Classic Ross Amico

  • It Came From Outer Space 4th Anniversary

    It Came From Outer Space 4th Anniversary

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    Ross Amico
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    It came from outer space? Shouldn’t it be “they?” As in, more than one?

    Or perhaps “Them!,” as the film shares a desert setting with that post-atomic-colossal-ants-run-amok milestone.

    But who are we to quibble over grammar, when our aim is to party like it’s 1953?

    I hope you’ll join us for a special FOURTH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION of Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner and a no-doubt-slightly-tipsy discussion of “It Came from Outer Space.”

    This is just about the quintessential 1950s sci-fi flick, replete with theremins, bug-eyed monsters, and shrieking heroines, all presented in eyepopping 3-D. The film was released the same year as “The War of the Worlds” and “Invaders from Mars.” Clearly, there were some serious anxieties churning beneath the veneer of post-war prosperity.

    Ray Bradbury came up with the story, in which liberal and conservative ideologies strike sparks and everyone is suspect, and Jack Arnold directed. Arnold brought his share of young couples closer with such subsequent drive-in fare as “Creature from the Black Lagoon” (1954), “Tarantula” (1955), and “The Incredible Shrinking Man” (1957).

    You know you’re watching a 1950s science fiction movie when it opens with the protagonist, an amateur astronomer and confirmed bachelor, enjoying a night in the desert by candlelight, before a crackling fire, in his tweed jacket with patches on the elbows, smoking his pipe, with his impeccably-dressed, devoted girlfriend at his side. Talk about enjoying all your pleasures at once! But for our astronomer-Adam, it just isn’t enough; so he goes in search of the forbidden fruit of a super-meteorite that crashes among spiders and Joshua trees within range of his telescope.

    And what do you know, in a movie full of scientists, who should turn up but the Professor from “Gilligan’s Island!”

    Technically, I wasn’t brought aboard the sci-fi flagship until June 2020, but Roy broke the champagne bottle across the bow on April 3, launching a virtual life raft for a worldwide community of housebound science fiction lovers. I’m honored to participate in this fourth-anniversary celebration of “Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner” – also serving as a memorial of sorts for actress Barbara Rush, who died on March 31st.

    You just know the discussion will exceed the 80-minute running time of the actual movie. Bring your clashing values to the comments section and be sure to have a libation on hand, as we reminisce about Covid, camaraderie, and “It Came from Outer Space.” It will be one meaty meteor, when we livestream on Facebook, YouTube, etc., this Sunday evening at 7:00 EDT!

    https://www.facebook.com/roystiedyescificorner

  • Rejected Film Scores: Herrmann & Hitchcock

    Rejected Film Scores: Herrmann & Hitchcock

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    Ross Amico
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    Rejection! Any film composer of reasonable experience has, at one time or another, had his or her music replaced. It’s an occupational hazard. Poor test screenings, creative differences, interpersonal difficulties, and producer panic have all contributed to the rejection of original film scores. Since music is usually the last ingredient in the creation of a film, it is also the most vulnerable to change. This week on “Picture Perfect,” we’ll work through the pain to lavish some belated respect on the efforts of four eminently- (perhaps over-) qualified composers.

    A strong argument could be made that there was no greater film composer than Bernard Herrmann. Of the eight films he worked on with Alfred Hitchcock, three are indisputable masterpieces: “Vertigo,” “North by Northwest,” and “Psycho” (Hitch’s biggest box office success).

    However, things began to change within the studio system, and Hitchcock became increasingly insecure. The emphasis shifted more and more to the bottom line, and the mounting pressure extended to every aspect of his subsequent films.

    After “Marnie,” only a moderate success with audiences, Hitchcock became desperate for another hit. It was the studio’s thinking that its music scores should forthwith be attuned to a younger sensibility. In particular, the suits were interested in a hit single that they could use to help promote the film. All of a sudden, Herrmann’s reliance on a symphony orchestra was perceived as terribly old fashioned.

    By the time Hitchcock and Herrmann began work on “Torn Curtain,” in 1966, the tension between director and composer neared the breaking point. When Hitch learned Herrmann hadn’t produce what he had requested, the composer was fired halfway through the first day’s recording sessions. Of course, Herrmann had defied Hitch before – when the director instructed him that the shower scene in “Psycho” should play without music!

