La Dolce Vita: The Music of Italian Cinema will air on Great Performances Friday, February 27, 2015 at 9 p.m. (Check local listings.)
Featuring Josh Groban, Renée Fleming and Joshua Bell, Great Performances partners with the New York Philharmonic and music director Alan Gilbert for a concert of memorable movie themes with music from Amarcord, Cinema Paradiso, Il Postino, and more.
Dawning in the dark aftermath of World War II, the fertile mid-century decades of Italian cinema delighted international movie audiences with an eclectic mix of movie classics from groundbreaking directors including Frederico Fellini, Luchino Visconti, Sergio Leone and many more. A major component of Italian cinema’s enduring popularity continues to be a lush selection of sweeping film scores by composers like Nino Rota and Ennio Morricone.
“There’s so much great music written for film, and to hear it played live by the New York Philharmonic is an amazing experience,” Music Director Alan Gilbert said. “The best film music is expressive and dramatic, which are the qualities that you look for all the time in music. The chance to make it come alive and paint pictures for the audiences is something I relish and love.”
Presented in collaboration with Sugarmusic, the concert – taped in September 2014 — includes video projection combining animated graphics and film clips designed by visual artist Giuseppe Ragazzini, under the direction of Giampiero Solari, and historical footage from Istituto Luce Cinecittà.
The program features suites and famous songs, many newly arranged and orchestrated by music consultant William Ross, from Academy Award–winning films including Federico Fellini’s 8½ and La Dolce Vita; Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in the West; and Giuseppe Tornatore’s Cinema Paradiso. For the program’s creation, Sugarmusic made available its catalog of more than 2,000 Italian film sound tracks.
Together, Joshua Bell and Josh Groban previously performed and recorded the title song from Cinema Paradiso as well as Mi Mancherai from Luis Bacalov’s Academy Award–winning score to Michael Radford’s Il Postino. Ms. Fleming is featured in the Sony album We All Love Ennio Morricone, and has appeared on numerous sound tracks, including Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of Hergé’s The Adventures of Tintin as a comical Italian opera diva, Immortal Beloved, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Closer, and Rise of the Guardians.
Music Program
Theme from Amarcord, by Nino Rota
Arranged and orchestrated by William Ross
Suite from The Anonymous Venetian, by Stelvio Cipriani
Arranged and orchestrated by William Ross
Suite from La Dolce Vita by Nino Rota
Arranged and orchestrated by William Ross
“Your Love” from Once Upon a Time in the West by Ennio Morricone
Arranged and orchestrated by William Ross
Valzer del Commiato from The Leopard by Nino Rota
Orchestrated by F. Gurian
“Non Penso a Te” from Incontro by Ennio Morricone
Arranged and orchestrated by William Ross
Suite from City of Women by Luis Bacalov
Arranged and orchestrated by William Ross
Suite from Profumo di Donna by Trovajoli
Arranged and orchestrated by William Ross
Theme from Mondo cane by Ortolani & Oliviero
Arranged and orchestrated by William Ross
Suite from Juliet of the Spirits by Nino Rota
Arranged and orchestrated by William Ross
“Se” from Cinema Paradiso by Andrea and Ennio Morricone
Arranged and orchestrated by William Ross
Suite from 8½ by Nino Rota
Arranged and orchestrated by William Ross
“Mi Mancherai” from Il Postino by Luis Bacalov
Arranged and orchestrated by William Ross
About the Program
A production of THIRTEEN Productions LLC for WNET, La Dolce Vita: The Music of Italian Cinema is directed for television by David Horn and produced by Mitch Owgang and Richard R. Schilling. For Great Performances, Bill O’Donnell is series producer and David Horn is executive producer.
Great Performances is funded by the Anne Ray Charitable Trust, the Irene Diamond Fund, the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Arts Fund, The LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust, Rosalind P. Walter, The Agnes Varis Trust, The Starr Foundation, the Philip and Janice Levin Foundation, Harold and Elise Danino Hirshberg, the Kate W. Cassidy Foundation, and PBS.
