Classic Ross Amico

Tag: Jerry Goldsmith

Supporting the Arts Small Acts Big Impact

I’ll probably never have the bank account to know what it’s like to be a big-time patron of the arts on the scale of a Medici or a Guggenheim; but thanks to crowdfunding platforms even I am able to do my own small part to help underwrite projects that are of particular interest to me.

So I can feel an extra degree of satisfaction that there’s a two-volume chronicle of Jerry Goldsmith’s career and music on the way and that Intrada Records has just completed sessions for a compact disc release of Frank Skinner’s score to “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein,” also imminent.

I’m especially proud to have been able to kick in for a couple of CDs of Vaughan Williams world premieres for Albion Records, the recording branch of the Ralph Vaughan Williams Society, including “Beyond My Dreams,” devoted to the composer’s incidental music for Greek plays (other than “The Wasps”), released in 2017, and “Royal Throne of Kings,” devoted to his music for Shakespeare, newly issued.

This Saturday will mark Vaughan Williams’ birthday anniversary, and since I believe some potential listeners are not seeing my Facebook teasers for my light music show, “Sweetness and Light,” until too late, if I post them the morning of broadcast, this week I am giving you several days’ notice that I will be including selections from the new Shakespeare disc in a program that will emphasize RVW’s lighter music.

So if you’re a Ralph Vaughan Williams’ fan (he’s one of my favorite composers), do take note! We’ll be humming along with Uncle Ralph on “Sweetness and Light,” this Saturday morning at 11:00 EDT/8:00 PDT, exclusively on KWAX, the radio station of the University of Oregon!

Stream it wherever you are at the link:

https://kwax.uoregon.edu/

Ogle the complete Albion Records catalogue here:

Albion Records

October 10, 2024
Going Ape for Classic Movie Music

With the publicity machine going full-throttle for the new “Planet of the Apes” movie, I thought we’d take the opportunity this week, on “Picture Perfect,” to look back to Jerry Goldsmith’s music for the original 1968 classic.

Goldsmith incorporated all sorts of unusual effects into his groundbreaking score. He employed such instruments as tuned mixing bowls, a bass slide-whistle, and the cuika, a Brazilian wind instrument used to mimic the hooting of excited apes. He instructed his hornists to play without mouthpieces, and he manipulated percussion through the use of an Echoplex.

Barbaric and unnerving, with little in the way of lyricism, I can’t imagine anything like it being used in a major Hollywood film today. Well, from my description, I guess I can, but Goldsmith was the real deal – a talented composer with real tools (not just a laptop) at his disposal.

While my initial impulse had been to fill out the hour with music from some of the other films in the “Apes” franchise, after listening for a while, the grimness and brutality became a bit too unremitting, so instead we’ll swing with the gorilla theme.

Among the other selections will be an extended passage from the Dian Fossey biopic, “Gorillas in the Mist,” which starred Sigourney Weaver and featured music by Maurice Jarre, of “Lawrence of Arabia” and “Doctor Zhivago” fame, though from his later, lamentable “electronic” period.

We’ll also hear a bit from the “Mighty Joe Young” remake, since, at the time I recorded the show, I couldn’t get a hold of Roy Webb’s score for the original (since remedied). The music is pretty much standard James Horner (eg. “Titanic”), though he does incorporate a Swahili choir.

Finally, we’ll sample from Max Steiner’s landmark score to the 800-pound gorilla of all monkey movies, 1933’s “King Kong.”

I hope you’ll join me as we go ape this week, on “Picture Perfect,” music for the movies, now in syndication on KWAX, the radio station of the University of Oregon!

Remember, KWAX is on the West Coast, so there’s a three-hour difference for those of you listening in the East. Here are the respective air-times for all three of my recorded shows (with East Coast conversions in parentheses):

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

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

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

Stream all three, at the times indicated, by following the link!

https://kwax.uoregon.edu/

“Take your stinkin’ paws off me…!” (with Goldsmith’s music, including cuika effects):

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

May 3, 2024
Remembering Jerry Goldsmith Film Music Legend

When he was a kid, Jerry Goldsmith loved going to the movies to enjoy the music – just the way I loved going to the movies as a kid to enjoy Jerry Goldsmith!

