HomeNews Archive
About the FMS News & Events Membership Merchandise Resources & Links Contact Give Facebook
 
>Print this article  
FMS FEATURE...

June 20, 2016
Pittsburgh Symphony to Perform Howard Shore Music
World premiere of Hobbit suite scheduled by Marilee Bradford

Howard Shore
PITTSBURGH, PA.—In a first-of-its-kind event, the Pittsburgh Symphony will explore Howard Shore's film-music career while also debuting a new 30-minute work based on music from his three Hobbit films.

"The Film Music of Howard Shore" will be performed on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, June 24-26, with Ludwig Wicki conducting, at the Heinz Hall for the Performing Arts. Featured soloists will be Lydia Kavina, theremin; Eva Rainforth, mezzo-soprano; and Maksim Shcherbatyuk, boy soprano.

Joining the Oscar-winning composer on stage will be author and film-music historian Jon Burlingame, who will discuss Shore's collaborations with such directors as Martin Scorsese, Peter Jackson and David Cronenberg; and the wide range of subject matter he has tackled over the years from fantasy to comedies to serial-killer thrillers.

The first half of the concert will be devoted to "The Hobbit: Four Movements for Symphony Orchestra," the first performance of a concert version of themes and motifs composed by Shore for the three Hobbit movies (2012, 2013, 2014). Music from two of Jackson's earlier films based on J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy novels – The Fellowship of the Ring and The Return of the King – will be featured in the concert's second half.

Also included in the second half will be music from Cronenberg films (The Fly, Dead Ringers, Naked Lunch); from movies with more lighthearted subjects (Big, Mrs. Doubtfire, Ed Wood); psychological thrillers (The Silence of the Lambs, Seven); and Scorsese films (Hugo, Gangs of New York, The Aviator).

Lucerne-born conductor Ludwig Wicki is no stranger to the music of Howard Shore. As artistic director of Switzerland's 21st Century Orchestra, he pioneered the live-to-picture concert presentations of all three of the Lord of the Rings films.

This will be the final PNC Pops Weekend of the season. Tickets ($24 to $99) can be obtained by visiting http://www.pittsburghsymphony.org/shore.

©2016 Marilee Bradford
Help preserve the legacy of film and television music by supporting The Film Music Society!
back to top
 
Search
 
Past Features
 
Feature Archives
 
Error: DISTINCT YEAR query failed