Film Score Friday 2/11/00
by Lukas Kendall
We have a brand new website! Well sort of... it's largely invisible
to you, but to us we have just moved from one hosting company to another
and boy are we tired. That's why the search engine, poll and message board
are grayed out on the menu -- we need to adapt them to the new .asp scripting
or whatever it is.
Being at the old hosting company made our lives difficult and made it
very problematic to do some things that readers take for granted (not to
disparage you -- we love you!). But we're over the hump so it's only going
to get better. We tried to give ample warning about the message board going
under (we'll restart it shortly with a better design) but we know some
folks still got hit by surprise. We're sorry. Anyway, stay tuned for further
updates.
Futurama
Matt Groening and his people must love Gerald Fried's "Amok Time"
Star Trek fight music because they've used it in The Simpsons
and now in Futurama, for last Sunday's episode in which Zoidberg
returns to his home planet for a "pon farr" type experience.
Before a fight to the death, to decide who will mate a particular female,
the spectators are told to rise for the national anthem: they do, and the
organist plays what was probably the OST (but may have been newly recorded)
of the classic Fried fight lick.
Speaking of Star Trek, GNP/Crescendo's forthcoming Best of
Star Trek Vol. 2 will have three short Fred Steiner scores as the Classic
Trek offering: The Corbomite Manuever, Balance of Terror and What Are Little
Girls Made Of?
RCA Spain Specials
RCA in Spain (and so far only Spain) has reissued a ton of classic film
score LPs on CD. The newest entries include Peyton Place (Waxman),
The World of Suzie Wong (Duning), and a whole bunch of other stuff,
including a Jerry Fielding gem, Advise and Consent (1962) -- the
movie that brought Fielding back to Hollywood after being blacklisted in
the 1950s (he had moved to Las Vegas and was a successful bandleader and
arranger). If you only know of Fielding's abrasive, dissonant and atonal
music, this is a revelation, as it is largely tonal, jazzy and yet exquisitely
intricate and sophisticated. Gotta have it.
John Williams Concert Info
Courtesy Jeff Eldridge...
For his annual Evening at Pops telecast, John Williams plans to
feature music from his score for Angela's Ashes, with narration by author
Frank McCourt and Yo-Yo Ma performing specially arranged cello solos. Dates
for this spring's Pops concerts had not been announced at press time; see
www.bso.org for further information.
Williams will conduct several concerts featuring his own music at
Tanglewood this year. Continuing a collaboration that has seen them perform
together for the past four summers, John Williams and violinist Gil Shaham
will once again share the stage on Saturday, July 8, 2000, as they perform
Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 2 and the world premiere of Williams's
TreeSong for violin and orchestra. Williams will also lead the Boston Symphony
Orchestra in his early Essay for Strings. The concert will conclude with
Tchaikovskyâs tone poem Francesca da Rimini.
As part of the annual Tanglewood on Parade concert on Tuesday, August
1, Williams will conduct the Boston Symphony in a performance of his score
to Steven Spielberg's The Unfinished Journey as the film is projected on
giant video screens. Williams will also lead the Boston Pops in a "Film
Night" on August 5, which will feature some of his own film compositions,
as well as a tribute to Stanley Donen and a presentation of excerpts from
The Red Pony, with Aaron Copland's score. Williams and the Pops will present
the final orchestral concert of the 2000 Tanglewood season on August 28,
in a program to be announced. As part of the 2000 Festival of Contemporary
Music, Williams will serve as a guest lecturer at the Tanglewood Music
Center. See www.bso.org for further information.
John Williams will make his annual visit to the Hollywood Bowl on
Friday, August 18 and Saturday, August 19, leading the Los Angeles Philharmonic
in two performances of a program entitled "John Williams' Movie
Memories."
The concerts will feature selections from his film scores. See www.laphil.org
for further information.
Bad News Bears Help
If anyone knows the answer to this, write Michael or email FSM:
From: Michael DiLorenzo <dilo@schwartz-pr.com>
I am desperately seeking a track list or CD of the soundtrack to
the film "The Bad News Bears." There's one particular composition,
I believe from Georges Bizet, that I cannot get out of my head and that
I can't name, either. It might be "Intermezzo." Still, I would
appreciate any help at all! Thanks!
Soundtrack Radio Show Online
From: "Matt Honeyball" <matt@virtueinteractive.com>
This is just a quick email to let you know about Trackspotting -
a weekly hour-long show for movie soundtrack fans and connoisseurs broadcast
using RealAudio. Each week Trackspotting focuses on a different theme,
composer or genre with a selection of the best soundtrack cues from the
world of film.
Each new show goes live at 5pm/12pm/9am (GMT/EST/PST) and is archived
thereafter. With a James Bond and Bernard Herrmann retrospective already
successfully broadcast, Trackspotting hopes to build a strong base of regular
listeners. Have a listen and if you think that it's something that your
readers and visitors might like, please feel free to let them know about
it.
If you'd like to find out more, would like to include a link, or
even have an idea for a future show, please contact Matt Honeyball at the
address below.
Trackspotting can be found in the Radio section of www.vituetv.com
or directly on www.virtuetv.c
om/radio/trackspotting/index.html
In Praise of Titus
From: "Brian McVickar" <Brian.McVickar@alltel.com>
I was just curious to know people's responses to Elliot Goldenthal's
score for TITUS, recently released on Sony Classical. I picked it up expecting
it to be inventive and engaging as is the majority of Goldenthal's work.
I was taken aback at just how complex and amazing the score really is.
It spans every style and trademark he has been developing since Alien 3
(1992), embellishing and improving each one along the course of the sixty
minute album. There are so many highlights, I don't see how any listener
could skip even one track. The bold ferocity of "Victorius Titus"
and "Apian Stomp" is matched by the delicacy of "Tamora's
Pastorale" and "An Offering". Contemporary idioms such as
electronica and rock are expertly incorporated with as much conviction
and detail as the multi-layered string work. And the "Finale"
piece profoundly affected me, it's advancing, transcendent textures more
gorgeous than anything else composed in all of 1999.
Whether or not the film or the score get any nods at the Oscars,
Goldenthal's TITUS is on my own personal favorites list of 1999.
That's It!
See CNN.com for a new article on John Williams: http://www.cnn
.com/2000/SHOWBIZ/News/02/07/wb.williams
MailBag@filmscoremonthly.com
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