Charlie Chaplin Movie Night

Pianist Tom Roberts on Chaplin movies:

“I have always been interested in Charlie Chaplin, but it wasn't until three years ago when the Pittsburgh Symphony approached me to improvise for some silent movies that I became passionate.

When I found out that the films were Chaplin movies, I convinced them to permit me to compose new scores in a manner that Chaplin himself would have approved of.

“I was aware that the music becomes a major part of our experience when watching a silent film—the wrong music can totally destroy our experience of the film. ” Chaplin himself was well aware of that and, as soon as he could, he composed scores for the films that he owned. I fell in love with the score to City Lights, a Dog's Life, The Kid... They were miraculous and created the perfect atmosphere for the audience's experience of those films. Chaplin stated that a profound sense of irony was the key ingredient: to juxtapose the most elegant music against the most outrageous slapstick. 

And to also create an almost subconscious means of the audience to connect with the story and characters.”

“Someone once said that watching a silent film is like being in a dream." Come and experience this wonderful mixed media presentation.