Riccardo Chailly, conductor

Rossini - Overture to William Tell
Rota - Ballet Suite from La strada
Respighi - Fountains of Rome
Respighi - Pines of Rome

John Williams Conducts Movie Music
Friday
November 23, 2007, 8:00 p.m.
&
Sunday (link)
November 25, 2007, 3:00 p.m.

Chicago Symphony Orchestra
John Williams, conductor

Newman - 20th Century-Fox Fanfare
Williams - Theme from Jurassic Park
Williams - Two Pieces from Born on the Fourth of July
Williams - Suite from The Reivers
Williams - March from 1941
Williams - Escapades from Catch Me If You Can
Williams - Techniques of Film Scoring (with Film)
Williams - Sayuri’s Theme from Memoirs of a Geisha
Williams - A Tribute to George Lucas and Steven Spielberg (with Film)

John Williams returns to Symphony Center after sold-out performances in 2005. With a career that spans six decades, Williams holds the record for the most Academy Award® nominations, tied with the late film composer Alfred Newman. We’ll display film clips on the big screen while Williams conducts his famous movie music!

John Williams’ American Journey
Saturday
November 24, 2007, 8:00 p.m.
&
Tuesday (link)
November 27, 2007, 7:30 p.m.

Chicago Symphony Orchestra
John Williams, conductor
David McGill, bassoon

Williams - Fanfare for a Festive Occasion
Williams - Tributes! (for Seiji)
Williams - The Five Sacred Trees (Bassoon Concerto)
Williams - Four Pieces from American Journey
Williams - Selections from The Witches of Eastwick
Williams - Sayuri’s Theme from Memoirs of a Geisha
Williams - Adventures on Earth from E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial

Buster Keaton's "The General"
Friday
February 29, 2008, 8:00 p.m.

Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Richard Kaufman, conductor
Dennis James, organ

Famed for his style of physical comedy with a stoic, deadpan expression on his face, Buster Keaton’s activity as a performer and director is widely regarded to be among the most innovative and important work in the history of cinema. Considered one of the finest silent film comedies ever made, Buster Keaton’s The General (1927) will be shown on the big screen accompanied by the Grammy ® Award-winning Chicago Symphony Orchestra in an orchestral score that was compiled from original cue sheets by internationally renowned silent film accompanist Dennis James.

Nightmare Romance: Bernard Herrmann and Alfred Hitchcock
Friday
April 4, 2008, 8:00 p.m.

Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Joel McNeely, conductor
Greg Cohen Quintet
Narrator, TBD
Danny Kapilian, producer

One of the most creative and brilliant, if often turbulent, relationships in film history is celebrated in this special concert. Bernard Herrmann's radical approach to writing film music redefined the relationship between image and sound, and his brilliant scores for Psycho, Vertigo and North by Northwest bear testimony to this. The American premiere of this program (it originally appeared at London’s Barbican Hall in 2006) features Herrmann's scores for Hitchcock's films plus other classics such as Citizen Kane and Taxi Driver. It also features rarely seen images and footage of the masters at work.

Musical direction is from Tom Waits/Ornette Coleman bassist Greg Cohen who gathers an ensemble of musicians to perform new arrangements. Hermann’s original works are conducted by composer and Herrmann aficionado Joel McNeely.

MusicNOW (Glass & Golijov)
Monday
April 7, 2008, 8:00 p.m.
Off-Site (Harris Theater, Millennium Park)

Brad Lubman, conductor
Osvaldo Golijov, host
Michael Riesman, piano

Golijov - Suite from Youth Without Youth
Glass/Riesman - Suite from The Hours

The MusicNOW season concludes with a performance of film music led by composer and conductor Brad Lubman. The program features Philip Glass’ suite from the acclaimed film The Hours. The haunting and lyrical score was nominated for an Academy Award ® for Best Original Score in 2004. Golijov’s suite is from Youth Without Youth, a new film by director Frances Ford Coppola scheduled for release in fall 2007. The film, Coppola’s first in more than a decade, recounts the story of an elderly professor whose apparent immortality makes him a target for the Nazis. Golijov’s score reflects the influences of many types of music, including the classic Hollywood style of Bernard Herrmann’s film scores and the post-romantic and expressionist works of composers including Liszt, Debussy, and early Schoenberg.

Enjoy,
Kirk (who will definitely not be missing those April concerts)

Chances of DG Concerts releasing another set of Beethoven symphonies the world didn't need: 100%.

Chances of DG Concerts releasing one John Williams' Chicago or New York concerts: 0%.