Westport Public Library MOVIE & MUSIC Blog

On January 4th, the Westport Library will present the first movie in our 2007 Overcoat Film Series. Come and enjoy My Favorite Year starring Peter O’Toole. This charming movie about a dissolute matinee idol set to appear on a live TV variety show in the mid 1950s is sure to delight. So, a bit about this 74 year old, Irish born, Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts graduate actor is in order.

To start with, an interesting piece of trivia. At 29 and ruggedly handsome, this star portrayed Lawrence of Arabia and received his first Academy Awards nomination for his mesmerizing performance. Surprisingly, he did not win. In fact, he has never won an Oscar for an individual performance. He was however, awarded the Academy of Motion Pictures Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2003 Oscar ceremony. At first, O’Toole was quoted as reluctant to accept, quipping that the Academy needed to put the honor off until he was 80. Surely he mused; he had many more years of nominations ahead of him. In his simply stated gracious acceptance speech the actor shared his thoughts. “The magic of the movies enraptured me when I was a child. As I totter into antiquity, movie magic enraptures me still.”

Reviews, blog buzz and Golden Globe nominations leave no doubt that he and Vanessa Redgrave can still offer stand out performances. Their brilliance has clearly not dulled as they light up the screen in the recently released film Venus. NPR correspondent Bob Mondello recently mused, “Peter O’Toole, has crammed a lot of living into his 74 years, and these days, he looks it.” But this insightful critic adds, “O’Toole is pretty marvelous in Venus, raunchy and charming in equal measures.”

Finally, here’s one last chance to win a free beverage and a cookie at our café this year. Post the first correct answer to qualify. (Fittingly, our café is named "As You Like It." O’Toole is also known for his work on the Shakespearean stage.) Can you name all seven films for which Peter O’Toole received an Academy Award nomination in the lead actor category? Here’s a hint. Two are mentioned in this entry.

Have you heard of P.D.Q. Bach, (1807-1742)? the inimicable long lost and inadvertently resurrected son of Johann Sebastian Bach? Actually, P.D.Q. Bach is the fictitious persona concocted by American composer and humorist, Peter Schickele that ridicules classical music and serious musicological dogma. The first P.D.Q. Bach pieces unearthed by Schickele involved a lefthanded sewer flute and double-reed slide music stand and were played at Juilliard and Aspen in 1957. Schickele writes about this musicological phenomenon in The Definitive Biography of P.D.Q. Bach, 1807-1742?

I can still remember my first exposure to P.D.Q. Bach as a serious high school musician. At first I was shocked and horrified as Professor Schickele swung into the concert hall on a vine like Tarzan. As I sat and absorbed his irreverent scholarship, my musically attuned political correctness and sensibilities quickly vanished, and I became an ardent fan of the professor. At the last concert I saw two years ago, Professor Schickele entered in a wheelchair and was unceremoniously "dumped" on the stage.

For the uninitiated, Professor Schickele usually presents his P.D.Q. Bach concerts during the week between Christmas and New Years; however, this year the concert will take place on January 2, 2007 at Avery Fisher Hall with the New York Philharmonic. If you cannot attend this concert, feel free to sample An Hysteric Return: P.D.Q. Bach at Carnegie Hall, Music for an Awful Lot of Winds & Percussion, or The Short-Tempered Clavier and Other Dysfunctional Works for Keyboard.

One of P.D.Q. Bach's most famous pieces is Concerto for Horn & Hardart. Do you know what Horn & Hardart was? If you do, please share it, and you will get a free drink courtesy of the Westport Public Library.

How sad it was to learn that James Brown, the "Godfather of Soul," has died. He was a tireless composer, arranger, bandleader, and performer who transformed popular music and influenced millions of people. His career, which lasted over fifty years, was marked by countless affirmation and recognition by his peers. His commendations were Grammy Awards which included a Lifetime Achievement Award in 1992, a pioneering induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a Kennedy Center Honor and a BET Award for Lifetime Achievement both in 2003.

His dance moves and kinetic rhythms reached out to other singers, dancers, and musicians including Mick Jagger, Michael Jackson, Prince, Miles Davis, etc. His innovations gave rise to "funk" and contributed to the development of rap and hip hop. His books, James Brown, the Godfather of Soul and I Feel Good, are not only biographies but descriptions of the music business and the Black community. His 1966 song "Don't Be a Dropout" and 1968 hit "Say it Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud" were his messages and proclamations to the African-American community.

