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This event is sold-out with a standy/walk-up: please click the Red button for more info!


CATCH THE LIVESTREAM HERE!

Join us and experience the WORLD PREMIERE of a new score to the iconic film, METROPOLIS, composed by Mannes School of Music student, Amir Sanjari, performed live to the film by the Mannes Orchestra.


This event is free and open to the public with registration. Digital concert program here.


“Among the many things that are magical about masterpieces of the silent film era is the possibility of creating new musical sound worlds for extraordinary moving images. This is just what our student composer Amir Sanjari has done with Fritz Lang’s legendary Metropolis, where the brilliant young composer of 2024 joins forces with the 1927 thunderbolt of silent film history," said Richard Kessler, Executive Dean, College of Performing Arts and Dean, Mannes School of Music.


The (Un)Silent Film series has been critical in advancing the resurgence of film screenings with live music and has been hosted by Matthew Broderick, Bill Irwin, Rob Bartlett, Ed Rothstein, and Michael Bacon.


(Un)Silent Film nights have presented the world premieres of works composed for The Birds and The Immigrant (by Nathan Kamal and Alexis Cuadrado respectively), a New York premiere of a score by Hollywood composer Craig Marks for the film Sherlock, Jr., and Charlie Chaplin's original scores for Gold Rush and other Chaplin classics.

(Un)Silent Film: METROPOLIS IN CONCERT

Q & A with Composer, Amir Sanjari:

What is unique about this particular project?
It was crucial to avoid the typical 'Mickey Mousing' that we are used to seeing and hearing in silent films. That is when the music projects exactly what happens on the screen. I wanted to take a different route and adapt modern film scoring techniques to a film that is almost 100 years old. In addition, I combined many influences such as flamenco, rock and hip-hop with classical concert music to create a new sound world for Metropolis.


What inspired this composition?
Fritz Lang got the idea for Metropolis when he was in Manhattan in the 1920s promoting another movie of his. Knowing this, I took inspiration from the city itself. The buildings, the art and many other things in New York City inspired me to write the score. In addition, I was very inspired by minimalism and the repetition of musical ideas, so I tried to incorporate that in my score.


Were you a fan previously of the film Metropolis?
Absolutely. I love Fritz Lang's work. His world building is very inspiring. Metropolis and M are both incredible works of art.


What inspires you more generally as a composer?
Stories and visuals! That is probably why I write music for films. I often find inspiration by watching (and listening) to my favorite filmmakers like Peter Greenaway, Denis Villeneuve and David Cronenberg, among others.


Please share details of anything else you're working on at the moment.
At the moment, I am scoring several short films, composing a piece for solo violin and writing an orchestral suite inspired by George Orwell's 1984.

~

JOIN US!

(Un)Silent Film: WORLD PREMIERE score for METROPOLIS

Wednesday, April 10, 2024, 7:30PM to 10:30PM (EDT)

New School Tishman Auditorium

63 Fifth Avenue, NYC


Composed by Amir Sanjari

Conductor, Robert Kahn


METROPOLIS (1927)

Director: Fritz Lang

Written by: Thea von Harbou, Fritz Lang

Presented by the College of Performing Arts at The New School.

Cost

Free

Amir Sanjari is a composer, orchestrator, and producer who aims to tell stories through his unique musical language. Born in Tehran and raised in the south of Spain, Amir was exposed to a wide variety of music ranging from classical to rock, hip-hop, and flamenco. Inspired by his favourite composers, he self-taught piano from the age of 10, and he became interested in composing his own music by the age of 15. His love for film and music started after hearing John Williams' score for Steven Spielberg’s Schindler's List, and he made the decision of writing music for cinema.


A true cinephile, Amir’s approach to music combines his deep knowledge of not only music but of cinema and the art of filmmaking. Studying the films of Denis Villeneuve, Wes Anderson, Peter Greenaway, and Sergio Leone taught him about how the right use of music in film can enhance its emotional depth. At the same time, he discovered the world of the avante-garde. Artists such as Philip Glass, Morton Feldman, Francis Bacon, and David Lynch attracted him to their unique and beautiful worlds. 


Telling stories through music has always been an essential element in Amir’s work. He describes his music as progressive minimalism. Maintaining a unique and personal voice, each score he writes is different depending on the tone of each film, the way characters interact, the camera movement, and many other factors. He is passionate about working with filmmakers to create a unique and one of a kind sound world for each individual film. His most recent film score for Tyler Czajkowski's Disguise has been heard by over five million viewers on YouTube. 


His latest project is composing an original score for the latest restoration of Fritz Lang´s 1927 masterpiece, Metropolis, which will be performed live to film by the Mannes Orchestra in New York in the Spring of 2024.