Interchanging Idioms

Boston, MA – Jan. 16, 2013 – Delighted to hear of the Oscar nomination of Morgan Neville’s documentary 20 Feet from Stardom, world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma said: “What I love most about 20 Feet from Stardom is how deeply Morgan Neville examined the preconditions of creativity. He showed us how the giants stand on the shoulders of the artists whose stories he told." Morgan Neville is currently directing The Sound of Silk, a documentary about the musicians in the Silk Road Ensemble. Brought together by the Silk Road Project, which was founded in 1998 under the artistic direction of Ma, the Ensemble has featured members from more than 20 countries, performed in 119 cities in 30 countries, generated more than 80 new works, recorded 60 pieces of music, and just released its fifth CD, A Playlist Without Borders. The Silk Road Ensemble: Ascending Bird For further information about The Sound of Silk, which is funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Pershing Squa...

Composer Don Davis to conduct performances April 5-6 The St. Louis Symphony will once again return Powell Hall to its movie hall roots on Friday, April 5 and Saturday, April 6, when it performs the live score to The Matrix, while the unforgettable futuristic film plays on a big screen above the stage. Bother performances start at 7pm. Don Davis, who composed the original score for the movie, will conduct both St. Louis Symphony performances, which promise to be fast-paced fusions between movie and music. Members of the St. Louis Symphony Chorus, directed by Amy Kaiser, will also perform on the program. Prior to each concert there will be a costume contest, so don’t forget to bring your shades and futuristic gear. Tickets are still available and may be purchased on-line at stlsymphony.org or by calling 314-534-1700.

The Society of Composers & Lyricist had a special showing of BRAVE last night with a Q&A session with Patrick Doyle after the film. Let me start of by say Pixar has done it again. BRAVE is a wonderful film, with a charming story line that really captures the beauty of Scotland. This is not a twee (cheezy) film that mocks Scotland like Brigadoon , but captures both the attitudes (good and bad) of the people, the feeling of the landscape and heart of the music without pandering to stereotypes. The voices are alive with the accent, albeit the accents have been softened a bit to be understandable (for an American audience). The rich colors of the countryside occasionally look cartoon-ish, but for someone who lived there for 10 years and traveled highlands, lowlands and islands extensively, believe the colors are real. Patrick Doyle dug deep into his roots growing up in Uddingston Scotland (just outside Glasgow) and brought in some stellar Celtic musicians to give the film an au...

Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) presents Shining Light, an extraordinary weekend of illuminating events. Encompassing a premiere film screening alongside major concerts at Carnegie Hall and Avery Fisher Hall, DCINY celebrates the life and music of National Medal of Arts recipient Morten Lauridsen, America's most frequently performed choral composer. DCINY will host the New York premiere of the documentary film Shining Night (March 30) and present major works by Lauridsen, who will be in residence throughout the weekend, in concerts at Avery Fisher Hall, conducted by Artistic Director Jonathan Griffith (March 31), and at Carnegie Hall, also featuring music by composer and conductor Eric Whitacre (April 1). This will be a truly a “shining” weekend in tribute to a treasured composer called an "American Choral Master" by the National Endowment for the Arts. Shining Night: A Portrait of Composer Morten Lauridsen (documentary film) Exploring the relat...

Escape into the world of classic Hollywood movies and Broadway legends; enjoy celebrated songs from musicals such as "Shall We Dance," "Top Hat," "West Side Story," "Babes in Arms" and "Music in the Air" Artists: Colorado Symphony Orchestra Scott O’Neil, resident conductor Joan Hess and Kirby Ward Performance: Friday, February 24 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets: On sale now On a night that would make Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers proud, the Colorado Symphony Pops Series presents Steppin' Out, a salute to the music that made Hollywood and Broadway legends. On Friday, February 24, Steppin' Out takes concertgoers on a journey back in time to the Golden Age of the Hollywood musical, then forward in time to the Great White Way and the Big Band Era as dancers and singers accompany the Colorado Symphony. Led by resident co...

