Arthur B. Rubinstein, American pianist, composer, and conductor
Arthur Benjamin Rubinstein (March 31, 1938 – April 23, 2018) was an American Emmy Award winning composer. He composed several television series soundtracks and songs for film scores. He was frequently hired by film director John Badham, and the majority of his movie soundtracks are found in Badham's work, including Whose Life Is It Anyway? (1981), WarGames (1983), Blue Thunder (1983), Stakeout (1987), The Hard Way (1991), Another Stakeout (1993), and Nick of Time (1995). He was also member of the band The Beepers.
In 1983 Rubinstein created the score to Blue Thunder (which he composed, conducted and produced) using various synthesizers, a popular instrument of the 80's era. In the score Rubinstein used these synthesizers in a symphonic manner by combining them with brass, percussion and string ensembles. Using the Synclavier II (a digital computer instrument) and dubbing this with both the Jupiter, the Prophet and the Moog analog synthesizers. Rubinstein also created a very unusual sound by placing a microphone inside a large empty water bottle and placing it underneath a Steinway grand piano.
His many other film and TV movie scores include The Great Bank Hoax (1978), The Great American Traffic Jam (1980), On the Right Track (1981), The Phoenix (1982), Deal of the Century (1983), The Cartier Affair (1984), It Came Upon the Midnight Clear (1984), Lost in America (1985), Murder in Space (1985), The Best of Times (1986), Hyper Sapien: People from Another Star (1986), Love Among Thieves (1987), Once Upon a Texas Train (1988), Inherit the Wind (1988), several Season Two episodes of The Simpsons and Dead Man's Island (1996).He died on April 23, 2018, from cancer at the age of 80, he was among those honored at the 2019 Grammy awards.
1938Mar, 31
Arthur B. Rubinstein
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Events on 1938
- 18Feb
Nanking Massacre
Second Sino-Japanese War: During the Nanking Massacre the Nanking Safety Zone International Committee is renamed "Nanking International Rescue Committee" and the safety zone in place for refugees falls apart. - 12Mar
Austria
Anschluss: German troops occupy and absorb Austria. - 23Sep
Munich Agreement
Mobilization of the Czechoslovak army in response to the Munich Agreement. - 30Sep
Munich Agreement
Britain, France, Germany and Italy sign the Munich Agreement, allowing Germany to occupy the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia. - 30Oct
The War of the Worlds (radio drama)
Orson Welles broadcasts his radio play of H. G. Wells's The War of the Worlds, causing anxiety in some of the audience in the United States.