Those Beautiful Strings - The Melachrino Strings

Air On The G Strings (Bach)

Those Beautiful Strings
The Melachrino Strings
Conducted by George Melachrino
Photo by Wendy Hilty
RCA Victor LPM-1330
1956

From the back cover: The life of this orchestra's talented creator, George Melachrino, began in London, where he was born of Greek parentage in 1909. His musical career started at an early age with violin lessons under the guidance of his grandfather. Aspiring to a concert career, Melachrino entered England's Trinity College of Music, where he specialized in chamber music. However, necessity forced him to put aside the idea of a life of concertizing, so at eighteen he joined the Savoy Hill Theater in London as sort of handy-man musician. There he played with many of England's leading orchestras, learned various instruments including oboe, clarinet and saxophone, and also did some composing and arranging.

In 1939 with this backing of experience Melachrino formed his owned orchestra and played at the Cafe de Paris, from which he broadcast over the BBC. Unfortunately World War II interrupted this venture and Melachrino, disbanding his orchestra, joined the British Army. In the Army he toured camps and remote gun sites with a group from the Central Pool of Artists and was later appointed musical director for the British Band of the Allied Expeditionary Forces, which contained some of the finest instrumentalists in Great Britain. As an antidote to the tensions of wartime Melachrino decided to concentrate on a sweet, melodic sound rather than the loud brassy one usually associated with military bands. Throughout British army camps his name soon became synonymous with singing, relaxed music.

At the war's end Melachrino enlisted most of his AEF musicians for his own orchestra, "The Melachrino Strings," and continued to develop his highly expressive style of string writing. As an arranger of music he has become particularly noteworthy for his success in making the classics familiar to all. Guided by rare sensitivity and unerring taste, Melachrino skillfully emphasizes the melodic fiber of classical music. He thus extends to countless listeners new understanding and appreciation of classical compositions.

Memories Of The Ballet
Dance Of The Houses (Ponchielli)
Intermezzo "Cavalleria Rusticana" (Mascagni)
Air On The G Strings (Bach)
Romance In E-Flat, Op. 44 No. 1 (Rubinstein)
Serenade (Schubert)
Malaguena (Lecuona)
Waltz In C-Sharp Minor (Chopin)