Piano Man

SUZANNE CHESSLER

Special to The Jewish News

s prize-winning corn-
poser/pianist Marvin
Hamlisch entertains
Meadow Brook Music
Festival audiences tonight
and July 19, he is giving a
brief musical preview of the
Barcelona Olympics.
On his weekend program
and to be featured at the sum-
mer games is a global anthem
he wrote with lyricists Alan
and Marilyn Bergman. It is
entitled "One Song."
"I am realizing the power of
music, and I'm trying to find
projects in which my music
can make differences," he
said.
"We're coming to a time
when it's important to see the
things that unite people, the
similarities as opposed to the
differences. Music can influ-
ence a lot of people, and that's
one of the reasons I wrote this
anthem."
Along with his new compo-
sition, Mr. Hamlisch is per-
forming his very familiar
numbers from the musical A
Chorus Line, which won a
Pulitzer Prize and Tony

A

Hamlisch has
settled in 3
to his musical
career and
marriage.

Award, and the title song
from the movie The Way We
Were, which won an Oscar
and a Grammy. Selections
from his hit records, movie
scores and TV themes also are
included.
"When I do a concert, I look
forward to the whole idea of
entertaining people and work-
ing with wonderful orches-
tras," said the composer,
whose Meadow Brook ap-
pearance is among the very
few he has scheduled for the
year. "This is one of my last
concerts for the summer be-
cause I'm getting involved
with a new show."
Much of his time is being
spent in California with play-
wright Neil Simon and lyri-
cist David Zippel as they put
together the musical version
of the film The Goodbye Girl.
Starring Bernadette Pe,ers
and Martin Short, the pro-
duction has a December open-
ing in Chicago and a March
opening in New York.
"We're very excited about
it," said Mr. Hamlisch, 48,
who also is looking forward to
the October release date of his
autobiography, The Wt.), I
Was.
The book provides insights

into his youth, when recitals
of works by classical com-
posers brought on emotional
responses unlike what he ex-
periences during his current
engagements, where he is ob-
viously at ease.
Touring for about 15 years
to present his own songs, he
likes to bring humor to con-
certs with "rent-a-composer"
segments, which find him
making up tunes for titles
called out by the audience.
"I only work at the piano
when I have something that
has to get done," said the en-
tertainer, who started at the
keyboard at age 5, when he
imitated the music he heard
on the radio.
"It's like a gun for hire," he
quipped. "I don't just sit at the
piano every day and hope
something will happen. I tend
to have a schedule when I
know I'm going to work.
"I like to write to some sort
of a title and work together
with a lyricist. When someone
has a good idea for a song, the
thing starts to all come to-
gether."
Mr. Hamlisch is having an
easy time collaborating with
David Zippel, who did City of
Angels. The Goodbye Girl is

their first team project.
"He's a very good lyricist,
and this has been a joy so far,"
said Mr. Hamlisch, who also
has worked with Johnny Mer-
cer, Edward Kleban and Ca-
role Bayer Sager.
As a youngster, Mr. Ham-
lisch was encouraged by his
father, an accordionist and
conductor, who left Vienna
with his wife to escape the
Nazis. Both parents were
pleased their son attended the
Juilliard School of Music and
earned a bachelor's degree in
musical composition from
Queens College.
Early songs were for shows
at an all-girls camp, where he
was music counselor, a job he
still jokes was the best he ever
had. His professional break
might seem to be an episode
from the stage, since it came
about through the efforts of
his doctor rather than a the-
atrical manager.
"My doctor knew Quincy
Jones very well, and he knew
Quincy Jones was looking for
a song for a singer he had on
a label; her name was Lesley
Gore," Mr. Hamlisch said.
"One thing led to another, and
my doctor brought him the
demonstration record of one
of my songs."
That song was "Sunshine,
Lollipops and Rainbows,"
written with the composer's
brother-in-law, Howard Lieb-
ling.
After that first hit in 1965,
he worked as an assistant on
Broadway musicals and went
on to doing arrangements. He
also was a rehearsal pianist
for television.
Mr. Hamlisch, who now
lives in New York, moved to
Hollywood after composing
music for the 1968 film The
Swimmer. Later film scores
were for Bananas, The April
Fools, Ordinary People and
Sophie's Choice among many
others.
In the early '70s, shortly be-
fore the opening of A Chorus
Line, he toured nightclubs as
pianist and straight man for
Groucho Marx, his Hollywood
neighbor.
"My first love is shows, and
I hope I can continue to make
my mark on Broadway," he
said. "A Chorus Line meant a
lot to me because it was, I
think, a great collaboration
and I was proud of the music."
He also is proud of a sym-
phonic piece he did for the
Dallas Symphony Orchestra
—"Anatomy of Peace," which

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

65

a

•

•

C

ot

