André Kostelanetz (December 22, 1901, St. Petersburg, Russia - January 13, … Read Full Bio ↴André Kostelanetz (December 22, 1901, St. Petersburg, Russia - January 13, 1980) was a popular orchestral music conductor and arranger, one of the pioneers of easy listening music.

Kostelanetz was known for arranging and recording light classical music pieces for mass audiences, as well as orchestral versions of songs and Broadway show tunes. He made numerous recordings over the course of his career, which had sales of over 50 million and became staples of Beautiful Music radio stations.[citation needed] For many years, Kostelanetz also conducted the New York Philharmonic in pops concerts and recordings, in which they were billed as "Andre Kostelanetz and His Orchestra".

Kostelanetz is best known to modern audiences for a series of easy listening instrumental albums on Columbia Records from the 1940s until 1980. Kostelanetz actually started making this music before there was a genre called "easy listening", and he continued until after some of his contemporaries, including Mantovani, had stopped recording.

Toward the end of his recording career, his name was more of a brand than a true representation of who actually made the music, because nearly all of his output in the 1970s was arranged by others.[citation needed] Some of the arrangers credited on 1970s Kostelanetz albums include Teo Macero, Torrie Zito, Hank Levy, Luther Henderson, Jack Cortner, Eddie Sauter, Claus Ogerman, Jack Pleis, Tommy Newsom, Harold Wheeler, Bobby Scott, Homer Dennison, James Tyler, Jr., Byron Olson, Dale Oehler, Ben Lanzarone, LaMont Johnson, Wade Marcus, Patrick Williams, Sammy Nestico, Warren Vincent, Dick Hyman, Jorge Calandrelli, James J. Wisner, Al Capps and Don Sebesky.

Kostelanetz's last concert was "A Night in Old Vienna" concert with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra in the War Memorial Opera House on December 31, 1979.

Someone To Watch Over Me
Andre Kostelanetz Lyrics

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There's a saying old says that love is blind
Still were often told, seek and ye shall find
So I'm going to seek a certain lad I've had in mind
Looking everywhere, haven't found him yet

Hes the big affair I cannot forget
Only man I ever think of with regret
I'd like to add his initial to my monogram

Tell me, where is the shepherd for this lost lamb?

There's a somebody I'm longing to see
I hope that he turns out to be
Someone who'll watch over me
I'm a little lamb who's lost in the wood
I know I could always be good
Someone who'll watch over me

Although he may not be the man some
Girls think of as handsome
To my heart he carries the key
Won't you tell him please to put on some speed

Follow my lead, oh, how I need
Someone to watch over me

Overall Meaning

The song "Someone to Watch Over Me" by Andre Kostelanetz begins with a common saying that love is blind, but also encourages people to actively seek love with the promise that it can be found. The singer admits to having a particular man in mind that she has been searching for and has not yet found. She describes him as a man she cannot forget and the only man she thinks of with regret. She even wants to add his initial to her monogram. However, she is still unable to find the man she is looking for, and thinks of herself as a lost lamb in need of a shepherd.

The second stanza underscores the hopefulness of the singer in finding the man of her desires. The uncertainty of his looks do not matter to her as long as he holds the key to her heart. She implores the listener to let her intended love interest know that she needs him to follow her lead and put on some speed to help her find her way. The singer's innocence and vulnerability in needing someone to watch over her add a poignant layer to the song.

Someone To Watch Over MeAndre Kostelanetz Lyrics

Francisco José Araújo Costa

on Solitude

Someone To Watch Over Me
Andre Kostelanetz Lyrics