This week on “Picture Perfect,” a show built around movies with women’s names for titles permits us to travel across a broad of array of genres – contemporary drama, Regency Era comedy of manners, 1940s film noir, and 16th century costume picture.
In “Rachel, Rachel” (1968), Joanne Woodward plays a repressed, small-town schoolteacher, who learns to take control of her own life. The film marked the directorial debut of Woodward’s husband, Paul Newman. “Rachel, Rachel” was nominated for four Academy Awards, including those for Best Actress and Best Picture. Newman picked up a Golden Globe and a New York Critics Circle Award for his direction. The lovely Americana score is by Jerome Moross.
In “Emma” (1996), adapted from novel of Jane Austen, Gwyneth Paltrow plays a high spirited-though-somewhat-clueless matchmaker, who fails to recognize her own feelings or those of the men around her. Among the supporting cast are Alan Cumming, Toni Collette, Ewan McGregor, and Jeremy Northam. Screenwriter and director Douglas McGrath fell in love with the book while an undergraduate at Princeton University. Rachel Portman wrote the Academy Award-winning score.
Not surprisingly, the Otto Preminger film noir “Laura” (1944) also sports quite the cast, including Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, Clifton Webb, Judith Anderson, and Vincent Price. The equally impressive theme, heard in multiple permutations throughout the film, was written by Philadelphia-born composer David Raksin. Outfitted with lyrics by Johnny Mercer, it went on to become the second most-recorded song during the composer’s lifetime, behind only Hoagie Carmichael’s “Stardust.”
Finally, “Diane” (1956) takes us back to 16th century France, with a plot concerning Diane de Poitiers, played by Lana Turner, a member of the court of Francis I, who becomes the mistress of the king’s son, Henri d’Orléans, a very young Roger Moore. Their illicit love unfolds against the backdrop of Medici intrigue and lust for power. Miklós Rózsa, M-G-M’s go-to-composer for historical spectacles, wrote the music.
I hope you’ll join me for “What’s in a Name?,” on “Picture Perfect,” music for the movies, now in syndication on KWAX Classical Oregon!
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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
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PHOTO: Dana Andrews likes his women stiff, like his bourbon
Tag: Jane Austen
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A Lot of Candles for Beethoven and Jane Austen
Beethoven (1770-1827) and Jane Austen (1775-1817) share a birthday!
Although the two were contemporaries, they most certainly never met, although Jane’s family kept music books. 18 collections survive – 600 hundred pieces of sheet music – two of the volumes consisting of music copied out in Jane’s hand.
Beethoven doesn’t appear to have been a great favorite. Rather, the Austens gravitated more toward Clementi, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Pleyel, and Thomas Arne (Jane painstakingly transcribed the overture to “Artexerxes”). Allegedly, in her novels, Austen mentions only one composer by name: Johann Baptist Cramer. I haven’t read enough of her books (only two, but working on a third), or kept notes, to be sure. But there are allusions to others.
The Austen family music books may be perused online, thanks to the University of Southampton. You’ll find access at the bottom of the page at the link:
https://www.southampton.ac.uk/news/2015/12/jane-austen-music-books.page
Gillian Dooley, who catalogued the contents, has written her own book, “She Played and Sang: Jane Austen and Music” (Manchester University Press, 2024), based on her research.
https://janeaustensworld.com/tag/austen-music-manuscripts/
Of perhaps related interest, Sony Classical recently released an album by Jeneba Kanneh-Mason, “Jane Austen’s Piano,” a recital of works Jane might have known, including music by Handel, Haydn, Kiallmark, and Cramer, as well as a transcription of some of Dario Marianelli’s music for the 2005 film adaptation, “Pride & Prejudice.”
https://www.kannehmasons.com/2025/10/03/jeneba-kanneh-masons-new-ep-jane-austen-piano-coming-december-2025-on-sony-classical/
Jane attended recitals in salon settings and opera performances at Covent Garden when visiting her brother in London. She herself played the piano for pleasure.
Happy 250th birthday, Jane Austen, and happy 255, Beethoven! -
Jane Austen at 250 on “Picture Perfect”
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a radio host in possession of a weekly film music show must be in want of a good theme. This week on “Picture Perfect,” we eschew the usual fare of Vikings, pirates, and dinosaurs, to enter the world Jane Austen, in anticipation of the 250th anniversary of her birth (on December 16, 1775).
We’ll hear Rachel Portman’s Academy Award winning score for “Emma” (1996), Patrick Doyle’s music for “Sense and Sensibility” (1995), and selections from two versions of “Pride and Prejudice,” with music by Dario Marianelli (2005) and Carl Davis (1995).
Not only do Austen adaptations sport amazing casts, the scores attract some of classical music’s star performers. Listen in for contributions by soprano Jane Eaglen, pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, and fortepianist Melvyn Tan.
A large income is the best recipe for happiness I ever heard of – at least according to “Mansfield Park.” The next best thing is a playlist assembled from Jane Austen movies. There’s an urgency for Regency this week on “Picture Perfect,” music for the movies, now in syndication on KWAX Classical Oregon!
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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 – 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/
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If you’re an Austenite, feel free to let me know which novel or film adaptation is your favorite! -
Jane Austen Film Scores on the Radio
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a radio host in possession of a weekly film music show must be in want of a good theme. This week on “Picture Perfect,” we eschew the usual fare of Vikings, pirates, and dinosaurs, to enter the world of Jane Austen.
We’ll hear Rachel Portman’s Academy Award winning score for “Emma” (1996), Patrick Doyle’s music for “Sense and Sensibility” (1995), and selections from two versions of “Pride and Prejudice,” with music by Carl Davis (1995) and Dario Marianelli (2005).
Not only do Austen adaptations sport amazing casts, the scores attract some of classical music’s star performers. Listen in for contributions by soprano Jane Eaglen, pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, and fortepianist Melvyn Tan.
A large income is the best recipe for happiness I ever heard of – at least according to “Mansfield Park.” The next best is a playlist assembled from Jane Austen movies. Join me this Saturday evening at 6:00 EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.
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Mr Darcy Hottest Reads at WWFM Friday
Mr. Darcy beats the heat. It’s an all-Jane Austen “Picture Perfect,” this Friday at 6:00 EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.
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