This week on “Picture Perfect,” it’s music from movies inspired by the writings of Charles Dickens. Tune in for selections from “Nicholas Nickleby” (1947) by Lord Berners, “Oliver Twist” (1948) by Sir Arnold Bax, “David Copperfield” (1969) by Sir Malcolm Arnold, and “A Christmas Carol” (1951) by Richard Addinsell.
Blame it on an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of an underdone potato. There will be more of gravy than of the grave about it. Have a Dickens of a time on “Picture Perfect,” this Saturday evening at 6:00 EST, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.
There’s more to Thanksgiving than just turkey and football. This week on “Picture Perfect,” we count our blessings and aspire to do better, with music from movies reflective of what’s best in human nature and most admirable in the American character.
Aaron Copland’s work on “The Cummington Story” (1945), a semi-documentary produced by the Office of War Information, underscores the gradual acceptance of European war refugees into a cautious but fundamentally decent New England community. The music is pure Americana, with some of the material later finding its way into Copland’s Clarinet Concerto and “Down a Country Lane.”
“Field of Dreams” (1989) is one of those rare films that has the ability to reduce manly men – even those without father issues – to a pool of tears. Phil Alden Robinson’s superior adaptation of W.P. Kinsella’s novel, “Shoeless Joe,” is a male wish-fulfillment fantasy, in which a man finds redemption, and a new understanding of his father, in the enchanted cornfields of America’s heartland. And it’s all brought about courtesy of America’s pastime, baseball. The evocative score, much indebted to Copland, is by James Horner.
“The Best Years of Our Lives” (1946) is one of the great American classics. This touching film tells the tale of the three WWII veterans struggling to readjust to civilian life. It isn’t easy, but with the support of family and friends, there’s plenty of hope for the future. Hugo Friedhofer wrote the Academy Award-winning score, earning the film one of its seven Oscars. The orchestrations were by Copland protégé (and composer of “The Big Country”) Jerome Moross.
Finally, Daniel Day-Lewis elevated Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln” (2012) to greatness with one of the uncanniest performances ever captured on film. Day-Lewis’ gentle but shrewd Man of Destiny would go to any lengths to hold the country together. John Williams tapped into America’s proud musical heritage, clearly influenced by Copland and Ives to create a score of stirring nobility.
I hope you’ll join me as we give thanks for family, community and country on “Picture Perfect,” music for the movies, this Saturday evening at 6:00 EST, on WWFM – The Classical Network and at wwfm.org.
And thank you, YouTube, for making “The Cummington Story” available online!
Watching it again, it’s interesting to reflect on what an influence, for good or ill, media and government have had in shaping the popular consciousness.
As the days grow shorter, it’s easy to get lost. Be sure then to have your radio, tablet, or phone handy, so as not to miss a heart-pounding second of “Picture Perfect” and music from movies about lost worlds.
Thrill to selections from “King Kong” (Max Steiner), “Journey to the Center of the Earth” (Bernard Herrmann), “One Million Years B.C.” (Mario Nascimbene), and “Jurassic Park” (John Williams).
Tie a string around your finger for “Lands That Time Forgot.” It will be a show to remember, this Saturday evening at 6:00 EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.
If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result, then surely Hanon etudes are a ticket to the madhouse.
This week on “Picture Perfect,” get keyed-up with music from movies about madness and the piano.
Whenever he hears a loud, discordant sound, unhinged pianist-composer Laird Cregar is compelled to commit murder, in the 1945 film “Hangover Square.” Bernard Herrmann wrote the moody, romantic score, which includes a piano concerto, played by Cregar’s character during the film’s conflagration finale.
Peter Lorre is an unstable musicologist who is haunted by the disembodied hand of a murdered pianist with a penchant for Brahms’ arrangement of Bach’s Chaconne, in “The Beast with Five Fingers,” from 1946. Max Steiner was the composer. The piano is played on the film’s soundtrack by Victor Aller, the brother-in-law of Felix Slatkin – also Leonard Slatkin’s uncle.
Alan Alda plays a frustrated pianist who falls in with a ring of Satanists, in “The Mephisto Waltz” from 1971. This time, Jerry Goldsmith blends Franz Liszt with amplified instruments and electronics to memorably eerie effect. Five years later, Goldsmith would win his only Academy Award for his music to “The Omen.”
Finally, Hans Conried plays a dictatorial pedagogue in “The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T,” released in 1953. “5000 Fingers” holds the distinction of being the only feature ever written by Dr. Seuss. The film sports an outrageous production design (including a gargantuan keyboard for 500 enslaved boys) and whimsical songs.
The composer was Frederick Hollander. Born in London, Hollander attained fame in Germany as Friedrich Hollander. His best-known international success was “The Blue Angel,” starring Marlene Dietrich, who introduced his song, “Falling in Love Again.” With the rise of the Nazis, Hollander fled to the United States, where he worked on over 100 films.
That’s music from movies about madness and the piano this week, on “Picture Perfect.” Practice makes psychotic, THIS SATURDAY EVENING AT 6:00 EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.
And you thought clowns were scary! Join me for a suite from David Whitaker’s score for “Vampire Circus,” on this week’s “Picture Perfect.”
It’s part of an hour of music from movies set under the Big Top, including “The Greatest Show on Earth” (Victor Young), “Trapeze” (Malcolm Arnold), “La Strada” (Nino Rota), “Big Top Pee-Wee” (Danny Elfman), and “7 Faces of Dr. Lao” (Leigh Harline).
That’s a clown car full of calliopes! The circus train rolls into town this week, on “Picture Perfect” – now at a new time – SATURDAY EVENING AT 6:00 EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org
