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  • COMPOSER/CONDUCTOR JOHN WILLIAMS LEADS LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC IN ONE-TIME-ONLY PERFORMANCE WITH SPECIAL GUESTS MARTIN SCORSESE AND STEVEN SPIELBERG
  • Mar. 5, 2007
  • Concert Benefits Los Angeles Philharmonic Musicians Pension Fund

    MONDAY, MARCH 5, 2007, 8 PM

    Award-winning composer/conductor John Williams leads the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a one-time only performance with celebrated filmmakers Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg as special guests on Monday, March 5, 2007, at 8:00 p.m., at Walt Disney Concert Hall.

    The evening opens with a tribute to composer Bernard Herrmann, who composed the score for Scorsese's Taxi Driver, among other cinematic landmarks, including Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho and North By Northwest, and Orson Welles' Citizen Kane.

    The second half of the evening includes a look inside the renowned Spielberg-Williams partnership and features classic film clips on a big screen while treating the audience to some of the most memorable moments in film music from Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Schindler's List, and E.T. The artists also demonstrate "Techniques in Film Scoring" by running a clip from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade - one of the many successful Spielberg-Williams collaborations - without music, discussing the process of "spotting," and running the scene again, accompanied live by the orchestra.

    Known as one of the most original and distinctive film composers, Herrmann was responsible for the unforgettable woodwind sounds that open Citizen Kane, the eerie sounds of Psycho, and the plaintive saxophone heard in Scorsese's Taxi Driver. He began his music career early, winning a composition prize at age 13, and founding his own orchestra by the time he was 20. His final score was for Taxi Driver; he passed away just hours after recording it in 1975.

    Five-time Academy Award-winner Williams holds the distinction of being the most Oscar-nominated person alive with a total of 43. He also has three Golden Globes, four Emmys, three British Academy Awards and

    18 Grammys, as well as numerous gold and platinum records. Williams most recently received accolades for his score to Superman Returns.

    JOHN WILLIAMS has composed the music and served as music director for more than 90 films. In January 1980, he was named 19th Conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra and currently holds the title of Boston Pops Laureate Conductor, which he assumed following his retirement in 1993. Williams also holds the title of Artist-in-Residence at Tanglewood. Williams has written many concert pieces, including two symphonies, a cello concerto premiered by

    Yo-Yo Ma and the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood in 1994 (recorded for Sony Classical), concertos for flute and for violin, Tree Song for violinist Gil Shaham (recorded with DG with a revised version of the Violin Concerto), a bassoon concerto (The Five Sacred Trees) premiered by Judith LeClair and recorded for Sony Classical, and concertos for clarinet, tuba and trumpet. In addition to leading the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Symphony Hall and at Tanglewood, he has appeared as a guest conductor with many major orchestras, including the London Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He led the Philharmonic in the world premiere of his work Soundings during the "Soundstage L.A." inaugural gala for Walt Disney Concert Hall in October 2003.

    MARTIN SCORSESE is one of the most prominent and influential filmmakers of the 20th Century. He directed the critically acclaimed, award winning films Taxi Driver, Mean Streets, Raging Bull, The Last Temptation of Christ, Goodfellas, Gangs of New York, and The Aviator. In 1990, he helped establish The Film Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving motion picture history. In 2005, No Direction Home: Bob Dylan was broadcast as part of the "American Masters" series on PBS and released on DVD worldwide by Paramount Home Entertainment. Scorsese's most recent film, The Departed, was released to critical acclaim in October of 2006. Scorsese is currently in post production on an as-yet-untitled documentary on the Rolling Stones.

    STEVEN SPIELBERG has directed, produced, or executive produced some of the top-grossing movies of all time, including Jurassic Park, and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. He is a three-time Academy Award-winner, earning two Oscars for Best Director and Best Picture for Schindler's List and a third Oscar for Best Director for Saving Private Ryan. He also has received Academy Award nominations for Best Director for E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Munich. Spielberg won his first Director's Guild of America (DGA) Award for his work on The Color Purple. He has received more DGA Award nominations than any director in history, and, in 2000, received the DGA's Lifetime Achievement Award. He is also the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Film Institute and the prestigious Irving G. Thalberg Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

    The Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, under Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen, presents the finest in orchestral and chamber music, recitals, new music, jazz, world music and holiday concerts at two of the most remarkable places anywhere to experience music - Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Hollywood Bowl. In addition to a 30-week winter subscription season at Walt Disney Concert Hall, the LA Phil presents a 12-week summer festival at the legendary Hollywood Bowl, summer home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and home of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. In fulfilling its commitment to the community, the Association's involvement with Los Angeles extends to educational programs, community concerts and children's programming, ever seeking to provide inspiration and delight to the broadest possible audience.

    EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:

    MONDAY, MARCH 5, 2007 AT 8:00 PM

    WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL, 111 S. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles

    THE LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC

    JOHN WILLIAMS, conductor

    BING WANG, violin

    MARTIN SCORSESE, special guest

    STEVEN SPIELBERG, special guest

    A Tribute to Bernard Herrmann

    Introduction by Martin Scorsese

    On Dangerous Ground

    The Inquirer from Citizen Kane

    Ballad of Springfield Mountain from The Devil and Daniel Webster

    Gallop the Whip (from Currier and Ives Suite)

    Scene d'Amour from Vertigo

    Psycho
    Medley (with film)

         Prelude (Driving Scene) - The Murder (Shower Scene)

    Night Piece for Orchestra from Taxi Driver

    Prelude from North by Northwest (with film)

    The Spielberg/Williams Collaboration

    Introduction by Steven Spielberg

    Excerpts from Close Encounters of the Third Kind

    Out to Sea/Shark Cage Fugue from Jaws

    Techniques of Film Scoring - Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (with film)

    Theme from Schindler's List

    Finale from E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (with film)

    Proceeds from this concert benefit the Los Angeles Philharmonic Musicians Pension Fund.

    Tickets ($35-$150) are on sale now online at LAPhil.com, at the Walt Disney Concert Hall Box Office, or via credit card phone order at 323.850.2000. A limited number of $10 rush tickets for seniors and full time students may be available at the Walt Disney Concert Hall Box Office two hours prior to the performance. Valid identification is required; one ticket per person; cash only. Groups of 12 or more may be eligible for special discounts for selected concerts and seating areas. For all information, please call 323.850.2000.

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  • Contact:

    Adam Crane, 213.972.3422, acrane@laphil.org; Rachelle Roe, 213.972.7310, rroe@laphil.org; Lisa White, 213.972.3408, lwhite@laphil.org; Photos: 213.972.3034