Fantasia: Cold Media, Synesthesia, A-N Anus'

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Fantasia: Cold Media, Synesthesia, A-N Anus' PAGE 6 TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24,1970 THE TECH '_ta .". n· ': · . ;C a' .a "!;.,;?. Fantasia: cold media, synesthesia, a-n anus' (Continuedfrom page 3) broom is shown in shadow, With` presses amazement that Tchai: aliy." Disney's artists, however, sion. During the Walpurgis Night soft and gushy musical the screen exploding in crimson kowski grew to hate t'he. work, were trained to, do the opposite: on Bald Mountain, flames erupt, minded, amazingly which are seen to consist .of of Lewis Carroll's as the ax drives home. since it is his most well-known a Disney cartoon is description is, it is "cold.-" dancing, naked women-a rather books, missing Alice's surrealism The Rite af Spring of Stravin- composition today. Paul Dukas !ife-like- that ski is billed as a scientifically. gets, perhaps mercifully, even Disney's backgrounds'., are interesting symbol for many and savagery entirely. That is, he accurate. His among them had accurate vision of the evolution less mention-in fact, none at all, photographically things, prominent did unto Alice as Disney animals are modified only to the female genitilia, :an d a Snow White. of life. We see volcanoes pump- as his Sorcerer's Apprentice is fear of tried to do unto satisfy .the requirements of con- symbol of the- male's. At any Leopold Stokowski was the ing magma to the earthy boiler introduced without a word as to noises of The Rite; the lava then wio wrote it, although Disney is venient animation-flowing lines, rate, one of these flaming fe:- conductor of the Philadelphia three-fiingered hands, and the males makes a dive at the audi- time. He has flows musically to the bumps prominently credited with- "in- Orchestra at the like-and a degree of personifmica- ence. Her breasts, seen for a since become the venerable con- and grinds on flute, oboe, and terpreting" all eight works in the bassoon. Protozoa get their concert. The butchering. of The tion, the giving to the beasties of fraction of a second, feature ductor of the American human characteristics. Interes- vivid scarlet nipples. Symphony. His recordings. are of bumps and grinds, too, as they Rite of Spring, both in perform- reproduce to the beat by binary ance (the score was savagely tingly enough, Disney's humans One of the rhinoceri in The the "Sound Spectacular" genre are drawn with complete fidelity Dance of the Hours takes a -these words, suffixed by a gag- fission. A fish sprouts legs and maimed), and in "interpreta- lungs; a brontosaur slobbers his tion" (Disney's crew depicted to the original article; in fact, break, and curls up on a divan gle of exclamation- points, usual- they are - taken from human for a nap, her tiny tu-tu utter- ly adorn albums of this sort. vegetation; a tyrannosaur fights evolution, rather than a rite, as it out with a stegausaur. We see specified in the ballet's score and models. iy incapable of covering the acre- Stokowski, too, saw himself as a Disney's great technological age of her rump. She tries in vain great popularizer. life in the raw. choreography), so- infUriatfed But it is after intermission Stravinski that he nearly took. pride was the invention, by his to pull it over the exposed flesh, This, then, is the triumverate staff, of a camera which could finally givihg it up as hopeless. that set out to give music to the that Disney and his artists go all his anger to court. Taylor smug- ly states that Beethoven meant keep two or more planes in Why does Disney consider his Sixth Symphony to depict focus, and therefore produce this to be funny? What humor country scenes, when Beethoven zoom shots, or allow the camera the situation.possesses can only refuted that view quite heatedly. to dart in between trees, in and derive from the sick gag of giving The music, as is well known, is out of buildings, and so on. the animal kingdom the human meant to convey emotions .The point is that Disney's art characteristic - of shame.. Yet aroused by nature,-not mere 'attempted always to mimic reali- there is more: Disney'S laugh is pictures. The Pastorale's score is ty. His so-called fantasies are in his depiction of what is under also, to put it kindly, abridged. nothing of the sort-they are. a dress as ugly. Not much can be said musically, "cold" surrogate realities. The .AndA. violence although there is much to be primitive stick figure of Farmer 'Fantasiaalso boasts a curious said later on other grounds, Grey is, perceptually, far more emphasis on violence, particular- about the other three pieces on challenging than the Whole of ly on natural selection, the sur- the program. Disney's work. Again, Disney's vival of the fittest: The ite's Perhaps the best