Westport Public Library MOVIE & MUSIC Blog

After leaving Remick & Co., he became the rehearsal pianist for Miss 1917, a show by Jerome Kern and Victor Herbert; by early 1918, he was being paid for the rights to his songs by Max Dreyfus, the head of Harms publishing company. His first full Broadway musical was La La Lucille which opened on May 26, 1919.

Gershwin merged classical music and jazz in his piece Rhapsody in Blue for Piano and Orchestra performed by Paul Whiteman in New York’s Aeolian Hall on February 12, 1924; the integration of jazz's rhythms within the symphonic structure won him worldwide acclamation and fame. He followed this with other orchestral works including Piano Concerto in F, Rhapsody No. 2 and An American in Paris.

His innovative Broadway musicals which reflected relevant social matters of the 1930's, included Strike Up The Band, Let ‘Em Eat Cake and Of Thee I Sing; he won the Pulitzer Prize for Of Thee I Sing. His retelling of the lives of Black Americans in the 1935 folk opera Porgy and Bess was quite progressive and unusual for the times. Unfortunately, he died three years later at the age of 38.

Millions of people were able to view this performance courtesy of the “Metropolitan Opera: Live in HD,” a series of performance transmissions shown live in high definition in movie theaters throughout the world. This forward, creative thinking by the Met is an excellent way to reach and educate the masses about opera and to nurture new audiences. We in Fairfield County are fortunate to be able to take advantage of this new technology at Fairfield University's Quick Center; eleven live performances will be shown throughout the year. If you can't get there for the show, you may be able to catch it later on PBS or DVD.

Of course, there is the old standby, the Metropolitan Opera’s Saturday matinee broadcasts. As the longest-running continuous classical music program in radio history, it will feature 22 live broadcasts from November 29, 2008 through April 25, 2009. The 78th season begins with Berlioz’s La Damnation de Faust, starring Marcello Giordani, Susan Graham and conductor James Levine.

Besides compact discs, you may also listen via streaming audio on the internet.

I hope you'll enjoy this performance by Ms. Fleming of Mozart's Exultate Jubilate:

How often does one have the opportunity to hear a rising musical star before his or her name becomes a household term? On Saturday, September 27, 2008 at 8:00 p.m., 18 year-old Chinese virtuoso Hao Chen Zhang will perform Sergei Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 3, Op. 26, in C major with the Norwalk Symphony. Mr. Zhang, a student of the world-renowned pianist and teacher Gary Graffman, has won every international competition that the famous prodigy Lang Lang has won. This challenging concerto will demonstrate Mr. Zhang's enormous technique and musical gifts.

Since this concert highlights the music of Russia, it begins with Mikhail Glinka's Overture from the Opera Russlan and Ludmilla and ends with Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5, Op. 64, in E minor.

The Library invites you to check out these works prior to or after the concert.

The Women

I’ve not seen the recent version of The Women, but the 1939 version is based on the 1936 play by Clare Boothe Luce, The Women is a satirical look at the lives of a handful of wealthy Manhattan women, focusing in particular on Mary Haines (Norma Shearer), a cheerful, contented wife of Stephen and mother of Little Mary. Gossip flows more than hair dye at the salon these wealthy women visit where Mary's confidant Sylvia Fowler (Rosalind Russell) learns from a manicurist that Mary's husband has been having an affair with a predatory perfume counter girl named Crystal Allen (Joan Crawford). This scene is so striking, no wonder countless variations have been filmed in movies and TV shows. With a cast like this it was impossible not to watch just for the performances alone. Through a subtle voice change and body language Norma Shearer brings her character through a crisis, stronger and cagier. Joan Crawford is the ultimate mean woman with no compucture about ruining a marriage.

A modern updated version was released this month. Reviews are mixed, but once again the cast features some stellar names including Meg Ryan as Mary Haines, Annette Bening as Sylvia Fowler and Eva Mendez as Crystal Allen. The supporting cast is rounded out by other notable names.

Have you seen both versions? Post a comment.

Jazz trumpeter Page was born in Dallas, Texas and learned to play piano from his mother. By the time he was twelve, he had added clarinet, saxophone and trumpet to his repertoire. He was initiated into the professional musical scene with a band that accompanied Gertrude "Ma" Rainey; the other groups that he performed with include Troy Flody, the Blue devils and Bennie Moten. He went out on his own during the 1930's-1950's touring throughout the U. S. and Europe. He played and recorded with Bud Freeman, Joe Marsala, Don Redman, Artie Shaw and Ethel Waters. His trumpet playing and bluesy singing was quite similar to Louis Armstrong.

