Corsier-sur-Vevey, December 2019 – 2020 Music Times at Chaplin’s World by Grévin
Throughout 2020, Chaplin’s World, the only museum dedicated to Charlie Chaplin, will celebrate the music of Charlie Chaplin, giving visitors a chance to experience a range of tributes to Chaplin the artist, composer, and musician. Starting in March, the Manoir de Ban will house the temporary exhibition “The Sound of Chaplin”, curated by the Paris Philharmonie and presented exclusively in Corsier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland. With concerts, panels, films, conversations, musical performances, 2020 will march to the beat of a whole series of events. A musical program for all ages!
MUSIC, AN ODE TO LIFE!
Best known as a director and an actor, Charlie Chaplin was also a musician and a composer. Through his music-hall parents, he was immersed in music from a young age and would retain his passion for it throughout his life. He loved music so much he spent his first hard-earned pay cheque on a violin. Self-taught, he also learnt to play the cello, before devoting himself to the piano.
Although he wanted to make it as a musician, he didn’t believe he was be gifted enough and eventually devoted his efforts to making it on the big screen. Speaking of his younger years with Fred Karno’s troupe, he would later write: “Each week I took violin lessons from the theatre conductor or from someone he recommended. I had great ambitions to be a concert artist, or, failing that, to use it in a vaudeville act but, as time went on, I realized that I could never achieve excellence, so I gave it up.” Once he was established as a world-renowned artist, and with the advent of ‘talkies,’ he began to compose the soundtracks for his films. He would spend hours in screening rooms, perfecting his music and improvising on the piano to the action on screen. In 1931 he wrote his first complete score for City Lights. In 1973, he won an Oscar for the music in Limelight.
A MELODIOUS PROGRAM
Next year will mark a rediscovery of Chaplin’s musical work, with several key events at Chaplin’s World. Here’s the score:
- A temporary exhibition
- To the Circus!
- Exclusive musical performances
- Fascinating encounters with experts
HIGHLIGHTS IN A MAJOR KEY
TEMPORARY EXHIBITION (13 MARCH–28 JUNE)
“THE SOUND OF CHAPLIN”
Designed and produced by the Musée de la musique-Philharmonie de Paris, this exhibition is being presented in Paris until 26 January 2020. Starting in March, it will be housed in the Manoir de Ban at Chaplin’s World, where visitors will have an opportunity to rediscover Chaplin’s fascinating musical and rhythmic work through rare archives, interactive installations and an immersive audiovisual experience with ambitious arrangements. Let the music move you!
THE TRAMP’S MUSICAL CIRCUS (10–26 APRIL)
Chaplin’s World and the circus school L’Alchimie will present three daily shows throughout the Easter holiday, transporting visitors on a dream-like journey, that of Chaplin as he left America for the Manoir de Ban in Corsier-sur-Vevey. Through the magic of music, they will embark on a metaphorical voyage through various tableaux of the Chaplin universe, and discover the nostalgic side to Chaplin as he remembers his musical works (the famous “dance of the bread rolls”, “Smile”) and wonders about the future. All to the sound of a live orchestra!
HIGHLIGHTS IN A MINOR KEY CONCERTS
Thursday 30 January: Philippe Quint, violin
Grammy Award-nominated violinist Philippe Quint will perform an exclusive opening violin recital, part of a singular dialogue between violin, piano, and excerpts from Chaplin’s films. Quint often appears with world-renowned orchestras and conductors. In January 2019, he released “Chaplin’s Smile” (Warner Classics), which features 13 standout compositions from Charlie Chaplin.
The tickets (39 CHF) will go on sale on December 2nd through Starticket.
Friday 7 February: Patrick Messina, clarinet, and Fabrizio Chiovetta, piano (in co-production with the Lavaux Classic Festival)
The Geneva-based pianist and the world-renowned clarinettist Fabrizio Chiovetta will play pieces from American composers such as Gershwin and Bernstein, whose works straddled the worlds of jazz and classical music. Musicologist Nancy Rieben will introduce the evening.
Sunday 21 June: “Fête de la musique” (in partnership with the Montreux Vevey Riviera Music Academy)
Chaplin’s World will feature several musical interludes on 21 June, in partnership with the Montreux Vevey Riviera Music Academy. Talented young artists from the Children’s Orchestra will play pieces from Chaplin’s musical work, in an enlightening and convivial atmosphere.
PANELS
Friday 13 March: “Chaplin and Music”
American composer and conductor Timothy Brock, a scholar of Chaplin’s musical oeuvre, and Kate Guyonvarch, Managing Director of the Chaplin Office, will host a panel on “Chaplin and Music”, featuring audio and video clips, and rare recordings.
Thursday 26 March: “A Conversation with…”
A screening of the documentary “Clara Haskil” by Pascal Cling, Prune Jaillet and Pierre-Olivier François, followed by a panel discussion featuring Eugene Chaplin and Marguerite Colombo, a friend of musician Clara Haskil’s, who will share their memories of Chaplin with Haskil.
Thursday 16 April: Screening of “The Circus”, introduced by Eugene Chaplin
As part of “The Tramp’s Musical Circus”, and in conjunction with the fourth anniversary of Chaplin’s World, Eugene Chaplin will be on hand to introduce the film “The Circus” in the Studio.
More information will be available early next year, but you can already mark down the highlights of 2020 in your calendar.