indication of art is mind-dulling. , evolution is filled with death and the over-all musicianship is that Psychoanalysis: anality.. fighting, but no blood; The Mickey Mouse congratulates-the Disney's compulsion to imi- Dance of the Hours includes a conductor after The Sorcerer's tate reality suggests that Fanta- fight over grapes, and well-den- Apprentice. sia be examined on psychoanaly- tured alligators hungrily carrying The major fault, then, that tic grounds. When it' is men- off their prey. Violence is pre- rabble. And the result? the way. Taylor informs us that sent, but it 'is unmoving, emo- Profligate synesthesia meant his Pastorale seems to taint the entire concert, tioned that Disney'was an arch- Beethoven tionless, and sometimes it is Againstf an infinite twilit Symphony to depict scenes in is the placing of Disney's so-cal- conservative, that his workers orchestra is led "interpretation" abbcve the' were under-payed, and in fact choreographed. background, the the country, but that Disney Disney- rose from poverty, up. Instruments glow su-., music itself. The compositions hit the Disney studio With a long tuning means to interpret Beethoven and always feared bankruptcy. pernaturally as they are played: for us with more mythological are abridged, rewritten, reorches- and bitter strike at one time, the tuba's brass labyrinthe in an trated, and grossly misinter- that Disney hoarded money, and Plastic robots vignettes. accepted that eerie green, the hour-glass figures the preted, all to provide a convene- always feared financial collapse, It is generally Winged horses cavort in the child has perceptual inno- of the basses in rouge. stratosphere to the accompani- ient vehicle for Disney's visual and that Disneyland will not effects. admit animals or hippies, and is. cence-his eyes and mind are A man, silhouetted against ment of the allegro. The second unfettered by social conventions movement features various le- staffed by smiling youths who the sky, mounts the podiumi will suck up litter within a half and socially imposed ways of awesome, alone-the conductor, gendary beasts, including cen- Cold surrogate thinking. It is also recognized tauresses-lovely creations all, The theories of Marshall minute after it leaves the hand Leopold Stokowski. The. orches- of the offender,' one should not that this innocence must be des- tra is now quiet, tense, waiting. with the delicate hind-quarters McLuhan may prove helpful troyed if the child is to live in and chest of here. Media can be divided into be surprised to finld signs of Deems Taylor Lntroduces of a mare, the face anality in Disney films. this world. himself. Although he is dressed' a maidenly young thing, and two main varieties: "cold," But how much must society little breasts minus the nip- enough sensory In fact, Fantasia is replete formally in tuxedo, he smiles in firm which provides Pas- take from the child? Certainly, that the perceiver's mind is with derrieres. Beethoven's a friehdly way,.as if to reassure ples. input sexless cherubs his monstrous ego must be sub- While chubby cupids-naked, passive, and "hot," which re-- torale displays us that we need not be afraid of with puffy little anuses, and dued, but must the imagination are, Taylor pearshaped, and- sexless-pile up quires.the perceiver's active parr all this culture. There centaurs and centauresses with be taken too? informs us, three varieties of in heaps of dimpled derrieres, ticipation. The American child is shown. the centaurs make their playful A general trend.can be seen in. loving attention payed to their music: music that tells a story, horsey haunches. The Nutcrack- convenient guidelines. to fanta- music that conjures up scenes, entrance,-looking like some cross America toward "cold" media size around. from the 20,000 and away from "hot" media. er includes fairies With slim, and music for its own sake, between SAE and Aqueduct, Vogueish rumps. Ponchielli's hours of television he sees before Disney has Americans are, in general, fun-- "absolute music." their bodies studly, their faces Danze of the Hours features the age of eighteen to the clean chosen examples of all three. boyish, verging on effiminate. ctionally illiterate' television mo,ral fun of Walt Disney. viewers and movie-goers. That is, ostriches, rhinos, and elephants, The first selection is to be Bucolic courtships occupy all of whom have prominent But all societies, to a greater Bach's Toccata and Fugue. This, the third movement. The fourth they do not read or listen exclus- or lesser extent, destroy their ively-they must view to remain buttocks, which are in evidence Taylor says, is absolute music; and fifth movements are de- throughout their ballet maneu- children's minds for the good of even the title signifies nothing picted by Bacchus and a donkey interested.
