Figo
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Posts posted by Figo
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LOL I hear you! Back when I had an open shop, few things were as annoying as having to deal with a customer, right when I was in the middle of a brilliant post. Don't they realize we're doing something?
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Au contraire, SUY -- I would think the 80 year-olds would be the very people to look down their noses at any film music in the concert hall (unless, of course, it's by Walton, Prokofiev, or Copland), which is why I think it would benefit the music, from a traditional "classical" standpoint, to present it with a little meat to it. Old men used to sitting stock-still through Bruckner and Mahler aren't going to be impressed by something they can take-in in a single hearing. Especially if -- gads! -- it comes from the cinema! If the old farts don't wear dentures already, they'll certainly need them after being exposed to some of the less-fortunate Pops arrangements. (Jaws, anyone?)
As for the Horn Concerto -- alas, I was unable to attend the premiere. I do hope someone makes a recording. I mentioned even before the piece was completed what an awesome idea it would be for Sony to put out a disc of all three brass concerti. (Yeah, like that'll happen.)
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I'm curious, what does everyone here do all day, that you're able to post at all hours? I'll write something, and generally within minutes there's a response. I know Joe has a real job, since he nearly got fired when Neil posted a photo of Letha Weapons. But what about Neil? He seems to be here all the time. Steef, it seems, is the only man alive capable of maintaining a relationship, while never actually leaving the keyboard. And Morn -- forget about it.
Me? I'm independently wealthy, of course. I was just wondering about the rest of you.
Sorry if this belongs off topic.
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I hear you, Neil. I too was disappointed on the occasion I heard Williams live. What does he have against Superman, anyway? You'd think it would be the ultimate encore.
Actually, now that I think about it, it would make a terrific opener. (Duh.)
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It's nice to see this thread actually got some notice over the last few days.
Of course you have to please the audience, SeekUYoda. Williams has been doing that for decades. But I seriously doubt anyone who pays to hear a film music concert is going to get up and walk out because the composer decided to give Superman the Ein Heldenleben treatment. If anything, I would think he or she would be wowed by the recurrance of familiar themes and motives (SU-per-man!), freshened-up by way of virtuosic development. I think Williams stands to build -- as opposed to alienate -- an audience, and perhaps an audience for "serious music," as well. Joe Q. Public might even make the leap from Williams to Wagner and Strauss, as I did, all the way back in the late '70s. If not for Star Wars, I'd be holding up a cigarette lighter and moshing to death metal. Break out the time-travelling DeLorean!
At the very least, he might have considered publishing alternate suites or symphonic poems for performance in standard classical music concerts. Then the conductor could pick and choose. If they were really well-done, I think they'd stand a much better chance of receiving repeat performances than would yet another concerto. (Don't get me wrong -- I'm probably more excited by Williams' concert music these days than I am a lot of the film stuff.)
And that's not to say I'm opposed to the traditional Raiders or Superman (or, for that matter, NBC News) encores!
Hey there, Big Ken!
How ya doing? I'd love to post more often, thanks. I'm just so danged busy! And, truth to tell, I really shouldn't be posting at all right now. I've got a big move coming up, and I should be channeling all my energy into getting plastered as I drop loose dishes in a box. -
If that's true, Steef, then it's a shame. He's missing out on a real opportunity to help bring film music into the mainstream classical repertoire. I don't necessarily feel that every bit of underscoring need be retained, as originally heard in the film, but the themes themselves are already so-well developed, and there is certainly an organic quality to the scores in general, that with a little judicious pruning, something resembling a serious tone-poem could be assembled. Again, I cite the classic Gerhardt recordings. If you settle for pops arrangements, then your music will likely appear on pops concerts. Which is fine, but then when charges of classical snobbism are levelled, remember it was the composer himself who opted to go the "popular" (whatever that means) route.
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In the wake of the recent thread about the HDAD reissue of CE3K, I had the radio on this morning and heard Williams' Boston Pops recording of the concert suite, for the first time in quite a while. Listening, I couldn't help but think the arrangement is too short by half, with lots of crazy segues, and with some important thematic material completely overlooked.