Here is an example of his superlative musicianship:

The Library has a broad array of popular music songbooks covering various time periods of American and world history. The Greatest Songs of 1890-1920 with such familiar melodies as "By the Light of the Silvery Moon" or "My Wild Irish Rose" are guaranteed to put a smile on everyone's face. I'll Be Seeing You: 50 Songs of World War II not only features the lyrics and piano accompaniment but chord symbols and guitar chord diagrams. The songs within this book may delight an audience of veterans as well as provide background music for a 1940's themed party. The New York Times Great Songs of the Sixties will have baby boomers rocking and rolling and recalling those tumultous times.

Many vocal scores from Broadway shows are available ranging from Grease and The Pajama Game, to Billy Joel's Movin' Out and Spamalot. If you are longing for the "good old days", The Ultimate Nostalgia Songs may suit your needs. If you are planning a wedding, The Classic Wedding Collection, The Complete Wedding Music Collection or The Wedding & Love Fake Book, may provide inspiring thoughts for this momentous event. If you are anticipating an audition for a community or professional production, The Belter's Book of Comedy Songs, The Big Book of Torch Songs, Broadway Heroes and Villains: Songs of Virtue and Treachery or The 16-Bar Theatre Audition: 100 Songs Excerpted for Successful Auditions may be consulted. If you are a fan of fake books, your choices include The Easy Standards Fake Book, The Movie Fake Book, The TV Fake Book, etc. If you want to join in when your friends go caroling, please check out The Best Christmas Songs Ever, The Complete Christmas Music Collection or Sing for Christmas.

If you need assistance finding a particular song or score, please feel free to contact me.

Today marks the seventh anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks on this country. As we contemplate and remember that somber day, we may seek solace from music and poetry.

Adams, John. On the Transmigration of Souls

Bach, Johann Sebastian. Air On the G String

Barber, Samuel. Adagio for Strings

Beethoven, Ludwig van. Sonata #15 in D major "Pastorale"

Copland, Aaron. Quiet City

Lennon, John. Imagine

Mahler, Gustav. Symphony #2 in C minor "Resurrection"

Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Hymns of Faith

Ravel, Maurice. Le Tombeau de Couperin

Various Artists. American Anthem: Songs and Hymns

Break, Break, Break - Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Break, break, break,
On thy cold gray stones, O Sea!
And I would that my tongue could utter
The thoughts that arise in me.

O, well for the fisherman's boy,
That he shouts with his sister at play!
O, well for the sailor lad,
That he sings in his boat on the bay!

And the stately ships go on
To their haven under the hill;
But O for the touch of a vanished hand,
And the sound of a voice that is still!

Break, break, break,
At the foot of thy crags, O Sea!
But the tender grace of a day that is dead
Will never come back to me.

You may have heard the expression, "A picture is worth a thousand words." What would be the value of a musical composition that can evoke breathtaking landscapes and wistful scenes?

Music has the power to move you and transport you to a comforting, familiar place or a new, scintillating region. Here are some musical works that may inspire and lift you to the next level:

Beethoven, Ludwig van. Symphony #6 "Pastoral"

Chabrier, Emmanuel. Espana

Delius, Frederick. In a Summer Garden

Falla, Manuel De. Nights in the Gardens of Spain

Grofe, Ferde. Grand Canyon Suite

Holst, Gustav. The Planets

Smetana, Bedrich. Moldau

Strauss, Richard. Alpine Symphony

Tchaikovsky, Peter Ilyich. Waltz of the Flowers

Vaughan Williams, Ralph. Symphony #3 "Pastoral"

2008 is a noteworthy year in his chronology since it is the 90th anniversary of his birth and the 50th anniversary of his appointment as the music director of the New York Philharmonic. Carnegie Hall and the Philharmonic will celebrate his life and music from September 24 to December 13, 2008 with more than 30 events, Including concerts, film screenings, musical theater, and panel discussions.

In recognition of these facts, Burton Bernstein, former New Yorker staff writer and brother of Leonard Bernstein and Barbara Haws, the historian and archivist of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, will appear at the Library on Monday, September 8, 2008 at 7:30 p.m. to discuss their new book Leonard Bernstein: American Original, How a Modern Renaissance Man Transformed Music and the World During his New York Philharmonic Years, 1943–1976. This work examines Bernstein’s landmark achievements and activities through the prism of New York City's culture during the years 1943 to 1976.

For those who wish to familiarize themselves with his life, the Library has Humphrey Burton's Leonard Bernstein, John Gruen's The Private World of Leonard Bernstein, etc. The Library has numerous recordings of his compositions and his conducting endeavors with various orchestras.