As we approach Leonard Bernstein’s 100th birthday on August 25, I’ve been featuring a number of his lesser-known pieces in this space. Here’s another: The “Elegy for Mippy II” for solo trombone, composed in the late 1940s. Mippy was the
Great moments in film music: ‘North by Northwest’
The opening titles, designed by Saul Bass, for Alfred Hitchcock’s “North by Northwest,” music by Bernard Herrmann. That’s Hitch himself, missing the bus at the end. https://youtu.be/xBxjwurp_04
Great moments in film music: ‘The Hudsucker Proxy’
This is the famous hula hoop sequence in the Coen brothers’ 1994 classic “The Hudsucker Proxy.” Though the film is set in late 1950s corporate America, the music of the Soviet Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian somehow suits it to a
Bernstein: ‘Prelude, Fugue, and Riffs’
In the run-up to Leonard Bernstein’s 100th birthday, I’ve been highlighting some of his lesser known music. Here’s his jazz/classical fusion piece “Prelude, Fugue and Riffs,” originally written, like Stravinsky’s “Ebony Concerto,” which it resembles, for Woody Herman’s big band.
Connections series renamed, programming set
Pacific Symphony has changed the name of its long-running Sunday Casual Connections series to Sunday Matinees. The substance of the series remains the same: The four concerts each are performed without intermission and last about 90 minutes. Carl St.Clair conducts
Bernstein’s ‘Wonderful Town’: ‘Ohio’
Here’s some more little-known Bernstein. His 1953 musical “Wonderful Town,” with lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, was based on the popular play called “My Sister Eileen,” which tells the story of two sisters from Ohio who come to
An Evening of Family Fun at Symphony in the Cities: Mission Viejo
By ERICA SHARP People dancing all in the street See the rhythm all in their feet Life is good, wild and sweet Let the music play on These lyrics to Lionel Richie’s hit “All Night Long” blared over the speakers
Pacific Overtures: August
The latest edition of our newsletter, with concert info, news, interviews, listening, links and more. Pacific Overtures. August, 2018.
Book review: ‘Famous Father Girl’ by Jamie Bernstein
Being the child of Leonard Bernstein was like having a nuclear blast for a dad. You practically had to stand back and wear protective goggles when he came into a room, and even then the gale wind and blinding light
Bernstein’s ‘On the Town’: ‘Ya Got Me’
If your only knowledge of Leonard Bernstein’s musical “On the Town” is the famous movie, then you don’t know it. The film cut most of Bernstein’s music and the composer ended up boycotting it. Here’s a great bit from the