I was so thrilled to talk with Marco Beltrami to discuss his newest project Bach by Beltrami. Bach is one of my passions, as well as horror movie soundtracks, which drew me to this fascinating project by one of my heroes about another musical hero. Bach is an inspiration to many and I was interested in Marco’s own fascination with contrapuntal genius.
On March 3 at The Soraya, two-time Academy Award nominee, composer Marco Beltrami —known for his musical scores for The Hurt Locker, A Quiet Place, and four of Wes Craven’s Scream films—defies his childhood music teacher’s warning not to mess with Bach’s Preludes. His latest project, Bach by Beltrami, is a collection of material consisting of reimagined and transformed versions of the legendary Bach Preludes.

It would be fascinating to explore Beltrami’s creative process: how does one’s brain swing from the extremes of composing horror films scores to deconstructing and reimagining Bach’s most sacred work – in a way that taps the audiences’ emotions (fear and joy)! Beltrami said, “I have interpreted Bach’s map with my own emotional compass.”

Beltrami continued, “Bach’s music contains the musical seeds of the human condition. He transcends pain and suffering and oppression by offering freedom of thought. Many people are unaware of Bach because he has been stuffed into a rigidly labeled box that one is supposed to open without proper training. The purpose of this project is to take Bach out of this box and reveal sides to him that have remained obscured from public view.”

Beltrami has great friends joining him on this journey: firebrand violinists Sandy Cameron & Lucia Micarelli (their on-stage dynamics are particularly electrifying), cellist Eric Byers, and L.A.’s own Delirium Musicum Chamber Orchestra. Delirium Musicum is headed by Etienne Gara, The Soraya’s Artist-in-Residence.
Tickets: https://www.thesoraya.org

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