Cat No FM601

· Digipak edition of two long-unavailable albums by Annunzio Paolo Mantovani, ‘The King of Cascading Strings’, & his orchestra : “Song Hits From Theatreland” (1955) and “Film Encores” (1957) - two of his most successful titles, in a long and prolific career.
· Mantovani is one of the biggest-selling easy listening artists of all-time and a cornerstone of 20th Century light orchestral music.
· Born in Venice, his father was a virtuoso violinist playing in the La Scala orchestra under Toscanini. Mantovani was also a fine violinist & good pianist. Moving to England (when his father became director of Covent Garden Orchestra) he gave high-profile classical concerts, but later joined the Hotel Metropole Orchestra, recording with them in the late 20’s. He formed his own Tipica Orchestra in the early 30’s, and was for a time musical director for Noel Coward.
· In the 50’s his popularity took on phenomenal proportions, on both sides of the Atlantic. “Film Encores” was in fact a Number 1 US album, and generated a 64-date North American tour in 1956.