I know I've stated my general disappointment with Adventures on Earth (concert arrangement vs. original soundtrack) here in the past. In Williams' case, I think it's entirely possible that the artist isn't always the best judge of his own work -- which gives me nightsweats when I think about any further tinkering with the Star Wars trilogy -- and perhaps better concert arrangements could have been managed by someone else, perhaps submitting them for Williams' approval. Charles Gerhardt set the benchmark in this regard, with his Classic Film Scores series of the 1970s, with his always sensitive and dramatic reworkings (and frequently reconstructions) of Golden Age composers.
What do the rest of you think? Wouldn't you prefer 15- or 20-minute suites (or perhaps tone poems) drawn from these masterful scores, as opposed to the 10-minute watered-down medleys we've been given in the Pops re-imaginings (and subsequent live concerts)? Is the composer afraid his audience won't be able to sit still any longer, without metronomically-timed intervals of applause to revive them? Will they be too bored?
Perhaps in an age of seizure-threatening edits every time one turns on the television set, these are not unrealistic expectations. But at a regular concert (by which I mean, classical music concert), 10 minutes is a very short time to simply sit and listen, generally long enough for a mere curtain-raiser. You would think people accustomed to orchestral music in either guise (film or classical) would have the patience for a genuinely Straussian CE3K tone poem.
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Sharp, Neil, sharp.
Morlock, you have very good taste in movies, and extremely good taste in actors. I love Joseph Cotten, as well. Have you seen "The Farmer's Daughter?" It's the film that turned me onto Lauretta Young. Another Cotten film I recommend (and another Hitchcock), if you haven't already seen it, is "Shadow of a Doubt." Cotten's role is a little showier than usual, and he's cast as the villain!
Claude Rains is always a sure sign of quality. Be sure and catch him in anything you can. He elevates any film. I'm always shocked to see him in "Lawrence," since I consider that almost a modern movie. (Of course, it's still before my time.)
If I had to choose only one Cary Grant film (and one Hitchcock) it would quite possibly be "North by Northwest." He's great in "Notorious," of course, but in "West" he gets a good showcase for his lighter side, even as he encounters some pretty hairy situations. It's the "Raiders of the Lost Ark" of the '50s. Hitch brilliantly plays off Grant's debonaire image by having him roll around in the dirt and, in one scene, wag a finger at a swooning young woman (in cat glasses). Another unusual pick for Cary -- and more along the lines of his darker role in "Notorious" -- is Howard Hawks' "Only Angels Have Wings." It's about a bunch of hard-drinking pilots flying planes over the Andes.
Ingrid Bergman always manages to radiate both beauty and class, and I list "The Bells of St. Mary" for her great chemistry with (of all people) Bing Crosby. Furthermore -- who'd a thunk? -- she makes a wonderful nun!
And yes, "Citizen Kane" is one of those rare movies that seems so wildly overrated the first time you see it, but increases in power with every subsequent viewing. It's an incredible film, and I'm not being pretentious when I call it awesome. It actually gives me shudders. I've been lucky enough to see that on the big screen, as well.
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"The Third Man" is very, VERY cool. I'll watch anything with Joseph Cotten (except those late films he made in the '70s. which are kind of depressing -- he even turned up on "Love Boat!"). Orson Welles steals the film as Harry Lime, although he's only on screen for a few minutes. Memorable line about the cuckoo clock. And love that zither music! Coincidentally, "The Third Man" is playing nearby on the big screen. You've reminded me, Morlock, that I've got to get my ass out of the apartment and go see it.
Figo
"Captain Blood" bootleg. (Another great '30s film.) -
Get over it, Morlock, okay? It was not meant to be a definitive list! Anyone looking for a funny alternative to the overexposed "Baby" should check out another screwball classic with Hepburn and Grant called "Holiday."
"Notorious" is another great choice. Grant is terrific in that one. If the program would allow me to vote (which, for some reason, it does not), I would probably go with the '30s, although it's a very hard choice.
Still, any of the films from either decade beat the crap out of "Batteries Not Included," "Harry and the Hendersons" and all those other "classics" of the '80s.
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I also left off the Marx Brother's Paramount films, especially "Monkey Business," "Horse Feathers," and "Duck Soup" -- all of them infinitely funnier than either.
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Every decade has yielded its share of classics, but for my money the most consistently satisfying (actually more like 15 or 20 years) has to be that from roughly the early '30s to the late 1940s. Great actors, great direction, great cinematography, and great music -- with no CGI in sight. This is purely my subjective opinion, of course. It just happens to be correct.
