New York Philharmonic to Offer Music-with-Film West Side Story Presentations in September

The New York Philharmonic will accompany two screenings of the multi-Academy Award-winning film West Side Story on September 7 & 8 at 7:30pm at Avery Fisher Hall. David Newman will conduct the performances.

With music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, West Side Story is a modern retelling of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The cast features Natalie Wood as Maria, Richard Beymer as Tony, Rita Moreno as Anita, and George Chakiris as Bernardo.

The screening will use a newly restored print of the film, which reveals details unseen since its original 1961 release, and will be a presentation of MGM HD. In addition, the performances will use a new sound technology, developed by Paris-based Audionamix and utilized by Chace Audio by Deluxe, which isolates the dialogue and the vocal tracks, to allow the orchestra to accompany the film in real time.

The Philharmonic plans to offer other music-with-films programs in the coming year. On October 25, Academy Award-winning composer and conductor John Williams will lead the Orchestra in a performance of orchestral music, with film clips, which will feature excerpts from such classic Hollywood scores as Alex North’s for Spartacus and Bernard Herrmann’s for Vertigo, as well as highlights from Williams’ own career. On November 2-3, 2011,
the Philharmonic will celebrate Philip Glass’s 75th birthday year with two concerts featuring the composer’s score for Godfrey Reggio’s 1982 cult film, Koyaanisqatsi. The performances will feature Philip Glass and the Philip Glass Ensemble, with Michael Riesman conducting, and the Westminster Symphonic Choir.

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