Classic Ross Amico

Tag: Elmer Bernstein

Americana Film Scores for the Fourth of July

This week on “Picture Perfect,” it’s my birthday AND the Fourth of July, so I’ve selected four Americana film scores to enjoy with sparklers and cake.

Okay, so “To Kill a Mockingbird” (1962) is not the most celebratory film, but I don’t care – it’s a beautiful movie, based on a beautiful book (by Pulitzer Prize winner Harper Lee), with beautiful music by Elmer Bernstein, full of nostalgia and yearning, and a playful sense of fun when the kids are rolling in tires. It’s steeped in Americana, so I’m going with it. Gregory Peck is unforgettable as the forthright attorney and model father, Atticus Finch. FUN FACT: John Williams played the piano part in the original recording heard in the film.

A rather more questionable role model is at the heart of “The Film-Flam Man” (1967), with George C. Scott as “Master of Back-Stabbing, Cork-Screwing and Dirty-Dealing” confidence man Mordecai C. Jones. Irvin Kershner directed, and Jerry Goldsmith’s music (harmonica, banjo, honky-tonk piano, etc.) lends to the film’s freewheeling spirit with a folksy, bluegrass-imbued score.

Jerome Moross is largely recognized for his classic score for “The Big Country.” However, that sense of quintessential Americana colors much of his output, including, most sensitively, his music for “Rachel, Rachel” (1968). Joanne Woodward plays the isolated schoolteacher of the title (the character lives above a funeral parlor with her mother), who belatedly experiences passion and asserts her independence. The director was none other than Woodward’s husband, Paul Newman.

Finally, we’ll turn to one of John Williams breakthrough scores, for “The Reivers” (1969), based on the semi-autobiographical novel of William Faulkner. The music, if possible, is even folksier and more frenetic than Goldsmith’s “The Flim-Flam Man” – though, typical of Williams, there is also an expansive sentiment and indefinable yearning to the more lyrical episodes.

It’s said that the composer’s work on “The Reivers” is what moved Steven Spielberg to hire him for “The Sugarland Express.” The Spielberg association brought Williams to “Jaws,” and the first of his truly iconic film scores. Williams collaborated with the director of THIS film, Mark Rydell, on a number of occasions, as well – on “The Cowboys,” “Cinderella Liberty,” and “The River.”

I hope you’ll join me for a Fourth of July tug of war between rowdiness and sensitivity, with Americana film scores 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 – 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/

July 4, 2025
Elmer Bernstein’s Magnificent Western Film Scores

Elmer Bernstein scored films in just about every genre – from “The Man with the Golden Arm” (1955) to “The Ten Commandments” (1956) to “To Kill a Mockingbird” (1962) to “The Great Escape” (1963) to “Animal House” (1978) to “The Age of Innocence” (1993) to his final project, the Oscar-nominated “Far from Heaven” (2002) – but he had a particular knack for the western.

His swaggering theme for “The Magnificent Seven” (1960) is just about synonymous with most people’s idea of western adventure. (It also sold a heck of a lot of cigarettes when it was licensed by Marlboro.)

Not surprisingly, “The Magnificent Seven” put Bernstein much in demand as a western composer, and he wrote scores for many, including most of the films of John Wayne’s final decade. What’s striking is just how much he was able to vary them. His work for “The Comancheros” (1961) is very different from that for “True Grit” (1969), for instance, and “The Shootist” (1976), Wayne’s final film, is different still.

You’ll be able to sample some of them, when we saddle up for seven magnificent western scores of Elmer Bernstein, for the composer’s birthday, 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 – 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/

April 4, 2025
Toy Movie Music Citizen Kane to Toy Story

With the grand cacophony of Christmas still fresh in everyone’s ears, I thought it only appropriate this week on “Picture Perfect” to focus on music from movies about toys.

Without giving anything away, in the unlikely event you don’t already know the story’s big pay-off, “Citizen Kane” (1941) is a film flanked by toys. There’s even a snow globe in the film’s opening montage. A certain memory of Kane’s childhood provides a poignant glimpse of the larger-than-life newspaper magnate’s lost innocence. “Kane” is often cited as one of the greatest films ever made. Orson Welles triumphed in his debut as writer-director-star, even if, ultimately, his creation proved to be a bottle rocket that blew up in his face. The film also marked the Hollywood debut of composer Bernard Herrmann.

I’m not sure that “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure” (1985) could be described as the “Citizen Kane” of the ‘80s, exactly, but this endearingly goofy sojourn into the surreal does revolve around the recovery of a lost toy, as Pee-wee, the eternal boy, determines to make his way to “the basement of the Alamo” in an attempt to reclaim his stolen bike. The feature was director Tim Burton’s first. It was also his first collaboration with Danny Elfman, who is obviously a big fan of Nino Rota.

The husband-and-wife team of Charles and Ray Eames are better known for their contributions to architecture, industrial design, and manufacturing, but they also made short films. “Toccata for Toy Trains” (1957) was inspired by the Eames’ passion for vintage toys. The score was provided by their go-to composer, Elmer Bernstein.

Finally, in acknowledgement of the greatest toy series of our day, we’ll conclude with music from “Toy Story” (1995), the first full-length computer animated feature. The quality of the film propelled it beyond mere novelty status into the realm of instant classic, and the beloved “Toy Story” franchise has raked in hundreds of millions of dollars. Early on, it was decided by the filmmakers that they did not want “Toy Story” to be a musical, but that songs could be used to underline its emotional content. Randy Newman has provided the music for all the “Toy Story” films so far. He was recognized with an Academy Award for his work on “Toy Story 3,” for the song, “We Belong Together.”