James Brown's performances created a whole new set of expectations and anticipations for future musical bands and groups. His legacy is not only in music but as a cultural icon.

Looking for a movie to bring in 2007 with some popcorn, a cozy fire and enough interest to keep you awake until the ball drops? Here's some ideas.

The cast of mostly veteran character actors are celebrating the turn of the year on a luxury liner when a tidal wave causes it to flip over in the original The Poseidon Adventure. (The weight of the Oscar statues owned by these actors could easily have righted the boat.)

Or would you rather celebrate with a bit of romance? For many, When Harry Met Sally is the ultimate New Year’s Eve movie. Play it all the way to end, because the combination of young and old, diverse couples recalling moments from their relationships interspersed with shared moments from Harry and Sally’s wedding is a delight. It’s a pity this technique is now used (some might say overused) in advertising. Of course, there is soft hearted Bridget Jones suffering through some very awkward, but memorable moments at a New Year’s brunch in this version of Helen Fielding's book brought to the screen. And, don’t forget about the old classic, Holiday Inn with Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire competing for Virginia Dale’s attention at an inn only open on holidays. Now these stars really knew how to throw a party.

A toast with thanks to all who read this blog and frequent the library's audio-visual center. Ring in the year by sharing some of your favorite new year’s scenes on film.

As the weather is finally approaching the expected cold temperatures and winds, I am apt to stay inside and get in the mood for the holidays. To enjoy the time while I am cooking and cleaning, I listen to seasonal music like Ralph Vaughan Williams Fantasia on Christmas Carols, Christmas at the Pops played by the Rochester Pops Orchestra, or Christmas in the Morning: A Celebration in Brass performed by Phillip Jones Brass and the Canadian Brass.

If I feel like dancing to ease the monotony of dusting, Christina Aguilera 's My Kind of Christmas, Brenda Lee's Jingle Bell Rock, Willie Nelson's Christmas or Jessica Simpson's Rejoyce: the Christmas Album will help. If I want to immerse myself in traditional choral versions as I wait for the pie to come out of the oven, the Boston Camerata's A Renaissance Christmas, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's Joy to the World, or the Vienna Boys' Choir's Little Drummer Boy fit the bill. Jazzy versions of these tunes include Wynton Marsalis' Crescent City Christmas Card or Christmas with Houston Person and Etta Jones.

The Library's collection of compact discs not only relieves boring household tasks, but enlivens family homecomings and friendly gatherings.

Poor Roberto Alagna. He is the French tenor who recently bolted from La Scala's opening night production of Aida after being booed and whistled for his opening aria "Celeste Aida". His understudy, Antonello Palombi, quickly came on without even changing into costume. Popular tenor Luciano Pavarotti was jeered there in the last act of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor on March 16, 1983. Even Renee Fleming felt the wrath of the Milanese public in 1998 when she sang the title role in Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia. What is it about opera singers that provoke an audience's hostility or passions?

As Donal Henahan noted in his October 4, 1981 New York Times article describing the Metropolitan Opera's opening night production of Bellini's Norma, "The opera season is never officially open until the first booing incident has been recorded..." In that case, soprano Renata Scotto was the victim of annoying, contentious, catcalls.

The Grove Dictionary of Opera notes that a claque is an organized group of operagoers who are hired to either praise or chide a performer. It dates from the 1830's in Paris; it has flourished in New York and Italy since the beginning of the twentieth century.

Although musical administrators say that hissing or heckling a performer disturbs other members of the cast as well as other patrons, it can be an effective wake-up call to a somnolent singer. Unfortunately, it is a job hazard that every performer may eventually face.

I can’t help it. When a bell rings I really do believe that an angel was outfitted with wings. Arguably, cherubic Clarence (Henry Travers) in It’s a Wonderful Life may be the most famous angelic movie character of all times; but he’s joined by a whole “host” of others. A panel of angels judges Meryl Streep and Albert Brooks in Defending Your Life. Years later, Streep gives an ethereal performance as the Angel of Australia in the compelling drama about the effect of AIDS, Angels in America.

Let’s not forget about the elegant Cary Grant aiding a harried clergyman and his neglected wife through marital troubles (David Niven and Loretta Young) in the 1947 film The Bishop’s Wife. Fifty years later, a dapper Denzel Washington does the same for Whitney Houston and Courtney P. Vance in The Preacher’s Wife. (The library has just added Denzel Washington’s first book A Hand to Guide Me to our shelves. The proceeds from the sale of this collection of inspiring stories of legendary individuals and those that guided them benefit the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.)

