Elmer Bernstein was a man I always wished I had known personally, but felt I knew him at least a bit through the music he gave us. No film score ever moved me quite as much as TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, which still moves me 50 years and countless listens later. Very enjoyable article.
Lovely, but why is Richard Kraft talking as if he's a separate person from the one who's posting? With all that amazing weight loss has schizophrenia happened
Anyone know if we're getting a proper release of Hamlisch's final score, "Behind the Candelabra"?
From the page:
"Marvin was just in Los Angeles to start work on Soderbergh’s latest film, BEHIND THE CANDELABRA with Michael Douglas as Liberace, when he was rushed to the hospital the night before the first session."
This is a delightful and touching piece -- not only regarding Elmer Bernstein but also about the ups and downs of author's relationship with his hero and with the industry. Kudos to another young enthusiast who managed to carve out a space in which to make a useful contribution to film music.
The impact of that famous High Fidelity issue cannot be overstressed. Bernstein's article was certainly important. (Remember, however, that it would be several years before his Film Music Collection actually got off the ground.) I suspect that another essay had a larger effect at the time. "Why is this record worth $200?" read the cover blurb for an article by Ken Sutak. This sudden publicity put the little-known "collector" market on the map. The scent of money had something to do the expansion of film music on records. Ironically that very spread helped to ensure the obsolescence of the collector market. Those old LPs aren't worth much today (I am told), precisely because reissues have rendered them unnecessary. Reissues and new recordings have been two of the chief pillars supporting the musical appreciation of later generations. And that issue of High Fidelity helped to light the fuse for what almost seems like a modern day explosion of interest. (OK, it's been a rather small explosion in the larger music world.) That same year, 1972, saw the arrival of the Classic Film Score series and (more modestly) the inception of the Miklos Rozsa Society. It was an exciting time.
Anyone know if we're getting a proper release of Hamlisch's final score, "Behind the Candelabra"?
From the page:
"Marvin was just in Los Angeles to start work on Soderbergh’s latest film, BEHIND THE CANDELABRA with Michael Douglas as Liberace, when he was rushed to the hospital the night before the first session."
So no music.
Clarify that to read "no original underscore." Hamlisch did adapt the music in the film and from what I have been told wrote an original song that is sung in the film. He is clearly credited at the "music adapter" on the poster.
Thanks very much for that link. Interesting and enlightening. Hmm, better said by Michael Condon just above (while I was writing my post), fascinating and touching.
I've longed for the High Fidelity archives from that era to become available online (as Starlog and Omni are now) because of the classical reviews and articles. I didn't even know til now that there was a film music issue!
