Recently Restored, the 1922 Cult Classic Marked First Big-Screen Adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula

MONDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2005, AT 8 PM

This performance is sponsored by Acura.

Halloween night finds acclaimed theater organist Clark Wilson conjuring up a spine-tingling musical brew as he accompanies the recently restored silent film Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror with his own improvised score at Walt Disney Concert Hall on Monday, October 31, 2005, at 8 p.m. Wilson’s appearance is the second of five organ recital performances presented by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association during the 2005/2006 season.

The notorious vampire flick, which will be shown on a large screen in the auditorium, was the first motion picture adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Drawing from Grieg, Tchaikovsky, Wagner and other composers, Wilson creates his own movie soundtrack for this performance. Wilson has extensive silent film accompaniment experience and his unique film scoring has received critical acclaim by various organ- and concert-producing organizations, as well as individual reviewers.

Shot in the Carpathian mountains, in a medieval town named Lubeck, as well as on the Baltic coast of Germany, Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror tells the story of Count Orlok, a vampire who feeds on human blood. In his quest for nourishment, he takes a voyage to the town of Wisborg, where he becomes Nosferatu and prowls the darkness as he feeds.

Filmed in 1921 and released in 1922, Nosferatu was recently restored by the Munich Film Museum and the Cineteca del Comune di Bologna as part of a groundbreaking initiative by the European Union. Starring Max Schreck as Count Orlok, this cult classic has the distinction of being the first vampire movie ever made. In a copyright dispute, Stoker’s impoverished widow eventually sued the production company and won a ruling that ordered the destruction of Nosferatu. However, living up to the immortality of the vampire upon which it is based, copies resurfaced in Europe.

An Upbeat Live pre-concert event takes place one hour prior to the concert in BP Hall at Walt Disney Concert Hall, and is free to all ticket holders. Silent Movie Theatre proprietor Charlie Lustman hosts a Halloween program of silent short comedies with composer Rick Friend at the Steinway grand piano.

A visual centerpiece in the auditorium of Walt Disney Concert Hall, the organ was designed by architect Frank Gehry and built by Manuel J. Rosales of Rosales Organ Builders. The 6,134 pipes range in size from a pencil to a telephone pole, and are voiced with a wide dynamic range from super pianissimo to a breathtaking fortissimo. The specially curved wood façade pipes that comprise the Violone and Basson basses were made of solid, vertical-grain Douglas fir and installed by Glatter-Götz Orgelbau, Germany. Behind the façade are three levels of pipes, including metal pipes made of tin and lead alloys and wood pipes made of Norwegian pine.

The LA Phil’s Organ Recital Series continues on November 27 with David Higgs; on January 15, 2006 with Diane Meredith Belcher; and finishes on April 23 with John Scott.

A native of Ohio, CLARK WILSON began his musical training at age nine. While growing up he accompanied numerous stage musicals and was organist at several churches. Following several years with the Schantz Organ Company as a reed voicer and tonal finisher, Clark’s professional playing career began with his appointment to the featured organist post at Pipe Organ Pizza in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He has since been on the playing staffs at the Paramount Music Palace in Indianapolis, Indiana, Pipes and Pizza in Lansing, Illinois, and is currently associated with Organ Stop Pizza in Mesa, Arizona, where he is on the organ staff as well as having assisted with the planning and installation of the world’s largest Wurlitzer organ. Clark’s recording credits include seven albums. He has given all-transcription recitals for the AGO, played for the 1990 Organ Historical Society convention, and performed at numerous National and Regional conventions of the ATOS, as well as giving a series of highly lauded workshops for young people’s Pipe Organ Encounters. Last year he began work as a visiting lecturer on the theater organ and silent picture scoring for the Indiana University organ department. He has concertized in the United States, Canada, Australia and England, and done extensive silent film accompaniment, including at the Chautauqua Institution in New York, the Packard Foundation’s Stanford Theatre, UCLA, and the Fox Theatre for the Atlanta premier of the restored Metropolis. He presented the 1925 silent Phantom of the Opera last season at Walt Disney Concert Hall as a part of the inaugural organ series, and is now scoring pictures for Kino International for commercial release. Clark is the resident organist and organ conservator at the famed Ohio Theatre in Columbus, Ohio (for the Columbus Association for the Performing Arts) and was chosen by them to re-premiere the renowned Chicago Theatre Organ on a bill that included Michael Feinstein. He also headed the professional crew that began restoration on the Chicago’s landmark Wurlitzer. Along with a busy concert schedule, Wilson runs his own pipe organ business and is heavily in demand as a tonal consultant and finisher of both theatre and classical pipe organs; he has been given the singular honor of being brought to England multiple times for tonal finishing. He has received both the Technician of the Year and Organist of the Year awards from the American Theatre Organ Society, the only person to have done so, and his time is now nearly equally divided between concert and technical work. He has been professionally involved with more than 100 organ installations throughout North America and England and has provided voicing expertise for several different organ companies.

EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:

MONDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2005, at 8 PM

Walt Disney Concert Hall

111 S. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles


Clark Wilson, organ

Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror

This performance is sponsored by Acura.

Upbeat Live pre-concert events take place one hour prior to the concert in BP Hall at Walt Disney Concert Hall, and is free to all ticket holders. Silent Movie Theatre proprietor Charlie Lustman hosts a Halloween program of silent short comedies with composer Rick Friend at the Steinway grand piano.

Tickets ($20-$50) are on sale now at the Walt Disney Concert Hall Box Office, online at LAPhil.com, or via credit card phone order at 323.850.2000. A limited number of $10 rush tickets for seniors and full time students may be available at the Walt Disney Concert Hall Box Office two hours prior to the performance. Valid identification is required; one ticket per person; cash only. Groups of 12 or more may be eligible for special discounts for selected concerts and seating areas. For all information, please call 323.850.2000.

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