It is a little early perhaps, but I am taking a couple of days away from the computer and so a double post is in order today.

Here are five standout discs new to my personal library that are recommended from the many piles of recordings that come my way.

First up, Marco Beltrami's score for 3:10 to Yuma.  I've said about all I can say about this score in my Oscar analysis but I find this to be a fascinating and coherent listen on disc.  Maybe I just miss new Morricone scores.

Though I have not really gotten into the new Doctor Who....I'm just unable to see anyone but Tom Baker in the role I guess...Murray Gold's score for each series is truly some of the best music being written for television.  It helps that he gets to use a full orchestra and chorus amidst some of the electronics as well.  But this might just be the best thing about the series.  Silva released Doctor Who: Series Three scores late last year and I finally managed to pick up a copy.  Both this and the previous disc are well worth your time if you like sci-fi orchestral scores.

And now for something completely different, Mahler.  Michael Tilson Thomas continues to prove that he is one of our best conductors of his generation.  And thank goodness the San Francisco Symphony has their own label and was willing to commit his Mahler cycle to disc.  The recording of the 3rd is my favorite next to an old Horenstein performance.  This month I caught up with the release of Mahler's "Symphony No. 7".  The recording recieved a Grammy award (rarely an indication of anything when it comes to Classical music) but this is a stellar performance, complete on 1 disc (!), that I think rivals Thomas's mentor, Leonard Bernstein.  This is a hard symphony to get into but somehow the performance is quite engaging.  I think the energy is helped by the live recording setting, not obtrusive at all here. 

Cut from a similar cloth, but in different tonal language, is Korngold's opera Das Wunder der Heliane.  The plot is not much to get excited about.  The king wants sex with his queen who won't put out.  She meets with a stranger in prison who desires her and whatever it is they consummate is on some astral plane.  All the same it condemns them both to death.  Yes, it is a bit odd and so a part of its time.  But the music is fascinating.  This is Korngold's masterpiece of orchestration and color.  You can hear bits and pieces that will find parallels in his film scores in the 1930s, but this is Korngold stretching the inherited Wagnerian chromaticism to new heights.  It is really hard to determine what key we are in, and yet things magically resolve and sound so natural that it never distracts.  I'm not sure how anyone could have heard the vocals against the sheer size of the orchestral forces here, but this re-issue of John Mauceri's recording is outstanding.  No big stand out arias, just lots of Korngold.

Though not a big Tiomkin fan, I found myself constantly amazed at the orchestral colors found in Land of the Pharaohs, one of the latest Film Score Monthly releases.  This is quite an epic score with plenty of dated Hollywood film music sound that must have been very odd in the context of the film.  Tiomkin has long stretches of underscore that have been pieced together here with the kind of loving care we have come to expect from the label.  The 2-disc set features a few extra cues of different takes as well to round off a shorter first disc.  But for Tiomkin fans it is 100 some minutes of pure pleasure.

A little late, but only because it's been a crazy couple of weeks plus I finally had a chance to listen to some of the latest things that I actually ordered (yes, I buy CDs too....lol).  So these are not necessarily new releases from the month, as they are new to my own collection.  But since this particular column has been a popular one on the blog here, I figure it is worth continuing.

I'll just start by saying that if you have not yet purchased the 2-disc Naxos release of Korngold's The Sea Hawk paired with Deception--well WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU WAITING FOR!  This is simply one of the best film score re-recordings Stromberg and Morgan have put together ever.  In fact, it may just be one of the best overall Korngold releases and one of the best Naxos releases on the label.  (Shame that Naxos claims this to be their last one--but word is that Stromberg/Morgan have begun a new label!)  The Sea Hawk is one of those scores that has begged for an up-to-date release forever.  Kojian's recording, reissued on Varese, with the Utah Symphony is a good one and I wouldn't give it up for its fine presentation.  But this is ALL the music for the film and over 100 minutes of any Korngold is never too much of a good thing.  The orchestra here is rich in detail somehow managing to blend the kind of film score recording listeners are used to but also honoring the large orchestral sound in a way that does not overdo things too much.  The orchestra plays crisply and there is just one wonderful musical moment after another.  This is the kind of CD that really belongs on your shelf even if you never bought another film score from the past--though I'd wager that after hearing this you will begin hunting for more of this great composer's music.  To make things even sweeter, the complete score for the Bette Davis film Deception is included.  The plus here is a recording of the film version of the "Cello Concerto" Korngold wrote for the film, so it is an interesting take from the concert version.  Theatrical trailer music is included for both films.  And, while you are at it, Naxos re-released one fo the Steiner combos this past month featuring scores for All This, and Heaven Too and A Stolen Life.  If you missed it on Marco Polo, well, you have a great bargain in equally stellar sound.

While browsing through the Naxos website I came across their re-issue of a Conifer recording featuring complete performances of two Ginastera ballets: Panambi and Estancia.  This is a real knockout recording with some wonderfully evocative music.  The integration of the more familiar music back into its original form in Estancia is worth the price here.  Ginastera's earlier work has a delicious blend of Stravinsky, Bartok, and Debussy, adding in wonderful Latin syncopations. 

Back to film music with one of 2 guilty pleasures this month.  First up is Chris Young's score for Ghost Rider, a film I doubt I'll ever see.  Young's music here is thoroughly enjoyable big orchestral gestures including chorus.  The action sequences are excellent and the blend of popular music elements with the orchestral sound are really first rate.  Let's face it, this is the kind of bad movie Goldsmith was great at scoring.  Young continues to prove he is an A-list composer whether or not anyone else will admit it.  So why are we still waiting for a Spiderman 3 release?!

Those who know me also know I usually have little nice to say about Hans Zimmer, but my mind is changing as the last three scores I have heard by him have been surprisingly engaging and seem to be moving in new directions for the composer.  So, it is with real guilty pleasure that I found myself listening to his score for The Simpson's Movie in my car a lot in the past month.  I am still trying to figure out how that choir made it through "Spider Pig" without laughing.  A fun comedy score that blends Zimmer's style with that from the TV series.

Finally, I just reviewed here Desplat's score for Lust, Caution.  So I won't say much more here other than to encourage you to pick this on up as well.