Oscar® -winning composer Hans Zimmer and Grammy® Award-winning songwriter and producer Pharrell Williams will serve as music consultants for the 84th Academy Awards, telecast producers Brian Grazer and Don Mischer announced today. This will be the first time the composers have worked on the Oscar show. "Hans is one of the most accomplished and creative film composers of our time, and Pharrell is a phenomenal songwriter with an amazing list of credits," said Grazer and Mischer. "This is an exciting and prestigious collaboration that promises to take the audience on a musical journey." "It is a great privilege to serve the Academy in this role and to help celebrate and honor this year's incredible artistry," stated Zimmer. "I am honored to work with my mentor and teacher, Hans Zimmer and I have wanted to collaborate with Brian Grazer on something for years," said Williams. "I cannot believe I will be joining them and their teams on t...

The Academy celebrates the 40th anniversary of “The Last Picture Show” with the L.A. premiere of the digitally restored “Definitive Director's Cut” and an onstage discussion with members of the cast and crew. Watch live at http://www.oscars.org/live/ Please note: The movie will not be streamed.

In partnership with The Denver Film Society and Love Hope Strength In partnership with the Denver Film Society and Love Hope Strength - the world's leading rock-n-roll cancer charity - the Starz Denver Film Festival will present a special, one-night-only Denver Arts Week Film & Music Event at the Boettcher Concert Hall on Wednesday, November 9 at 7:00 p.m. The evening features a screening of More to Live For, followed by a tribute concert to legendary jazz musician, Michael Brecker. Chris Botti and Randy Brecker will perform with the Colorado Symphony. ONE NIGHT ONLY! More To Live For 11/9 - 7:00 p.m. Boettcher Concert Hall Purchase tickets online

Saturday, October 22 at 9pm on WQXR 105.9 FM in New York and www.wqxr.org On Saturday, October 22 at 9pm, MOVIES ON THE RADIO – WQXR’s Saturday evening program devoted to film music, produced and hosted by David Garland – will present the exclusive premiere of the five-time Academy Award-winning composer’s soundtrack for the forthcoming Spielberg film, War Horse. Slated to open Christmas Day 2011, War Horse – based on Nick Stafford’s best-selling novel and now a hit Broadway play – tells the inspiring story of a brave young man and his bond with an extraordinary horse, set against the backdrop – and on the frontlines of – World War I. Listeners will hear tones of beauty and quiet majesty in the score, inspired by the dramatic countryside of the British landscape. “I’ve always been impressed by the range of John Williams’ mastery,” said Garland. “From comedies to thrillers, sci-fi epics to love stories, he always finds the most expressive way to enhance a film with his music. Wa...

The Vienna Music Film Festival, the popular free outdoor film series that has toured numerous European and Asian cities highlighting the best in Austrian classical music performance, will make its North American debut on Monday, August 29, 2011 in New York's Brooklyn Bridge Park. Presented by IMZ (International Music + Media Centre) and Czekaj Artistic Productions, the free film festival will screen a selection of classical music and opera productions recorded at Austria's (and Europe's) most prestigious music venues-including the Wiener Musikverein, the Wiener Staatsoper, the Salzburg Festival, the Waldbühne Berlin, the Zurich Opera House and more--and starring such opera and classical luminaries as Placido Domingo, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Sir Simon Rattle, Franz Welser-Möst, Anna Netrebko, Cecilia Bartoli, Renée Fleming, Diana Damrau, Jonas Kaufmann, Rolando Villazon, Lang Lang and others. Building on the tremendous success of the film festival that has taken place in Vie...

