CLASSICAL MUSIC : Schifrin, Symphony Pops Make Movie Music for CDs

The Atlanta Symphony is not likely to lose its monopoly on classical Grammy Awards as a result, but the San Diego Symphony Pops has tossed its first CD into the ring and has already finished a sequel.

Earlier this summer, under the baton of Lalo Schifrin, the symphony released its inaugural disc, “Those Fabulous Hollywood Marches.” Last week, Schifrin and the orchestra recorded a sequel, which is also a revered Hollywood tradition. The new CD will be devoted to motion-picture scores from classic mysteries and thrillers.

“I’d like to call it ‘Music for Murder’ with a smoking pistol on the cover,” said record producer Steve Vining, “but that’s yet to be negotiated.” Vining, who recorded the first disc on his company’s ProArte label, discussed the projects after one of last week’s recording sessions at Copley Symphony Hall. He stressed the difficulty of carving out a niche in the already crowded field of recorded orchestral music.

“It’s a particular problem for American orchestras outside of the ‘big five,’ ” Vining noted, alluding to the elite circle of major orchestras (Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Boston and Los Angeles) with stellar reputations and high name recognition among record buyers. The San Diego Symphony decided to slip in through the back door with a pair of pops recordings, a field where the competition is less severe.

“We’re looking for a combination of unusual repertory and technical tricks to make each recording stand out,” Vining said. “Our planning is very realistic in terms of the potential market.”

Among the works from movie scores on the upcoming disc not previously recorded, according to Vining, are John Waxman’s “Rear Window” and “Rebecca,” as well as Schifrin’s amusement park waltz from “Rollercoaster.” According to Vining, the upcoming disc’s noteworthy technical feature is its Dolby Surround system, which he described as a refinement of the 1970s quadraphonic sound that includes separate rear sound channels. The symphony’s CD will be the first digitally produced CD in Dolby Surround, Vining said.

“A slight delay is built into the rear channels to give the acoustical sensation of sitting in a live concert hall. This system works particularly well with sound effects, so we’re using a real gun and siren in the recording of Schifrin’s ‘Dirty Harry’ score.”

Vining added that Schifrin’s presence on both albums is a major selling point. Music director of both the Paris Philharmonic and the Glendale Symphony, Schifrin’s reputation as a film composer should help international sales. Even Vining was pleasantly surprised with the initial sales of the Hollywood marches CD. Having sold 15,000 copies since its release, the disc is already into its second printing.

After recording its two pops discs, the symphony will graduate to more serious repertory. In February, music director Yoav Talmi will conduct the orchestra in the Third Symphony by Russian composer Reinhold Gliere. Yet to be hammered out between Talmi and ProArte is the repertory for the maestro’s other serious recording, scheduled for the next season.

Coming attractions. For music lovers who have missed the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra’s local visits, relief is in sight. The La Jolla Chamber Music Society will bring the ensemble to UC San Diego’s Mandeville Auditorium on Dec. 8 to play the entire cycle of J.S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos under the direction of Iona Brown. In spite of its location at UCSD, this performance is one of the eight concerts offered in the 1990-91 Sherwood Auditorium series, which was announced last week by the society.

The Sherwood series, the society’s oldest chamber music series, will open with a recital by the rising young American violinist Robert McDuffie. Notable on McDuffie’s Sept. 30 program is a generous helping of 20th-Century music, a category to which staid La Jollans have usually expressed moderate aversion. McDuffie will play Bartok’s Rhapsody No. 1 and Rhapsody No. 2, a Ravel sonata, and Peter Lieberson’s “Elegy,” a composition completed just this year.

The Budapest Chamber Orchestra visits Sherwood on Oct. 16 with a more traditional program featuring the Tchaikovsky “Serenade,” followed by famed cellist Janos Starker on Oct. 27. The five-member Camerata Musica--Berlin will perform a varied Baroque program complemented by Benjamin Britten’s “Simple” Symphony on Jan. 9, 1991.

The remainder of the series includes an appearance by the Vermeer Quartet on Feb. 2, 1991, a concert by the Buswell-Parnas-Luvisi Piano Trio on March 15, 1991, and a solo recital by Shura Cherkassy on April 26, 1991. Cherkassy, the 78-year-old Russian-born virtuoso pianist who studied with the legendary Josef Hoffmann, will play Scriabin’s Fourth Sonata on his all-Romantic program.

Although the Sherwood series regularly sells out--the hall seats only 500--society Executive Director Neale Perl is eager to add new subscribers to the upcoming series.

Smile and sing pretty. San Diego Opera chorus master Martin Wright has announced open auditions for the opera chorus to he held Aug. 20-22. Singers in all ranges are needed. To schedule an audition with Wright, singers should call the opera office (232-7637) and prepare a vocal solo of their own choice. Among the operas needing chorus participation next season are Mozart’s “Cosi Fan Tutte,” Verdi’s “La Traviata,” and Carlisle Floyd’s “The Passion of Jonathan Wade.” Wright is looking for additional singers for the Floyd opera, an historical grand opera set in the American South after the Civil War.