“There’s movie music and then there’s movie music played live while the film is projected on a screen. Ravinia Festival has embraced the concept of showing significant films on screens in the pavilion and on the lawn, with accompaniment by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra,” writes Dorothy Andries in Wednesday’s (8/6) Sun-Times (Chicago). “This summer … Bernstein’s 1961 film ‘West Side Story’ was shown twice and on Thursday and Friday Howard Shore’s ‘Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King’ from 2003 will be featured,” led by Swiss conductor Ludwig Wicki. ‘Bernstein’s score is wonderful,’ said Jay Friedman, the CSO’s principal trombonist. ‘He’s a genius. I enjoy playing scores like that. Shore’s music for “Lord of the Rings” is also good stuff…. I’m also a huge fan of the scores of John Williams…. He never repeats himself…. We [the CSO] recorded his score for “Lincoln” and it sounded like Civil War times.’ … Orchestra Hall has had series titled ‘CSO at the Movies’ for many years. This season it will open with portions of animated Pixar scored live to projections, in November…. ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ will be featured in March, and the vintage German film ‘Metropolis’ will be shown in late May.”
Posted August 7, 2014