Keep popping those aspirin. It’s “Toys Everywhere” this week, 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 EST/5:00 PM PST

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

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

Stream them, wherever you are, at the link!

https://kwax.uoregon.edu/

December 27, 2024
National Geographic TV Music After Thanksgiving

On the day after Thanksgiving, with the house alive with memories and perhaps a few lingering relatives, enjoy an hour of music from television “events” that once appealed to the entire family.

Years in advance of modern cable, at the very dawn of color television, the National Geographic Society aired its first “special” on September 10, 1965. The program, titled “Americans on Everest,” featured stunning footage taken from the summit of the world’s tallest peak. These specials really were special, with breathtaking images and real-life adventures unlike anything previously experienced in American living rooms.

Three months later, viewers were introduced to the familiar “National Geographic Theme,” which was composed by Elmer Bernstein for the third of the broadcast specials, “Voyage of the Brigantine Yankee.” When one realizes that Bernstein also wrote the score for “The Magnificent Seven,” it becomes one of those “Ah ha!” moments. Both themes remain among the most recognized by American audiences.

National Geographic went on to work with a number of the top film composers of the day. This week on “Picture Perfect,” we’ll travel the world with four of them.

Bernstein, who was also responsible for the music for “The Ten Commandments,” “The Great Escape,” and “To Kill a Mockingbird,” returned in 1967 to write the music for a follow-up to “Voyage of the Brigantine Yankee,” called “Yankee Sails Across Europe.”

Ernest Gold, composer of “Exodus,” was engaged in 1972 to write the score for “The Last Vikings,” a documentary about the inhabitants of the rugged northern coast of Norway, who at the time still practiced some of the traditions followed centuries before by their Norse forebears. Gold’s score is a good example of what a talented composer can accomplish through an economy of means – in this case, a wind ensemble, harp, cello and percussion.

Leonard Rosenman, a pupil of Arnold Schoenberg, Roger Sessions, and Luigi Dallapiccola – a most unlikely pedigree on which to build a career in Hollywood – wrote classic scores for “East of Eden,” “Rebel Without a Cause,” and “Fantastic Voyage.” He also composed the music for one of the best known of the National Geographic specials, “Dr. Leakey and the Dawn of Man,” in 1966.
Finally, Jerome Moross wrote a charming and buoyant Americana score for “Grizzly!,” which aired in 1967. Moross, of course, was the composer of one of the all-time great western scores, for “The Big Country.”

Naturally, we’ll also get more than our share of that iconic National Geographic theme. All of this music was issued on limited edition compact discs from the Intrada label.

I hope you’ll join me for music from outstanding television documentaries produced by National Geographic, 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 EST/5:00 PM PST

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

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

Stream them, wherever you are, at the link!

https://kwax.uoregon.edu/

November 29, 2024
Academy Awards Weekend: Film Music on KWAX

We’re entering Academy Awards weekend, and the winner is… YOU!

Why? Because I’ve recorded THREE BRAND NEW SHOWS for KWAX for your delectation.

Regardless of how you feel about the current state of the industry or the awards ceremony itself, you have to concede, there’s quite a rich history of impressive music written for film. And the Academy Awards is always the perfect excuse to go excavating.

I’ll be leaning heavily into the nostalgia, beginning today on PICTURE PERFECT. We’ll hear selections from what has been dubbed the greatest film music concert in history. Elmer Bernstein, Johnny Green, Bernard Herrmann, Henry Mancini, Alfred Newman, Alex North, David Raksin, Miklós Rózsa, Dimitri Tiomkin, Franz Waxman, and more turned out for the occasion – all of them to conduct their own music.

They were joined by Mahalia Jackson, Andy Williams, and Jack Benny. What could only be described as a Hollywood Bowl superconcert was broadcast live over the CBS television network on September 25, 1963.

Highlights were issued on what became a highly collectible LP. The content was expanded for a CD reissue on the Columbia Legacy label in 1995. However, based on my reading and the fact that I’m finding other selections in my personal library that were recorded at the venue on the same date, there’s still much that remains to be compiled. Put out whatever you’re holding back on a double-disc, please, Sony!

On today’s show, we’ll hear ten musical selections. I hasten to add, not everyone mentioned will be represented; nor were they even included on the commercial recordings. Tune in to KWAX at 8:00 pm EST/5:00 pm PST. (See the streaming information below).

Then be sure to join me tomorrow morning when I’ll present a potpourri of classic film themes on SWEETNESS AND LIGHT. Tune in sharp at 11:00 EST/8:00 PST to enjoy 90 seconds of introductory fanfares from the great studios of Hollywood’s Golden Age.

Finally, also tomorrow, on THE LOST CHORD, it’s another in an occasional series of programs devoted to concert works by composers better known for their work in film. Among the featured works will be “Pas de Deux,” a concerto for violin, cello and orchestra, by James Horner (“Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan,” “Braveheart,” “Titanic”), and the Concerto for Flute and String Orchestra by Jerome Moross (“The Big Countrty,” “The Cardinal,” “The Valley of Gwangi”). That show will stream Saturday at 7:00 pm EST/4:00 pm PST.

That should give you plenty of time to load up on the popcorn and buffalo wings for Sunday night’s ceremony. Listen to all three of these NEWLY-RECORDED RADIO SHOWS, wherever you are, at the link!

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

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

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

https://kwax.uoregon.edu/

More about “the greatest film music concert in history”

http://www.filmmusicsociety.org/news_events/features/2013/092313.html

March 8, 2024

Tag Cloud

RECENT POSTS