Prepared piano
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Ferrante & Teicher were a duo of American piano players, known for their light arrangements of familiar classical pieces, movie soundtracks, and show tunes.
Arthur Ferrante (born September 7, 1921, New York City – September 19, 2009), and Louis Teicher (August 24, 1924, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania – August 3, 2008) met while studying at the Juilliard School of Music in New York. Musical prodigies, they began performing as a piano duo while still in school. After graduating, they both joined the Juilliard faculty.
In 1947, they launched a full-time concert career, at first playing nightclubs, then quickly moving up to playing classical music with orchestral backing. Between 1950 and 1980, they were a major American easy listening act, and scored four big U.S. hits: "Theme From The Apartment" (Pop #10), "Exodus" (Pop #2), "Tonight" (Pop #8), and "Midnight Cowboy" (Pop #10). They performed and recorded regularly with pops orchestras popular standards by George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers and others. In 1973, they did the opening theme music for the Rod Serling radio drama series, The Zero Hour.
The duo also had a more avant-garde side. They experimented with prepared pianos, influenced by avant-garde composer John Cage. By adding paper, sticks, rubber, wood blocks, metal bars, chains, glass, mallets, and other found objects to piano string beds, they were able to produce a variety of bizarre sounds that sometimes resembled percussion instruments, and at other times resulted in special effects that sounded as if they were electronically synthesized.
Ferrante and Teicher ceased performing in 1989 and retired in Florida. CDs of their music, some of it not previously released, have continued to appear.
Louis Teicher died in 2008, three weeks before his 84th birthday. Arthur Ferrante died on September 19, 2009 at 88.
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Discography
The 1950s
- Mississippi Boogie/African Echoes (1952) Joe Davis Records
- Piano Playhouse (1952) MGM E209
- Hi-Fireworks (1953) Columbia CL-573
- Can-Can & Me & Juliet (1954) Columbia CL-6264
- Continental Holiday (1954) Columbia CL-6291
- Rhapsody (1955) Urania URA-78011
- Rachmaninoff Two-Piano Suites (1955) Westminster XWN-18059
- Original Variations for Two Pianos (1955) Westminster XWN-18169
- Ravel/DeBussy (1955) Westminster XWN-18219
- Encores! (1955) Westminster XWN-18786
- Postcards From Paris (1955) Westminster WP-6001
- Adventure In Carols (1955) Westminster WP-6021
- Soundproof (1956) Westminster WP-6014
- Soundblast (1956) Westminster WP-6041
- Heavenly Sounds In Hi-Fi (1957) ABC ABCS-221
- Ferrante & Teicher With Percussion (1958) ABCS-248
- Blast Off (1959) ABCS-285 (Re-Released in the 1960s under the title We Got Rhythm)
- Play Light Classics (1959) ABCS-313
- Themes From Broadway Shows (1959) ABCS-336
The 1960s
- Dream Concerto (1960) UAS-6103
- Dynamic Twin Pianos (1960) WWS-8504
- The World's Greatest Themes (1960) UAS-6121
- Latin Pianos (1960) UAS-6135
- Golden Piano Hits (1961) WWS-8505
- Goodbye Again OST (1961) UAS-5091
- Love Themes (1961) WWS-8514
- West Side Story (1961) UAS-6166
- Tonight! (1961) UAS-6171
- Golden Themes From Motion Pictures (1962) UAS-6210
- Pianos In Paradise (1962) UAS-6230
