Annunzio Paolo Mantovani (Venice, November 15, 1905 – Royal Tunbridge Wells, March 29, 1980), known mononymously as Mantovani, was an Anglo-Italian conductor, composer and light orchestra-styled entertainer with a cascading strings musical signature.
Mantovani was born into a musical family. His father, Bismarck, served as the concertmaster of La Scala opera house’s orchestra in Milan, under the baton of Arturo Toscanini. The family moved to England in 1912, where young Annunzio studied at Trinity College of Music in London. After graduation, he formed his own orchestra, which played in and around Birmingham.
By the time World War II broke out, his orchestra was one of the most popular British dance bands, both on BBC radio broadcasts and in live performances. The cascading strings technique developed by Binge became Mantovani’s hallmark in such hits arranged by Binge as “Charmaine”. Binge developed this technique to replicate the echo experienced in venues such as cathedrals and he achieved this goal through arranging skill alone. His style survived through an ever-changing variety of musical styles prompting Variety to call him “the biggest musical phenomenon of the twentieth century”.
The book British Hit Singles & Albums states that he was “Britain’s most successful album act before the Beatles…the first act to sell over one million stereo albums and [have] six albums simultaneously in the US Top 30 in 1959”. During his lifetime, Mantovani did not always get respect from his fellow musicians.
When George Martin first suggested overdubbing Paul McCartney’s recording of Yesterday with strings, McCartney’s initial reaction, according to Martin, was that he didn’t want it sounding like Mantovani. Martin therefore used a more classical sound, employing a string quartet.
Recordings by Mantovani you can hear at Instrumentals Forever:
| A Man And A Woman |
| A Man Without Love |
| A Thousand And One Nights |
| Acceleration Waltz |
| Air On The G-String |
| Alfie |
| Always |
| And I Love You So |
| April In Portugal |
| April Love |
| Around The World |
| Arrivederci Roma |
| As Long As He Needs Me |
| As Time Goes By |
| Auld Lang Syne |
| Autumn Leaves |
| Barcarolle |
| Beautiful Dreamer |
| Besame Mucho |
| Bewitched |
| Blowin’ In The Wind |
| Born Free |
| Both Sides Now |
| By The Sleepy Lagoon |
| Catari Catari |
| Charmaine |
| Charmaine |
| Chim Chim Cher-ee |
| Chitty Chitty Bang Bang |
| Climb Ev’ry Mountain |
| Come Back To Sorrento |
| Come September |
| Cradle Song |
| Dear Father |
| Dear Heart |
| Delilah |
| Deserted Shore |
| Diane |
| Elizabethan Serenade |
| Elvira Madigan |
| Embraceable You |
| Emperor Waltz |
| España |
| Everybody’s Talkin’ |
| Eye Level |
| Fascination |
| Fiddler On The Roof |
| Fly Me To The Moon |
| Fool (You Didn’t Have To Hurt Her) |
| For All We Know |
| For Once In My Life |
| Games That Lovers Play |
| Gigi |
| Gipsy Dance from ”Carmen” |
| Golden Earrings |
| Good Morning Starshine |
| Granada |
| Greensleeves |
| Hello Dolly |
| Hi-Lili Hi-Lo |
| Home On The Range |
| Honey |
| Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 |
| I Bersaglieri |
| I Feel Pretty |
| I Have Dreamed |
| I Left My Heart In San Francisco |
| I Love Paris |
| I Will Wait For You |
| I Wish You Love |
| If I Love You |
| If I Were A Rich Man |
| Indian Love Call |
| Italian Fantasy |
| It’s Diff’rent Now |
| It’s Impossible |
| I’ve Grown Accustomed To Her Face |
| Jamaica Farewell |
| Jealousy |
| La ronde |
| La vie en rose |
| Leaving On A Jet Plane |
| Leaving On A Jet Plane |
| Lemon Tree |
| Les bicyclettes de Belsize |
| Londonderry Air |
| Lonely Ballerina |
| Love Is All |
| Love Is Blue |
| Main Theme from ”Exodus” |
| Malagueña |
| Maria Elena |
| Mattinata |
| Mattinata |
| Midnight Cowboy |
| Misty |
| Mona Lisa |
| Moon River |
| More |
| My Prayer |
| My Way |
| Nessun Dorma |
| Nessun Dorma from ”Turandot” |
| Never On Sunday |
| O mein Papa |
| Our Last Affair |
| Over The Rainbow |
| Parlez-moi d’amour |
| People |
| Perfidia |
| Quando Caliente El Sol |
| Que sera sera |
| Ramona |
| Return To Me |
| Roses From The South |
| Say Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose |
| September In The Rain |
| Smile |
| Softly As I Leave You |
| Some Enchanged Evening |
| Somewhere My Love |
| Song Of India |
| Stardust |
| Stranger In Paradise |
| Summertime |
| Summertime In Venice |
| Tales From The Vienna Woods |
| Tammy |
| Tarantella – O Sole Mio – A Frangesa – Santa Lucia – Maria Mari – Funiculi Funicula |
| Tenderly |
| The Blue Danube |
| The Carousel Waltz |
| ”The Count Of Luxembourg” Waltz |
| The Donkey Serenade |
| The Most Beautiful Girl In The World |
| The ”Moulin Rouge” Theme |
| The Shadow Of Your Smile |
| The Sweetest Sounds |
| The Windmills Of Your Mind |
| The Yellow Rose Of Texas |
| Theme from ”Capriccio Italien” |
| Theme from ”Limelight” |
| Theme from ”Romeo And Juliet” |
| Theme from ”Swan Lake” |
| This Is My Song |
| Those Were The Days |
| Three Coins In The Fountain |
| Tie A Yellow Ribbon |
| Tonight |
| Treasure Waltz |
| Tristesse |
| True Love |
| Try To Remember |
| Tulips From Amsterdam |
| Unchained Melody |
| Up Up And Away |
| Valencia |
| Variations On Carnival Of Venice |
| Village Swallows Waltz |
| Vissi d’Arte from ”Tosca” |
| Voices Of Spring |
| Wand’ring Star from ”Paint Your Wagon” |
| What Kind Fool Am I |
| When I Fall In Love |
| Who Can I Turn To |
| Wine Women And Song |
| Without Love (There Is Nothing) |
| Wunderbar |
| You Only Live Twice |
| Zorba’s Dance |