CARNEGIE HALL PRESENTS
The New York Pops

Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage
Friday, October 26th, 2007 at 8:00 PM

The New York Pops
Stuart Malina, Conductor
Michael Feinstein, Guest Artist
Pip Clarke, Violin

The incomparable Michael Feinstein interprets an array of unforgettable Hollywood classics, and dazzling violinist Pip Clarke performs Erich Korngold’s romantic Violin Concerto.

SMITH "The Star-Spangled Banner"
ENESCU Romanian Rhapsody No. 1 in A Major, Op. 11
NEWMAN "Twentieth Century Fox Fanfare"
MIKLÓS RÓZSA Fanfare and Prelude from Ben-Hur
MAX STEINER "Main Theme" from Gone With the Wind (arr. Skitch Henderson)
KORNGOLD Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35
SCHWARTZ / DIETZ "That's Entertainment" from The Band Wagon (arr. Ian Bernard)
"That's Entertainment, Special Material" (arr. Larry Blank)
JULE STYNE / SAMMY CAHN "Time after Time" from It Happened in Brooklyn
BURTON LANE / RALPH FREED "How About You?" from Babes on Broadway (arr. Johnny Mandel)
RICHARD WHITING / JOHNNY MERCER / STAN FREEMAN "Horray for Hollywood" from Hollywood Hotel (arr. Larry Wilcox)
KERN / OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN II "The Folks Who Live on the Hill" from High, Wide, and Handsome (arr. Alan Broadbent)
ARLEN / TED KOEHLER "Stormy Weather" (arr. Alan Broadbent)
GERSHWIN / IRA GERSHWIN "Nice Work If You Can Get It" from A Damsel in Distress (arr. Larry Blank)
HENRY MANCINI / LESLIE BRICUSSE "Two for the Road"
WARREN / AL DUBIN "Lullaby of Broadway" from Gold Diggers of 1935 (arr. Ian Finkel / John Oddo)
GEORGE & IRA GERSHWIN "They Can't Take That Away from Me" from Shall We Dance (arr. Conrad Salinger, reconstructed by Christopher Palmer / Jeff Atmajian)

Encore:
BERLIN "Alexander's Ragtime Band" (arr. David Ross)

Sponsored by Smith Barney

Program Notes:

Tonight’s program pays tribute to the golden age of movie music, a period of time when the greatest songwriters were creating blockbuster movie musicals, while simultaneously, some of the world’s best composers were writing memorable movie soundtracks. It was the age of Gershwin, Berlin, and Arlen, as well as Herrmann, Korngold, and Steiner. The movies were America’s premiere source of entertainment, and with each opening, new songs and great melodies entered the collective American consciousness.

Our first half begins and ends with the music of Erich Wolfgang Korngold, who died 50 years ago this year, and who had two careers, first as a boy prodigy composer in Vienna, and then as one of the best writers of film music. The prelude from Kings Row is impressive in its majesty and familiar in its melody—do I hear a famous science fiction trilogy? The beautiful and schmaltzy Violin Concerto is composed of themes from four different Korngold movie scores—Another Dawn and Juarez in the first movement, Anthony Adverse in the second, and The Prince and the Pauper in the stirring finale.

In between we’ll play several other classic film melodies, including Max Steiner’s Gone with the Wind theme, Miklós Rósza’s prelude from the epic Ben-Hur, a lovely rhapsody on Johnny Mandel’s popular tune “Emily,” and a spectacular melody from another rhapsody, this one by Rachmaninoff, and featured in several films, including Sabrina and Somewhere in Time.

In the second half of our program, we will be treated to the stylings of one of the great interpreters and performers of American popular song—Michael Feinstein—whose prodigious musical abilities are matched only by his charm and vast knowledge. Who better to take us on a whirlwind journey through the music of the classic Hollywood musical?

Enjoy!

—Stuart Malina



Film music has come to encompass such a vast and wide ranging repertoire that it is a daunting challenge to choose a selection of titles that might convey the essence of sounds inspired by the moving image. Personally, I feel Stuart Malina has picked a perfect cross section of sounds that have played in the background of über-classics like Gone with the Wind and Ben-Hur. To hear such melodies liberated from their visuals proves the genius of these great composers. They were probably thrilled to hear their work played by great studio orchestras, yet thwarted to have it relegated to underscore. Tonight at Carnegie Hall they shall receive their due.

