Ernie Kovacs: Encyclopedia II - Ernie Kovacs - Use of Music

Ernie Kovacs - Use of Music

His musical choices were certainly eclectic. His main theme was called "Oriental Blues", a quirky piano number derived from a Gershwin tune. A German version of "Mack the Knife" frequently underscored mimed sketches. Robert Maxwell's "Solfeggio" became so associated with the infamous derby-hatted apes that it became better known simply as "The Song of the Nairobi Trio". The piece de resistance, if that's the term, were tunes by Leona Anderson such as "Rats in My Room". Leona was reportedly a kind and gentle soul, whose singing voice, in contrast, could be unfavorably compared to fingernails on a blackboard. Naturally, Kovacs incorporated her songs at every opportunity. Kovacs also incorporated classical music into his shows, usually as background for abstract visual images and montages. Two such pieces used were the "Concerto for Orchestra" by Bela Bartok and music from the opera "The Love for Three Oranges" by Sergei Prokofiev. The classical piece most often associated with Kovacs is Haydn's "String Quartet, Opus 3, Number 5" (the "Serenade," which was indeed written by Haydn, not Roman Hoffstetter[1]), which was used in his memorable Dutch Masters commercials.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Use of Music", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki