at halftime, Kaufman and Russ immediately launched into a lively discussion of tempos and orchestral balance. The sole disappointment was the absence of Olivia Tiomkin Douglas, who, sadly, was unable to attend as originally planned.
The overture from Cyrano de Bergerac started the evening. In lieu of program notes, Kaufman personalized the audience’s experience by introducing each piece from the stage. The conductor later commented backstage that in order to get the proper balance for the overture, he envisioned it as a harpsichord concerto. From there, the program carved a musical path through a variety of historical periods: the Civil War (“Thee I Love” from Friendly Persuasion), the Old West (the themes from High Noon and Rawhide), and the Roman Empire (the selections from Fall of the Roman Empire).
In juxtaposing High Noon and Rawhide—perhaps Tiomkin’s two best-known Western themes—Kaufman and the orchestra began with the familiar rhythm, reminiscent of trotting horses, that recalls Gary Cooper’s iconic lawman. This flowed effortlessly into the driving rhythm of Rawhide and its catchy antiphonal voicings.
While introducing Friendly Persuasion’s “Thee I Love,” Kaufman recited for the audience the song’s exquisite words written by Paul Francis Webster, calling them poetry more than lyrics. As the orchestra brought the music to life, Tiomkin’s memorable instrumental theme evoked the spirit of that Civil War drama, also starring Gary Cooper.
The suite from Giant included the prelude, love theme, and finale, as prepared by Patrick Russ. The finale incorporated music from Tiomkin’s original score that had been replaced by the song “The Eyes of Texas.” It was followed by The Old Man and the Sea, an arrangement by Pete King, best known for his work with the Pete King Chorale.
For the overture from Fall of the Roman Empire (see article, below), Tiomkin wrote a dramatic organ solo, here played with a sure hand by Dennis James on the hall’s recently installed William J. Gillespie Concert Organ. The two opening notes of the film’s theme, “The Fall of Love,” brought forth a wall of sound from the magnificent instrument. Drawing on his background as a theater organist, James played with equal measures of bravura (solo) and restraint (with the orchestra). He effortlessly allowed the pipes to speak and gave voice to the moving passages with remarkable clarity, considering the length of the tin, wood, and aluminum pipes. Of the 4,322 pipes, the longest extends nearly 50 feet.
Following the overture was the Pax Romana, also from the film, which was not listed on the program. It was a fitting end to the Tiomkin portion of the concert. During the stirring climax, in which the orchestral tutti is matched by the organ’s far-reaching sonic range, one of the first violinists, in the midst of playing a furious tremolo, looked straight up, his awestruck expression a reflection of the music’s power and intensity. Tiomkin’s devilishly difficult work challenged the brass section, and they proved more than up to the task. Backstage, Kaufman remarked that the key to conducting the piece lies in balancing the ensemble when two or three main musical ideas occur simultaneously. Russ added that the original score for the “Pax” was devoid of woodwinds.
After the privilege of listening to nearly thirty minutes of Tiomkin’s beautiful music, two traits emerged despite the music’s wide-ranging styles: the composer’s gift for melody, and his uncanny attention to detail, particularly in the countermelodies and the inner parts.
Back in Kaufman’s comfortably appointed dressing room, the conductor shrugged off the ten-minute warning prior to the concert’s second portion—featuring Righteous Brother Bill Medley—and continued to discuss Tiomkin’s music with trademark enthusiasm, if only for a few minutes more. Kaufman is regarded as a leading proponent of film music in concert in the United States. Just a week earlier, on Halloween night, he led the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in a world premiere live performance of Franz Waxman’s score for The Bride of Frankenstein. The film was screened in its entirety, accompanied by the orchestra. The parts and music for that concert, as for the Tiomkin, was provided by John Waxman’s Themes and Variations, the premier provider of film music for concert performances around the world. Kaufman will next conduct Tiomkin in December, leading the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in a Christmas pops performance of music from It’s a Wonderful Life.