Classic Ross Amico

Category: Daily Dispatch

Maurice Jarre’s Epic Scores for David Lean

Today marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of film composer Maurice Jarre. For over 40 years, Jarre provided memorable scores for dozens of motion pictures, but he will always be most closely associated with his Academy Award-winning music for the epics of David Lean. This week on “Picture Perfect,” we’ll take the long view and enjoy selections from two them.

One of the most celebrated filmmakers of all time, Lean had already spent two decades in the director’s chair, overseeing such treasurable films as “Blithe Spirit,” “Brief Encounter,” “Great Expectations,” “Oliver Twist,” “Hobson’s Choice,” and “Summertime,” when he turned his attention to the form for which he would ultimately be best remembered: the cinematic epic.

His first such attempt, “The Bridge on the River Kwai” (1957) went on to win seven Academy Awards, including those for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (for Alec Guinness), Best Screenplay, and Best Original Score. It was not Jarre, but rather Malcolm Arnold that wrote the music. Lean had worked with Arnold before on “Hobson’s Choice.”

Ironically, it is “Colonel Bogey’s March,” the tune whistled by the English prisoners of war as they enter the Japanese camp, that most people associate with the film. This is actually a pre-existing piece by Kenneth Alford (a pseudonym for British bandmaster Frederick J. Ricketts). Composed in 1914, over the years, the march became outfitted with all manner of bawdy lyrics, which is why the number is whistled, not sung, in the film.

Lean had hoped that he and Arnold would be able to collaborate once more on “Lawrence of Arabia” (1962). Unfortunately, Arnold, who somehow managed to write so much glorious music over the course of his career, for both film and concert hall, suffered a hellish personal life. At the time of “Lawrence,” he was deep in the throes of psychological and emotional turmoil. Under the circumstances, Lean had no choice but to enlist Jarre. Jarre certainly rose to the occasion, and thereafter became the director’s composer of choice.

Lean followed up his success with “Lawrence” – decorated with seven Oscars – with yet another story rendered on an epic scale, “Doctor Zhivago” (1965). By this time, it was practically a forgone conclusion that the Academy would shower Lean with statuettes. Sure enough, “Doctor Zhivago” was honored with five more Academy Awards. Seemingly, the director had become too big to fail.

It’s hardly surprising that when he stumbled with his next project, “Ryan’s Daughter” (1970) – a film that boasted a similar running time, without perhaps a story of a scope to support it – the critics were there with their knives out. The backlash was such that it would be a good ten years before Lean would find the strength to direct again. The subject of the new film was to have been “Captain Bligh and Mr. Christian,” a retelling of the famous “Mutiny on the Bounty” story. Sadly, the project was plagued with misfortune, so that finally he was unable to hold on to the funding. The film would ultimately be made – by other hands – as “The Bounty.”

Happily, Lean bounced back with “A Passage to India” (1984). His adaptation of the novel of E.M. Forster was widely acclaimed, with 11 Academy Award nominations. It garnered two wins – one for Dame Peggy Ashcroft, for Best Supporting Actress, and the other for its composer, again Jarre. It would be Jarre’s third and final Oscar. All three resulted from his work with Lean.

Shortly before his death, the director embarked on yet another epic, an adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s “Nostromo.” Frustratingly, this was left incomplete at the time of his passing in 1991.

We’re lucky to have what we’ve got. Close your eyes and get the big picture on “Lean and Epic” – music by Maurice Jarre from the films of David Lean, with an interpolation by Malcolm Arnold – on “Picture Perfect,” music for the movies, now in syndication on KWAX, the radio station of the University of Oregon!

Clip and save the start times for all three of my recorded shows:

PICTURE PERFECT, the movie music show – Friday at 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT

SWEETNESS AND LIGHT, the light music program – ALL NEW! – Saturday at 11:00 AM EDT/8:00 AM PDT

THE LOST CHORD, unusual and neglected rep – Saturday at 7:00 PM EDT/4:00 PM PDT

Stream them, wherever you are, at the link!

https://kwax.uoregon.edu/

September 13, 2024
Schoenberg’s Ironic 150th Birthday

Even those who don’t enjoy his music will surely appreciate the irony that Arnold Schoenberg, whose twelve-tone method of composition continues to strike fear in the hearts of many, himself dreaded the number 13.

Not only did his triskaidekaphobia likely hasten his demise – the superstitious Schoenberg died on Friday, July 13, 1951, at the age of 76 (he had been out of sorts all year, as his astrologer had alerted him that 7 + 6 = 13) – the irony is compounded, as today the world marks the sesquicentennial of his birth, on yet another Friday the 13th.

Winston Churchill’s assessment of Russia in 1939 could just as easily have been applied to this most influential composer of the 20th century. Schoenberg was a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma – a man cloaked in irony and contradiction.

For one thing, his very name, “Schoenberg,” translates as “beautiful mountain,” yet those who would characterize his music as such are distinctly in the minority.

He was the greatest prophet of dodecaphonic music, yet he claimed an artistic kinship with Johannes Brahms.

He preached the death of tonality, even as he orchestrated his share of Viennese operettas and arranged Strauss waltzes for performance by his friends.

He was a Jew, who converted to Lutheranism, but swung back hard to Judaism, in defiance of Hitler.

He was probably the least “popular” composer in the world, but his tennis partner was none other than George Gershwin. The two also shared a love of painting.

Adding to this beautiful mountain of contradictions, Schoenberg, like that other titan of 20th century music, Igor Stravinsky, wound up living in Hollywood.

Both men were suspicious of the movies (and each other), yet both were hoping to break into films. Stravinsky wrote cues for “The Song of Bernadette,” “Jane Eyre,” and “The North Star” (the latter ultimately scored by Copland). None of his music was used in the pictures – Stravinsky was too slow and demanded too much money – but some of it was recycled in his concert works.

Likewise, Schoenberg was courted for a film adaptation of “The Good Earth,” but his proposed $50,000 fee put an end to that.

Twelve-tone music did eventually make it into the movies, thanks to composers like Leonard Rosenman and David Raksin. Rosenman’s landmark score for “The Cobweb” (1955) is credited as the first predominantly twelve-tone score written for a motion picture. Raksin, the composer of “Laura,” also employed a tone row in the Edgar Allan Poe mystery, “The Man with a Cloak” (1951).

Interestingly, Schoenberg, the creator of “Pierrot Lunaire” and “Moses und Aaron,” was also a great fan of Hopalong Cassidy. Like Walt Whitman, an admittedly strange comparison, Schoenberg contained multitudes.

13 cheers for Arnold Schoenberg on the sesquicentennial of his birth!

“Variations for Orchestra,” conducted by Bruno Maderna

“Pierrot Lunaire”

With goats!

A kinder, gentler Schoenberg – the Suite for String Orchestra, given its premiere in Los Angeles in 1935:

Schoenberg in home movies – on the tennis court, naturally – with Gershwin and others. (Gershwin appears around 2:20.)

Still think Schoenberg’s not your bag? Put aside your trepidation and join me for an hour of his lighter music on “Sweetness and Light,” this Saturday morning at 11:00 EDT/8:00 PDT, on KWAX. Stream it wherever you are at the link!

https://kwax.uoregon.edu/

September 13, 2024
Malkovich as Celibidache? “The Yellow Tie” Biopic

Haha! It looks like it’s actually on its way! A Sergiu Celibidache biopic starring who? Why, JOHN MALKOVICH, of course!

I first shared news of this in 2021, assuming of course that the film, being produced in Romania, would never happen. Then again, if it weren’t being produced in Romania – Celibidache’s homeland – where would it be?

Written and directed by the conductor’s son, Serge Ioan Celibidache, the title is “The Yellow Tie.” It’s not difficult to understand why they’re not calling it “Celibidache,” as it would have native English speakers everywhere trying to remember it and then grappling with the correct pronunciation (roughly “Cheh-lee-bee-DAH-keh.”).

Celibidache, one-time conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic, gained notoriety for his uncompromising pursuit of “the transcendent moment,” his exhaustive rehearsals, and his refusal to record.

Of course, the market is flooded with Celibidache recordings, many of them from his years in Munich, but these are all byproducts of actual live concerts. Few of them could be described as pedestrian.

Equally, few would be described as “definitive.” When Celibidache was “on,” he could be like nobody else; but when he was “off” – again, he could be like nobody else.

Last year, I posted about Malkovich conducting an orchestra before 4000 extras in Bucharest, reenacting a concert that Celibidache gave in Philadelphia with the Munich Philharmonic in 1989.

Also in the film will be Sean Bean as (the younger) Celibidache’s father and Miranda Richardson as his wife, Ioana.

The release date is yet to be announced. I missed this article about it, which ran in Variety in May:

https://variety.com/2024/film/global/john-malkovich-celibidache-first-look-image-the-yellow-tie-1235996010/

Of course, the most perfect title for John Malkovich fans would be “Being John Malkovich Being Sergiu Celibidache.”

One of my earlier posts on the subject:

Celi conducts Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7

Celi documentary, “The Garden of Celibidache”

Malkovich interviewed on Romanian television

Celibidache has a fever, and the only prescription is more viola!

September 13, 2024
9/11: Remembrance, Reflection, and Hope

In common with just about everyone else in this country who lived through it, for the past 23 years, I have awoken on this morning to the enormity of 9/11. And every year I dig deep and try to rise to the challenge of writing something meaningful. And you know me. Once I start typing, my fingers are like long-distance runners.

This year, I am sorry to say, the needs of the present intrude. With multiple projects I am being relied on to complete or prepare, I am unable to devote as much time to reflection on these matters as I would like. But briefly…

I am thankful that, even though I know people who were there, or nearly there, at Ground Zero, and as someone who had family in the air as the horrors in New York, Pennsylvania, and D.C. unfolded, that I didn’t lose anyone in the attacks or their aftermath. But none of us who lived through 9/11 emerged unscathed.

Today, honor the memory of those who perished and spare a thought for those who continue to suffer loss, chronic ill-health, or PTSD. Be extra mindful of being kind. Even on the morning after the presidential debate. Remember we’re all Americans. And we’re all human beings. Just because someone disagrees with you doesn’t mean he or she is your enemy.

Also, seek beauty in the world. Be reminded of the positive and even uplifting things we are all capable of, to a greater or lesser extent. We can’t all write symphonies, but some of us can. Others can help a stranger change a tire. It’s happened to me, and I have paid it forward.

Most of all, count your blessings and try to live with appreciation. It’s easy to say, and even trite, but every day is a miracle.

We all come with our own vulnerabilities and our own struggles. Most of us fail to live up to our ideals. But we can want to be better and try to facilitate that in burying our spiteful impulses and in behaving constructively, even if it’s to make only one person feel better. A smile or a wave of recognition could make a difference to somebody.

It’s hard to fathom the kind of psychological state or extreme ideology that could drive anyone to willingly kill and terrorize innocent bystanders, no matter what the rationale. But the impulses that create monsters are dormant in all of us. It’s up to each us to harness that power and to turn it to positive ends.

Dona nobis pacem. Pax in terra.

Selections from Robert Moran’s “Trinity Requiem,” composed for Trinity Church, the “Ground Zero church” in lower Manhattan, to mark the tenth anniversary of the attacks:

September 11, 2024
NJ Symphony’s Future: New Home, New Doubts

Between all the birthday observations and the promotion of my radio shows, I’ve been neglecting to share some items of musical news, most of them of local interest, and some of them of wider significance. After all, there are only so many hours in the day, and believe it or not, not all of mine are spent on Facebook – though it may certainly seem that way!

I usually like to put my own spin on things, but I’ve gotten so backlogged that yesterday I had to simply share a link to Peter Dobrin’s appreciation of Anthony Checchia, founder of the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society and for more than 50 years general manager of the Marlboro Music School and Festival, who died at September 7 at the age of 94.

