Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra celebrates the extraordinary fusion of music and the magic of cinema with a special presentation entitled, “Chaplin + The Immigrant,” featuring a live improvised performance by Grammy-nominated Venezuelan-born pianist Gabriela Montero to Charlie Chaplin’s 1917 silent film The Immigrant on Sunday, May 26, 2024, 2 pm, at the Linwood Dunn Theater at the Mary Pickford Center for Motion Pictures in Hollywood.
The Immigrant is a 22-minute romantic comedy about an immigrant’s journey to Ellis Island. A masterwork starring the Tramp, Chaplin’s iconic character, it was selected by the Library of Congress in 1998 for preservation in the National Film Registry for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” In 1917, when The Immigrant was released, films were silent, and typically accompanied by a pianist, organist, or an orchestra, depending on the size of the venue, with the musicians either improvising or working from a cue sheet. With this performance, Montero returns to that storied tradition.
The concert also includes Montero and LACO artists on a selection of chamber masterpieces by Stravinsky, Shostakovich, and Rachmaninoff, composers with whom Chaplin personally interfaced and whose innovative music has inspired numerous film composers and film scores over the years. Among the featured works are Stravinsky’s Three Pieces for String Quartet; Shostakovich’s Piano Quintet in G minor, op. 57; and Rachmaninoff’s Piano Sonata, op. 36 no. 2
This special event, the final program in LACO’s 2023-24 season, marks Montero’s second appearance with the orchestra this spring. On May 24 and 25, 2024, she joins the orchestra to perform Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor.
Montero is noted for her visionary interpretations, exceptional musicality, and mesmerizing stage presence. The New York Times states, “Montero’s playing [has] everything: crackling rhythmic brio, subtle shadings, steely power…soulful lyricism…[and] unsentimental expressivity.
Tickets ($35 – general admission) may be purchased online at laco.org or by calling LACO at 213 622 7001 x1. Discounted tickets are also available by phone for seniors 65 years of age and older and for students.