"If this is music, what's that stuff Cole Porter writes?"
I'm thrilled that this is finally available on line. I have loved this movie, particularly this scene, ever since I saw it on television when I was a kid. Last year, when I played in the viola section for performance of a piano concerto that bore some unintentional resemblance to this one, I was shocked that not a single member of the orchestra was familiar with this movie. It stars Peter Sellers, Angela Lansbury, Tom Bosley, and the conductor is played by Kenneth Lauber, the composer of the concerto.
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8 comments:
Thanks for posting this and the kind words. I've been writing about the experience for a memoir and came across the youtube entry.
Much Appreciated.
Ken Lauber
Being an (obvious) fan of your work, I would love to have a chance to read (and perhaps even write about) your memoir when you have it finished. Please keep me up to speed!
This was one of the first movies I remember seeing, and I've always thought it was charming. It's a great film for music lovers, too, obviously, and I'm pleased to be in a conversation about it that way and excited that the composer of that brilliant parody is part of the chat. I'm a writer myself and know parody isn't easy—it's the kind of hunting where you have to know everything about your quarry. I play some piano and have thought at bit about what makes music accessible to a given audience or not, so this is all fun to talk about. My version of the film doesn't have credits for some reason, so I'm glad to know who really wrote the parody and would be even gladder to know what piece Val plays when she rushes to the piano in her room after she and Gil have been out adventuring. It sounds fairly contemporary, but accessible too. Any help? Thanks!
I'm pretty sure that Val plays the Rachmaninoff Second Piano Concerto.
Thanks! I'll check it out. I looked for musical credits all over the intertubes, or just a comment on that snippet, and didn't find a thing, and it bugged me every time. OTOH I always grin when the conductor, who I now know is Ken Lauber, looks down contemptuously at Orient after he repeatedly blows the ending of a passage and mouths the words "B-flat!
The conductor was Colin Romanoff. The composer of the concerto is Ken Lauber.
Thanks Numbers. The IMDb entry for the movie doesn't list a "role" for Colin Romanoff, and they have his name as "Romoff." They also list Ken Lauber as the conductor of the Concerto. Perhaps you should look at the entry and see if you might be able to correct the things that need correcting, music wise.
Wait a minute! You ARE Ken Lauber! Nobody knows this information more intimately than you!
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