Fishko Files from WNYC

From the archives: Flops happen. The short-lived musical ‘Juno’ was one notable failed Broadway show. It is a misstep still remembered over fifty years later for its powerful score and still-relevant source material. (Produced in 2008)

From the archives: Sara Fishko asks — is a musical "virtuoso" what all instrumentalists long to be? This Fishko Files muses on the complexity that label can deliver to a musician's career. (Produced in 2008)

From the archives: American pianist Van Cliburn (1934-2013) will forever be remembered for one phenomenal Cold War moment.  Everyone knew the twenty-three year old from Texas was good, but no one expected him to steal the show in Moscow in 1958. (Produced in 2008)

From the archives: You can still hear the jazz influence in film scores, but that wasn’t always the case. It all started during one Midcentury moment, when bongos, saxophones and jazz rhythms made film music a lot less “invisible.” (Produced in 2008)

From the archives: On studio lots in the Golden Age of Hollywood, there were through-and-through American stars like James Stewart and Gary Cooper.  And then there were the continental types, of which Charles Boyer was a prime example.  Boyer –an unlikely star with a lasting legacy — was just French enough for American films. (Produced in 2008)

From the archives: Lalo Schifrin is best known for having written a short piece — the “Theme from Mission Impossible.” But he also wrote a rather sizeable book about his long and varied musical life. (Produced in 2008)

From the archives: In a world built around four-square march time and three-quarter waltz time, the musical measure containing five full beats is still an unusual one. Dave Brubeck — his ninety fifth birth anniversary is this Sunday — famously made it work in Take Five, but there are plenty of others who used it — before and since. (Produced in 2008)

From the archives: Film composer Leonard Rosenman died in 2008, at age 83. He won Oscars for his adaptations of existing music for movies such as Barry Lyndon and Bound for Glory, but it was Rosenman’s original scores that are remembered for their arresting modernism. (Produced in 2008)

From the archives: With some good advice from her mother (“who needs Harvard?”), political dynamo Bella Abzug went to law school and later exploded on the political consciousness in the 1970s. As WNYC’s Sara Fishko tells us, listening to Bella is still a powerful experience. (Produced in 2008)

From the archives: In this Fishko Files episode, insights into photographing jazz musicians from two late, great jazz photographers, Herman Leonard and Roy DeCarava, both interviewed by WNYC’s Sara Fishko toward the end of their lives. (Produced in 2008)

From the archives: Pianist and singer Hazel Scott is perhaps best remembered for her glamour.  Glamorous she was, but in this edition of Fishko Files, WNYC’s Sara Fishko explores a new book and an old CD that can help us go beneath the surface to Scott’s life and work. (From 2009)

From the archives: In the spring of 1939, New Yorkers — as well as visitors from all over the globe — were treated to a spectacular World’s Fair.  As WNYC’s Sara Fishko tells us in this Fishko Files, its theme, “The World of Tomorrow,” held special promise for Depression-era Americans… (Produced in 2009)

In 2009, when this piece first ran, the last Virgin Megastores were closing their doors and we seemed to be running out of places to browse for music. Sara Fishko has been exploring one small label – with only a few releases – that delivers a whole world. Here is the next Fishko Files...

WNYC’s Sara Fishko looks back to the films of 1959. From romantic comedies to sword-and-sandal spectacles, the films of that year spoke volumes about what was happening off screen (produced in 2009).

First, Shakespeare in the Park, and now, Shakespeare in the Parking Lot! In honor of the many faces of summer Shakespeare in New York, WNYC’s Sara Fishko considers the infinite variations on the Bard’s most celebrated play – in this edition of Fishko Files. (Produced in 2009)