Best Orchestrations

[paradox_error]

Posted: 10/14/05 at 6:19pm

What shows have the Best Orchestrations?

I'd go with Pacific Overtures and Parade.

[C is for Company]

Posted: 10/14/05 at 6:24pm

Well on broadway right now, I am extremely fond of sweeneys very different musical arrangement compared to its original recording

[Phantom05]

Posted: 10/14/05 at 6:32pm

...I would definitely agree with parade, but I also have to say that I think anything composed by Sylvester Levay has a reputationa, and to me at least, is gorgeous. The German productions of Elisabeth and Mozart have wonderful orchestrations, Elisabeth in particular. The music from Elisabeth is particulary difficult both vocally as well as the orchestrations, it really is quite brilliant. I look forward to the opening of Kunze and Levay's new musical Rebecca when it opens in Vienna.

...I am also a fan of Steve Margoshes. I think that a lot of the work he does is wonderful, and I truly look forward to seeing what he has done in collaboration with Elton John on Lestat! Doug Besterman is another good one that pops into mind. I think he did a great job re-vamping the old and new numbers from Thoroughly Modern Millie.

...Some shows that I think have exceptional orchestrations include: Titanic the Musical, The Woman In White, Phantom of the Opera, Into The Woods, SWEENY TODD, The Light In the Piazza...AND OF COURSE THERE ARE OTHERS!

Later!

Phantom05.

[paradox_error]

Posted: 10/14/05 at 7:33pm

Well of course, Jonathon Tunick is THE master orchestrator...

I loved Michael Starobin's (if I remember correctly) work on Sunday in the Park With George. Just glorious...

[roquat]

Posted: 10/14/05 at 7:41pm

GYPSY--if done correctly, these sound like a brassy, slightly tacky old burlesque orchestra.

THE FANTASTICKS--no other show has ever been able to match the lovely minimalism of the original piano/harp orchestrations. They make the show sound both vibrant and delicate, as if it were being carried along by the wind.

WINGS--absolutely brilliant. Ghostly, evanescent--it evokes an entire frightening universe taking place in one sick woman's mind.

[cathywellerstein]

Posted: 10/14/05 at 7:50pm

i remember loving the orchestrations of Dance of the Vampires. they were beautiful.

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/14/05 at 9:11pm

I've met a lot of celebrities in my day. (That's not bragging, there's a point coming...) I usually don't get star struck anymore. Who a person is, doesn't impress me as much as what that person does or can do well, especially in the arts. THAT impresses me.

And, despite meeting far more "higher profile" people, I have to tell you that I literally was shaking when I met Jonathan Tunick after a show in New York. He couldn't have been nicer and was a quiet, polite man. But I was a complete tongue-tied idiot, and my hand shook when I met him. He is on a par with none as a Broadway orchestrator of the later half of the 20th century. Mostly Sondheim shows, but other brilliant pieces as well. I could always tell a Tunick orchestration before I even looked for the credit. He managed to make the absolute most out of the musicians, and made the orchestra sound twice as big as they actually were.

Promises Promises, Company, Follies, Night Music, Sweeney, Nine, Pacific Overtures, Baby, Merrily, Into the Woods, Passion, Titanic... and now The Color Purple. Long may he reign supreme!

Oh, and for the first half of the 20th century, I'd say anything by Robert Russell Bennett, who gave Rodgers & Hammerstein their amazing sound.

Updated On: 10/14/05 at 09:11 PM

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 10/14/05 at 9:19pm

Hate to do this to you guys, but Wicked's orchestrations are undeniably hypnotizing. They are so eerie yet so intriguing and they really wonderfull play with Schwartz's score. IMO, Wicked deserved all four design Tonys (Orchestrations, Lighting Design, Set Design, and Costume Design)

[FOAnatic]

Posted: 10/14/05 at 9:21pm

GYPSY

CABARET (revival)

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/14/05 at 9:25pm

Sad to tell you "Wicked" didn't win for orchestrations... But William David Brohn did a terrific job on Wicked. No arguements there.

He's also responsible for Ragtime, The Secret Garden & the Sweet Smell of Success, but he specializes in spicing up old scores... like Show Boat, Oklahoma, Carousel, Brigadoon, Jerome Robbins' Broadway & Crazy For You (vintage music in a new show).

EDIT: He did win for "Ragtime" though!

