Spotlight: FROM MEXICO TO HOLLYWOOD at Walt Disney Concert Hall

From the late 1930s through the early 1960s the film industries of Mexico and Hollywood flourished, each creating an output of beloved movies and cherished scores that continue to impress. Legendary composer John Williams curates and Gustavo Dudamel conducts a cinematic journey through a selection of these works, from comedia ranchera to Casablanca.

Join the LA Phil on this excursion through the Época de Oro del Cine Mexicano, showcasing troubadours from cowboy musicals alongside epic scores from the country’s most famous composers such as Silvestre Revueltas and Manuel Esperón.

In addition, influential filmmakers including the surrealist auteur Luis Buñuel, director/actor Emilio "El Indio" Fernández, and beloved comedian Cantinflas (Mario Moreno) mined the interaction between sound and vision to inspired results.

To the north, Hollywood’s Golden Age not only catapulted figures like Bette Davis and James Dean to stardom, but also attracted eminent composers and songwriters eager to contribute to the relatively New Medium of film. European émigrés like Max Steiner and Miklós Rózsa helped mint instant classics with melodies that audiences hummed on their way out of movie theaters. Richard A. Whiting wrote an anthem for studio system in “Hooray for Hollywood,” while the work of George Gershwin, who died in 1937, was realized in full technicolor with An American in Paris. In subsequent decades, composers including Maurice Jarre and Leonard Rosenman built upon this legacy.

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