Violinist Philippe Quint Performs Two Free Chaplin's Smile Concerts In Chicago

Multi Grammy Award-nominee violinist Philippe Quint celebrates his new album Chaplin's Smile, out Friday, January 11, 2019 on Warner Classics, with a international tour of concerts commemorating Charlie Chaplin's compositional talents as well as his encounters with the great composers of his day. Chaplin's Smile will be performed on Wednesday, January 16, 2019 at 12:15pm at the Chicago Cultural Center, presented by Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts, and later that day at 6:30pm in a free concert at the Chicago Women's Athletic Club.

Chaplin's Smile concerts feature world premiere arrangements performed by Quint and pianist Marta Aznavoorian, interspersed with selections from Chaplin's autobiography and clips and photos from his most famous films such as The Great Dictator, The Kid, City Lights, Modern Times and Limelight. Tour cities include Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Washington DC, London, and Berlin.

On Friday, January 11, 2019, Philippe Quint makes his debut on Warner Classics with the release of his latest album Chaplin's Smile, a collection of Charlie Chaplin songs newly arranged for violin and piano. To commemorate the 130th anniversary of Chaplin's birth in 2019, Chaplin's Smile features Philippe Quint accompanied by pianist Marta Aznavoorian and joined on two tracks by Quint's friend and frequent collaborator, violinist Joshua Bell. Over more than three years, Quint, in collaboration with arrangers Charles Coleman and Leon Gurvitch went through dozens of songs and soundtracks written by Chaplin to select the songs best suited for violin and piano.

What may be lesser known than Chaplin's legendary cinematic image of enormous shoes, bowler hat, and tiny moustache is his identity as the composer of nearly all of the music accompanying his films. Quint says, "Growing up in the Soviet Union in the 1980s meant we had very little access to performers outside of the former USSR. However, Charlie Chaplin was an exception. Upon my arrival to the US in 1991, I finally was able to acquire Charlie's films on VHS. I watched them hundreds of times, every time noticing something new - his comedy was brilliant and touching. A few years ago, while looking for a new project, I stumbled upon Chaplin's Smile. I knew the many different versions of the song by Tony Bennett, Michael Jackson, and Placido Domingo, but I did not realize that Chaplin was the composer. I became curious to see if there was more music written by him and, to my surprise (and thanks to YouTube and Google) I uncovered an entire catalog of his works. Almost Mozartian in its grace and charm, Chaplin's music is deceptively simple yet speaks directly to your heart."

The album begins with Eternally "Terry's Theme" from the 1952 film Limelight. Chaplin was exiled from the US that same year so the film was not seen by American audiences until 1972, winning the Oscar for best musical score in 1973. Quint's arrangement of Smile from the 1936 film Modern Times is performed on the album with Joshua Bell. Although it had no lyrics in its original version, Smile was recorded in 1954 by Nat King Cole to enormous success and has since become a standard.

Three songs on the album - Weeping Willows, Now That It's Ended, and Mandolin Serenade - are from the 1957 film A King in New York. Composed by Charlie Chaplin the film uses these familiar tunes to mock social trends, celebrity status and popular culture. The performance of Mandolin Serenade is also with Joshua Bell.

Chaplin's Smile also features Love Song from the 1969 film The Freak, a film about a girl with wings starring Chaplin's third daughter Victoria, and Tango Bitterness from Oscar-nominated film Monsieur Verdoux (1947) based on serial killer Henri Désiré Landru. Falling Star from The Great Dictator (1940) was composed with arranger and director Meredith Willson (The Music Man).

The music for City Lights (1931) was the first film score composed by Chaplin, finished in a period of six weeks, assisted by fellow composer Arthur Johnston (Pennies From Heaven). The score's main theme, La Violetera, was borrowed from Spanish composer Jose Padilla, to whom Chaplin lost a lawsuit for not crediting him on the film for the composition. Chaplin's Smile features City Lights Suite and tango Beautiful, Wonderful Eyes, though the latter song was not included in the film's final soundtrack.

The album includes The Kid Fantasy from The Kid, a 1921 American silent comedy-drama film written by, produced by, directed by, and starring Charlie Chaplin.The Kid was Chaplin's first full-length film as a director and was a huge success, the second-highest-grossing film in 1921. In 2011, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

Tango Natasha and Crossing The Dance Floor from A Countess From Hong Kong (1967) close out the album, exemplifying later Chaplin compositions. The main theme of A Countess From Hong Kong became This Is My Song with music and lyrics by Chaplin and was a UK and US hit for Petula Clark in that same year, who sang, recorded and released it in English, French, German and Italian versions.

About Philippe Quint
Multiple Grammy Award-nominated violinist Philippe Quint has established himself as one of the leading violinists of his generation. In demand around the world, he regularly appears at venues ranging from the Gewandhaus in Leipzig to Carnegie Hall in New York and at the most prestigious music festivals such as Verbier, Colmar, Hollywood Bowl and Dresden Festspiele. BBC Music Magazine recently described Quint as "truly phenomenal."