Here’s some unfinished business regarding the New Jersey Symphony, which I should have passed along days ago. Like just about everyone else, any number of performing arts organizations were knocked sideways by the pandemic. Over the past year, the NJS has seemed particularly woozy (thankfully not reflected in the quality of its performances), so it was with cautious optimism that I learn the orchestra has found some potential stability in a new home.

It was announced a couple of weeks ago that the NJS will be settling into a newly-constructed, $40 million performing arts facility, Symphony Center, which, through an arrangement with Jersey City, it will occupy for 30 years. The facility will be part of a luxury housing development erected by Toll Brothers, with permission from the city granted with the stipulation that such a space be included. Jersey City is hoping to raise its profile as a performing arts destination. The orchestra’s move is scheduled to take place in Spring 2026.

In theory, this is great news. However, the hall is projected to seat 550, making it an especially intimate theater. By way of reference, Princeton’s Richardson Auditorium, about as intimate as I imagine a symphony orchestra can go, has seating for 900. The New Jersey Symphony has long maintained a concert series at the Princeton venue.

The orchestra, founded in 1922, has led something of a nomadic existence for decades, with concert series not only in Princeton, but also Engelwood, Morristown, New Brunswick, Red Bank, and especially Newark, where the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) has served as its base of operations since 1997. The group is committed to continue the touring relationships. It’s to be assumed that it will continue to perform a series in Newark, but that remains to be seen.

Also, the orchestra will need to raise an additional $12 million to furnish its new space and tweak the acoustics. Programming is expected to be eclectic, with a mix of chamber music, world music, dance collaborations, and multimedia projects. Don’t expect to hear any Mahler symphonies in Jersey City.

Which brings us to the elephant in the room: with recent cuts and an impending move to a 550-seat hall, will the orchestra continue to operate at its current size?

Last season, the organization slashed its administrative staff by about 15 percent and ate into two thirds of a $9 million endowment. A number of concerts were dropped, diminishing its season, after subscribers (including myself) had already purchased tickets. I wouldn’t have subscribed in the first place had I known I wasn’t going to be able to hear those particular programs. I wish the orchestra luck, and I will continue to attend the occasional concert, but I’m sure I’m not alone in being hesitant to commit to a subscription again anytime soon.

Neither does the fact that, in June, the orchestra’s president and CEO, Gabriel van Aalst, tendered his resignation inspire confidence. It could simply be a matter of unfortunate timing, but it does appear as if Aalst hopped a lifeboat, taking off to become president and CEO of Dayton Live!, the primary host and presenter for performing arts in Miami City, Ohio. Craig Silliman, co-chair of the New Jersey Symphony’s board of trustees, has stepped up to serve as interim president and CEO, on an unpaid basis, until a successor is found.

Despite these understandable concerns, the orchestra has vowed to continue to play from the larger orchestral repertoire at its other venues throughout the state.

In a related piece of news, it was announced on Thursday that the orchestra’s dynamic music director Xian Zhang will take over the directorship of the Seattle Symphony, effective with the 2025-26 season. Her initial contract is for five years.

Zhang, whose star seems very much in the ascendency, as a regular guest conductor of leading orchestras in the United States (including those of Philadelphia, Boston, and the Metropolitan Opera) and abroad (London, Sao Paulo, and Toulouse, among others), is one of the few women to hold the artistic reins of a major American orchestra.

She assumed the directorship of the New Jersey Symphony in 2016. Her impending commitment to Seattle will mean a bicoastal existence, as she is bound to the New Jersey Symphony through 2028. Her New Jersey successor is yet to be named.

Congratulations to Xian Zhang, and best wishes to the New Jersey Symphony.

NJS’ statement on Symphony Space in Jersey City:

https://www.njsymphony.org/visit/venues/symphony-center-in-jersey-city

IMAGES: Xian Zhang on the rise, and a mock-up of Jersey City’s new Symphony Center

September 10, 2024

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