Of course, there are angels who just don’t quite fit the image. John Travolta as Michael somehow manages to charm despite being unshaven, slovenly and just plain crude. And then there are escaped cons mistaken for angels in another holiday time classic We’re No Angels starring Humphrey Bogart. The list goes on. Can you add to it? Please comment and share your favorite.

ASIFA-Hollywood a society devoted to the advancement of animation recently released the 34th annual Annie Awards nominations, with the winners to be announced on February 11th. (Unfortunately, this came on the heels of an announcement by Disney that it would layoff 160 of 800 employees in the company’s feature animation unit.) Pixar Animation Studios’ Cars lead the field with 9 nominations. DreamWorks Animation garnered 17 nominations, shared between Over the Hedge and the currently released film Flushed Away. (Library staff members who have seen Flushed pronounced it as fun, lively, and suitable for most.) Other family features nominated include Happy Feet, Monster House and Open Season. In the category of home entertainment features, Bambi II and Winnie the Pooh, Shapes and Sizes, as well as The Adventures of Brer Rabbit received recognition.

Traditional style, family fun animated features ranging from the first, Snow White, to the current, are perennial favorites in the library’s AV department. But the library’s collection of anime is quickly becoming a go to area for many families. The latest acquisitions in this area include the critically well received Japanese movie, Howl's Moving Castle in which an lonely young woman is cursed with an old body by a spiteful witch and her only chance of breaking the spell lies with a self-indulgent yet insecure young wizard. This film is by the same director as Spirited Away and like that film is rated PG. The computer generated My Beautiful Girl, Mari is described as a dream like example of Korean animation gently exploring the pangs of adolescence and growing up. This film was the Grand Prix winner of the 26th International Animated Film Festival.

Of course, we have anime suitable for adult and teen audiences as well. Don’t forget to offer your suggestions for purchase in this area or to suggest a film to other readers. What is your favorite animated feature film?

Among the joys of the holiday season are the numerous performances of George Frederic Handel's Messiah. New York City groups performing it are the Masterwork Chorus and Orchestra, Musica Sacra, and the Oratorio Society of New York. Connecticut organizations performing it include the Norwalk Symphony and Mendelssohn Choir of Connecticut and New Haven's Christ Church Choir and Vespera Chamber Orchestra.

To acquaint yourself with this magnificent work, check out a version of it by the Oregon Bach Festival Choir, the English Concert Choir or the Atlanta Symphony and Chamber Chorus. If you prefer an abbreviated listening experience, the library has the arias and choruses available by the Chicago Symphony and Chorus or the London Symphony and Chorus.

This engaging, popular masterpiece has inspired many to join in and sing along. The National Choral Council, which is holding its 39th annual sing-in at Avery Fisher Hall, encourages both novices and experts to participate. Alice Lipson of the Staples High School Music Department, is one of the conductors for the event. If you need a copy of the vocal or full score, feel free to borrow it from the library.

If you can't get to a concert hall, you may want to watch it on DVD or videorecording. The extraordinary story of the creation and historical development of the Messiah is elucidated and discussed by Peter Jacobi in The Messiah Book: The Life & Times of G. F. Handel's Greatest Hit. Richard Luckett provides a scholarly insight of this work in Handel's Messiah: A Celebration.

One of the first LP (long-playing) records I received as a little girl was Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite. Although I wasn't an aspiring ballerina, I fell in love with this powerful, lustrous music and imagined vivid, exciting pictures and scenarios that filled my mind while I listened. When I saw the full-length ballet, I felt that the music had reached new heights with the beautiful costumes, dancers, lights, and settings.

Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker, based on the E. T. A. Hoffmann short story Nussknacker und Mausekonig, relates a little girl's dreams and fantasies encompassing a magical nutcracker, scary mice, and other alluring characters.

George Balanchine's analysis and thoughts on Tchaikovsky are transcribed by Solomon Volkov in Balanchine's Tchaikovsky: Interviews with George Balanchine. Balanchine's seminal work is still being performed by the New York City Ballet. Cultural and historical insights as well as diverse and experimental interpretations by choreographers Donald Byrd and Mark Morris are explored by Jennifer Fisher in the Nutcracker Nation. A behind-the-scenes photographic look at the ballet is presented in Angela Whitehill's Nutcracker Backstage: The Story and the Magic.