    Herrmann’s replacement was John Addison, who was a hot commodity at the time, having won the Academy Award in 1963 for his music for Tony Richardson’s freewheeling adaptation of “Tom Jones.” Ironically, instead of going “popular,” as the studio wanted, save for one incongruous, Mancini-esque song at the end, Addison did what all of Hitch’s subsequent composers did – he emulated Herrmann. “Torn Curtain” failed to gain traction with younger audiences, and the film was not a success.

    Herrmann and Hitchcock would never work together again. The “Torn Curtain” debacle spelled the end of one of the greatest artistic partnerships in all of cinema. Chalk it up to another boneheaded decision by management.

    I hope you’ll join me for selections from Herrmann’s original, rejected score, alongside jettisoned music for “2001: A Space Odyssey” (by Alex North), “Edge of Darkness” (John Corigliano), and “The Battle of Britain” (Sir William Walton).

    Take it from a guy who knows a thing or two about rejection. We’ll show some belated appreciation for these talented, seasoned professionals who got the shaft, when we savor an hour of their rejected scores, on “Picture Perfect,” music for the movies, now in syndication on KWAX, the radio station of the University of Oregon!

    Remember, KWAX is on the West Coast, so there’s a three-hour difference for those of you listening in the East. Here are the respective air-times for all three of my recorded shows (with East Coast conversions in parentheses):

    PICTURE PERFECT, the movie music show – Friday on KWAX at 5:00 PM PACIFIC TIME (8:00 PM EASTERN)

    SWEETNESS AND LIGHT, the light music program – ALL NEW! – Saturday on KWAX at 8:00 AM PACIFIC TIME (11:00 AM EASTERN)

    THE LOST CHORD, unusual and neglected rep – Saturday on KWAX at 4:00 PM PACIFIC TIME (7:00 PM EASTERN)

    Stream all three, at the times indicated, by following the link!

    https://kwax.uoregon.edu/

    PHOTO: Hitch and Herrmann – who’d have predicted anything could have gone wrong?

  • Earthquake in NJ My Unexpected Experience

    Earthquake in NJ My Unexpected Experience

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    Ross Amico
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    4 responses

    Well, there’s something you don’t experience every day. I was sitting here in the kitchen, doing some work on the computer, as a fox was grazing out under the birdfeeder. Then came the rumbling, as if one of those road-repaving behemoths were grinding through the neighborhood. Except there are no roads back here. The fox took off into the woods and the building shook for a good minute, I’d say. By then, all the neighbors were out, looking around, and the texts began to fly. A 4.8 magnitude earthquake, reported to have originated near Lebanon, NJ. Not something we experience around here every day, thankfully. No apparent damage, no loss of power. I felt sheepish even googling it, as the results turned up images of yesterday’s massive quake in Taiwan.

    The last earthquake I experienced was in Philadelphia in 2011. I was sitting at my desk in my third-floor walk-up and felt this gradually intensifying shuddering. But if you’ve ever lived in Philadelphia, you know how it is: there are all these barbaric workmen always up to something. I thought maybe somebody was jumping around on the roof again. Then the vibrations increased, and I looked over at the plants in the window, and they were moving all over the place. Particles rained against the dropped ceiling.

    Somebody was walking down the street, and she started to look around. Already by that point, I suspected an earthquake. I thought maybe I had better head for a crossbeam, but by the time I got to the front door, it had stopped. I went down to the street and saw three people standing on the corner. We exchanged notes, and were relieved to find that our experiences had not been unique to our respective buildings. For once, Philadelphia landlords were not to blame.

    A short while later my phone rang. I saw it was the number of a certain radio station I was working for, at the time, but then when I picked up, it was this completely strange woman, calling for her daughter. It was disorienting for both of us at first, but then we realized the phone signals had somehow become scrambled. We laughed about it for a bit. She was calling from 17th and Race. I was at 11th and Pine. She said she was sitting at work and could see the buildings across the street move.

    After that, I tried to call out, but was unable to get a signal. The phone didn’t work again for about an hour. In the meantime, I just sat there at the computer and listened to the helicopters.

