The London Symphony Orchestra gives four live performances of the soundtrack to the highly-acclaimed silent film The Artist at the Royal Albert Hall on 30 and 31 December, the UK Premier of its live concert version. This multi-award-winning film is dramatically brought to life on stage with the LSO, conducted by Ernst van Tiel, playing the soundtrack simultaneously with a high-definition screening of the film. The soundtrack was composed by Ludovic Bource.
Written and directed by Michael Hazanavicius and starring Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo, The Artist takes place in Hollywood, between 1927 and 1932, and focuses on the relationship of an older silent film star and a rising young actress, as silent cinema falls out of fashion and is replaced by the 'talkies.'
The LSO has built a reputation as the world's pre-eminent film orchestra. It was the first symphony orchestra ever to record a film soundtrack, with Sir Arthur Bliss's score for Things to Come in 1935 and has recorded landmark soundtracks such as Henry V (William Walton, 1944), and Star Wars (John Williams, 1977). Recent film scores include Dreamworks' Rise Of The Guardians, Kathryn Bigelow's latest, the critically-acclaimed Zero Dark Thirty and Stephen Frears' Philomena, starring Judi Dench and Steve Coogan, as well as four Harry Potter films, Superman, Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Ides of March.
The Artist received outstanding acclaim from critics and audiences alike when it was released. It was nominated for ten Academy Awards and won five including Best Director, Best Actor and Best Picture, becoming the first French film to ever win Best Picture. It was also nominated for six Golden Globes Awards, winning three, and twelve BAFTAs, winning seven, which makes it the most awarded film in French history. Ludovic Bource, who won an Oscar for his soundtrack, will be in attendance as well as stars from the film.
December also sees the LSO and conductor Frank Strobel mark the 60th birthday of film composer Patrick Doyle. The concert, on 1 December at the Barbican, features a selection of his film scores, including Hamlet, Henry V, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Eragon, Rise of the Planet of the Apes and the world premiere of his score for Jack Ryan.