The optimism of the 1930s was shattered at the end of the decade with the outbreak of the Second World War, but if anything music became even more important to alleviate the gloom of everyday life. This volume focuses on the 1940s and 1950s, with the latter decade revealing a renaissance of light music, thanks to the demands of the new long playing records and the ability of fresh composers and arrangers to exploit exciting new ideas offered by the marvel of high-fidelity sound. Stereo would later add a further dimension, but the inventive creations as the mono-only era came to an end are often quite stunning.
Interpretation **** Sound Quality *** Repertoire ***** Booklet **** Erik Daumann