Recommended publications
  • ARSC Journal, Spring 1992 69 Sound Recording Reviews
    SOUND RECORDING REVIEWS Chicago Symphony Orchestra: The First Hundred Years CS090/12 (12 CDs: monaural, stereo; ADD)1 Available only from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, 220 S. Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL, for $175 plus $5 shipping and handling. The Centennial Collection-Chicago Symphony Orchestra RCA-Victor Gold Seal, GD 600206 (3 CDs; monaural, stereo, ADD and DDD). (total time 3:36:3l2). A "musical trivia" question: "Which American symphony orchestra was the first to record under its own name and conductor?" You will find the answer at the beginning of the 12-CD collection, The Chicago Symphony Orchestra: The First 100 Years, issued by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO). The date was May 1, 1916, and the conductor was Frederick Stock. 3 This is part of the orchestra's celebration of the hundredth anniversary of its founding by Theodore Thomas in 1891. Thomas is represented here, not as a conductor (he died in 1904) but as the arranger of Wagner's Triiume. But all of the other conductors and music directors are represented, as well as many guests. With one exception, the 3-CD set, The Centennial Collection: Chicago Symphony Orchestra, from RCA-Victor is drawn from the recordings that the Chicago Symphony made for that company. All were released previously, in various formats-mono and stereo, 78 rpm, 45 rpm, LPs, tapes, and CDs-as the technologies evolved. Although the present digital processing varies according to source, the sound is generally clear; the Reiner material is comparable to RCA-Victor's on-going reissues on CD of the legendary recordings produced by Richard Mohr.
    [Show full text]
  • Time 1925 1930 1935 1940 1945 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010
    Giulio Gatti Casazza 1926 Director, Metropolitan Opera Arturo Toscanini Leopold Stokowski 1926 1930 Conductor Conductor Pietro Mascagni Lucrezia Bori James Cæsar Petrillo 1926 1930 1948 Composer Singer Head, American Federation of Musicians Richard Strauss Alfred Hertz Sergei Koussevitsky Helen Traubel Charles Munch 1938 1927 1930 1946 1949 Composer and conductor Conductor Conductor Singer Conductor Ignace J Paderewski Geraldine Farrar Joseph Deems Taylor Marian Anderson Cole Porter 1939 1927 1931 1946 1949 Kirsten Flagstad Pianist, politician Singer Composer, critic Singer Composer 1935 Lauritz Melchior Giulio Gatti-Casazza Ignace Jan Paderewski Yehudi Menuhin Singer Artur Rodziński Gian Carlo Menotti Maria Callas 1940 1923 1928 1932 1947 1950 1956 Artur Rubinstein Edward Johnson Singer Director, Metropolitan Opera Pianist, politician Violinist; 16 years old Conductor Composer Singer 1966 1936 Leopold Stokowski Pianist Johann Sebastian Bach Nellie Melba Mary Garden Lawrence Tibbett Singer Arturo Toscanini Mario Lanza & Enrico Caruso Leonard Bernstein 1940 1968 1927 1930 1933 1948 1951 1957 Jean Sibelius Conductor Dmitri Shostakovich Composer (1685–1750) Singer Singer Singer Conductor Singers Composer, conductor 1937 1942 Beverly Sills Richard Strauss Rosa Ponselle Arturo Toscanini Composer Composer Benjamin Britten Patrice Munsel Renata Tebaldi Rudolf Bing Luciano Pavarotti 1971 1927 1931 1934 1948 1951 1958 1966 1979 Sergei Koussevitsky Sir Thomas Beecham Leontyne Price Singer Georg Solti Composer, conductor Singer Conductor Composer
    [Show full text]
  • What Is Conductorcise® ?
