John Corigliano (b. 1938)
The Red Violin (1999)
Anna's Theme
John Corigliano (b. February 16, 1938, New York City, New York) was born to a musical family.
His father, John Corigliano Sr., was concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic for 23 years, and his mother a pianist. He is a former student of Otto Luening, Vittorio Giannini, and Paul Creston. John Corigliano attended P.S. 241 in Brooklyn and graduated in June, 1951. He studied composition at Columbia University and at the Manhattan School of Music. Before achieving success as composer, Corigliano worked as assistant to the producer on the Leonard Bernstein Young People's Concerts, and as a session producer for classical artists such as Andre Watts.
Most of Corigliano's work has been for symphony orchestra. He employs a wide variety of styles, sometimes even within the same work, but aims to make his work accessible to a relatively large audience. He has written symphonies, as well as works for string orchestra, and wind band. Additionally, Corigliano has written concerti for clarinet, flute, violin, oboe, and piano; film scores; various chamber and solo instrument works, and the opera, The Ghosts of Versailles.
The younger Corigliano first came to prominence in 1964 when, at the age of 26, his Sonata for Violin and Piano (1963) was the first and only winner of the chamber-music competition of the Spoleto Festival of Two Worlds in Italy. Support from Meet the Composer, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Guggenheim Foundation followed, as did important commissions. For the New York Philharmonic he composed his Vocalise (1999), Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra (1977), and Fantasia on an Ostinato (1986); for the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, he wrote Poem in October (1970); for the New York State Council on the Arts he composed the Oboe Concerto (1975); for flutist James Galway he composed his Promenade Overture (1981), as well as the Symphony No. 2 (2001); the National Symphony Orchestra commissioned the evening-length A Dylan Thomas Trilogy (1960, rev. 1999).
In 1991 he was awarded the Grawemeyer Award for his Symphony No. 1 (1991) which was inspired by the AIDS crisis. In 2001 he received the Pulitzer Prize for his Symphony No. 2 (2001). Corigliano composed dramatic scores for the 1980 film Altered States, the 1985 Revolution and Francois Girard's 1997, The Red Violin. The award winning score for Revolution is one of Corigliano's most impressive creations although it is less known, as it was never released in any recorded format.
Corigliano did, however, use portions of the score for his first symphony. Portions of the score to The Red Violin were also used in his Violin Concerto (2003). In 1970 Corigliano teamed up with David Hess to create The Naked Carmen. In a recent communication with David Hess, Hess acknowledged that The Naked Carmen was originally conceived by John Corigliano and himself as a way to update Bizet's Carmen. Mercury Records wanted the classical and popular divisions to work together and after a meeting with Joe Bott, Scott Mampe and Bob Reno it was decided to proceed with the project. In Hess's own words, the project was "a collective decision."
Among Corigliano's students are David S. Sampson, Eric Whitacre, Elliot Goldenthal, Nico Muhly, John Mackey, Avner Dorman, Mason Bates, Jefferson Friedman. In 1996, The Corigliano Quartet was founded, taking his name in tribute. Corigliano, who is openly gay, lives with his companion, composer Mark Adamo in New York City.
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Benjamin Earl King (b. September 28, 1938), better known as Ben E. King, is an American soul singer. He is perhaps best known as the singer and co-composer of Stand by Me, a U.S. Top 10 hit in both 1961 and 1987 and a #1 hit in the UK in 1987, and as one of the principal lead singers of the R&B vocal group The Drifters.
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The Drifters are a long-lived American doo wop/R&B vocal group with a peak in popularity from 1953 to 1962, though several splinter Drifters continue to perform today. They were originally formed by Clyde McPhatter (of Billy Ward & the Dominoes) in 1953. Rolling Stone magazine states that the Drifters were the least stable of the vocal groups due to being low-paid hired musicians of their management.
The Treadwell Drifters website states that there have been 60 vocalists in the history of the Treadwell Drifters line.
Several splinter groups by former Drifters members add to the count. Only one splinter Drifters group features a classic Drifters member, Charlie Thomas' Drifters. Nevertheless, there are two versions of the Drifters that are notable. The first classic Drifters formed by Clyde McPhatter was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame as "The Drifters" or "The Original Drifters.
The second Drifters formed by Treadwell featuring Ben E. King was separately inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame as Ben E. King and the Drifters.
In their induction, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame eclectically selected four members from the classic Drifters, two from the second Drifters, and one from the post-King Treadwell Drifters. According to the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, "Through turmoil and changes the (original) Drifters managed to set musical trends and give the public 13 chart hits, most of which are legendary recordings today.
[Post Ben E. King, with Johnny Moore, note the habanera rhythm in bass!]
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Harvey Philip Spector (b. December 26, 1939) is an American record producer and songwriter. The originator of the "Wall of Sound" production technique, Spector was a pioneer of the 1960s girl group sound and produced over 25 Top 40 hits between 1960 and 1965 alone. After this initial success, Spector later worked with artists including Ike and Tina Turner, John Lennon, George Harrison, and the Ramones with similar acclaim.
He produced the Beatles' Academy Award-winning album Let It Be, and the Grammy Award-winning Concert for Bangladesh by former Beatle George Harrison. In 1989, Spector was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performer. The 1965 song You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin', produced and co-written by Spector for The Righteous Brothers, is listed by BMI as the song with the most U.S. airplay in the 20th century.
The 2003 shooting death of actress Lana Clarkson in his Alhambra, California home led to his being charged with murder in the second degree. After a 2007 mistrial, he was convicted in 2009 and given a prison sentence of 19 years to life.
[Phil Spector - Be My Baby (The Ronettes)]
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The Ronettes were a 1960's girl group from New York City, best known for their work with producer Phil Spector. The group consisted of lead singer Veronica Bennett (later known as Ronnie Spector); her sister, Estelle Bennett; and their cousin Nedra Talley. They reached the peak of their success after releasing Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica in 1964. Some of the group's most famous songs include Be My Baby; Baby, I Love You; (The Best Part Of) Breakin' Up; and (Walking) In the Rain.
[8940 Smokey Robinson / 8938 Corigliano / 8937 Glass]