Besides its oddly creepy cover art, this edition of Naxos'
The Classics at the Movies series isn't much different from its brethren. Using the suspense genre as a theme, Naxos has collected orchestral music from such films as The Silence of the Lambs, Seven, Copycat, and A Clockwork Orange. The
Classics series doesn't feature music written specifically for the films it highlights. Rather, it gathers pieces from renowned composers that have appeared on the screen. Here, works from
Bach,
Beethoven,
Puccini, and
Chopin appear. Highlights include the latter composer's Prelude No. 15 "Raindrop," performed by pianist
Idil Biret, and
the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra's stirring performance of
Berlioz' Rêveries -- Passions from Symphonie Fantastique. In terms of its relation to the film it is used in, best might be the march from
Purcell's Music on the Death of Queen Mary. Its dirge-like tones and understated yet powerful percussion were incredibly effective in the second half of Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange, and it's those images that the piece suggests here. ~ Johnny Loftus