    WHAT IS CONDUCTORCISE® ? Place yourself in the sneakers of an orchestra conductor and raise your baton to a mighty Sousa march, an impetuous Strauss polka, or an elegant Tchaikovsky waltz as you enjoy a great musical workout. CONDUCTORCISE® is a combination aerobic workout, symphonic performance, and music history lesson that swings to the sounds of the masters. A unique program recognized internationally by health and fitness experts, CONDUCTORCISE® fosters upper body fitness that can help strengthen your heart and open your ears and mind in a natural, invigorating workout. This low-impact fitness fusion for all ages stimulates the cardio-vascular system, energizes and engages the senses and creates balance, stretching, blood circulation and brain stimulation throughout the workout. Learn basic conducting techniques, improve cognitive and listening skills, and discover the lives and work of great composers, as you keep your body and mind in tune, relieve stress and secure balance, increase circulation, manage diabetes, and build upper body strength. The brain child of clarinetist/Conductor David Dworkin, it’s an exhilarating and unique alternative to “traditional” exercise programs that has successfully traveled the globe. The only program of its kind in the world, Dworkin has brought it to pre-school children, teenagers, healthy seniors, and those in assisted- living facilities, as well as stroke, wheelchair bound, and Alzheimer’s patients and beyond, allowing participants to keep ones “body and mind in tune.” Who Leads CONDUCTORCISE®: Maestro David Dworkin Maestro David Dworkin has led orchestras across America and abroad, and served as conductor and Artistic Consultant of three PBS Television documentaries in the series Grow Old With Me, including “The Poetry of Aging,” featuring Richard Kiley, Julie Harris, and James Earl Jones.
    [Show full text]
  • Season 20 Season 2011-2012
    Season 2020111111----2020202011112222 The Philadelphia Orchestra Thursday, March 888,8, at 8:00 Friday, March 999,9, at 222:002:00:00:00 Saturday, March 101010,10 , at 8:00 James Gaffigan Conductor Stewart Goodyear Piano Bernstein Symphonic Suite from On the Waterfront Gershwin/orch. Grofé Rhapsody in Blue Intermission Tchaikovsky Excerpts from Swan Lake, Op. 20 I. Scene II. Waltz III. Dance of the Swans IV. Scene V. Hungarian Dance, Czardas VI. Spanish Dance VII. Neapolitan Dance VIII. Mazurka IX. Scene X. Dance of the Little Swans XI. Scene XII. Final Scene This program runs approximately 1 hour, 50 minutes. American conductor James Gaffigan, who is making his Philadelphia Orchestra debut with these performances, was recently appointed chief conductor of the Lucerne Symphony and principal guest conductor of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic; he assumed both posts in the summer of 2011. This season he debuts with the Atlanta Symphony and the Los Angeles Philharmonic and makes return visits to the Minnesota Orchestra and the Baltimore, Dallas, Milwaukee, National, and Toronto symphonies. Recent and upcoming festival appearances include the Aspen, Blossom, Grant Park, and Grand Teton music festivals, and the Spoleto Festival USA. In Europe he makes debuts with the Czech, Dresden, and London philharmonics. In 2009 Mr. Gaffigan completed his three-year tenure as associate conductor with the San Francisco Symphony. Prior to that appointment he was assistant conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra. He has appeared with such North American orchestras as the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and the Chicago, Detroit, Houston, New World, Seattle, and Saint Louis symphonies.
    [Show full text]
  • National Museum of American Jewish History, Leonard Bernstein
    Narrative Section of a Successful Application The attached document contains the grant narrative and selected portions of a previously funded grant application. It is not intended to serve as a model, but to give you a sense of how a successful application may be crafted. Every successful application is different, and each applicant is urged to prepare a proposal that reflects its unique project and aspirations. Prospective applicants should consult the Research Programs application guidelines at https://www.neh.gov/grants/public/public-humanities- projects for instructions. Applicants are also strongly encouraged to consult with the NEH Division of Research Programs staff well before a grant deadline. Note: The attachment only contains the grant narrative and selected portions, not the entire funded application. In addition, certain portions may have been redacted to protect the privacy interests of an individual and/or to protect confidential commercial and financial information and/or to protect copyrighted materials. Project Title: Leonard Bernstein: The Power of Music Institution: National Museum of American Jewish History Project Director: Ivy Weingram Grant Program: America's Historical and Cultural Organizations: Planning Grants 1100 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Rm. 426, Washington, D.C. 20506 P 202.606.8269 F 202.606.8557 E [email protected] www.neh.gov THE NATURE OF THE REQUEST The National Museum of American Jewish History (NMAJH) respectfully requests a planning grant of $50,000 from the National Endowment for the Humanities to support the development of the special exhibition Leonard Bernstein: The Power of Music (working title), opening in March 2018 to celebrate the centennial year of Bernstein’s birth.