- Snowbound (1962) UAS-6233
- The Keys To Her Apartment (1962) UAS-6247
- Love Themes From Cleopatra (1963) UAS-6290
- Holiday For Pianos (1963) UAS-6298
- Concert For Lovers (1963) UAS-6315
- Fifty Fabulous Favorites (1964)UAS-6343
- My Fair Lady (1964) UAS-6361
- The People's Choice (1964) UAS-6385
- Springtime (1964) UAS-6406
- By Popular Demand (1965) UAS-6416
- Only The Best (1965) UAS-6434
- A Rage To Live OST (1965) UAS-5130
- The Ferrante & Teicher Concert-Part 1 (1965) UAS-6444
- The Ferrante & Teicher Concert-Part 2 (1965) UAS-6475
- For Lovers Of All Ages (1966) UAS-6483
- You Asked For It!(1966) UAS-6526
- We Wish You A Merry Christmas (1966) UAS-6536
- Our Golden Favorites (1967) UAS-6556
- A Man & A Woman (1967) UAS-6572
- In the Heat Of The Night (1967) UAS-6624
- Live For Life (1967) UAS-6632
- The Painted Desert (1968) UAS-6636
- A Bouquet Of Hits (1968) UAS-6659
- Love In The Generation Gap (1968) UAS-6671
- Listen To the Movies With Ferrante & Teicher (1969) UAS-6701
- Midnight Cowboy (1969) UAS-6725
The 1970s
- Getting Together (1970) UAS-5501
- Love Is A Soft Touch (1970) UAS-6771
- The Best Of Ferrante & Teicher (1970) UXS-73
- The Music Lovers (1971) UAS-6792
- It's Too Late (1971) UAS-5531
- Fiddler On The Roof (1972) UAS-5552
- Play The Hit Themes (1972) UAS-5588
- Salute Nashville (1972) UAS-5645
- Hear And Now (1973) UA-LA018F
- The Roaring Twenties (1973) UA-LA072F
- Killing Me Softly (1974) UA-LA118F
- Dial "M" For Music (1974) UA-LA195F
- Greatest Love Themes of the 20th Century (1975) UA-LA101-G2
- In A Soulful Mood (1975) UA-LA227G
- Beautiful, Beautiful (1975) UA-LA316G
- Body & Soul (1975) UA-LA360G
- The Carpenters Songbook (1976) UA-LA490G
- Fill the World With Love (1976) UA-LA547G
- Spirit Of "'76" (1976) UA-LA573G
- Piano Portraits (1977) UA-LA585G
- Feelings (1977) UA-LA662G
- Rocky & Other Knockouts (1977) UA-LA782G
- Star Wars (1978) UA-LA855G
- You Light Up My Life (1978) UA-LA908G
- Supermen (1979) UA-LA941G
- Classical Disco (1979) UA-LA980G
The 1980s
- 30th Anniversary-On Stage (1984) Avant-Garde (Bainbridge) AVG-1001
- A Few Of Our Favorites-On Stage (1985) Avant-Garde (Bainbridge) AVG-1002
- American Fantasy-On Stage (1986) Avant-Garde (Bainbridge) AVG-1003
- Dos Amigos (1988) Avant-Garde (Bainbridge) AVG-1004
The 1990s
- 40th Anniversary-On Stage (1992) Avant-Garde (Intersound) AVG-1005
- All-Time Great Motion Picture Themes (1993) 0777-7-98823-2
- The Ferrante & Teicher Collection (1998) Avant-Garde (Varese Sarabande Vintage) AVG-1006
2000-
- The Sound Of Music (2000) Avant-Garde/Varese Sarabande Records AVG-1007
- Denizens Of The Deep (2001) Avant-Garde /Varese Sarabande Records 302 066 261 2
- Can-Can and Me & Juliet/Continental Holiday (2001) Sony/Collectables Records CDL-CD-6692
- Christmas Is So Special (2000) 724352905720
- Great 1970's Motion Picture Themes (2001) 72435-30518-2
- America Forever (2002) Avant-Garde/Varese Sarabande Records 302 066 312 2
Tracks appear on
- Filme, Die Man Nicht Vergisst United Artists Records
- Music To Read James Bond By United Artists Records
- Dusty Fingers Volume One "Lady Love" Strictly Breaks Records 1997
- Ultra-Lounge - Christmas Cocktails Part Two Capitol Records 1997
- Ultra-Lounge Vol. 16 - Mondo Hollywood Capitol Records 1997
- The Best Of Blue Juice Blue Note 2001
- Hard To Find Orchestral Instrumentals II Eric Records 2003
