StreamingSoundtracks - StreamingSoundtracks.com - Rich Man, Poor Man - Alex North

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Rich Man, Poor Man

By:	AveD
Date:	19 Dec 2012
Rating:

I couldn't possibly write as good a review as this score needs because I'm a huge AN so I am biased. Most don't get his particular genius & I don't quite understand it either. I only know I love his work. Below are the liner notes off the album describing each track. Thanks for reading. - AveD

RICH MAN, POOR MAN liner notes written by Alex North:

From my very first film score for A Streetcar Named Desire and through subsequent heavy assignments as Spartacus, Cleopatra, The Agony and the Ecstasy, & Death of a Salesman, I have never faced a challenge quite so unique as the commission to compose the music background for the 12 hour television version of Irwin Shaw's inspired novel, Rich Man, Poor Man. Roughly the equivalent in length to 6 two hour feature films, the treatment of the score called for a virtual musical anthology spanning 20 years in the lives of the Jordache family.
As in Salesman, my modus operandi was to resort to the leitmotif, a term stemming from Wagner's later operas, in which basic themes were used to represent the personalities of the roles acted upon the stage.
In listening to this recording you will hear themes which are identifiable with the important characters -- very often these themes are varied and modified to reflect the interpersonal relationships and dramatic conflicts of the characters.
Aside from these brief descriptive commentaries in the program, I hope most sincerely that the music will speak for itself. - Alex North

MAIN TITLE:
Axel, as the hard-working German emigre striving to fulfill "the American dream" for his wife and two sons, is reflected in this slightly flavored Americana theme.
JULIE:
A thematic portrait of a lovely adolescent girl, her desires and sensual curiosity. As stated here, the music is both naive and times richly textured.
RUDY:
Rudy, as the Rich Man, with an insatiable hunger for success and the rewards of achievement, musically expressed by a rather sophisticated waltz.
JULIE'S FIRST AFFAIR:
Rejection and disappointment in Rudy's puritanical behavior, July founds momentary satisfaction as she is wooed and seduced by the wealthy Boylan. A bittersweet melody underscores this experience.
AXEL AND TOM:
A tortured treatment of the German folk tune which is identified with Axel provides sharp contrast to Tom's bluesy, virile, and jazz-oriented "carnal" music.
TOM AND CLOTHILDE:
The thematic treatment here is intended to convey the tender, compassionate side of Tom in his first love encounter with Clothilde, an opposite to the music used for his more earthy moments.
RUDY AND GINNY:
A light somewhat elusive piece meant to underscore Rudy's zealous opportunism as he has a quasi-flirtation rendezvous with the daughter of his boss.
JULIE AND RUDY:
Having endured the flirtations of her unhappy marriage to Walter, Julie finds a moment of contentment and the rekindling of her youthful crush on Rudy, who she meets after a lapse of many years.
RUDY AND TOM:
Tom, unable to locate his father Axel to repay the "bail-out" money ha advanced, insists on giving it to a reluctant Rudy -- a partial reprise of Rudy's and Tom's musical motifs.
TOM'S DESPERATION:
Rejected and restless after Teresa leaves him and takes their son, Wesley, Tom has a lustful escapade with the wife of a gangster-backed big-time boxer, Joey, who seeks revenge. Joey is beaten to a pulp and Tom escapes to sea as a longshoreman to avoid retaliation. The music here is heavy, forceful and dramatic.
JULIE'S REMORSE:
Ignored and at a low ebb, Julie has a bitter experience with Falconetti and returns to Rudy. The music in this sequence mirrors her guilt and refers in retrospect to former romantic moments they shared.
TOM, DWYER AND FALCONETTI:
Bullied by Falconetti aboard ship who implies an abnormal relationship between Tom and his friend, Dwyer, Tom gives him a thorough beating. Again, the scene is underscored in vivid tones and strong orchestral colors.
DENOUEMENT:
Rudy's humiliation after his defeat, his angry assault on one of the protesting students, a brief reflection of his romantic past, Falconetti's revenge in the stabbing on Tom and Rudy's farewell to Tom at his bedside just before his death --all of these forces are expressed in this statement by the full orchestra.
END TITLE, END CAST:
Tom's ashes are thrown to the sea, which he loved so much, as his beloved Clothilde, son Wesley, friend and partner Dwyer, Rudy and Julie sorrowfully look on. I hope the music recreates this touching and final scene of the story.

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