KPAC Blog

If you collect DVDs, you probably come across titles that are no longer in print. Netflix won’t rent these, and looking for them online can give you a case of sticker shock--prices can be 8 to 10 times what they cost new. The problem is money: studios gear up for production, and to recoup their investment they have to sell lots of units of a popular film to make a profit. This means that titles with limited commercial value usually don’t reach the market.

Composer Philip Glass changed the landscape of American music. As a founder of minimalism, Glass came up with a new way to make music and, with it, brought a new audience to the concert halls. Tuesday is Glass' 75th birthday, and the music world is celebrating in a big way with performances and festivals around the globe — including the premiere of Glass' latest work at Carnegie Hall.

To learn about the lives of the great composers, the movies are usually not a good place to start.  From “Lisztomania” and “The Music Lovers,” to “Copying Beethoven” and “Amadeus,” the movies have been largely getting it wrong when it comes to music history.  So if by watching “The Great Waltz” (1938) you’re looking to learn a little more about the Waltz King, Johann Strauss II, you’d do better to head to Wikipedia.

Steven Spielberg has asked John Williams to score almost every single movie he’s ever directed since “Jaws,” which won Mr. Williams his second Oscar, and his first for Best Original Score.  It’s a working relationship that has lasted nearly 40 years, and given us some of the most memorable melodies of our time.