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The Hollywood Bowl: Music Under the Stars



Co produced with WDR German TV and KERA/PBS Los Angeles foreign distribution: RM Associates





The world famous Hollywood Bowl is known for its magnificent natural setting - and as home to the world's greatest music since 1922.  From the end of June to the middle of September, nearly 1 million people a year fill its 20,000 seat amphitheatre to experience world-class performances of symphonic music, pop, rock, country, and world music.

They come from around the world to hear the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Hollywood Bowl orchestra, and legendary artists such as Brian Wilson, Itzhak Perlman, Debbie Reynolds, Bernadette Peters, John Williams, John Mauceri, Esa-Pekka Salonen - all stars who are seen in this program in performance and behind the scenes.  The camera follows several performers through the experience of playing the Bowl, during rehearsals, and the anxious wait in the wings before walking out onto "the biggest stage in the world."

The music performances by the Los Angeles Philharmonic cover a broad range of repertoire from classical to movie scores:

Richard Rodgers - Theme from Carousel: Aaron Copland - Salon Mexico: Shostakovich - Festive Overture; Handel - Royal Fireworks Music; Williams - Theme from "E.T."; Sousa - The Stars and Stripes Forever; as well as Latino music composed by Piazzolla, Hernandez, Rodriquez, Barcelata, and Abreu.

Part of the story is told by classically trained impresario Ernest Fleischmann who took over operation of the Bowl in the late 1960's after flagging attendance and routine concerts made the Bowl only a shadow of its previous glorified existence.  Fleischmann relates how he fought hard to bring in pop and rock acts, jazz, and young people, and turned the Bowl into a venue appealing to all ages and tastes.

Interwoven with today's spectacular performances and fireworks extravaganzas in the 80 year history of the Bowl.  Over 200 vintage rare black and white photographs were discovered in the archives of the Los Angeles Philharmonic during the research for this film, enabling the producer to illustrate the original Bolton Canyon site for the Bowl, and how the architectural forms of its acoustical shell evolved.  Construction films from the 1920's were used to show how the massive amphitheatre was actually carved right into the side of a mountain.

Featuring never seen before performance archival films of the likes of Leopold Stokowski, Jascha Heifetz, Mischa Elman, Eugene Ormandy, Bruno Walter, Otto Klemperer, Jose Iturbi, and Fritz Reiner - "The Hollywood Bowl: Music Under the Stars" celebrates the 80th anniversary of this magical place.