Marvin Hamlish Is Gone by David DeMulle

Marvin Hamlish Is Gone. 

Michael Feinstein and Marvin Hamlish at the POPs

by David DeMulle'

It is with great regret that we announce the death of Marvin Hamlish at 68 yesterday.  At the Pasadena POPs presentation last month, Hamlish was seen to be having trouble moving about.  No one could have thought that he was ailing.

Hamlisch is best known for the song he wrote for Barbara Streisand "The Way We Were," In a music career that spanned over four decades, Hamlisch won every major music award: three Oscars, four Grammys, four Emmys, a Tony, and three Golden Globes.

In his career, Hamlisch composed the music for more than forty motion picture scores, which included “The Way We Were” and “The Sting.”  Hamlish’s signature music was created to compliment the movie, and not his music.

In his Broadway productions, Hamlish created the smash hit “A Chorus Line” which still goes through my mind when times are stressful.

Michael Krajewski a Guest Conductor, will conduct La Dolce Vita next week at the Pasadena POPs.

PASADENA POPs photos by David DeMulle

http://youtu.be/KF9tB_bMZJ8

Pasadena POPs outdoes itself

It was a wonderfully nice evening last Saturday at the Arcadia Arboreum with peacocks calling in the background.  The shuttle system worked flawlessly and the crowd was brought to the grounds without a hitch.  It was fun seeing old friends and making new friends as we sat at one of the tables.

What I didn’t understand was how Hamlisch could not handle playing the National Anthem, even if it was out of the ordinary for the POPs, it is still our National Anthem and with times as bleak as they are, a reinforcement of our American values.

Sounding like a junior high school band practice, it took a few moments for the symphony to get up to speed.  Hamlisch didn’t take that too well. “I’m pretty upset,” Hamlisch said, and “let’s try this introduction again!”  He left the stage and to a triumphant round of applause, he returned.

With people filling the venue from stage to hillcrest, this was one of the largest POPs audiences that I have ever seen.  Nothing could stop the momentum that Hamlisch and entertainer Michale Feinstein built.

The evening program covered twelve of the songs and 33 shows that Cole Porter created in his 60 year songwriting career.  This is the second of four concerts in the summer series.  Starting with his piano renditions of “Day and Night”, “I Get A Kick Out Of You”; and “It’s All Right With Me” Hamlisch made it all right again.  One of the things I liked about this concert was Hamlisch taking the time to explain how these songs were created.  Even to explaining how important the musical “Can Can” was to him and his wife and their aspirations to life in Paris.

After the intermission, Michael Feinstein an accomplished entertainer himself  accompanied himself on the piano as he sang the intricate Cole Porter songs. A young protégé, Nick Ziobro, who won this years Michael Feinstein Great American Songbook Initiative, wowed the audience with his rendition of “All of Me.”  It was a really great experience, and one I recommend to one and all.

Pasadena POPS at new venue in Arcadia

David DeMulle went to the 2012 opening of the Pasadena POPs last Saturday.

You can see it at:  http://youtu.be/Czg9vwvAmlY