"King Kong," "The Bride of Frankenstein," "Gunga Din," "The Prisoner of Zenda," "The Adventures of Robin Hood," "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," "The Grapes of Wrath," "My Darling Clementine," "Bringing Up Baby," "Wuthering Heights," "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," "Gone with the Wind," "Stage Coach," "The Wizard of Oz," "A Tale of Two Cities," "Pride and Prejudice," "The Thief of Bagdad," "The Sea Hawk," "The Maltese Falcon," "Rebecca," "Citizen Kane," "The Wolf Man," "The Man Who Came to Dinner," "The Farmer's Daughter," "The Bishop's Wife," "The Bells of St. Mary," "Sergeant York," "Casablanca," "Foreign Correspondent," "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre," "The Best Years of Our Lives," "Great Expectations," "It's a Wonderful Life" -- Christ, I could go on and on and on.
As a close runner-up, I would choose the '70s. Sorry, most of the "fun" films you guys mention do little or nothing for me when stacked up beside the output of Hollywood's golden age. Of the so-called popcorn genre, only early Spielberg and early Lucas deserve consideration. In fact, the great films of the '70s are the complete opposite of what movies have become. Coppola, Scorsese, Friedkin, Roeg, Altman, Bogdanovich, Mazursky, Woody Allen. Intelligent filmmakers with something to say. "Jaws" and "Star Wars" were fantastic. Unfortunately, with success comes decadence, and now the multiplexes are flooded with "Van Helsing" and Jerry Bruckheimer.
The only "popular" film I've seen recently that was any good was "Miracle" (not coincidentally, set in the '70s). The LOTR trilogy was disappointing and hollow. I wouldn't have even bothered to see 2 & 3, if not for the books. A breath of fesh air, perhaps, next to the latest "Star Wars" -- but pretty thin brew. No wonder 3 was a shoe-in for the Oscar!
Figo, whose TV dial is welded to Turner Classic Movies.
Which reminds me, did anyone have a chance to see "The Cowboys" and "Family Plot" last night?
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He could simply release it with three or four endings, like "A.I." :roll:
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I may be important, but not important enough to hold up a major motion picture.
Hi, guys.
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Thanks, Ray.
I'm leaning toward "Close Encounters of the Heard Kind." Your suggestions encapsulate what the program should be about, but mine is a groan-inducing pun, which can then be clarified in the accompanying description. But nothing is firm until I submit my listings -- which probably won't be until mid-afternoon. Any other takers?
I need choose only one highlight to be printed in the guide, and I can fill in the rest when it comes time to actually write the show. I am still torn between the Trumpet and Bassoon Concertos, although I am leaning toward the latter, since it is fairly lyrical and accessible.
Although the Trumpet Concerto is bright and wonderfully performed. It's harder to come by (not available in stores), and getting it out over the air may drum up some extra business for Denouement Records (I'd be sure and mention their website), perhaps encouraging further Williams recordings.
Hmm. What to do, what to do?
Sample program:
Elegy for Cello and Orchestra
Prelude and Fugue
Bassoon Concerto "The Five Sacred Trees"
Call of the Champions
or
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Trumpet Concerto
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I probably shouldn't exceed 47 minutes of music (or at most 49), if I want a little time to talk. It depends on how many pieces I'll have to introduce, and how much background is required.
I'll poke my schnozz back in, in an hour or two, before I finally e-mail everything off to the program director.
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Thanks for the welcome back, Ren (and others). NPR doesn't generally re-broadcast their live opera performances -- which means you'll either have to (a) wait for another major opera company (doubtfully the Met) to stage it and hopefully cut a deal to have it broadcast; (B) hang in there until it is issued commercially (IF it is issued commercially); or © surf the internet looking for bootlegs. "The Little Prince" is such a popular book -- and Portman's response so lovely -- we can only hope it thaws the heart of some jaded record exec somewhere.
Sorry to hear you are going through a rough time.
Figo, who has been having regular shouting matches with his landlord and incompetent maintenance people for the better (or worse?) part of a week.
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Just a reminder that I need to have this in by tomorrow afternoon. Your enthusiastic participation so far has been heart-warming.
Seriously, thanks to the few of you who bothered to offer suggestions.If worse comes to worse, I may just lame out and call it "Close Encounters," then elaborate in the program description (something about the concert works being deeply personal utterances, blah blah).
I'll figure it out.
