London Symphony Orchestra Celebrates the Music of Hollywood Composer Dimitri Tiomkin

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The London Symphony Orchestra celebrates the works of Dimitri Tiomkin performing many of his best-loved soundtracks in the Barbican Hall on Thursday 27 October at 7:30pm. The concert is conducted by renowned film & television music expert Richard Kaufman who is joined by singers Whitney Claire Kaufman, Andrew Playfoot and the London Voices and features soundtracks including High Noon, Wild is the Wind, Dial M for Murder, Strangers on a Train and The Guns of Navarone.

Prior to the concert, at 6:45pm on the Barbican Freestage, young musicians from the LSO St Luke’s Fusion Orchestra showcase music that they have created which has been inspired by Tiomkin. On Friday 14 October, the LSO Discovery Lunchtime Concert at LSO St Luke’s focuses on his music, with presenter Rachel Leach and musicians from the Guildhall School.

Alongside the LSO’s concert tribute to the composer, the Barbican presents two films, Strangers on a Train on 23 October and Dial M for Murder on 30 October, showcasing Tiomkin’s work with director Alfred Hitchcock. The concert and screenings are accompanied by an exhibition of original posters of Tiomkin-scored films on the Barbican mezzanine.

Dimitri Tiomkin was born in Russia in 1894 and later emigrated to America. He is considered one of Hollywood’s most distinguished composers, his works spanning all genres of film and television music from horror films to westerns. He died in 1979 having won four Oscars, and 16 Academy Awards nominations. His most famous film soundtracks include It’s a Wonderful Life and Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.

The LSO was the first symphony orchestra ever to record a film soundtrack, with Sir Aurthur Bliss’s score for Things to Come in 1935. It has since built up a reputation as one of the world’s best and most prolific film orchestras, having recorded major landmark soundtracks such as Henry V (William Walton, 1944), all six Star Wars (John Williams, 1977-2005) and Superman (John Williams, 1978). Most recently, the Orchestra’s close relationship with French composer Alexandre Desplat has resulted in outstanding recordings for acclaimed films such as Twilight: New Moon, The Queen and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows parts 1 and 2.

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