American piano duo
Ferrante & Teicher
Ferrante & Teicher, c 1960
Genres Instrument(s)
Piano Years active 1947–1989 Labels Members Arthur Ferrante
Louis Teicher
Ferrante & Teicher were a duo of American pianists known for their clever arrangements of familiar classical pieces, movie soundtracks, and show tunes, as well as their signature style of florid, intricate, and fast-paced piano playing performances.
Career
Arthur Ferrante (September 7, 1921, New York City – September 19, 2009, Longboat Key, Florida
[1] ), and
Louis Teicher (August 24, 1924,
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania – August 3, 2008,
Highlands, North Carolina ) met while studying at the
Juilliard School of Music in New York in 1930.
[2]
[3] Musical prodigies, they began performing as a piano duo while still in school. After graduating, they 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.
Steven Tyler of
Aerosmith relates the story that in the 1950s the two students practiced in the home of his grandmother Constance Neidhart Tallarico.
[4] 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), "
Theme from Exodus " (Pop #2), "
Tonight " (Pop #8), and "
Midnight Cowboy " (Pop #10).
[5] They performed and recorded regularly with pops orchestras popular standards by
George Gershwin ,
Jerome Kern ,
Cole Porter ,
Richard Rodgers , the
Sherman Brothers and others. In 1973, they did the Hollywood Radio Theater theme for the Rod Serling radio drama series,
The Zero Hour .
[6]
[7]
The duo also experimented with
prepared pianos , adding paper, sticks, rubber, wood blocks, metal bars, chains, glass, mallets, and other found objects to piano string beds. In this way 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.
[8]
Both men were initiated as honorary members of
Tau Kappa Epsilon at Central State University (now
University of Central Oklahoma ) while on tour.
Ferrante and Teicher ceased performing in 1989 and retired to
Longboat Key and
Siesta Key , respectively, close to each other on the west coast of Florida. They continued to play together occasionally at a local piano store.
CDs of their music, some of it not previously released, have continued to appear.
[9]
Louis Teicher died of a
heart attack in August 2008, at age 83.
[10] Arthur Ferrante died of
natural causes on September 19, 2009, twelve days after his 88th birthday; he had once said he wanted to live one year for each piano key.
[11] Arthur was survived by his wife, Jena; his daughter, Brenda Eberhardt; and two granddaughters.
[12]
Discography
Albums
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
Xmas Hi-Fivories (1954) Westminster WL-3044
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
Soundblast (1956) Westminster WP-6041 (Re-released as Soundproof WPS-107 using the 1958 Soundproof cover
[13] )
Heavenly Sounds in Hi-Fi (1957) ABC ABCS-221 (Re-released in 1966 under the title Heavenly Sounds of Ferrante & Teicher , ABCS-555)
Soundproof (1958) Westminster WP-6014
Ferrante & Teicher with Percussion (1958) ABCS-248 (Re-released in 1966 under the title Temptation , ABCS-561)
Blast Off (1959) ABCS-285 (Overdubbed with strings and re-released in 1966 under the title We've Got Rhythm , ABCS-556)
Play Light Classics (1959) ABCS-313
Themes from Broadway Shows (1959) ABCS-336
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
Broadway to Hollywood (1961) Columbia CS 8407
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
Exotic Love Themes (1963) UAS-6340
Fifty Fabulous Favorites (1964)UAS-6343
My Fair Lady (1964) UAS-6361
The Enchanted World of Ferrante & Teicher (1964) UAS-6375
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
The Twin Piano Magic Volume 2 (1966) ABC-Paramount 559
The Piano Artistry (1967) S 21004 - Unart (Canada)
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
1970s
Getting Together (1970) UAS-5501
Love Is a Soft Touch (1970) UAS-6771
The Best of Ferrante & Teicher (1970) UAS-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
The Very Best of Ferrante & Teicher (1974) UA-LA379E
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
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
1990s
40th Anniversary—On Stage (1992) Avant-Garde (Intersound) AVG-1005
All-Time Great Motion Picture Themes (1993) 0777-7-98823-2
The Ernie Kovacs Record Collection (1997) Varèse Sarabande – VSD-5789
The Ferrante & Teicher Collection (1998) Avant-Garde (Varèse Sarabande Vintage) AVG-1006
2000s
The Sound of Music (2000) Avant-Garde/Varèse Sarabande Records AVG-1007
Denizens of the Deep (2001) Avant-Garde /Varèse 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/Varèse Sarabande Records 302 066 312 2
Singles
Year
Titles (A-side, B-side)Both sides from same album except where indicated
Chart positions
Album
US
US – AC
CB
1951
"Susannah's Last Stand"b/w "Caravan"
-
-
-
Hi-Fireworks
1952
"Tabu"b/w "Semper Fidelis"
-
-
-
1958
"Che Si Dice (Keh See Deechay; That Is Said)"b/w "How High the Moon"
-
-
-
Ferrante and Teicher with Percussion
"Aflame"b/w "How High the Moon"
-
-
-
1959
"Side Saddle"b/w "Prairie Blues"
-
-
-
Non-album tracks
"Lovers Symphony"b/w "Dream Concerto"
-
-
-
Dream Concerto
1960
"
Theme from The Apartment "b/w "Lonely Room"
10
-
9
The World's Greatest Themes
"
Exodus "b/w "Twilight" (from Tonight )
2
-
1
Golden Piano Hits
1961
"Love Theme from One Eyed Jacks" /
37
-
39
Love Themes
"Gone with the Wind"
-
-
110
"Goodbye Again"b/w "Possessed" (from The Many Moods of Ferrante & Teicher )
85
-
84
Non-album track
"
Tonight "b/w "Dream of Love" (from The Many Moods of Ferrante & Teicher )
8
2
6
Music from the Motion Picture West Side Story and Other Motion Picture and Broadway Hits
1962
"
Smile " /
94
18
93
Tonight
"Street of Palms (Via Margalene)"
-
-
133
Non-album tracks
"Lisa" /
98
-
81
"Negligee"
-
-
tag
Pianos in Paradise
"Lida Rose"b/w "Take Me Along"
-
-
144
Themes from Broadway Shows
"Theme from Taras Bulba"b/w "Theme from the Eleventh Hour" (from Concert for Lovers )
116
-
107
Non-album tracks
1963
"Theme from Lawrence of Arabia"b/w "Paris Joy Ride" (from Holiday for Pianos )
84
-
102
"Antony and Cleopatra Theme"b/w "Caesar and Cleopatra Theme"
83
-
115
Love Themes from Cleopatra
"Crystal Fingers"b/w "Greensleeves" (from Concert for Lovers )
127
-
132
Non-album tracks
1964
"It's All Right"b/w "Corn Pone"
-
-
-
"The Seventh Dawn"b/w "You're Too Much" (from The Keys to Her Apartment )
124
-
-
1965
"The Greatest Story Ever Told"b/w "To Spring" (from Springtime )
101
-
143
By Popular Demand
"Country Boy"b/w "The Knack" (From "A Man and a Woman" and Other Motion Picture Themes )
-
-
-
Only the Best
1966
"Khartoum"b/w "Firebird"
-
21
-
You Asked for It!