    That was a 5.8 magnitude earthquake out of Richmond, VA.

    My best wishes for everyone’s safety, and my heart goes out to those who live with the looming threat and destructive force of the real thing.

  • Newman & Oltman Guitar Duo TCNJ Concert Friday

    Newman & Oltman Guitar Duo TCNJ Concert Friday

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    Ross Amico
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    After being pinned down in the house for a few days by torrential rain, maybe you’d like to get out for an evening and enjoy some guitar music. If so, I have the very thing, as the Newman & Oltman Guitar Duo will perform at The College of New Jersey on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

    The recital will be held at the Mayo Concert Hall (located in the music building), 2000 Pennington Rd., in Ewing, NJ.

    Together ensemble-in-residence at Mannes College of Music, Michael Newman and Laura Oltman are founders and artistic directors of the New York Guitar Seminar at Mannes and New Jersey’s Raritan River Music Festival. Michael serves on the faculties of Mannes and TCNJ. Laura serves on the faculties of Princeton University and Lafayette College.

    I have no idea what’s on tomorrow’s program, but I’d be very surprised if the evening doesn’t include at least some Leo Brouwer, as the artists have enjoyed a close working relationship with the composer in recent years and had a couple works written specifically for them. In fact, they’ve released an all-Brouwer album on the MusicMasters label.

    This is also an excellent opportunity for me to give advance notice of the Raritan River Music Festival, which always manages to sneak up on me, as the first of the warm weather music festivals. The concerts are held in historic venues in Central Jersey’s Raritan and Warren Counties throughout the month of May. Learn more about the rapidly-approaching 35th season at raritanrivermusic.org.

    In the meantime, Laura and Michael, who make their home along the banks of the swollen Delaware, will slalom down to TCNJ for tomorrow night’s appearance.

    For tickets and information, visit tcnjcenterforthearts.universitytickets.com or call the box office at 609-771-2585.

  • Castelnuovo-Tedesco A Composer for All Seasons

    Castelnuovo-Tedesco A Composer for All Seasons

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    Ross Amico
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    5 responses

    If ABC can blow-out its annual broadcast of “The Ten Commandments” 25 days before Passover, I can reflect on Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s “The Prophets,” which was always a staple of my Passover playlist over the decades I enjoyed doing a live radio air shift. The second of Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s violin concertos was given its first performance at Carnegie Hall in 1933, with Jascha Heifetz the soloist and Arturo Toscanini on the podium. Its three movements are named for the Biblical figures Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Elijah.

    But nevermind the Passover association. Castelnuovo-Tedesco is a composer for all seasons. His music is well-crafted, ingratiatingly tuneful, and a joy to listen to.

    Furthermore, anyone who loves film music owes an incalculable debt to him. He wrote scores for some 200 movies (including “And Then There Were None,” with Barry Fitzgerald, and “The Loves of Carmen,” with Rita Hayworth), and as a teacher, his students included André Previn, Nelson Riddle, Herman Stein, Henry Mancini, Jerry Goldsmith, and John Williams.

    Castelnuovo-Tedesco was yet another refugee displaced by fascism in Europe who enriched the American cultural landscape. We can thank Toscanini for sponsoring his passage to the United States in 1939. He got out just in the nick of time. Already Italian Jewish citizens had been stripped of many basic human rights. Well before the imposition of Italian racial laws in 1938, Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s music had been banned from radio and public performances of his works had been cancelled.

    Internationally, his works were embraced by top-flight musicians such as Heifetz, Andrés Segovia, and Gregor Piatigorsky.

    The first piece of his I ever heard was the Guitar Concerto No. 1. I remember listening to it on the radio on my first drive to WWFM, the day before my job interview, in 1995, undertaken on a Sunday afternoon to be sure I knew the route from Philadelphia. There’s a lot for me wrapped up in this composer.

    Thank you, and happy birthday, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco!

    Violin Concerto No. 2 “The Prophets”

    Segovia masterclass on the Guitar Concerto No. 1

    Radio interview with Segovia and the composer

    Toscanini conducts an adventurous program, including Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s “Overture to a Fairy Tale” (later known as the “Midsummer Night’s Dream Overture”)

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