    [Show full text]
  • Leopold Stokowski
    Leopold Stokowski Enescu Romanian Rhapsody No. 1 Arnold Comedy Overture ‘Beckus the Dandipratt’ Glière Concerto for Coloratura Soprano Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5 in E minor CC 9107 LEOPOLD STOKOWSKI Leopold Stokowski (1882-1977) George Enescu (1881-1955) 10.46 1 Romanian Rhapsody No. 1 in A Op. 11 (1901) Malcolm Arnold (1921-2006) 7.38 2 Comedy Overture ‘Beckus the Dandipratt’ Op. 5 (1943) Reinhold Glière (1875-1956) 15.04 Concerto for Coloratura Soprano and Orchestra in F minor Op. 82 (1943) 3 I Andante 9.33 4 II Allegro 5.31 Ilse Hollweg, soprano BBC Symphony Orchestra A BBC studio concert, broadcast 5 May 1954. Recording from the Itter Broadcast Collection Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) Leopold Stokowski talking to members of the International Youth Festival Orchestra during a Symphony No. 5 in E minor Op. 64 (1888) first rehearsal of the Tchaikovsky 5th Symphony at Morley College, London. The young 5 I Andante – Allegro con anima 13.50 musicians, who came from all over the world, played the work at the Royal Albert Hall the 6 II Andante cantabile con alcuna licenza 12.04 following evening, 19 August 1973. (Photo: courtesy Edward Johnson) 7 III Valse. Allegro moderato 5.48 8 IV Finale. Andante maestoso – Allegro vivace 11.38 International Festival Youth Orchestra (1973) Recorded in rehearsal, and in performance at the Royal Albert Hall, 19 August 1973 Recorded by David Kent-Watson for Cameo Classics Cover image : Katherine's Palace hall in Tsarskoe Selo, Russia © 2018 Lyrita Recorded Edition CAMEO CLASSICS is a wholly owned label of LYRITA RECORDED EDITION TRUST Total playing time 75.09 Produced under an exclusive licence from Lyrita by Wyastone Estate Limited, Monmouth, NP25 3SR, UK www.lyrita.co.uk 2 7 CC 9107 LEOPOLD STOKOWSKI performed the last three numbered symphonies, though Nos.
    [Show full text]
  • Download Booklet
    - PB - SYMPHONIES 1 & 2 The First and Second Symphonies of Sibelius Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) The music critic Neville Cardus, when reviewing a concert Besides considering the various influences on of the Sibelius First and Second Symphonies, remarked these two magnificent works, it is instructive to that he would be happy to discard the later symphonies understand the origins of both. Already 34 when in favour of the first two. He was referring to the his First Symphony was premiered in 1899, Sibelius Symphony No. 1 in E minor, Op. 39 * [34.17] emotional impact of these early works compared to the was known for a number of nationalistic orchestral 1 I. Andante, ma non troppo [9.39] more restrained glories of the later ones. Sometimes it is works heavily influenced by Finnish literature 2 hard to disagree with this opinion, particularly when both and landscape such as En Saga, Kullervo, the II. Andante (ma non troppo lento) [9.26] symphonies are given such overtly romantic readings Karelia Suite and the Lemminkainen Legends. 3 III. Scherzo–Allegro [4.45] as those conducted by Leopold Stokowski on this CD. Certain Finnish critics were, however, impatient with 4 IV. Finale (Quasi una Fantasia)–Andante [10.17] Sibelius himself turned to the high priests of romantic Sibelius for not writing an abstract symphony of music for his influences. With the First Symphony, he the kind traditionally associated with the musical sought guidance from the Russian school typified by capitals of Europe. Sibelius must also have been Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op.
