It is difficult to pin the multi-talented Michel Legrand down into one single category. This amazingly versatile singer, songwriter, composer, arranger, conductor and producer has enjoyed a whirlwind career, excelling in an impressively broad range of domains from film soundtracks and French ‚chanson‘ to jazz and classical music.
An international star, who has won as much respect in the United States as he has in Europe, Legrand is an insatiable musician whose creativity and ambition appear to know no bounds. “Melody is the mistress of music”, he is fond of saying. Accompanied by the Orchestre National d’Île-de-France, Michel Legrand is going to prove it again tonight by giving us the pleasure of rediscovering, in their symphonic dress, his most beautiful film scores. And all of this together with the Quebec star Mario Pelchat and the kind participation of some of the big names in French song: Maurane, Liane Foly, Patrick Fiori and many surprise guests. For the programme for this evening, the composer has compiled a sumptuous panoramic traveling view, spanning over fi fty years of “Legrandish” cinema, as the Americans like to say. Namely, an anthology of vibrant music written for The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, The Young Girls of Rochefort, Yentl and Ice Station Zebra. That’s not all. As the icing on the birthday cake, the maestro will provide us with a bunch of his most famous songs like Summer ‘42, The Windmills of my Heart and How long to die my Youth. A title that looks very much like a profession of faith.
BONUS: Behind the Scenes - A documentary including interviews with Michel Legrand and other performer as well as backstage and rehearsal footage of the concert.
Sound Format: PCM Stereo
Picture Format: 16:9
DVD Format: DVD 9, NTSC
Subtitle Languages: GB, DE, FR
Running Time: 107 mins + 54 mins (bonus)
FSK: 0
