On February 13th at The Broad Stage Performing Arts Theater in Santa Monica, Maestro Andrea Morricone gave his special Valentine Day’s gift to all lovers in the greater Los Angeles area: his concert, Cinematic Visions – New Arrangements of Timeless Masterpieces, featuring the highly celebrated “Love Theme” from Cinema Paradiso among other “pearls” from his and his father Ennio’s repertoire.
For those who, like me, experienced one of Andrea Morricone’s concerts for the first time, the strongest impression carried along is his passion, a fire that shook every single “fiber” of him, as he conducted the Amor Symphonic Orchestra and Choir from the platform.
As Ennio Morricone’s unmistakable notes from a passage – part of Sergio Leone’s Spaghetti Western, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly soundtrack – started to play, Andrea’s baton turned into a fire brand, which, almost as a magical wand, seemed to pierce through his musicians’ hearts, spreading that same fire to the whole orchestra, including the Adults’ choir and the Immaculate Heart of Mary Children’s Choir.
An intense piece from The Godfather’s soundtrack followed, composed by Nino Rota, who scored Federico Fellini’s and Luchino Visconti’s masterpieces, as well as the first two movies of The Godfather’s trilogy, receiving the Academy Award for Best Original Score for The Godfather Part II.
Next, Andrea Morricone conducted two of his own new pieces: Adagio in C Major, in which a Gospel Singer is accompanied by an accordionist, and Tango Forte, whose dance rhythm is like a filigree, emerging from a more elaborate tune.
They were followed by a contrasting piece for orchestra: the unmistakable Henry Mancini’s jazz-idiom theme to The Pink Panther. Before Henry reached the peaks of his career through the longstanding partnership with director Blake Edwards, his parents emigrated from Abruzzi region in Italy to Cleveland, Ohio, and later moved to West Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, where little Henry started to play flute together with his father Quinto in Aliquippa Italian immigrant band “Sons of Italy”.
Mancini’s playful tune was followed by the moving, heart-rending piece from Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Sheltering Sky, composed by Golden Globe winner, talented Japanese musician Ryuichi Sakamoto.
The first half of the concert concluded with two of Andrea Morricone’s pieces: Action, for adult choir, children’s choir, electronics and orchestra and, You –“Love Theme” from Cinema Paradiso, whose lyrics by Paola Lorenzi were marvelously sung by one of the most talented young sopranos, Amanda Squitieri, also member of LA Grand Ensemble.
The second half started with a piece from Spielberg’s Schindler’s List, composed by one of the greatest, if not the greatest, American film scores’ composer, John Williams.
Next, Rota’s piece for orchestra, from one of Fellini’s masterpieces 8 ½ and three of Andrea Morricone’s new pieces: Secret Passage for orchestra; Theme in D Minor for electronics and orchestra; and Ostinato for adult choir, electronics and orchestra.
No doubt, the climax of the evening, which earned a standing ovation, was the touching Suite from Cinema Paradiso, co-composed by Ennio and Andrea, with a fantastic entrance, in medias res, of the talented accordionist.
The last two pieces were: Deborah’s Theme, original Ennio’s version for string orchestra, from Once Upon a Time in America, and a new Andrea’s version of the Suite from The Mission, breathtaking score originally composed by Ennio.
For those who, like me, have had the privilege to attend also to one of Ennio Morricone’s concerts, the contrast between father’s and son’s conducting styles is clear: Ennio’s manners are graceful and controlled, while Andrea’s way is fierce like a storm and passionate, as if the Maestro merges with Music itself.
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