Went to USC with Messrob to see Yo-Yo Ma play the music of Ennio Morricone. The USC orchestra was conducted by Ennio’s son Andrea, and while most of them didn’t have the “passion” that Ma had when playing, it was still a rather good performance nonetheless. By far the best moment was at the end of the “Sergio Leone Suite” when they played “Ecstasy of Gold” from The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.
They also showed four short films by USC film school students, set to four of the pieces. I wasn’t too impressed with them, as they were abstract, but… whatever. We left before the discussion though, since we were super hungry. As far as the music goes, though, it was really good stuff – and the album is certainly one of the best re-recordings of the year so far!
As an unrelated side-note, it’s now cold at night here in LA…. and I didn’t have a jacket, and now my throat is sore. Ugh!