by Mike Telin
Before there was a soundtrack on the film, there was plenty of great live music being performed in front of the screen.
Beginning on September 15, the Cleveland Silent Film Festival and Colloquium — a celebration of the expressive power of early cinema accompanied by live music — will launch its fifth edition with half a dozen films, five of which are celebrating their centenary.
This year’s Festival will feature some outstanding musical talent that will bring the historical films to life. To see the lineup and purchase single tickets and Festival Passes, click here.
The Festival kicks off with East and West (1923) on Tuesday, September 15, at 7:30 pm at the Cinematheque at the Cleveland Institute of Art.
When we think of modern-era film composers, the names Hans Zimmer, John Williams, Danny Elfman, and Howard Shore immediately come to mind. But who was responsible for creating the music that accompanied films during the silent era?
What do you get when you combine the sounds of an organ, accordion, guitar, violin, and piano? A creative soundtrack to Les Vampires, of course.
It was historical performance practice at its best this past Wednesday when the Cleveland Silent Film Festival presented a screening of the 1928 Buster Keaton classic comedy Steamboat Bill, Jr. at Oberlin’s historic Apollo Theater. Accompanied by the brilliant Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra, the evening captured the allure of the “Golden Age” of film.
Until recently, only a select few would have recognized the name John Stepan Zamecnik (1872–1953)
When we think of film composers, the names Miklós Rózsa, John Williams, and Randy Newman immediately come to mind. But who were the important composers from the silent era?