The second half will celebrate the great songs of Hollywood, and the great Tin Pan Alley writers who came west to write for such budding stars as Fred Astaire, Shirley Temple, Dick Powell, and Alice Faye. Many songwriters could never quite get over their good fortune at working in a dream factory, even when the studio executives were (as three-time Oscar winner Harry Warren put it), complete morons. However, Harry also said that the first time he heard the lush Warner Bros. studio orchestra play one of his tunes, in such a sweeping and beautiful way, he burst into tears.

A few of tonight’s selections were not originally written for Hollywood but have become connected with the movies, so it was felt that they warranted inclusion.

We are lucky that in today's disposable world so many of these works have survived. Much has been lost or forgotten through the decades, but hopefully that which is good will continue to survive. It’s a pleasure to be here tonight to recreate the glory days of some of Hollywood's greatest creations.

—Michael Feinstein

The New York Pops
Stuart Malina, Conductor
Stuart Malina is one of America’s most versatile and accomplished conductors. In a wide variety of concerts his ease on the podium, engaging personality, and insightful interpretations have thrilled audiences and helped to break down the barriers between performer and listener wherever he has worked. Music Director and Conductor of the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra since June 2000, Mr. Malina’s other appointments have included Music Director of the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra from 1996 to 2003 and Associate Conductor of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra from 1993 to 1997.

In 2006 Mr. Malina had return engagements with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and at the Eastern Music Festival, where he conducted the world premiere of Billy Joel’s Symphonic Fantasies for Piano and Orchestra. Last season he made conducting debuts with Nashville Symphony Pops, Opera Delaware, and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Other guest appearances include concerts with the Detroit Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Kansas City Symphony, and the Louisville Orchestra. Opera engagements include Opera Delaware and Greensboro Opera.

Mr. Malina helped create Movin’ Out with director and choreographer Twyla Tharp, for which he won a Tony Award for Orchestration with Billy Joel in June 2003. He has also served as Associate Conductor of the national touring company of West Side Story and as conductor of an international tour of Porgy and Bess. In 1995, Mr. Malina made his acting debut, sharing the stage with Broadway legends Zoe Caldwell and Audra McDonald in Terrence McNally’s Tony Award–winning drama Master Class for its run at the Kennedy Center.

As a pianist, Mr. Malina has performed in concert throughout the Northeastern US, the Netherlands, Russia, and with the acclaimed Piccolo Spoleto Contemporary Music Festival. He regularly performs as soloist in his orchestral programs. He maintains an active chamber music schedule alongside his conducting activities.

Mr. Malina studied conducting with Otto-Werner Mueller and piano with Drora Arnon and Keiko Sato. He lives in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Marty, and his two children, Sara and Zev. He made his Carnegie Hall debut in February 2007, conducting The New York Pops in an all-Gershwin tribute including Rhapsody in Blue, which he conducted from the keyboard.

THE NEW YORK POPS

The New York Pops was founded by Skitch Henderson in 1983 to give New York a permanent professional symphonic pops orchestra that would create greater public awareness and appreciation of America’s rich musical heritage. The orchestra is now the largest independent symphonic pops orchestra in the United States, enjoying one of the highest subscription renewal rates of any series at Carnegie Hall. The orchestra also tours throughout the world and performs free concerts in New York City parks through its Summermusic program. The New York Pops’s extensive education programs allow public schoolchildren to participate in numerous concert and music-making experiences: Salute To Music provides free instrumental lessons to more than 100 New York City junior high school students each year; Kids in the Balcony arranges for hundreds of children to attend all of The New York Pops’s concerts at Carnegie Hall; other education programs, such as Create a Symphony and Rhythm, Rhyme & Rap, teach skills such as composition, instrument building, percussion performance, and literacy. The New York Pops’s recordings include a recently reissued CD of the orchestra’s 1983 debut performance as well as From Berlin to Bernstein, The New York Pops Goes to the Movies, Christmas in the Country, Magical Moments from Great Musicals, and With A Song in My Heart—the Music of Richard Rodgers with Maureen McGovern. For the third year in a row in the summer of 2007, the orchestra performed the musical accompaniment to the Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular, seen by more than 10 million television viewers nationwide on NBC. A recipient of grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, The New York Pops is a not-for-profit corporation supported solely through the generosity of individual donations, institutional grants, and concert income.

