Classic Ross Amico

Tag: Independence Day

American Music for Independence Day on WPRB

I’ve been following Marvin Rosen’s Classical Discoveries playlist with particular interest this morning, since I too plan to play all American music tomorrow, in anticipation of the Independence Day holiday.

Marvin is a much better planner than I, but at this point I can say with relative certainty that we MAY hear music by George Antheil, Paul Bowles, Romeo Cascarino, John Corigliano, Daniel Dorff, Irving Fine, Lou Harrison, Bernard Herrmann, Jennifer Higdon, Ruth Crawford Seeger, Peter Schickele, Caroline Shaw, Michael Torke, George Walker and many others.

Jerry Rife, for 30 years conductor of The Blawenburg Band, will join me around 9:00 to tell us just a little bit about the band’s upcoming concerts at Princeton Shopping Center (tomorrow at 7 p.m.), Yardley Community Centre in Yardley, Pa. (July 4 at 4 p.m.), and Hopewell Train Station (July 6 at 7:30 p.m.).

Tune in, wrap yourself in the flag, and feel the cool grass between your toes, as we celebrate America’s independence this week. Keep it classy with Classic Ross Amico, tomorrow morning from 6 to 11 a.m. ET, on WPRB 103.3 FM or online at wprb.com.

July 1, 2015
Independence Day Movie Music

Tomorrow is Independence Day, so it seems appropriate this week on “Picture Perfect” to treat the subject of music from movies related to the birth of our nation.

We’ll hear selections from the 2000 Mel Gibson film, “The Patriot,” in which slow-burning pacifist Mel is pushed too far by ruthless British officer Jason Isaacs and reverts to his bloody French and Indian War ways. By the end of the film, he is literally waving the flag to John Williams’ triumphant score.

Then we’ll hear a suite from the 1942 Jack Benny-Ann Sheridan fixer-up comedy, “George Washington Slept Here,” based on the play by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman – not really about the Revolution, beyond the fact that the ramshackle Pennsylvania farm house purchased by a transplanted New York couple is alleged to have been the resting place of the Revolution’s most famous general. The music is by Adolph Deutsch.

The 1985 film, “Revolution,” seemed to have everything going for it. The director was Hugh Hudson, whose “Chariots of Fire” was the big winner at the 1981 Academy Awards; its star was Al Pacino; and its composer was John Corigliano, who went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music for his Symphony No. 2 and an Academy Award for “The Red Violin.” Yet “Revolution” bombed horribly – so horribly that Pacino gave up making movies for the next four years. James Galway plays the flute and pennywhistle on the film’s soundtrack.

Finally, we’ll hear music from the longest continuously-shown film in cinematic history, “Williamsburg: The Story of a Patriot,” created exclusively for the tourist attraction of Colonial Williamsburg. The film features future “Hawaii Five-O” star Jack Lord, and the score is by none other than Bernard Herrmann.

Here’s a clip from “Williamsburg,” with some of Herrmann’s music:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0VXfVhenXQ

We celebrate Independence Day this week, on “Picture Perfect,” music for the movies. You can hear it this Friday evening at 6 ET, or enjoy it later as a webcast at http://www.wwfm.org.

July 3, 2014

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