Goldsmith, born on this date in 1929, wrote indelible scores for dozens of films, such as “The Sand Pebbles” (1966), “The Blue Max” (1966), “The Flim-Flam Man” (1967), “Planet of the Apes” (1968), “Patton” (1970), “Papillon” (1973), “Chinatown” (1974), “The Wind and the Lion” (1975), “MacArthur” (1977), “The Boys from Brazil” (1978), “The Great Train Robbery” (1979), “Alien” (1979, butchered in sound editing), and “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” (1979).

For television, he wrote for “Dr. Kildare,” “The Twilight Zone,” “Gunsmoke,” “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” and “The Waltons.”

By the 1980s, the films began to get weaker. It seemed like Goldsmith was always getting tossed the projects John Williams passed on, or cheap knockoffs of Williams’ successes. By his final decade, he was stuck writing for such garbage as “The Mummy” (1999), “The Haunting” remake (1999), and “Looney Tunes: Back in Action” (2003). A notable exception was “L.A. Confidential” (1997), but rarely were his later projects up to his talent.

Goldsmith had a reputation for being able to compose at white heat, so he was frequently called upon to write replacement scores for films like “The River Wild” (1994), “Air Force One” (1997) and “The 13th Warrior” (1999). He composed and recorded the score to “Chinatown,” one of the best of the 1970s, in only ten days.

Incredibly, he was honored with but a single Academy Award (of 18 nominations), for his influential score to “The Omen” (1976). Goldsmith died in 2004, at the age of 75. If he were to come back today, he would mop the joint with all the moody droners and computer noodlers, with their narrow palettes and paucity of inspiration.

Happy birthday, Jerry. I hope they’re still making good movies wherever you are.

Goldsmith discusses film music, circa 1986

Documentary from 1993

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUemenAQYQ4

Introducing and conducting his music with the National Philharmonic in 1989

Introducing and conducting his music, and others’, with the BBC Concert Orchestra in 1994

Part 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SR6c8QWIh90

Part 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqofviC4PG4

February 10, 2024
Viking Movie Music Swords Fjords and Soundtracks

We’ve got the need for mead!

This week on “Picture Perfect,” it’s an hour of swords and fjords, as we travel north for music from movies about the Norsemen.

In “The Long Ships” (1963), two Viking brothers, played by the unlikely pair of Richard Widmark and Russ Tamblyn, make off with a king’s funeral ship – and the king’s daughter – as they set sail on a quest for the fabled “Mother of Voices,” an enormous solid gold bell – also coveted by a Moorish prince, played by the late Sidney Poitier. Needless to say, camp value is high. The music for this British-Yugoslavian production is by the Serbian composer Dusan Radic.

“Prince Valiant” (1954), based on the enduring comic strip by Hal Foster, is set in the days of King Arthur, though Val himself is a Viking prince of the kingdom of Scandia. And indeed Vikings play an important role in the film. Victor McLaglen is Val’s Viking pal Boltar, Janet Leigh is Princess Aleta, James Mason the villainous Sir Brack, and Sterling Hayden a ridiculous Gawain. Robert Wagner dons the signature page-boy haircut.

The score is every bit as vivid as the film’s Technicolor. We’ll hear selections from a very special recording, with the composer himself, Franz Waxman, conducting.

Michael Crichton’s 1976 novel, “Eaters of the Dead,” presents an unlikely, fish-out-of-water alliance, between historic Persian ambassador of the 10th century, Ahmad ibn Fadlan, and a band of Vikings. They overcome their cultural differences to face off against the Wendol, humanoid creatures who periodically emerge from the mist to feed on human flesh.

