Taras Bulba: Original MGM Motion Picture Soundtrack [Enhanced CD]

Franz Waxman was eminently qualified to score this 1962 epic about Cossack soldiers battling on the Russian steppes in the 16th century. He composed the film's music shortly after becoming the first American to conduct all of the Soviet Union's major orchestras during a historic two-month tour. Waxman, who'd lent his talents to Sunset Boulevard and A Place in the Sun, earned an Oscar nomination for Taras Bulba's spirited and moving arrangements. Borrowing motifs from Ukrainian folk music, he created mini-masterpieces like "The Ride to Dubno," a jaunty, horn-laced tune with a bouncy rhythm that practically transports cross-armed, fuzzy-hat-wearing dancers to your living room and that is still an orchestra program staple around the world under the adopted title "The Ride of the Cossacks." --Richard Martin