Classic Ross Amico

Tag: Leo Arnaud

Olympic Music on Picture Perfect KWAX

Citius! Altius! Fortius!

This week on “Picture Perfect,” to coincide with the Summer Games in Paris, we’ll get the blood pumping, with selections from Olympic opening ceremonies and television broadcasts.

Featured composers with include Leo Arnaud (a Ravel pupil, who worked on “The Wizard of Oz” and went on to write THE classic Olympic theme), Angelo Badalamenti (David Lynch’s composer of choice), Basil Poledouris (composer of “Conan the Barbarian” and “The Hunt for Red October”), and John Williams (‘nuff said).

In addition, there will be a suite from the Olympic documentary “16 Days of Glory,” by Lee Holdridge (recipient of seven Emmys and a Grammy).

We’ll be shoveling in the Wheaties and going for the gold, on “Picture Perfect,” music for the movies – or at the very least music by film composers – 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 – ALL NEW! – 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 26, 2024
Leo Arnaud Olympic Fanfare’s 120th Birthday

Leo Arnaud was born in Lyon, France, on this date 120 years ago. You may not know his name, but from July 26 to August 11, yet again his most famous music will resound everywhere, as the 2024 Summer Olympics take place in Paris.

Arnaud composed the most widely recognized of Olympic fanfares, “The Bugler’s Dream,” for Felix Slatkin, for inclusion on his 1958 album, “Charge!” It was originally part of a larger work, the “Charge Suite.” However, in 1968, it was picked up by ABC, for use in its coverage of the Winter Olympics from Grenoble. As a result, the fanfare entered the popular consciousness, and it has been used by ABC in all its subsequent Olympics coverage. When the games moved to another network, the fanfare fell into dormancy for a time, but was revived by NBC for the Barcelona games in 1992.

Arnaud, who worked as an orchestrator in Hollywood for many years, studied with Maurice Ravel and Vincent d’Indy. His orchestrations can be heard in films ranging from “The Wizard of Oz” to “Ryan’s Daughter.”

In the 1980s, he revisited “The Bugler’s Dream” for a new recording on the Telarc label with legendary symphonic band director Frederick Fennell. This is a very interesting recording, since the composer not only expanded the fanfare into an Olympic triptych – adding a second movement, called “La Chasse,” and a third, titled “Olympiad” (written only a few days before the recording session) – but he also appears with the ensemble as a percussionist.

In more recent years, Arnaud’s fanfare has often been heard in an amalgam with John Williams’ “Olympic Fanfare and Theme,” written for the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

When it comes to Olympic music, these guys are pure gold. Happy birthday, Leo Arnaud (1904-1991)!

Slatkin’s recording of “The Bugler’s Dream” (Olympic Fanfare at 2:52):

The third of Arnaud’s fanfares, “Olympiad,” for Fennell:

John Williams’ “Olympic Fanfare and Theme”:

The amalgam:

July 24, 2024
Olympic Music at Picture Perfect WWFM

Citius! Altius! Fortius!

This week on “Picture Perfect,” to coincide with the Summer Games in Tokyo, we’ll get the blood pumping, with selections from Olympic opening ceremonies and television broadcasts.

Featured composers with include Leo Arnaud (a Ravel pupil, who worked on “The Wizard of Oz” and went on to write THE classic Olympic theme), Angelo Badalamenti (David Lynch’s composer of choice), Basil Poledouris (composer of “Conan the Barbarian” and “The Hunt for Red October”), and John Williams (‘nuff said).

In addition, there will be a suite from the Olympic documentary “16 Days of Glory,” by Lee Holdridge (recipient of seven Emmys and a Grammy),

We’ll be downing our Wheaties and going for the gold, on “Picture Perfect,” this Saturday evening at 6:00 EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org!

FUN FACT: Today is also Arnaud’s birthday!

July 24, 2021
Classical Music Birthday Celebration Today

We’ll have some French sports and divertissements this afternoon on The Classical Network, including “Rugby” by Arthur Honegger (Swiss-born, I know), “Jeux” by Claude Debussy, and “Bugler’s Dream,” the iconic Olympic fanfare by Leo Arnaud, whose birthday it is today.

Later on, we’ll take a side trip to Scandinavia to observe the birthday of Swedish composer Erland von Koch. Then we’ll head back home, for recordings of American music with the Eastman-Rochester Orchestra conducted by Howard Hanson, including “Adventures in the Perambulator” by John Alden Carpenter, on the anniversary of his birth.

As always, we’ll be serving up great music for your afternoon commute, from 4 to 7 p.m. EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

April 26, 2017
John Williams’ Olympic Royalties: How Much?

The Olympic royalties continue to pile up for John Williams, thanks to NBC’s perpetual use of “Olympic Fanfare and Theme” (written for the 1984 Los Angeles Games), “Summon the Heroes” (written for the 1996 Atlanta Games), and his synthesis of Leo Arnaud’s “Bugler’s Dream” (the quintessential Olympic music) with his own ’84 opus. These are heard incessantly as bumpers, as coverage fades to commercial, or to underscore segues between events.

How much, exactly, does he make? According to an article in Variety, published in 2008, each prime time use could net between $500 and $2500.

http://variety.com/2008/music/news/olympic-songs-snag-significant-sums-1117991375/

Of course, that was eight years ago.

Here’s an article on the official NBC Olympics website about Williams’ contribution to the Olympics:

http://www.nbcolympics.com/news/john-williams-continues-score-sound-olympics

Over the years, Williams has composed four original pieces for the games. In addition to his works for the ’84 and ’96 Olympics, he wrote “The Olympic Spirit” for the 1988 games in Seoul, South Korea, and “Call of the Champions” for the 2002 winter games in Salt Lake City.

Though Arnaud’s fanfare embodies the Olympic spirit like no other, it was not actually written with the Olympics in mind. “Bugler’s Dream” was written as part of a larger suite for conductor Felix Slatkin, who commissioned it for his 1958 album, “Charge!” In 1968, the fanfare was picked up by ABC for use in its coverage of the Winter Olympics from Grenoble. It became embedded in the public consciousness as THE music for the Olympics.

Like Williams, Arnaud worked in Hollywood for many years. A pupil of Maurice Ravel and Vincent d’Indy, he labored as an orchestrator on films ranging from “The Wizard of Oz” to “Ryan’s Daughter.”

In this article, Williams’ Olympic fanfares are ranked. It includes musical examples, so you can decide for yourself:

http://www.sportingnews.com/athletics/news/john-williams-best-olympic-themes-fanfare-music-ranked-nbc/1h2z6g0ovcgm518jx6fcvq1oj9

PHOTO: Williams, looking hale at 84, as he appeared at Tanglewood last week, between Boston Symphony Orchestra principal trumpeter Tom Rolfs and Philadelphia Orchestra principal guest conductor Stéphane Denève (photo by BSO principal trombonist Toby Oft)

August 8, 2016

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