Classic Ross Amico

Tag: Fantasia

Leopold Stokowski The Forgotten Celebrity

In his lifetime, he was as recognized as – well, as Mickey Mouse.

With his wild hair, dove-like hands, and faux middle-European accent, Leopold Stokowski was familiar to anyone who went to the movies.

In the latter decades of the 20th century, kids were still emulating Looney Tunes’ cries of “LEOPOLD!,” thanks to television reruns of Bugs Bunny.

Once upon a time, before classical music became marginalized…

I’ll pass on asking the rhetorical question of what the hell happened to my country, and instead channel my energy into projecting happy birthday wishes to the beyond for Leopold Stokowski!

Conducting Tchaikovsky in the film “Carnegie Hall” (1947)

Shaking hands with Mickey Mouse in “Fantasia” (1940)

Parodied in “Long-Haired Hair” (1949)

Introduced by Burns & Allen in “The Big Broadcast of 1937”

Introduced in a snood around the 3:30 mark in “Hollywood Steps Out” (1941)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOFG_qmoH8I&t=0m16s

Charging his fingers at around 1:35 in Walter Lantz’s “Hollywood Bowl” (1938)

https://vimeo.com/126713908?fbclid=IwAR07EsgTjeN70QIfVpM1HoWyJ66k-oc5T4hs2WRPl7XGDp530eLMuWyF8Xk

With Deanna Durbin in “One Hundred Men and a Girl” (1937)

April 18, 2023
Ponchielli Dance of the Hours & Allan Sherman

Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh…

Today is the birthday of Amilcare Ponchielli. It’s possible you may not know his name, but you certainly know his music, thanks to Allan Sherman and Walt Disney.

Of his ten operas, only “La Gioconda” (1876) maintains a toehold in the repertoire. It’s certainly not for want of trying. Ponchielli swung for the fences, with a large orchestra in the pit and impeccable orchestration. He influenced composers of the rising generation, including Giacomo Puccini, Pietro Mascagni, and Umberto Giordano. But nothing outside of “Gioconda” has really stuck.

Fortunately, the opera has its share of memorable moments, including the contralto aria “Voce de donna o d’angelo” (a.k.a. the Rosary song), the tenor romanza “Cielo e mar,” a duet for tenor and baritone, “Enzo Grimaldo, Principe di Santafior,” and the soprano aria “Suicidio!”

However, far and way the most famous music is the ballet from Act III, known as “Dance of the Hours.” The opera is a tragedy (drawn from Victor Hugo), but it’s impossible now to take any of it seriously, since one can’t help but think of ostriches, elephants, alligators, and hippopotami.

Hey, there’s no such thing as bad publicity. Happy birthday, Amilcare Ponchielli!

Dance of the Hours

Pavarotti sings “Cielo e mar”

Callas sings “Suicidio!”

The charming Quartet for Winds with Piano Accompaniment

Muti conducts an orchestral work, “Elegia”

“Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh”

Disney’s “Fantasia” (excerpt)

August 31, 2022
Stravinsky Disney’s Rite of Spring Dinosaur

The composer who spent most of his life driving himself to evolve, terrified of turning into a dinosaur, first became known to many of us from the dinosaur segment in Disney’s “Fantasia.”

Happy birthday, Igor Stravinsky! Fight for your “Rite” to party!

How Walt Disney got “Rite of Spring” right:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater_dance/how-walt-disney-got-rite-of-spring-right/2013/06/19/8d008e78-d895-11e2-a9f2-42ee3912ae0e_story.html

“Rite of Spring”: A classic “Fantasia” segment, whether Stravinsky liked it or not:

https://www.yourclassical.org/story/2015/10/05/rite-spring-fantasia

PHOTOS: (left) Disney and Stravinsky; (top to bottom) “The Rite of Spring” segment from “Fantasia;” George Balanchine, Stravinsky, and Disney with Pteranodon model; and Stravinsky caricature by Disney

June 17, 2022
Leopold Stokowski The Genius at 140

Maestro. Showman. Magician. Matinee idol. Prima donna. Charlatan. Genius. Superstar.

The multifaceted Leopold Stokowski was born on this date, 140 years ago.

Preserved (or parodied) in all media, he could be as outrageous as he was revelatory. He brought to concert music a glamour and vitality that today it too often lacks. His wild hair and faux middle-European accent, his dove-like hands, his flamboyant experiments in sound, his pursuit of the novel and the cutting edge of technology, made him a celebrity, often to the chagrin of his critics. But the proof is in the pudding, and thankfully his recorded legacy is enormous. There is ample evidence to support all claims.

Stokowski died in 1977 at the age of 95. At 94, he signed his final recording contract, with Columbia Records, which would have kept him busy into his 100th year.

Here’s a documentary filmed when he was 88:

At around the 11:23 mark, he states, “We have a motto in the American symphony orchestra, which is ‘do better.’ And it would be a good motto for life all over the world today, when we are killing instead of loving. Do better, world!”

Well said. Happy birthday, Leopold!

One of my favorite live performances on YouTube, when it shows up (it keeps getting taken down), with Stokowski conducting Debussy at the age of 90.

Bach in Philadelphia in 1927

Conducting Tchaikovsky in the film “Carnegie Hall” (1947)

Shaking hands with Mickey Mouse in “Fantasia” (1940)

Parodied in “Long-Haired Hair” (1949)

“Daphnis and Chloe” Suite No. 2

London Phase 4 “The Firebird” finale

April 18, 2022
October Fantasy with Classical Music’s Dukas

Classical music lends itself well to fantasy. And fantasy lends itself very well to October, the month of Halloween.

Take the case of Paul Dukas, born on this date in 1865. Dukas composed an opera about Bluebeard and his sixth wife, and a so-called dance poem, “La Péri,” about a fatal encounter with a Persian fairy.

But far and away his most famous work is “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,” after Goethe, who based it on an ancient tale. It was that old wizard, Walt Disney, who did more for the piece than anyone else.

The music is fantastic in more ways than one. Happy birthday, Paul Dukas!

“La Péri”

A production of “Ariane et Barbe-Bleue” from Lyon Opera

https://www.arte.tv/en/videos/102815-000-A/dukas-ariane-et-barbe-bleue/

The world’s most beloved vermin as “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice”

https://video.disney.com/watch/sorcerer-s-apprentice-fantasia-4ea9ebc01a74ea59a5867853?fbclid=IwAR1YWAfXrDpearLdzRlxlpKC1Phe9aCh8D-Mxcz0sPkMP4rKPyEr2bTG_zs

October 1, 2021

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