Fishko Files from WNYC

Many decades after Marilyn Monroe's death in August of 1962, her image - often imitated, but never quite duplicated - is still everywhere. WNYC's Sara Fishko has more, in this archival Fishko Files. (Produced in 2011)

The days of summer are numbered, but, as WNYC's Sara Fishko tells us, a notable Whitney Museum summer exhibit will be on view for another month. More, in this edition of Fishko Files. History Keeps Me Awake at Night is on at the Whitney through September 30. For tickets and more information on David Wojnarowicz, visit the Whitney online. The Whitney will present three performances of Wojnarowicz's multimedia work ITSOFOMO (In the Shadow of Forward Motion) this month, as well as a screening of the film Self-Portrait in 23 Rounds: A Chapter in David Wojnarowicz's Life 1989-1991 and conversation with director Marion Scemama on September 23. Cynthia Carr's book Fire in the Belly: The Life and Times of David Wojnarowicz is available on Amazon.

This week, we feature both Leonard Bernstein, that great composer-conductor-writer-teacher, born in August 100 years ago, as well as Glenn Gould, that remarkable pianist-thinker-arranger-writer, born 86 years ago this September. These two had a rocky collaboration in 1962, the story of which is told by Sara Fishko in this archival Fishko Files. (Produced in 2006)

In 2000, after recording five members of the New York Philharmonic recalling their former, beloved music director, Leonard Bernstein, Sara Fishko felt she had nothing to add to their very specific, compelling memories - except music, perhaps. Here are the orchestra players in this archival Fishko Files, in honor of the much-celebrated, long-anticipated Bernstein centenary. (Produced in 2000) Leonard Bernstein was born on August 25, 1918. Featured in this piece are Glenn Dicterow, concertmaster; Stanley Drucker, principal clarinet; Matitiahu Braun; Oscar Ravina, violin; Evangeline Benedetti, cello.

Andy Warhol was born on August 6, 1928, and 'dreamt himself' out of his Pittsburgh childhood into his extraordinary celebrity life. Sara Fishko and guests consider how Warhol's own fandom figured into his self-creation, in this archival Fishko Files. (Produced in 2001)

Music producer Hal Willner presents a free outdoor concert tomorrow night, featuring the work of one of his favorite composers, Nino Rota. As WNYC's Sara Fishko tells us, Willner's musical life began while LPs were still spinning out a rich musical menu. More, in this edition of Fishko Files. Lincoln Center Out of Doors presents Hal Willner's Amarcord Nino Rota, as well as Rota's scores from the first two Godfather films, tomorrow, July 27. The new release of Amarcord Nino Rota is now available online from Corbett vs. Dempsey. Willner's Lost in the Stars: The Music of Kurt Weill and Stay Awake: Various Interpretations of Music from Vintage Disney Films are available on Amazon.

It's 125 years this year since the birth of classical guitar virtuoso Andres Segovia in Linares, Spain (1893). Segovia's sound, technique, phrasing, and choice of repertoire changed the face of the instrument. He also changed the career of guitarist Eliot Fisk, the guest on this edition Fishko Files. (Produced in 2002)

Henry Butler, the extraordinary New Orleans pianist, arranger and composer, died Monday of cancer. Butler, blind from infancy, began studying piano as a child, playing classical music. He said he switched to jazz because it relied less on printed notes - though he was fluent in every piano style. He studied with musician Alvin Batiste, whom he considered a mentor, and was also a student of two pioneer New Orleans pianists: Henry Roeland Byrd, known as "Professor Longhair," and James Booker, known as the "Bayou Maharajah" - but Butler developed a complex, rhythmic "three-handed" piano sound that was completely his own. Henry Butler lived in New Orleans until Hurricane Katrina, after which he relocated to Denver, and later Brooklyn. He was 69. In the year before Katrina, WNYC's Sara Fishko traveled to New Orleans along with engineer Edward Haber for a long interview with Butler, who was seated at the piano throughout. (Produced in 2005) Sara Fishko's hour-long special on Henry Butler can be heard here.

Some of the wittiest, most sophisticated comedies of the 1920s, '30s, and '40s, WNYC's Sara Fishko tells us, were directed by Ernst Lubitsch - who was the idol of his fellow directors during Hollywood's Golden Age. A new book aims to re-introduce us to his films. More, in this episode of Fishko Files. Joseph McBride's book How Did Lubitsch Do It? is available now from Columbia University Press and on Amazon.

In honor of summer, the season for great outdoor music of many kinds, this archival Fishko Files considers the combined forces of jazz and classical musicians, and their efforts - dating back to almost the moment jazz appeared - to make harmonious combinations of both styles. (Produced in 2010 on the occasion of the debut of "Swing Symphony" by Wynton Marsalis)

It’s 65 years since film composer Miklós Rózsa composed his violin concerto, written in response to Jascha Heifetz's request. In honor of Rózsa's command of both movie music and classical composition, here's this archival Fishko Files. (Produced in 2000)

This week, our thoughts turn to a behind-the-scenes Serbian cinematic poet whose contribution to film fit in between the major scenes of Golden Age Hollywood movies. Sara Fishko, with commentary by the late film critic Andrew Sarris, considers the master of the old-school "montage," Slavko Vorkapich.

It’s nearly 20 years since the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition created a “spin-off”: The Van Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition, a formidable contest for certified non-professionals. Sara Fishko went to visit the Cliburn in Fort Worth, Texas, and this Fishko Files on practice is the result. (Produced in 2000) The next edition of the Cliburn Amateur competition will be held in 2020.

The Russian-born composer Sergei Rachmaninoff died in the spring of 1943, 75 years ago, in Beverly Hills. In this archival edition of Fishko Files, three concert pianists celebrate the beauty and the alarming technical difficulty of this Russian musician's compositions - as well as his own spellbinding piano playing. With Ruth Laredo, Earl Wild, and Misha Dichter. (Produced in 2001)

The acclaimed film editor Anne V. Coates died yesterday at the age of 92. Born in England in 1925, Coates began training as an editor in the late 1940s and went on to work in Hollywood with numerous renowned directors including David Lean, Steven Soderbergh, and Sidney Lumet. In addition to her Oscar win for "Lawrence in Arabia" (1962), Coates received scores of BAFTA and Oscar nominations for her work on films like Erin Brockovich, The Elephant Man, Becket, Murder on the Orient Express, In the Line of Fire, and Out of Sight. In 2016, she was awarded the Academy's Governor's Award, as well as the Los Angeles Film Critics Association's award for career achievement. She is survived by her three children, all of whom also work in the film industry: Anthony Hickox, Emma E. Hickox, and James D.R. Hickox.