Classic Ross Amico

Morricone Tributes Rome Renames Auditorium

by

Ross Amico

July 21, 2020

in Daily Dispatch

3 responses

What was initially planned to mark the 50th anniversary of the release of a film now inadvertently serves as a memorial. Within days of the passing of Ennio Morricone, La-La Land Records has reissued his score to “Two Mules for Sister Sara.”

It promises to be an especially popular release, since, while not an actual “spaghetti western,” the film shares many of the same trappings with the three Sergio Leone-directed features that made Clint Eastwood an international superstar, and Morricone’s music is very much of a piece. If you ever wondered what a romantic comedy featuring The Man With No Name would be like, this is it. The 2-CD set includes the original soundtrack album and lots of previously unreleased material, including every note of music heard in the film. This expanded release is limited to 3000 copies.

In other news, it has been announced that the city of Rome will rename the Auditorium Parco della Musica (Music Park Auditorium) in honor of the composer. On July 17, Rome’s city council voted unanimously in favor of the proposal. A selection from Morricone’s score to “Once Upon a Time in America” was performed for the occasion by members of the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia (Orchestra of the National Academy of Saint Cecilia), conducted by the composer’s son, Andrea. The auditorium serves as home base for the group. Morricone has led the orchestra there many times.

“We want to remember a genius who gave so much to Rome and Italy, linking his name to an international symbol of culture and art,” tweeted the city’s mayor, Virginia Raggi.

The multifunctional arts complex, designed by Renzo Piano (and yes, that is his real name), was inaugurated in 2002. The auditorium’s halls are dedicated to composer Goffredo Petrassi (who was Morricone’s teacher), conductor Giuseppe Sinopoli, and to Cecilia herself, the patron saint of music.

Ennio Morricone died on July 6 at the age of 91.

Morricone celebrates his 90th birthday with the Orchestra and Chorus of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. The music is from “The Mission.”

Andrea conducts his father’s Concerto for Orchestra:

Vintage Morricone: “Two Mules for Sister Sara”

La-La Land Records:

https://lalalandrecords.com/
Isaac Stern A Life in Music

by

Ross Amico

July 21, 2020

in Daily Dispatch

7 responses

On the 100th anniversary of his birth, here’s “Isaac Stern, Life’s Virtuoso,” a documentary that aired on PBS’ “American Masters,” back in the year 2000. The narrator is Meryl Streep.

I believe that’s Franz Waxman at the piano behind the end credits. Stern worked with Waxman on the Joan Crawford-John Garfield melodrama “Humoresque” (for which Waxman arranged his “Carmen Fantasy”). Stern’s hands can be seen in the film whenever Garfield’s character plays.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiqroKOZzpw

The Istomin-Stern-Rose Trio in music by Franz Schubert:

Stern plays Bach:

Stern plays Barber:

Stern on “The Jack Benny Program”:

Stern in a photo inscribed to Carnegie Hall, an institution he would save from the wrecking ball ten years later.
Leith Stevens’ Lost Piano Concerto

by

Ross Amico

July 20, 2020

in Daily Dispatch

6 responses

Hey, I’m the music guy, right?

In preparing to talk about “The War of the Worlds” on “Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner” the other day, I was in the process of boning up on Leith Stevens, the film’s composer, when I stumbled across this clip. It’s a piano concerto written for “Night Song” (1948), a movie starring Dana Andrews that somehow had slipped beneath my radar. The music is performed in the film by Arthur Rubinstein, Eugene Ormandy, and the New York Philharmonic.

What’s that you say? The music is not about to win a Pulitzer? Well Rubinstein and Ormandy aren’t going win any Oscars either! (Actually, they’re not half bad.) Stevens eschews the Rachmaninoff-style movie concerto kitsch then very much in vogue. (I’m looking at you, “Warsaw Concerto.”) The trade-off, unfortunately, is a concerto that quickly faded into oblivion. More’s the pity. All in all, a fascinating document.

Ah, the good old days, when you could enjoy a cigarette in a stairwell, while dreaming about touching Merle Oberon’s face, on the beach, during a concert…

From Bosley Crowther’s review in the New York Times: “…The music, the prize concerto—well, that is really the thing which puts ‘Night Song’ in the spotlight as baldfaced and absolute sham. For this scrappy and meaningless jangle by Leith Stevens is good for nothing more than an excuse for filming the fiddles, the drums and the batteries of horns. And if Mr. Rubinstein and Mr. Ormandy can swallow it, along with their pride, they must have pretty strong stomachs.”

Ouch! Everyone’s a critic.

Crowther was later drummed out of the Times for doubling down on his hatred of “Bonnie and Clyde” in 1968.
Séverac’s “En Vacances” A Musical Holiday

by

Ross Amico

July 20, 2020

in Daily Dispatch

5 responses

Summertime. A time for vacations – even if only of the imaginary variety.

Musically speaking, there are two types of getaways: (1) actual travel music, inspired by a journey to a particular locale; and (2) the flight of fancy, a vacation of the creative mind. Either lends itself to compiling collections of miniatures, after the fashion, perhaps, of some of the great keyboard works of Robert Schumann.

Déodot de Séverac studied in Paris with Vincent d’Indy and Albéric Magnard. He also acted as an assistant to Isaac Albéniz, whose character pieces certainly influenced some of his own evocative regionalisms for the keyboard.

Séverac composed two sets of piano pieces, under the title “En vacances” (“On Vacation,” or “Holiday Time”). The second of these, sadly, was left incomplete at the time of his death at the age of 48.

These sketches suggest the experiences of his children, in particular, Mimi and Toto, with individual movements titled “Invocation to Schumann,” “Grandmother’s caresses,” “Visit from the little girls next door,” “Toto pretends to be a verger,” “Mimi dresses up as a Marquise,” “In the park,” “On listening to a musical box,” and “Romantic Waltz.”

Enjoy both sets, performed here by Aldo Ciccolini:

Happy birthday, Déodot de Séverac (1872-1921)!

PHOTO: Séverac vacations in place
Bird Crossword Test Your Avian Knowledge

by

Ross Amico

July 19, 2020

in Daily Dispatch

3 responses

This week’s Classic Ross Amico crossword is definitely for the birds. Celebrate our feathered friends and test your knowledge of the avian influence on the world’s classics.

To fill out the puzzle, follow the link and select “solve online” at the bottom of the page. You’ll then be able to type directly into the squares. Once you feel you’ve exhausted the puzzle, you’ll find the solutions by clicking on “Answer Key PDF.”

Flex your wings and, with any luck, catch a thermal to the catbird seat!

https://www.armoredpenguin.com/crossword/Data/2020.07/1907/19075227.887.html