    [Show full text]
  • Leopold Stokowski, "Latin" Music, and Pan Americanism
    Leopold Stokowski, "Latin" Music, and Pan Americanism Carol A. Hess C oNDUCTOR LEOPOLD Stokowski ( 1882-1977), "the rum and coca-cola school of Latin American whose career bridged the circumspect world of clas­ composers," neatly conflating the 1944 Andrews Sis­ sical music with HolJywood glitz. encounterecl in ters song with "serious" Latin American composition. 2 varying clegrecs both of these realms in an often Such elasticity fit Stokowski to a tcc. On thc one overlooked aspcct of his career: promoting the music hand, with his genius for bringing the classics to of Latín American and Spanish composers, primaril y the mass public, Stokowski was used to serving up those of the twentieth century. In the U.S .. Stokow­ ''light classics," as can be scen in hi s movies, which ski's adopted country. this repertory was often con­ include Wah Disney's Famasia of 1940 and One veniently labeled '·Latín." due as much to lack of Htmdred Men anda Girl of 1937. On the other hand. subtlety on thc part of marketcrs as thc less-than­ the superbly trained artist in Stokowski was both an nuanccd perspective of the public. which has often experimentcr and a promoter of new music. A self­ resisted dífferentiatíng the Spanish-speaking coun­ described "egocentric"-he later declared. " I always tries.1 In acldition to concert repertory, "Latin'' music want to he first"-Stokowski was always on the might include Spanish-language popular songs, lookout for novelty.3 This might in volve transcribing English-language songs on Spanish or Latín Ameri­ Bach for an orchestra undreamt of in the eighteenth can topics, or practically any work that incorporated century or premiering works as varied as Pierrot claves, güiro, or Phrygian melodic turns.
    [Show full text]
  • Lynn Freeman Olson Collection Cassette
    LYNN FREEMAN OLSON COLLECTION CASSETTE RECORDINGS LIST Beethoven 9 Symphonien Ouverturen (6 tape boxed set)- Karajan Berliner Philharmonikar Vivaldi: Two Concertos for Two Violins / Two Sonatas for Two Violins and Continuo - Aston Magna Vivaldi: Concerti E Sinfonie - I Solisti Veneti/Claudio Scimone Mahler: Symphony No. 10 - Philadelphia Orchestra / James Levine (2 cassettes) Mahler: Symphony So, 1 - London Philharmonic - Klaus Tennstedt Debussy: 3 Nocturnes Ravel: Pavane & Bolero - Moscow Radio Large Symphony Orchestra / Yevgeni Svetlanov Debussy: La Mer, Nocturnes - Cleveland Orchestra/ Lorin Maazel Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 2 - Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / Yuri Temirkanov Rachmaninoff: Symphony Mo. 3 Shostakovich: Symphony No. 6 - London Symphony Orchestra / Andre Previn Rachmaninoff: Second Piano Concerto - Balakirev Islamey, Julius Katchen - London Symphony Orchestra / Sir Georg Solti Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3 - Vladimir Ashkenazy - The London Symphony / Anatola Fistoulari Rachmaninoff: Piano Concertos 2 & 4 -Vladimir Ashkenazy - Concertgebouw Orchestra / Bernard Haitink Shostakovich: Symphony No. 11 ("1905") - Houston Symphony Orchestra / Leopold Stokowski Shostakovich: Symphony No. 6 / The Age of Gold (Ballet Suite) - Chicago Symphony / Leopold Stokowski Shostakovich: Symphony No. 7 ("Leningrad") - Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra / Paavo Berglund Shostakovich: Symphony No. 10 e minor Op, 93 - Austrian Broadcast Symphony Orchestra / Milan Horvat (2 cassette set) LYNN FREEMAN OLSON REFERENCE COLLECTION OF RECORDED SOUND
    [Show full text]
  • Hollywood As Music Museum & Patron
    Hollywood as Music Museum & Patron: Bringing Various Musical Styles to a Wide Audience Charlotte Greenspan Abstract: The role of Hollywood ½lms in holding up a mirror–albeit sometimes a distorted one–to the Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/daed/article-pdf/142/4/73/1831595/daed_a_00235.pdf by guest on 29 September 2021 American public is indisputable. Less discussed is their role in bringing a wide range of music–popular, classical, jazz, avant-garde, ethnic–to an unsuspecting audience. Whether the music is in the foreground, as in biographical movies about composers, for example, or in the background supporting the narrative, watching a movie educates the viewers’ ears. Indeed, the role of movies in widening the public’s aural palate has parallels with the role of art museums in broadening the public’s visual taste. To supply the music needed for movies, Hollywood studios have employed a large number of composers of the most varied backgrounds, taking on a signi½cant function as patron of contemporary music. This essay briefly examines some of the varied interactions of movies, music, and the public. The Hollywood ½lm industry plays a crucial role in the preservation and dissemination of music of many styles. This role is not much discussed, how- ever, because it is an unintended side effect of most Hollywood ½lms, the primary aim of which is com- mercial success. Nevertheless, despite differences in stated or inherent aims, and despite differences in ½nancial structure, the effect that Hollywood studios CHARLOTTE GREENSPAN is a have on the American public with regard to music musicologist and pianist based in is surprisingly similar to the effect the great museums Ithaca, New York.