Quint was named the Utah Symphony's Artist-in-Association for the 2018/1019 season which will include two weeks of residency with the orchestra and performances under conductors Andrew Litton and Thierry Fischer culminating in a recording for Hyperion label. Other highlights of his forthcoming season will include his debut with Bilbao Orkestra Sinfonikoa under the baton of Carlos Miguel Prieto, Moscow debut with The National Philharmonic of Russia led by Vladimir Spivakov, debuts with the Baltimore and Singapore Symphonies, and a return to Bournemouth Symphony with conductor Andrew Litton.

In addition to his award-winning discography, the celebrated American violinist of Russian heritage has won worldwide acclaim playing with world's leading orchestras and conductors. Quint's appearances in recent seasons have taken him to the London Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony, Weimar Staatskapelle, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, China National Symphony, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Berlin Komische Oper Orchestra, Leipzig's MDR performing under the batons of such renowned conductors as Kurt Masur, Edo De Waart, Andrew Litton, Tugan Sokhiev, Ludovic Morlot, James Gaffigan, Carl St. Clair, Michael Stern, Vladimir Spivakov, Cristian Macelaru, Kristjan Jarvi, Krzysztof Urbanski, Jorge Mester, Jahja Ling, Krzysztof Urbanski, Carlos Miguel Prieto, Tugan Sokhiev, Tito Munoz, Steven Sloane, and Bramwell Tovey.

In the 2016/17 season at the invitation of Maestro Vladimir Spivakov, Philippe opened the 28th edition of the Colmar Festival dedicated to Jascha Heifetz with Tugan Sokhiev conducting Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse in a performance of Korngold's Violin Concerto. Philippe Quint plays the magnificent 1708 "Ruby" Antonio Stradivari violin on loan to him through the generous efforts of The Stradivari Society. Born in Leningrad, Soviet Union (now St. Petersburg, Russia), Philippe Quint studied at Moscow's Special Music School for the Gifted with the famed Russian violinist Andrei Korsakov. After moving to the US from Soviet Union in 1991, he earned both Bachelor's and Master's degrees from the Juilliard School. His distinguished pedagogues and mentors included Dorothy Delay, Cho-Liang Lin, Masao Kawasaki, Isaac Stern, Itzhak Perlman, Arnold Steinhardt and Felix Galimir.

Chaplin's Smile Track List
1. Eternally "Terry's Theme" (1952) - Charlie Chaplin (arr. Philippe Quint, Charles Coleman, and Marta Aznavoorian)
Philippe Quint, violin; Marta Aznavoorian, piano

2. Smile (1936) - Charlie Chaplin (arr. Philippe Quint, Leon Gurvitch, and Charles Coleman)
Philippe Quint and Joshua Bell, violins; Marta Aznavoorian, piano

3. Weeping Willows (1957) - Charlie Chaplin (arr. Philippe Quint, Charles Coleman, and Marta Aznavoorian)
Philippe Quint, violin; Marta Aznavoorian, piano

4. Love Song (1969) - Charlie Chaplin (arr. Philippe Quint, Charles Coleman, and Marta Aznavoorian)
Philippe Quint, violin; Marta Aznavoorian, piano

5. Tango Bitterness (1947) - Charlie Chaplin (arr. Philippe Quint, Charles Coleman, and Marta Aznavoorian)
Philippe Quint, violin; Marta Aznavoorian, piano

6. Now That It's Ended (1957) - Charlie Chaplin (arr. Philippe Quint, Charles Coleman, and Marta Aznavoorian)
Philippe Quint, violin; Marta Aznavoorian, piano

7. Mandolin Serenade (1957) - Charlie Chaplin (arr. Philippe Quint, Leon Gurvitch, and Charles Coleman)
Philippe Quint and Joshua Bell, violins; Marta Aznavoorian, piano

8. Falling Star (1940) - Charlie Chaplin (arr. Philippe Quint, Charles Coleman, and Marta Aznavoorian)
Philippe Quint, violin; Marta Aznavoorian, piano

9. City Lights Suite (1931) - Charlie Chaplin (arr. Philippe Quint, Charles Coleman, and Marta Aznavoorian)
Philippe Quint, violin; Marta Aznavoorian, piano

10. Beautiful, Wonderful Eyes (1931) - Charlie Chaplin (arr. Philippe Quint, Charles Coleman, and Marta Aznavoorian)
Philippe Quint, violin; Marta Aznavoorian, piano

11. The Kid Fantasy (1921) - Charlie Chaplin (arr. Leon Gurvitch)
Philippe Quint, violin; Marta Aznavoorian, piano

12. Tango Natasha (1967) - Charlie Chaplin (arr. Philippe Quint, Charles Coleman, and Marta Aznavoorian)
Philippe Quint, violin; Marta Aznavoorian, piano

13. Crossing The Dance Floor (1967) - Charlie Chaplin (arr. Philippe Quint, Charles Coleman, and Marta Aznavoorian)
Philippe Quint, violin; Marta Aznavoorian, piano

Executive Producer: Philippe Quint
Producer/Engineer: Adam Abeshouse (Tracks 2, 7, 10, 11) Steve Robinson & Eric Arunas (Tracks 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 12, 13)
Recorded at DiMenna Center, NY and at WFMT Studios, Chicago, IL
© Bourne, Co., Hal • Leonard & Universal. All rights reserved.

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