INTERVIEW: Lalo Schifrin’s composition part of Dudamel special on PBS

For classical music lovers, Lalo Schifrin needs no introduction. The composer, pianist and conductor is responsible for some of the most important compositions in the last few decades, and the 84-year-old is busier than ever.

His Concierto de la Amistad received its world premiere thanks to maestro Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic in August at the Hollywood Bowl, and that performance has been filmed by PBS. The special, Great Performances: Dudamel Conducts Tangos Under the Stars With the LA Phil, is set for broadcast Friday, March 31 at 9 p.m. on PBS (WNET in the New York City area).

Other works featured on the program include pieces by Astor Piazzolla and Alberto Ginastera.

Schifrin was born in Argentina to a family that had music in the blood. His father was concertmaster of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Buenos Aires at Teatro Colon, so the young composer was exposed to all the right elements from childhood. His talents were eventually recognized by Dizzy Gillespie, who asked Schifrin to become his arranger and pianist, according to the composer’s official website.

After his move to the United States, Schifrin’s compositions took off and have never stopped. From Invocations to Concerto for Double Bass to Tropicos, the works over the years have displayed Schifrin’s versatility and diversity of styles. His film and TV compositions became legendary as well. The composer is responsible for the scores to such classics as Mission: Impossible, Cool Hand Luke, Dirty Harry and The Amityville Horror, among others. These Hollywood projects led to Oscar nominations, Golden Globe nominations, Primetime Emmy nominations and a Grammy Award (for Mission: Impossible).

For the performance of his Concierto de la Amistad, Schifrin was honored to have Dudamel at the helm. “I love Maestro Dudamel,” the composer said in a recent phone interview. “You know, I am subscribed to the concerts at Disney Hall during the season, and I go because of him. We know each other a little bit, but we’re not friends. I have a lot of respect for him, and he has for me.”

The world premiere came about because Schifrin is good friends with guitarist Angel Romero. In fact, the name of the piece, Concierto de la Amistad, is an ode to their friendship. It is translated as “Concerto of Friendship.”

When Schifrin sat in at the Hollywood Bowl performance, he was quite happy with the music he heard from the orchestra. “I was very, very moved,” he said. “I was very moved to hear what I had in my mind. When I write music, I have an idea in my mind, and all of a sudden that music becomes a reality outside of my mind.”

In a press release, Schifrin provided further details on how the piece came together. “The structure is three movements, and sometimes sonata form, sometimes theme and variations. … It’s like a journey,” he stated. “I start with a kind of dance … a kind of dance of the Middle Ages combined with 21st- or 20th-century music. So in that sense, it’s a journey. But it’s a journey also in terms of geography because it has African elements, obviously European — especially Spanish — European elements, South American elements all over.”

Schifrin has been writing pieces for the guitar for a number of years. He loves the instrument and knows its history, easily reciting historical facts like the origins of the 16-century vihuela instrument from Spain.

“It’s a very musical and magical instrument,” he said of the guitar. “All of the instruments are great, and I love all the instruments. And I know how to write for all of them. I just finished for the Chicago Symphony a tuba concerto. … I’m writing now for the Symphony Orchestra of Marseilles in France. There’s a great mandolin player there, and he commissioned me a concerto for mandolin and orchestra. … We try to sing through instruments when we cannot sing.”

Schifrin has not taken a break from composing. He still wakes up and loves to write music. In fact, the music master finds this passion not only fulfilling but motivating. “If I don’t write music, I get bored, and being bored is getting close to death,” he said. “So I’m writing right now. I’m writing a symphony in four movements for the Buenos Aires Philharmonic, which … by the way, the world premiere is going to take place in Buenos Aires in Teatro Colon.”

That seems like another full-circle moment for Schifrin. After all, his father was concertmaster at that respected venue when the composer was still young. “I’ll be going to Buenos Aires, yes, because I was born there, and I haven’t been there in a long, long time,” he said. “I don’t think I accomplished everything I have to do. That’s why I keep writing. I’m not a narcissist. Somebody else in my place would be a narcissist thinking, oh, I made it; I achieved everything. No, I think the more I know, the more I want to learn because the more I know, I realize how little I know.”

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com

Lalo Schifrin’s new composition, Concierto de la Amistad, will be part of the upcoming PBS program Great Performances: Dudamel Conducts Tangos Under the Stars With the LA Phil. The program will run on PBS (WNET) Friday, March 31 at 9 p.m. Click here for more information.