Music Album Review: ‘Cinema Serenade 2: The Golden Age – Itzhak Perlman, John Williams & The Boston Pops Orchestra’ (1999)

Cinema Serenade 2: The Golden Age – Itzhak Perlman, John Williams & The Boston Pops Orchestra

Label: Sony Classical

Year Released: 1999

Genre(s): Film Music, Light Classical, Violin Transcriptions

Cinema Serenade 2: The Golden Age — A New and Expanded Review

Following the unexpected and well‑deserved success of Cinema Serenade, conductor John Williams and violinist Itzhak Perlman reunited for a second collaboration—one that dives even deeper into Hollywood’s romantic past. This time joined by the Boston Pops Orchestra, Cinema Serenade 2: The Golden Age is a lush, affectionate tribute to the era when movie stars were larger than life and their films were illuminated by the music of giants: Max Steiner, Miklós Rózsa, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Victor Young, and more.

Where the first album felt like a love letter to the silver screen, this sequel feels like a rediscovered scrapbook—sepia‑toned, elegant, and brimming with melodies that once floated through theaters filled with cigarette smoke and dreams. Williams’ conducting is warm and unhurried, giving Perlman’s violin room to breathe, sigh, and glow. The Pops, of course, play with their trademark combination of polish and heart.

The selections span some of the most iconic films of Hollywood’s Golden Age. Steiner’s yearning themes from Now, Voyager and Gone With the Wind are rendered with a tenderness that feels almost confessional. Korngold’s love theme from The Adventures of Robin Hood—written by a composer who practically invented the swashbuckling sound—shimmers with youthful energy. Even Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times theme, deceptively simple on the surface, becomes a miniature poem in Perlman’s hands. And the traditional “St. Patrick’s Day” from The Quiet Man is given a noble, almost nostalgic glow.

But for those of us who proudly count ourselves charter members of The Rick Blaine Society of Rank Sentimentalists, two tracks rise above the rest. Herman Hupfeld’s immortal “As Time Goes By” from Casablanca and Victor Young’s “My Foolish Heart” are the emotional core of the album. I still remember hearing “As Time Goes By” on the late WTMI 93.1 FM; the DJ introduced it casually, but what followed was anything but casual. Perlman’s violin seemed to speak directly to the heart, and the Boston Pops wrapped the melody in a kind of orchestral embrace. I nearly wept. The next day, I bought the CD without hesitation, and it has remained one of my most cherished recordings.

For admirers of Perlman, Williams, or the great tradition of film music, Cinema Serenade 2 is more than an album. It’s a time machine, a memory palace, and a reminder that the Golden Age earned its name not just through stars and stories, but through the music that made them unforgettable.

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Track Listing — Cinema Serenade 2: The Golden Age

1	Theme from “Laura” (1944) – David Raskin
2	Theme from Now, Voyager (1942) – Max Steiner
3	Smile from “Modern Times” (1936) – Charlie Chaplin
4	Love Theme from Lost Weekend (1945) – Miklós Rózsa
5	St. Patrick’s Day from The Quiet Man (1952) – Traditional
6	Marian & Robin Love Theme from “The Adventures of Robin Hood” (1938) – Erich Wolfgang Korngold
7	As Time Goes By from “Casablanca” (1942) – Herman Hupfeld
8	Touch Her Soft Lips and Part (From “Henry V”) – William Walton
9	Stella by Starlight from The Uninvited (1944) – Victor Young
10	Theme from My Foolish Heart (1949) – Victor Young
11	Tara’s Theme (From “Gone with the Wind” 1939) – Max Steiner
12	Cathy’s Theme from “Wuthering Heights” (1939) – Alfred Newman