On Friday, April 16, 2010 at 8:00PM, The New York Pops will celebrate Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe at Carnegie Hall with a vibrant program of the timeless music created by the iconic songwriting duo. Headlining the program are Kelli O'Hara and Paulo Szot, the stars of the Tony award-winning Broadway revival South Pacific. Tenor Michael Slattery, The Clurman Singers, and dancers from the New York Theatre Ballet join The New York Pops and Music Director Steven Reineke for this thrilling collection of classic favorites from My Fair Lady, Camelot, Paint Your Wagon, Gigi and Brigadoon.
Music Director Steven Reineke says, "I'm very excited to close out my inaugural season with The New York Pops by presenting a spectacular evening of music by the great duo Lerner and Loewe. They created some of the most memorable music in Broadway history, and we honor that creative chemistry with songs such as "If Ever I Would Leave You" from Camelot, Brigadoon‘s "Almost Like Being in Love" and "I Could Have Danced All Night" from My Fair Lady. A sensational lineup of artists will join The New York Pops on stage at Carnegie Hall; it is sure to be an unforgettable evening!"
During the concert, The New York Pops will salute The Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation for their commitment to music education. Five music teachers from around the country will receive The Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation Award on the Carnegie Hall stage for dedication to their students and service to the profession.
The April 16 concert is supported by a grant from the National Endowment of the Arts in the category of "Access to Artistic Excellence." This award marks the fourth consecutive year the orchestra has received recognition from the NEA.
ABOUT Alan Jay Lerner AND Frederick Loewe
Frederick "Fritz" Loewe (1901-1988) and Alan Jay Lerner (1918-1986) make up one of the most important song writing duo of the twentieth century. The New York Times wrote that "The team's finest songs are marked by a contemporary conversational fluency and precision of phrase, joined to a graceful Old World melodicism that looks back often wistfully to the turn-of-the-century operetta."
Between 1943 and 1960, th e pair wrote six original musicals for Broadway, as well as an Oscar-winning movie musical. Their first big hit came in 1947, with Brigadoon, a musical that includes such famous numbers as "The Heather on the Hill", "From This Day On", and the classic romantic ballad "Almost Like Being In Love". In 1951 came Paint Your Wagon, which included such songs as "They Call The Wind Maria", "I Talk To The Trees" and "Wandrin' Star".
Then in 1956, My Fair Lady delivered a warmth and sophistication that made it one of the best-loved musicals of all time. The show ran for 2,717 performances in its original Broadway production (and even more in London) and has been revived on Broadway several times. The 1964 film version, with a screenplay by Lerner, won seven Oscars.
In 1958 the team wrote the music, screenplay and lyrics for the classic film musical Gigi (directed by Vincente Minnelli), which had a superb score including "Thank Heaven For Little Girls" and "I Remember It Well", and which won 9 Academy Awards, including one for Best screenplay and one for the title song.
Although they were to work together one last time on the unsuccessful 1974 film The Little Prince, their last successful collaboration came in 1960 with Camelot, a delightful score which included "I Wonder What the King is Doing Tonight", "Camelot", "The Simple Joys of Maidenhood", "How to Handle a Woman", and "If Ever I Would Leave You".