Figo, whose posts very few give two craps about. :cry:
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P.S. Miguel, I would be more than happy to play the Sinfonietta, but I do not own the LP. And Deutsche Grammophon doesn't seem in a particular hurry to reissue it, despite my request. If you ask me, they missed the boat. It would have been perfect to have released it in anticipation of Williams' 70th birthday, what with impending "Star Wars" and "Harry Potter" films, the Olympics telecast, and a new recording of the Violin Concerto (on their own label, no less!). The classical A&R people really have their heads up their asses.
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Thanks! I HAD thought of some kind of play on "Close Encounters" (and the names of some of the other films as well). Perhaps it's because I grew up in the '70s, but I'm concerned about it having too much of the flavor of the old SNL. I can almost see Lorraine Newman and Garrett Morris gearing up for a "Close Encounter of the [fill-in-the-blank] Kind." Still, if any of the titles beg to be parodied, that would be it. And everything '70s is new again, so...
I do like your idea of varying the music to demonstrate Williams' versatility, and in the end, no matter what anyone here winds up recommending, it's the route I'd most likely take.
Thanks again.
Figo, secretly leaning toward: "John Williams: International Man of Mystery."
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My program guide listings are due by the end of the week, and I still need to come up with a title for my February 8th installment, which will consist of Williams' concert works. Do any of you have any ideas what I should call it? My titles are usually brief and disgustingly clever, often puns. I welcome any input, but try to avoid triteness, if you can (eg., "Another Side of John Williams," "A Double Life," etc.).
Also, what concert work do you think should be represented? I'm leaning toward the harder-to-find stuff (I mean, for the average listener, not for dyed-in-the-wool Williams fanatics), like the Prelude and Fugue and the Trumpet Concerto. Personally, I think the Tuba Concerto is a great piece, but I don't think the commercial recording does it justice. I'll definitely air the Elegy for Cello and Orchestra at some point during the broadcast day, but perhaps not during this special hour. (Since it is very listener-friendly, I can get away with playing it in the morning).
Thanks to all who participate!
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Did anyone else listen to this? It was damn lovely! I thought the use of children's choir and marimba to represent the stars a particularly striking idea. The whole thing reminded me of Christmas. (The Christmas opera "Amahl and the Night Visitors" also employs a boy soprano.)
It may not have been harmonically adventurous, as Hlao-roo rightly observed, but who needs harmonically adventurous all the time? The tonal language did nothing to extend the traditions of the 19th century, but, in this pluralistic age, isn't the vocabulary associated with film every bit as valid a "contemporary" expression as serialism, hip-hop, or banging on trash can lids?
But I'm preaching to the choir here.
"The Little Prince" was consistently beautiful. I hope someone sees to it that an authorized recording is issued -- SOON. And I hope some of you film music geeks gave it a shot. Especially since NPR offered a substantial amount of filmic encores -- selections from Portman's "Emma," Franz Waxman's Sinfonietta, the Korngold Violin Concerto, "The Vintner's Daughter" by Miklos Rozsa, and more Portman, by way of "The Cider House Rules."
In truth, her film music never struck me as anything more than pleasant. But "The Little Prince" had moments that make one ache -- and I mean that in the best possible way!
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Thank you for your well-wishes, Hlao-roo. I've been very busy. That radio program I was talking about before my abrupt disappearance, all those many months ago, while not yet syndicated, is now in its 44th week! How time flies...
I'm planning an hour segment around Williams' concert music, to be aired on his birthday (Feb. 8). You should be able to hear it over the internet, so maybe I'll post a link as it gets closer to the date.
Speaking of links, here's a synopsis of Portman's opera. **PLEASE NOTE THAT THE TIME POSTED IS CENTRAL, AN HOUR BEHIND THE 1:30 START TIME I HAD PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED.**
http://www.houstongrandopera.org/calendar/....aspx?EventID=9
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Just a heads-up to all you film score fans that Rachel Portman's opera of Saint-Exupery's much-loved novel "The Little Prince" will air on many public radio stations tomorrow afternoon (November 1st), beginning at 1:30 pm (ET). Double-check your local listings!
Link to NPR World of Opera:
http://www.npr.org/programs/worldofopera/
And an article from FSM:
http://www.filmscoremonthly.com/articles/2...ttle_Prince.asp
Hope everything is well. Happy Halloween!
Day jobs?
in General Discussion
Posted
That post was for Neil, of course. I'm not laughing at your unemployment, JC.