    [Show full text]
  • Fantasias Music History Through Animation Background
    Disney’s Two Fantasias Music History Through Animation Background “The beauty and inspiration of music must not be restricted to a privileged few, but must be made available to every man, woman and child.” - Leopold Stokowski, 1940 “Fantasia is.. the beginning of a new technique for the screen.. and a greater development of sound recording and reproduction.” - Walt Disney, 1940 - Disney’s idea of marrying animation and music had begun in 1929 with the Silly Symphonies series (The Skeleton Dance, 1929, Flowers and Trees, 1932, first Technicolor release, The Old Mill, 1937, first multi-plane animation). Mickey was purposely left out. - by late-1930’s, Mickey’s popularity was failing, so Disney conceived the idea of starring Mickey in a Silly Symphony based on Paul Dukas’ The Sorcerer’s Apprentice - Disney ran into Stokowski in a Beverly Hills restaurant and discussed the idea with him. They soon elaborated it into a feature length film consisting of several contrasting musical works. Disney at first called it The Concert Feature. - Stokowski suggested Fantasia, a musical term meaning “a composition unrestricted by formal design, free reign for fantasy and imagination” - originally conceived as a continually changing concert program, with new pieces added and old ones withdrawn on a continuing basis. Leopold Stokowski • born in London, 1882 emigrated to New York in 1905 • 1912 conductor of Philadelphia Orchestra • an early champion of recorded orchestra music - • “The recording process will one day reproduce music better than heard in the concert hall” • experiments with 3-channel stereo sound at Bell Labs • Philadelphia Orchestra transmitted over three phone lines to Washington, DC • unconventional positioning of instruments in order to produce a better recording • conducted without a baton (hands only), as shown in Fantasia and parodied in Long Haired Hare • by 1937 was well known to American audiences through film & radio appearances • had developed a 9 microphone recording system (mixed to mono) for earlier film recording.
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter Template
    Copyright by Colleen Leigh Montgomery 2017 THE DISSERTATION COMMITTEE FOR COLLEEN LEIGH MONTGOMERY CERTIFIES THAT THIS IS THE APPROVED VERSION OF THE FOLLOWING DISSERTATION: ANIMATING THE VOICE: AN INDUSTRIAL ANALYSIS OF VOCAL PERFORMANCE IN DISNEY AND PIXAR FEATURE ANIMATION Committee: Thomas Schatz, Supervisor James Buhler, Co-Supervisor Caroline Frick Daniel Goldmark Jeff Smith Janet Staiger ANIMATING THE VOICE: AN INDUSTRIAL ANALYSIS OF VOCAL PERFORMANCE IN DISNEY AND PIXAR FEATURE ANIMATION by COLLEEN LEIGH MONTGOMERY DISSERTATION Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN AUGUST 2017 Dedication To Dash and Magnus, who animate my life with so much joy. Acknowledgements This project would not have been possible without the invaluable support, patience, and guidance of my co-supervisors, Thomas Schatz and James Buhler, and my committee members, Caroline Frick, Daniel Goldmark, Jeff Smith, and Janet Staiger, who went above and beyond to see this project through to completion. I am humbled to have to had the opportunity to work with such an incredible group of academics whom I respect and admire. Thank you for so generously lending your time and expertise to this project—your whose scholarship, mentorship, and insights have immeasurably benefitted my work. I am also greatly indebted to Lisa Coulthard, who not only introduced me to the field of film sound studies and inspired me to pursue my intellectual interests but has also been an unwavering champion of my research for the past decade.
    [Show full text]