Sun, Feb 22, 1976
One in this series of programs on the performing and visual arts. In this edition, devoted to the life and career of Noel Coward, actors Jean Marsh, George Rose, Carole Shelley, and Kristoffer Tabori utilize Coward's writings, sayings, scenes from his plays, and performances of his musical numbers to present a well-rounded portrait of the man and his work. After noting Coward's early love of the theater and his first precocious roles, Carole Shelley and George Rose perform a scene from Coward's 1935 play "Tonight at 8:30" in which a married vaudeville couple argue about their act and each others' performances before going on stage. Rose and Shelley then sing "Why Must the Show Go On" from the musical "Break It Up" by Mel Torme and Robert Wells. Jean Marsh and Kristoffer Tabori perform a scene from "The Vortex," Coward's first play, a serious drama about a vain, aging woman and her cocaine-addicted son. Next, Rose sings "You Were There" from Coward's 1936 musical "Shadow Play," and a pianist plays a medley of additional Coward numbers, as examples of his growing reputation as a composer and lyricist as well as a playwright. Marsh reads from a poem written during Coward's nervous breakdown in 1937, after which Shelley sings "Twentieth Century Blues."
Sun, Mar 14, 1976
The internationally popular Irish music "The Chieftains" group plays a variety of traditional instruments, talks, and sings. After fifteen years together they are largely responsible for the revival of the Irish folk music tradition. Graphics and film illustrate some of their songs. The instruments: Irish harp, tin whistle, uilleann pipes, flute, fiddles, bones and bodhran drum. Performance pieces include the 17th century "Morgan McGann", the "Train Song", "Music from Brittany." "The Battle of Aughrim" (illustrated with paintings of the battle especially commissioned for this broadcast), "Women of Ireland" (theme of film "Barry Lyndon"), "Kerry Slides" (dance). The Chieftains are hugely popular but they also are determined to play Irish music their way only: "we have jobs we can go back to," they say.
Sun, Oct 10, 1976
Hsliba Rodzindki, the wife of conductor Artur Rodzinski, discusses his life in music. Excerpts of a film he made in Salzburg in 1932 are shown, including footage of Clement Krause; Richard Strauss; bassist Richard Mayr; Vladimir Horowitz; Leopold Stokowski; conductor Frederick Stock; cellist and conductor Hans Kindler; tenor Giovanni Martinelli; Maurice Ravel; conductor Serge Koussevitsky; and George Gershwin.