Sep 19, 2023
Today on Too Opinionated, we sit down with Donelle Dadigan, the President and Co-founder of the José Iturbi Foundation & President and Founder of The Hollywood Museum.
Once upon a time in the 1940s and 1950s in America, classical
music and its stars were a natural part of many big Hollywood
movies. This golden age saw the creation of famous musical hits
such as Anchors Aweigh with Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra or That
Midnight Kiss with Mario Lanza, in which a spirited piano virtuoso
and conductor always played himself: José Iturbi. Nowadays known
only to connoisseurs and aficionados, the native Spaniard was at
the time, along with Oscar Levant (An American in Paris), one of
the most commercially successful classical artists in Hollywood.
When the film A Song to Remember was released in 1945, for example,
Iturbi’s recording of a Chopin Polonaise sold 800,000 copies.
Shortly thereafter, his recording company, RCA Victor, paid him
over $118,000 in semiannual royalties – a record at the time. And
Iturbi’s passion wasn’t just for music: he completed 1,400 hours of
flying as a pilot, enjoyed riding motorcycles fast, and excelled as
an amateur boxer. This edition is a tribute to an era when
classical music from films made its journey around the world. It
contains all the recordings made by José Iturbi and his sister
Amparo Iturbi for RCA Victor from 1933 to 1955, painstakingly
restored and remastered from the original records and tapes,
including numerous previously unreleased recordings. The 188-page
coffee-table book includes a detailed biographical essay by
“Ambassador for the American Songbook” and producer of this set
Michael Feinstein, extensive documentation with photographs and
facsimiles from the José Iturbi Foundation archives, and a complete
session and release discography.
· The complete RCA Victor
Recordings by José Iturbi from 1933 to
1953, including his piano duo recordings with sister Amparo
Iturbi as well as Amparo Iturbi’s
solo recordings on 16 CDs, restored and remastered
from the original lacquer discs and analogue tapes using
high-resolution 24 bit/192 kHz mastering technology with about
95% of the recordings appearing on CD for the first time
and 23 pieces previously unreleased.
· A new, captivating essay by
GRAMMY®-nominated singer, pianist, and music
anthropologist Michael Feinstein on the life and work of
José Iturbi.
· Complete session
discography as well a complete documentation of José
Iturbi’s commercial releases on 78rpm and LP.
· Photo book with previously
unseen photos and facsimiles from the Iturbi
Archives in Hollywood.