"A Man and a Woman"b/w "Dark Eyes" (from The Piano Artistry of Ferrante & Teicher )
-
24
-
"A Man and a Woman" and Other Motion Picture Themes
1967
"Live for Life"b/w "Pavanne" (from In the Heat of the Night )
-
27
-
Live for Life
1968
"Here Is Where I Belong"b/w "Rock-a-Bye Baby" (from Midnight Cowboy )
-
-
-
Non-album tracks
"A Boy and a Girl"b/w "Prelude to Love" (from Love in the Generation Gap )
-
-
-
1969
"Andrea"b/w "Joanna"
-
-
-
Listen to the Movies with Ferrante & Teicher
"
Midnight Cowboy "b/w "Popi" (original pressings) "Rock-a-Bye-Baby" (later pressings)
10
2
10
Midnight Cowboy
1970
"
Lay Lady Lay "b/w "Theme from 'Z' (To Yelasto Pedi)"
99
16
71
Getting Together
"Pieces of Dreams"b/w "Magical Connection"
-
28
-
Love Is a Soft Touch
1971
"The Music Lovers"b/w "Love Is Now"
-
39
-
The Music Lovers
"Diamonds Are Forever"b/w "There's a New Day Coming"
-
-
-
Ferrante & Teicher Play the Hit Themes
1972
"
Love Theme from the Godfather "b/w "There's a New Day Coming"
-
28
110
"Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex but Were Afraid to Ask"b/w "Tranquillo"
-
-
-
Hear and Now
1973
"
American Pie "b/w "Oh to Be Young Again"
-
-
-
"Last Tango in Paris"b/w "Grass Roots" (from Salute Nashville )
-
-
115
Killing Me Softly
1976
"Theme from Breakheart Pass"b/w "
Theme from Mahogany " (from Piano Portraits )
-
-
-
Non-album track
"
Gonna Fly Now (Theme from 'Rocky') "b/w "You Take My Heart Away" (Non-album track)
-
-
-
Rocky and Other Knockouts
1977
"
Theme from 'New York, New York' "b/w "A Bridge Too Far (Main Theme)"
-
-
-
1978
"
Theme from Star Trek "b/w "
Swinging on a Star "
-
-
-
Star Wars
Track appearances
Filme, Die Man Nicht Vergisst , United Artists Records
Great Motion Picture Themes , United Artists Records, 1960
Music to Read James Bond By , United Artists Records, 1965
Music to Read James Bond By Vol. 2 , United Artists Records, 1965
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
References
^ Claire Noland (2009-09-21).
"Arthur Ferrante dies at 88; half of the popular piano duo Ferrante and Teicher" . Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2023-10-18 .
^ Lanza, Joseph (2004). Elevator Music: A Surreal History of Muzak, Easy-Listening, and Other Moodsong . University of Michigan Press. pp. 98–100.
ISBN
978-0-472-08942-0 .
^ Whitburn, Jowl (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits . Billboard Books. p. 221.
ISBN
978-0-8230-7499-0 .
^ Davis, Stephen; Aerosmith (2003). Walk This Way: The Autobiography of Aerosmith . It Books. pp. 19–20.
ISBN
978-0-06-051580-5 .
^ Smith, Jeff (1998).
The Sounds of Commerce . Columbia University Press. p.
39 .
ISBN
978-0-231-10863-8 .
^
Dunning, John (1998).
On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio (Revised ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. pp. 744–745.
ISBN
978-0-19-507678-3 . Retrieved 2019-09-28 .
^ Speer, David (June 1974). "Curtain Going Up-In Minnesota". The Rotarian : 33.
^ Huey, Steve; Rovi.
"Ferrante & Teicher Biography" . CMT. Archived from
the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2022 .
^
"NME Artists" . NME . Archived from
the original on 2011-12-16.
^
"The Dead Rock Stars Club - 2008 July to December" . Thedeadrockstarsclub.com . Retrieved January 28, 2020 .
^
"The Dead Rock Stars Club 2009 July to December" . Thedeadrockstarsclub.com . Retrieved January 28, 2020 .
^
"Arthur Ferrante dies at 88; half of the popular piano duo Ferrante and Teicher" .
Los Angeles Times . September 21, 2009.
^
"Photographic image of album label" (JPG) . Discogs.com . Retrieved January 28, 2020 .
External links
International National Artists