Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Fantasia 2000 OST

THE REVIEW

Sequel to Disney's immortal masterpiece, "Fantasia 2000" did not exactly manage to replicate the success of its predecessor: despite the greater technical capabilities (just think of the numerous scenes created with computer graphics), the result was undoubtedly disappointing, unable to combine great music with great animated scenes as in the original "Fantasia". Nevertheless, the soundtrack is truly excellent, regardless of its pairing with the cartoon's images, as it is rich with classical music.

The album opens with a short excerpt (2 min.) from the first movement of Beethoven's "Symphony No. 5" (which also served as a somewhat tedious intro in the cartoon); followed by Respighi's "Pines of Rome", the immortal "Rhapsody in Blue" by Gershwin (one of the few positive episodes in the cartoon), Shostakovich's "Piano Concerto No. 2" (for refined palates) and Saint-Saens' "The Carnival of the Animals". And here again, the very pleasant return of Dukas' "The Sorcerer's Apprentice". Finally, the beautiful four marches from Elgar's "Pomp and Circumstance" (which could have been used a bit better in the cartoon given their tone, as grand and evocative as few other compositions) and Stravinsky's "The Firebird" which concludes in a more than worthy manner a stunning (after all, it couldn't have been otherwise) soundtrack for a film that is unfortunately rather dull.