Crichton’s story was filmed in 1997 and ultimately released as “The 13th Warrior” (1999), with Antonio Banderas as Ibn Fadlan. The production was plagued by misfortune. The original director, John McTiernan, who found success with “Die Hard,” was fired for running over-budget, and Crichton himself was brought in to re-shoot a number of the scenes. Nevertheless, the film proved to be a box office failure. But any movie to feature a Jerry Goldsmith score – and Vikings! – can’t be all bad.

The legendary Jack Cardiff, who actually directed “The Long Ships,” provided the stunning cinematography for “The Vikings” (1958). The film stars Kirk Douglas, Tony Curtis, Janet Leigh, and Ernest Borgnine. Although unintentionally amusing on several levels, “The Vikings” is highly regarded for its attention to detail and stabs at historical accuracy – particularly in regard to its Viking dragon boats.

Also impressive is the haunting score by Mario Nascimbene, which we’ll hear in a digital re-recording, issued on the Prometheus Records label, featuring the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus, conducted by Nic Raine. The recording is like mead from Valhalla.

I hope you’ll join me for an hour of runes and tunes. It’s the definitive mix-tape for your dragonship, on “Picture Perfect, music for the movies, now in syndication on KWAX, the radio station of the University of Oregon!

Remember, KWAX is on the West Coast, so there’s a three-hour difference for those of you listening in the East. Here are the respective air-times for all three of my recorded shows (with East Coast conversions in parentheses):

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 – ALL NEW! – 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)

Stream all three, at the times indicated, by following the link!

https://kwax.uoregon.edu/

January 12, 2024
Classic Christmas TV Specials Music

This week on “Picture Perfect,” we’ll think inside the box, with music from classic Christmas television specials.

“The Snowman” (1982), based on the picture book by Raymond Briggs, is about a boy whose snowman comes to life and whisks him away on a journey to the North Pole. The show became enormously popular in the UK and through occasional showings on U.S. television. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short. Like the book, the film is wordless, using animation and music to tell its story, with the exception of an enchanting interlude, known as “Walking in the Air,” which employs a boy treble. “Walking in the Air” is easily the best-known music by Howard Blake. Blake turned 85 in October. Happy belated birthday!

The television film “The Homecoming” (1971) stars Patricia Neal and Richard Thomas in a heart-warming story about a rural family Christmas in 1933. Written by Earl Hamner, the film’s success spawned the television series “The Waltons.” Jerry Goldsmith wrote the music. He would return to work on “The Waltons” – though as of “The Homecoming,” he had yet to write the show’s indelible theme.

An adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” (1954) was the subject of a special episode of the anthology series “Shower of Stars.” Fredric March plays Ebenezer Scrooge, and Basil Rathbone is Jacob Marley’s ghost. But it is Ray Middleton, who appears as both Scrooge’s nephew and the Spirit of Christmas Present, who is given arguably the show’s most memorable tune, “A Very Merry Christmas.” The teleplay and lyrics are by Maxwell Anderson, and the music is by Bernard Herrmann!

Finally, Christmas time is here, happiness and cheer, with “A Charlie Brown Christmas” (1965). We’ll hear the Vince Guaraldi Trio perform selections from this most beloved of Christmas classics.

For once, the snow has nothing to do with your television reception. I hope you’ll join me for a cookie plate full of classic Christmas specials, on “Picture Perfect,” now in syndication on KWAX, the radio station of the University of Oregon!

Remember, KWAX is on the West Coast, so there’s a three-hour difference for those of you listening in the East. Here are the respective air-times of my recorded shows (with East Coast conversions in parentheses):

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

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

Also, a reminder that tomorrow morning I’LL BE ADDING A THIRD SHOW to the mix: SWEETNESS AND LIGHT will debut at 8:00 AM PACIFIC TIME (11:00 AM EST) with a seasonal playlist calculated to charm and to cheer. I hope you’ll be able to join me then.

Stream all three shows, at the times indicated, at the link!

https://kwax.uoregon.edu/

December 22, 2023

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