Updated On: 10/14/05 at 09:25 PM

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 10/14/05 at 9:25pm

best12: I know it didn't win. I just said it deserved to. *Sorry if that came out rude*

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 10/14/05 at 9:31pm

I'd have to say The Light in the Piazza and The Last Five Years. I love the cellos and lack of percussion (while keeping the score percussive) in the latter.

I mean, of course those are not the only good ones. There are other brilliant orchestrations out there.

~Steven

[Piazzaslight]

Posted: 10/14/05 at 9:33pm

-The Light in the Piazza. Goergeous. Just gorgeous.

-The Pillowman. I know this is not a musical, but I thought the orchestrations for the music of the show really fitted the show's darkness greatly.

I also like the orchestrations for Les Miz. The harps during I Dreamed a Dream... wonderful.

[InfiniteTheaterFrenzy]

Posted: 10/14/05 at 9:53pm

Ragtime!

and i loved the All Shook Up orchestrations

[Liz_Bennet]

Posted: 10/14/05 at 10:28pm

West Side Story. End of discussion. Well, actually all of Bernstein's shows are great. On the Town has excellent orchestrations. And so does Candide. And Wonderful Town.

Piazza does have glorious orchestrations as well, for a very interesting combination of instruments. I like Floyd Collins too. I generally like Jason Robert Brown's shows' choice of instrumentation and orchestration as well. I like an old-fashioned big orchestra for shows like Sweeney or Follies, but these shows are more effective with a carefully chosen smaller ensemble. (I'm seeing the Sweeney revival tomorrow. We'll see about the orchestrations there.)

I agree about the Pillowman cimbalon, it put me right in Eastern Europe (Rumania, actually, I'm just a world music geek) before the curtain went up.

[roquat]

Posted: 10/14/05 at 10:43pm

I forgot about FLOYD COLLINS. The way the strings are layered over and around the guitar and mandolin--he manages to make it sound down-home and yearning at the same time.

[Smaxie]

Posted: 10/15/05 at 10:36am

This is a favorite subject of mine...

I agree with some (but not all) of the choices that have been mentioned, but I would specifically cite:

PHIL LANG - too many great sets of orchestrations to mention, but some of my favorites of his are the charts for High Button Shoes, Goldilocks, Jamaica, Li'l Abner, Take Me Along, Carnival, Subways are for Sleeping, Jennie, Mame, I Do! I Do!, How Now Dow Jones, Sugar, Mack and Mabel, Annie, 42nd Street. His work has that traditional Broadway sound, but his writing is always layered and interesting, with incredibly colorful little details.

EDDIE SAUTER - all of his shows have a unique, idiosyncratic sound. It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's Superman, Henry, Sweet Henry, The Apple Tree, 1776 and Georgy sound nothing like each other, but are tailored specifically for the score's individual needs.

RALPH BURNS - wrote the swinging charts for No Strings, Funny Girl, Little Me, No No Nanette, Chicago, Sweet Charity, etc., but could also do the traditional Robert Russell Bennett sound better than Robert Russell Bennett in such scores as Do I Hear a Waltz? and Darling of the Day.

ROBERT GINZLER/SID RAMIN - together and apart, are responsible for West Side Story, Gypsy, Wonderful Town, Bye Bye Birdie, How to Succeed in Business, Wildcat, Forum, Irma La Douce. Ginzler's orchestrations for Birdie and How to Succeed are some of the finest orchestrations ever written.

DON WALKER - lots of great work, but some of my favorites of his are Carousel, The Most Happy Fella, Anyone Can Whistle and The Rothschilds.

JONATHAN TUNICK - I think he's gotten less interesting in recent years, but Promises, Promises, Company, Follies and A Little Night Music are sublime.

ROBERT RUSSELL BENNETT - had a reputation for writing somewhat square orchestrations, but I think his work for On a Clear Day You Can See Forever is perfection.

HAROLD WHEELER - one of the best orchestrators still working, and responsible for the terrific orchestrations for Dreamgirls, The Tap Dance Kid, The Full Monty, Hairspray and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. He's able to write in a pop idiom, but still achive a theatrical sound, not an easy balance.

LUTHER HENDERSON - terrific orchestrator and dance arranger. Love his work on Do Re Mi, and those incredible dance arrangements for No No Nanette.

[roquat]

Posted: 10/15/05 at 1:27pm

FOLLIES, definitely. Big, old-style Broadway sound but with elements of ghostliness and decay.