The Mantovani Orchestra

Named after its creator, the Mantovani Orchestra was the most popular musical ensemble in the British charts before the Beatles appeared and the orchestra contributed to the emergence of the easy listening and light music genres. Annunzio Paolo Mantovani – known professionally by his last name - was born into a family of musicians in Venice, Italy on November 15, 1905. He received his musical training from his father, who played first violin in the orchestra of La Scala in Milan under conductor Arturo Toscanini. When he came to England with his family in 1912, he studied at Trinity College of Music in London and founded his first dance orchestra in Birmingham. He performed with his orchestra on the radio and in concerts during the Second World War. As a sought-after composer and arranger for musicals in London, he developed his own orchestral sound, which was included a cascading strings effect that he learned from arranger and composer Ronald Binge. Mantovani initially began experiment his technique with Viennese waltzes, which brought him to the attention of a wider audience. With the so-called ‘Mantovani sound,’ the orchestra was internationally successful during the rise of stereo recordings. Mantovani, who was under contract with Decca in the UK and London Records in the USA, eventually recorded around 50 albums with his orchestra. They included popular standards of the time, themes from films and musicals, Latin, jazz and pop hits, classical music favorites, and original compositions. His most popular works include his interpretations of "Charmaine" (1951, number 10), "It's April Again (Theme from Moulin-Rouge)" (1953, number 1), "Cara Mia" (1954, number 1), "Around the World" (1957, number 12) and "Main Theme from Exodus" (1960, number 31). In 1959, he set the record for the most albums in the charts at the same time with six LPs. Between 1955 and 1972, no fewer than 40 albums appeared on the American charts, including Film Encores (1957). Mantovani hosted his own television program, conducted his orchestra, and made recordings until the 1970s, before retiring. Annunzio Paolo Mantovani died on March 29, 1980, in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, at the age of 74. After the conductor's death, the orchestra continued to honor his memory for a decade, culminating in the concert A Night in Vienna (1991).

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