FORUM OF THE ARTS WITH MILDRED KAYDEN: CHRISTOPHER PORTERFIELD, RICHARD GOLDSTEIN (RADIO)
Summary
One in this series of talk shows that aired on WEVD in the 1960s in which composer/librettist/Vassar music professor Mildred Kayden interviews renowned performing artists about their musical influences. In this program, Kayden talks with music critics Christopher Porterfield of Time magazine and Richard Goldstein of The New York Times and The Village Voice.
Topics discussed include: Porterfield and Goldstein's differing views of The Beatles' "She's Leaving Home," which Goldstein calls "superficial" and Porterfield describes as "pleasing ... with a few ironic little touches" their thoughts on the "powerful" song "A Day in the Life," including how John Lennon's writing is generally "terser and more cryptic" than Paul McCartney's; The Beatles' inspiration from Berlin theater songs of the 1930s, among other sources; the "self-consciousness" and "inferiority" of The Beatles' latest album "Magical Mystery Tour" (1967); their views on The Doors and frontman Jim Morrison's "sexual magic"; The Doors' use of Indian raga music and blues, combined with classic rock; praise for British rock trio Cream and the talents of its individual members; their use of amplifiers, repeated musical phrases and live improvisation; Arlo Guthrie's use of improvisation and experimentation in live performances of his song "Alice's Restaurant"; debate about studio recordings versus live performance and the absence of "immediacy" in a recording booth; explanation of The United States of America's "elaborate" electronic set-up, which lends their live performances an in-studio quality; Blues Project's metamorphosis into Blood, Sweat & Tears, including their evolving sound; comparisons to medieval and Renaissance group New York Pro Musica; the "eclecticism" of rock music, and the need to maintain creative identity despite outside influences; and the dangers of rock groups "taking themselves too seriously."
Includes the following musical selections: The Beatles' "She's Leaving Home" and "A Day in the Life"; "The End" by The Doors; "Dance the Night Away" by Cream; "Steve's Song" by Blues Project; and "Alamaine" by New York Pro Musica.
Mildred Goldstein studied music at Vassar College under Ernst Krenek, from 1940 to 1942. After graduation, Goldstein worked as an instructor of music literature at Vassar College as well as a composer and lyricist. In 1950, she married Bernard Kayden, taking his name and composing under the name Mildred Kayden. During her career, Kayden wrote operas (including "Mardi Gras" and "The Last Word") and scores for musicals such as "Call the Children Home," "Storyville," "Sepia Star," and the hit 1974 Off Broadway show "Ionescopade" (revived in 2012 by the York Theater in New York City), as well as music and lyrics for the NBC television program "Strangers in the Land."
Mildred Kayden's weekly radio program, "Musically Speaking" -- in which she interviewed luminaries from classical music, opera, theater, dance, and jazz -- aired from 1956 to the early 1960s on WEVD in New York, followed later in the 1960s by the radio program "Forum of the Arts."
Cataloging of this program was made possible by The Kayden Foundation.
Details
- NETWORK: WEVD
- DATE: November 30, 1966
- RUNNING TIME: 0:28:31
- COLOR/B&W: N/A
- CATALOG ID: 108253
- GENRE: Talk/Interview
- SUBJECT HEADING: Talk/Interview; Music; Music, popular (songs, etc.); Music - Analysis, appreciation
- SERIES RUN: N/A
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Mildred Kayden … Host
- Christopher Porterfield … Guest
- Richard Goldstein … Guest
- The Beatles
- Blood, Sweat & Tears
- Blues Project
- Cream
- The Doors
- Arlo Guthrie
- John Lennon
- Paul McCartney
- Jim Morrison
- New York Pro Musica
- The United States of America