Michael Feinstein, Guest Artist
Michael Feinstein, one of the premiere interpreters of American popular song, has been a household name since the success of his 1988 one-man Broadway show, Isn’t It Romantic. More than a mere performer, he is nationally recognized for his commitment to the American popular song, both celebrating its art and preserving its legacy for the next generation. Michael is currently producing a CD for his friend Liza Minnelli based on the music of her godmother Kay Thompson, the famed author, singer and arranger. He will also host and serve as consultant on a new PBS film on vintage Hollywood “soundies” and is producing a documentary feature on arts and society icon Kitty Carlisle Hart. He has written the score for a new stage musical The Gold Room, opening soon in London’s West End. In 2003, Michael received his fourth Grammy Award nomination for his Concord release, Michael Feinstein with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, his first recording with a symphony orchestra. He hosted and produced The Great American Songbook, a PBS Special and DVD set from Warner Brothers Home Video that traces the history of popular music in our country. The program, which debuted at the Palm Springs Film Festival, was released last year. His Manhattan nightclub, Feinstein’s at the Regency, has presented the top talents of pop and jazz such as Rosemary Clooney, Steve Tyrell, Barbara Cook, and Dame Cleo Laine. Through the widow of legendary concert pianist-actor Oscar Levant, Michael was introduced to Ira Gershwin in 1977. He became Gershwin’s assistant for six years, a position that granted him access to numerous unpublished Gershwin songs, which he has since performed and recorded. Gershwin’s influence provided a solid base upon which Mr. Feinstein has not only evolved into a captivating performer, composer, and arranger of his own original music, but has also become an unparalleled interpreter of music legends such as Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, Johnny Mercer, Duke Ellington, and Harry Warren. His television credits include performances on 7th Heaven, Caroline in the City, Melrose Place, Coach, and Cybil. The Library of Congress recently elected Michael to the exclusive National Sound Recording Advisory Board. He and other industry leaders recently met in Washington, DC, for a forum on safeguarding America’s musical heritage. For more information, please visit www.michaelfeinstein.com.

Pip Clarke, Violin
Pip Clarke has established herself as one of the leading violinists of her generation. A highly expressive and romantic artist, her concert touring has taken her all over the US, Canada, Europe, and Asia. A unique musician at the very peak of her talent, it is said that her tone warms and haunts the listener long after the music has ended. Highlights of Pip’s 2006–07 season include the release of her second album, After a Dream, featuring a collection of short romantic concert pieces as well as a performance of the Beethoven concerto under William Boughton and the London Sinfonia. This spring she performed Mozart’s Third Violin Concerto with the Long Island Philharmonic with David Wiley conducting. Ms. Clarke is highly respected for her interpretations of such romantic works as the Korngold Violin Concerto, Saint-Saëns’s Third Concerto, the Dvořák Concerto, and the Barber Concerto. In recent seasons her concert performances have included the Calgary Philharmonic, the Florida Orchestra, the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, the Utah Symphony Orchestra, and a gala concert at the Hollywood Bowl, among others. Pip gave her London debut at just 16 years of age at the famous South Bank Centre and quickly began touring throughout England (her native country). Her performances took her to such London venues as St. James’s Piccadilly and St. Martin in the Fields, among others. In a competitive age of solo violinists, Pip Clarke stands out. With her breathtakingly romantic style of playing, she is always easily identifiable. The passionate artistry, impeccable technique, and luscious tone tell us that there is little doubt that she is one of the brightest stars on the musical platform of the world. She is featured in the 2007 book The World of Women in Classical Music by Dr. Anne Gray. Pip Clarke’s performance this evening marks her Carnegie Hall and New York Pops debut.