This October, two major venues in Scotland, the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall and Edinburgh’s Usher Hall, will play host to the screening of Director Todd Phillips award-winning film Joker to the accompaniment of a live orchestra.
Director Todd Phillips said “I speak for the entire Joker team when I say how thrilled we are to be working with SENBLA and Ollie Rosenblatt on Joker – Live In Concert. I think it’s a wonderful way for audiences to experience Hildur Guðnadóttir‘s haunting and immersive score while bearing witness to Joaquin Phoenix’s descent into madness as Arthur.”
The film, starring Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck in the eponymous role for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor, is augmented by the score from Hildur Guðnadóttir that was the winner of Best Original Music/Score, BAFTA, Golden Globe and Grammy.
The music, led by a lone cello, will be brought to life by a full orchestra conducted by SENBLA’s Dave Mahoney. Performed live, Guðnadóttir’s inimitable score illuminates further the atmosphere of Phoenix’s portrayal.
Guðnadóttir, who is of the most acclaimed young composers of her generation and the first-ever solo female winner of the BAFTA and Golden Globe awards for Best Original Score, is also known for being the Grammy-winning composer of HBO’s celebrated mini-series Chernobyl.
Hildur Guðnadóttir said “I’m thrilled to get to see and hear Joker in the cinema with a live orchestra. When we recorded the music, the orchestra brought such depth and detailed attention to the performances that we were all literally holding our breaths during most of the recording sessions. It was a beautiful trip. I’m so happy to get to go there again and for an audience to experience that too.”
Joker -LiveIn Concert is produced and promoted worldwide by SENBLA and following its London opening and a UK and Ireland tour will embark on an international tour. More dates to be announced soon.
Irene Brown
Radio Summerhall Arts 