Film composer Charles Denler joins the Colorado Symphony for an exploration of how film scores come to life; audiences enjoy a Special Sneak Preview of animated feature film "Henry & Me" Emmy Award-winning composer Charles Denler joins resident conductor Scott O'Neil and the Colorado Symphony for "Henry & Me" – an exploration of how a film score comes to life – as the Colorado Symphony's popular Inside the Score series returns on Friday, October 7, 2011. Each season, Inside the Score offers an insightful, humorous and entertaining look at the world of symphonic music that appeals to both new concertgoers and classical music fans alike. At "Henry & Me," Denler and O'Neil will present an intriguing behind-the-scenes look at the little-known world of film scoring. Then, concertgoers will enjoy a full screening and live orchestral accompaniment of the animated feature film "Henry & Me," starring Richard Gere, Chazz Palmi...

“A captivating film, not just for pianomaniacs!”– Time Out London Grammy Award-winning pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard is one of the stars of Pianomania, a new film that has captivated audiences and film festival juries in Europe and the US – including the San Francisco International Film Festival, where it won the Golden Gate Award for Best Feature Documentary. Directed by Lilian Franck and Robert Cibis, Pianomania is a must-see for music-lovers, revealing a world where passion and the pursuit of perfection collide with artistic obsession and a touch of madness. The film arrives in the United States this summer, opening at selected theaters in Boston and Chicago on June 24; it then heads to other cities around the country, including Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, DC. Widely heralded as a key figure in the music of our time and as an important interpreter of piano repertoire from every age, Pierre-Laurent Aimard has been described as “one of those ra...

WQXR’s Film Score Program “MOVIES ON THE RADIO” Traces the Composer’s Illustrious Career with a Four-Part Radio Series on 105.9 FM Airing Saturdays June 4, 11, 18 and 25 at 9pm In a career that launched with Citizen Kane and concluded with Taxi Driver, BERNARD HERRMANN revolutionized the way film music was scored. His unparalleled ability to evoke dramatic tension and psychological nuance, often with unusual instruments, led Alfred Hitchcock to use him for nearly every film he made. From Francois Truffaut to Quentin Tarantino, The Beatles to Lady Gaga, Herrmann’s work has influenced and been appropriated by filmmakers and musicians right up to today.

“A singular harmonic convergence is recounted in Music Makes A City , Owsley Brown III and Jerome Hiler’s enlightening documentary about how Louisville, KY., became a locus for contemporary music in the mid-20th century. In striking synchronicity, a mayor, a conductor, and a robust postwar generation of composers intersected to make the city a hub for visionary composition” – New York Times Music Makes a City , a “tale of artistic vision” (Symphony), is released today on DVD. The feature-length documentary film tells a tale of civic aspiration, cultural ingenuity, and how Louisville, Kentucky became the world's unlikely capital of new music in the 1950s. According to Sedgwick Clark, of MusicalAmerica.com, “anyone interested in classical music should see this uplifting story of American ingenuity at its best.” In 1948, a small, struggling, semi-professional orchestra in Louisville, Kentucky began a novel project to commission new works from contemporary composers around the worl...

The Gold Rush film to be shown in its entirety BSO Music Director Marin Alsop leads the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in a performance of the original musical score from Charlie Chaplin’s The Gold Rush on Friday, April 15, 2011 at 8 p.m. at the Music Center at Strathmore and Saturday, April 16, 2011 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, April 17, 2011 at 3 p.m. at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. The Gold Rush, the film that Chaplin repeatedly stated he wanted to be most remembered for, will be shown in its entirety on a screen above the orchestra. Charlie Chaplin’s The Gold Rush was nominated in 1943 for an Academy Award for Best Sound Recording for its musical score he created with the assistance of Max Terr. Previously, the film had been entirely silent, but among the edits that Chaplin made for the re-release of his favorite film was the addition of the music score. Set during the time of the Klondike Gold Rush, the film was one of the first of Chaplin’s classics to be converted into sound a...

Sony Classical is pleased to announce the release of the original motion picture soundtrack of Black Swan , featuring an original score by Clint Mansell. Black Swan opened December 1 in the U.S., and is one of the most highly anticipated films of the fall. Black Swan , a psychological thriller by visionary director Darren Aronofsky (The Wrestler, Requiem for a Dream) is set in the world of New York City ballet. The film opened the 2010 Venice Film Festival, was part of the Official Selection of the 2010 Toronto Film Festival, was closing night of the 2010 AFI Film Festival and is receiving rave reviews in addition to four 2011 Independent Spirit Award nominations. The score for Black Swan is by frequent Aronofsky collaborator Clint Mansell ( The Fountain , Requiem for a Dream , The Wrestler ) and contains extracts of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. Challenged when creating this score, Mansell mused, “How do you expose something new and exhilarating, born out of the original work, that...

Original Score Composed By Grammy Award Winner David Arnold Return to the magic and wonder of C.S. Lewis' beloved world via the fantastic Narnian ship, the Dawn Treader. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is composed by Grammy® Award winner David Arnold (Independence Day, Casino Royale) is available from Sony Classical. The film arrives in theaters everywhere on December 10. Arnold’s score follows the hugely successful soundtracks from the two previous entries in The Chronicles of Narnia motion picture franchise: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian . Incorporated in Arnold’s stirring new score are the beloved themes from the earlier films composed by Harry Gregson-Williams. David Arnold has scored numerous films and is best known for composing the music for five James Bond films: Casino Royale , Tomorrow Never Dies , The World is Not Enough , Die...

While John Adams is known for composing music for many different forms, films is not a genre he is familiar with. "I Am Love", featuring Tilda Swinton first appeared at the Venice Film Festival in Italy September last year and in limited release in the US as of today. A tragic love story set at the turn of the millennium in Milan. The film follows the fall of the haute bourgeoisie due to the forces of passion and unconditional love. Director Luca Guadagnino is a fan of John Adams conceiving the film with Adams' music in mind. He also turned his collaborators into fans, including Swinton. "When I first worked on the script, I wasn’t acquainted with John Adams. Then in 2005, a friend brought to me a CD of Adams' 'Naive and Sentimental Music.' I came home and the second the music came out of the stereo, it was an emotion I will always remember. There was something incredibly new but also familiar and then I became obsessed." - Luca Guadagnino R...

The Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra and Chorus will provide live music for one of the greatest movie adventures, The Fellowship of the Ring , shown in Powell Hall. Tickets for all 2010-2011 SLSO Presents concerts may be purchased online at www.slso.org , or by phone at 314-534-1700, or in person at the Powell Hall Box Office, 718 N. Grand Blvd. The music of the film trilogy The Lord of the Rings was composed by Howard Shore. The complete 10 hours of music are available on CD/DVD box set and have toured around the world with Howard Shore conducting. The music was composed in an emotional, operatic way, with numerous leitmotifs similar to Wagner's Ring trilogy. The scores for The Fellowship of the Ring and The Return of the King won Academy Awards in 2002 and 2004. The latter film also won an Oscar statuette for Best Song, as well as the Golden Globes for Best Original Score - Motion Picture and Best Original Song. Shore's music for The Lord of the Rings has become the most...

How Its Devotion to New Music Became an Inspiration to Arts Organizations Everywhere Film's Premiere Set for May 20 in Louisville At a time when arts organizations face extreme fiscal challenges, prudence would seem to dictate conservatism over innovation, following rather than leading. But the historical example of the Louisville Orchestra illustrates the inspirational opposite. The feature-length documentary film Music Makes a City: A Louisville Orchestra Story tells a tale of civic aspiration, cultural ingenuity, and how Louisville, Kentucky became the world's unlikely capital of new music in the 1950s: a spiritual home for composers from Hindemith to Henry Cowell, from Villa-Lobos to Elliott Carter. Six years in the making, the absorbing Music Makes a City , which has its world premiere on May 20 in Louisville, is by co-directors Owsley Brown III and Jerome Hiler. Previously, Brown directed Night Waltz: The Music of Paul Bowles , which won the Hamptons Internation...