A multimedia show on Charlie Chaplin’s life and work.
Modern Times, The Dictator, The Kid, The Gold Rush, The Rampage and The Circus… all films by Charlie Chaplin that have impacted generations through the ages would not be quite the same without the unforgettable music that accompanies them… And it was composed by Chaplin himself! His original music for the film Limelight won him an Oscar.
To pay tribute to Charlie Chaplin, Jean-Pascal Beintus and Sylvain Morizet decided to interpret his most famous film scores in the form of suites transcribed for two pianos. The two musicians are recognized in the world of cinema as being amongst the best orchestrators and arrangers of today. When they play, they offer the audience the illusion of hearing an orchestra.
The concert is enriched by the exceptional presence of Eugène Chaplin, the fifth child of Charlie Chaplin’s lineage and a grandson of famous American playwright Eugene O’Neill. He tells the story of the composition of Chaplin’s masterpieces, evokes personal memories and anecdotes related to his father’s cinematic heritage and comments on the importance of music in his films. In order to plunge the spectator into the atmosphere of the time and the intimacy of Charlie Chaplin’s cinematic genius, mythical images of his works and his life are projected.
At the end of the performance, a discussion between the three artists and the public will close this exceptional concert.
Eugéne Chaplin was born in 1953 in Switzerland. He is the fifth child of Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977) and Oona O’Neill (1925-1991), named after his maternal grandfather, the playwright Eugene O’Neill. On Charlie Chaplin’s advice, Eugene entered the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. After graduating at the age of 18, he was hired as a stage manager at the Grand Théâtre in Geneva. He then worked at the famous Mountain Studios in Montreux with bands such as the Rolling Stones and Queen, with David Bowie and many others. Then he was engaged by the Montreux Jazz Festival, before launching the WJC production company with Cass Warner and Jermaine Jackson. He was artistic director of Cirque Nock, and is now in charge of Chaplin’s World, a museum established in 2016 in the former family estate in Corsier-sur-Vève in Switzerland.
Jean-Pascal Beintus (b. 1966) began his musical training at the Conservatoire de Nice — studying double bass, piano and composition. A few years later, he joined the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Lyon and Conservatoire Supérieur de Paris. In 1983 he became part of the orchestra of the Lyon Opera. In 1996, the celebrated conductor Kent Nagano, at that time musical director of the Lyon Opera, recognized his talent as a composer and commissioned his first symphonic work. Since then, Jean-Pascal Beintus has become a world-renowned composer who writes and orchestrates for numerous feature films. He was hired by Leonardo DiCaprio to write the original music for the environmental documentary The 11th Hour and has since worked as an orchestrator on a series of award-winning films, including The Shape of Water, Suffragette, The King’s Speech, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, The Danish Girl, and others. In 2003, Jean-Pascal Beintus received a Grammy Award for his work Wolf Tracks. In parallel to these productions, Jean-Pascal has received commissions from many of the world’s most important theatres and orchestras.
Sylvain Morizet (b. 1982) e began playing the piano at the age of 9 in Besançon where he was awarded first prizes in piano, accompaniment and chamber music at the conservatory. In 2003 he joined the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris and undertook studies in the Formation Supérieure for Sound Professions, in parallel to the writing course within the same establishment. Since 2009, Sylvain works mainly as an orchestrator alongside Jean-Pascal Beintus, for the cinema (Valerian, The Shape of Water…) as well as for the symphonic variety (Johnny Hallyday, Roberto Alagna, Florent Pagny). He also signs the composition of several soundtracks for films, for various formations (symphonic, big band, percussion ensemble). He performs regularly in concert. His passion for film music naturally led him to join up with Jean-Pascal Beintus to perform the music of Charlie Chaplin on two pianos.
In English with Bulgarian surtitles.
CHAPLIN PIANISSIMO ON TOUR: