SF Symphony Film Series to Present Six Films, Accompanied by Live Music, for Second Season

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (August 27, 2014) - The San Francisco Symphony (SFS) continues its popular Film Series in the 2014-15 season, offering a wide range of critically-acclaimed films projected above the Davies Symphony Hall stage with their powerful musical scores performed as live orchestral accompaniment. The series opens September 27 with The Wizard of Oz and its Academy Award-winning film score, in celebration of the film's 75th Anniversary year. December 12 & 13 the SFS is joined by over 150 children's voices for the holiday favorite Home Alone with score by John Williams. The U.S. premiere of Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather with live orchestral accompaniment of the film's haunting score by Nino Rota follows, January 9-10. A celebration of iconic choreography on March 28, Gotta Dance! Great Moments of Dance in Film highlights choreographed scenes from 2001: A Space Odyssey, Brigadoon, Madame Bovary, and An American in Paris, among others. The series closes on April 25 with a program saluting Chinese composer Tan Dun's film scores, including his Oscar- and Grammy-winning score to Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Zhang Yimou'sHero, and Feng Xiaogang's The Banquet. On Halloween, a restoration of the 1920 black & white film Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde will be accompanied by the improvisations of Todd Wilson on Davies Symphony Hall's mighty Ruffatti organ. The series follows the sold out inaugural series in 2013-14 which presented a week of Hitchcock films, A Night at the Oscars, Charlie Chaplin's silent film City Lights, and selections from Disney's classicFantasia films. More About the Films The 2014-15 series opens on September 27, with Constantine Kitsopoulos conducting The Wizard of Oz. Nowcelebrating its 75th anniversary year, the film's songs were written by Harold Arlen with lyrics by Edgar "Yip" Harburg and incidental music by Herbert Stothart. The team won an Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Over the Rainbow" as well as Best Original Score. Television rebroadcasts beginning in 1956 made it the most viewed film in history, and solidified its place as "culturally significant," named so by the Library of Congress. The producer of the live concert version is John Goberman with original orchestrations reconstructed by John Wilson and Andrew Cottee. Following his Halloween appearance in 2013, organist Todd Wilson returns on October 31 to the Ruffatti organ in Davies Symphony Hall for a second film concert, improvising the organ accompaniment to the silent horror film, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, based on the novella by Robert Louis Stevenson, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Actor John Barrymore leads in the stage role that garnered him critical acclaim in this restored version of the 1920 silent film, with co-star Nita Naldi. December 12 & 13, the family-friendly and holiday-themed film, Home Alone, features a rousing score by John Williams. Guest conductor Sarah Hicks leads The SF Symphony with guests The Ragazzi Boys Chorus, the San Francisco Boys Chorus and the San Francisco Girls Chorus singing the traditional carols on the soundtrack along with William's own composition "Somewhere in my Memory." Conductor Justin Freer brings us the US premiere of The Godfather Live on January 9 & 10, just one month after its world premiere in London. The arrangement re-incorporates all of the film's original music including Al Martino's on-screen vocal solo in "I Have But One Heart", traditional Italian folk music and jazz standards, previously not available. With stars Marlon Brando and Al Pacino, the 1972 film about the Corleone crime family is recognized as one of the greatest movies ever made. Composer Nino Rota is known for his work with directors Fellini and Visconti. His score for The Godfather was ranked fifth in the American Film Institute's list of the best scores ever written. Following his successful appearance in the SFS's 2013-14 film series, conductor Joshua Gersen leads the Orchestra in Gotta Dance! Great Moments of Dance in Film. The compilation features clips from classics likeBrigadoon, An American in Paris, Madame Bovary, 2001: A Space Odyssey showcasing the choreography from famous dance scenes and the original music that inspired them. Notable contemporary Chinese composer Tan Dun ultimately won critical acclaim through his film scores. He won an Academy Award and a Grammy Award for the score to Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon(2000), the music from which is included in Tan Dun's Martial Arts Trilogy along with Zhang Yimou's Hero, and Feng Xiaogang's The Banquet. Conductor Damian Iorio appears for the first time with the Orchestra.