Bernard Herrmann

[BruceH]

Shortly after that last post I did finally buy the CD soundtrack to North By Northwest.

[Teasing the Korean]

Shortly after that last post I did finally buy the CD soundtrack to North By Northwest.

Which version?

[Teasing the Korean]

Been listening to some Bernard Herrmann in advance of Halloween.

Fahrenheit 451, which must be one of my top 5 Herrmann scores.

And his own version of "Psycho" which he did for a stereo LP in the 70s. Some people complain that the tempo is too slow, but I like it.

[Joe Bip]

I love Bernard Herrmann. Tomorrow night in Portland there's going to be a screening of Psycho with live orchestral accompaniment, but I'm balking. Ticket prices go all the way up to around $80, and if I'm going to go I'd want to be seated where I'd have a good view of the screen.

[medjuck]

I saw Herrmann speak at the BFI in London. Someone from the audience asked how he could have co-operated with RKO when the hacked up The Magnificent Ambersons. His answer was one of the saddest things I've ever heard, given his and Orson Welles' subsequent history. He said " We thought it was just a movie. We thought we were going to make lots of them."

[Teasing the Korean]

June 29, 2011 marks the 100 year anniversary of Herrmann's birth.

That night, from 10 pm to midnight EST, TTK will guest-host 88.5 WMNF's Step Outside and present an all-Herrmann show. If you can't listen in real time, the show is archived on the station's Website for one magical week, before disappearing forever into the ether...

www.wmnf.org

[Shawn]

Thanks for the Herrmann update!

[Teasing the Korean]

New, complete recording of Obsession coming this Spring!

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=731987126897180

Edited January 25, 2015 by Teasing the Korean

[sgcim]

That's been a long time comin'.

I'm definitely gonna pick it up. I saw it in the theaters when it came out- the film sounded like a BH concert.

I'm surprised no one mentioned his 'serious' music-

"Symphony"- my fave rave

"Moby Dick" a cantata

The Fantasticks"- a song cycle with orchestra

"Echoes"for String Quartet

"Wuthering Heights" His Opera

Benny and David Raksin (both Russian Jews, who didn't get along too well- I don;t think anyone got along well with BH!) were my fave film composers.

[xybert]

"beneath the 12-mile reef" is also very moving! you can feel the up and down of the sea!!

When i saw the thread title i hoped that someone would mention this gem. Love this one!

[Teasing the Korean]

Today would have been Benny's 111th birthday!

[JSngry]

So why isn't it?

[Teasing the Korean]

42 minutes ago, JSngry said:

So why isn't it?

Technically, "birthday" applies to the living" and "anniversary of birth" applies to those who have shuffled off this mortal coil.  I took a middle path approach in seven words.  

Edited June 29, 2022 by Teasing the Korean

[JSngry]

Shuffle? Like Little Walter? I'd like to hear that! 

[Teasing the Korean]

Happy Caturday! 

[Teasing the Korean]

Ronnie Lang posted the following on the Bernard Herrmann FB page: 

I played the Sax solos in"Taxi Driver" for Herrmann. He was upset that he could not use a recording of sax from England. He seemed to be O K with my playing. Sadly, he died before movie was released.

[sgcim]

6 hours ago, Teasing the Korean said:

Ronnie Lang posted the following on the Bernard Herrmann FB page: 

I played the Sax solos in"Taxi Driver" for Herrmann. He was upset that he could not use a recording of sax from England. He seemed to be O K with my playing. Sadly, he died before movie was released.

BH was not a jazz guy. I think he needed help with writing the jazz parts in that and other films that required real jazz.

I think it was that young British guy that wrote an excellent book on film music, who helped him with Taxi Driver.

[sgcim]

Last night, I finally got my derangement of "Taxi Driver" for big band performed.

I had tried on a few occasions to get it played, but somehow, all of the horn parts mysteriously disappeared. The only parts left were the rhythm parts- bass, drum and piano parts, so I was too lazy to go to the trouble of going to my derangement of it on Musescore, printing the horn parts on paper my brother 'borrowed' for me from the school he teaches at, and worst of all, taping the pieces of paper together with 'expensive' scotch tape, which I paid 33 cents for at a 99 Cent store.

After putting all the parts on the music stands of the players stands during the break, I waited for the leader to announce that they were going to play it, fully aware that he might choose to either forget it, or choose to play more audience-friendly music, but he announced, "Now we're gonna play something our guitar player wrote", and I marched up to the front of the bandstand to conduct my derangement.

I went over the tempo changes I added for the sax soli, and even told the story about the missing horn parts (hoping that one of the players might be shamed into making a public confession of the theft), but then was interrupted by the leader's pleasant command; "Will ya count the fuckin' thing off already", followed by an explosive round of laughter from the audience, band and myself, and proceeded to count off "one- two 'three- four".

Even though the band was sight reading it, they played the schlitz out of it, and I humbly acknowledged the audience's applause, while collecting the horn parts to make sure that someone didn't rip them off again.

[GA Russell]

5 hours ago, sgcim said:

Last night, I finally got my derangement of "Taxi Driver" for big band performed.

I had tried on a few occasions to get it played, but somehow, all of the horn parts mysteriously disappeared. The only parts left were the rhythm parts- bass, drum and piano parts, so I was too lazy to go to the trouble of going to my derangement of it on Musescore, printing the horn parts on paper my brother 'borrowed' for me from the school he teaches at, and worst of all, taping the pieces of paper together with 'expensive' scotch tape, which I paid 33 cents for at a 99 Cent store.

After putting all the parts on the music stands of the players stands during the break, I waited for the leader to announce that they were going to play it, fully aware that he might choose to either forget it, or choose to play more audience-friendly music, but he announced, "Now we're gonna play something our guitar player wrote", and I marched up to the front of the bandstand to conduct my derangement.

I went over the tempo changes I added for the sax soli, and even told the story about the missing horn parts (hoping that one of the players might be shamed into making a public confession of the theft), but then was interrupted by the leader's pleasant command; "Will ya count the fuckin' thing off already", followed by an explosive round of laughter from the audience, band and myself, and proceeded to count off "one- two 'three- four".

Even though the band was sight reading it, they played the schlitz out of it, and I humbly acknowledged the audience's applause, while collecting the horn parts to make sure that someone didn't rip them off again.

That is so great!

[sgcim]

14 hours ago, GA Russell said:

That is so great!

Thanks!.