Sydney symphony calls the tunes from Pixar animations

We can’t confirm if Buzz Lightyear will in fact be taking the baton, as suggested by the image, but the programme of favourites from Pixar movies is certain to be very popular.

Movie titles like Finding Nemo, A Bug’s Life,  Ratatouille and the Toy Story trilogy from Pixar Animation Studios have become a part of contemporary culture. There are few households amongst the Western movie-going population which wouldn’t have the characters and stories from Pixar’s movies, woven into family life, embracing two, even three generations of grand-parents, parents and children.

The music from these features are stand alone symphonic pieces which the Sydney Symphony performs in three concerts in early November.  The California based Pixar Animation Studios has produced 13 feature films since 1995. This year in July, Pixar presented a premiere series of concerts which combined music and vision from all its features, performed by the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. Then followed 3 concerts at the Hollywood Bowl. In October, the concert will be presented in Bonn, Germany.

Reminisce with images of some of the most beloved characters from each of Pixar’s movies, and their latest release Brave, projected on a big screen in the Sydney Opera House concert hall, accompanied by the Sydney Symphony performing the memorable scores. Pixar is to Gen Y, what Disney was to the baby boomers and Pixar, along with its now owner, The Walt Disney Studios have revolutionised big screen animation.

The attention to detail, the scripting and storytelling, and the life-like computer-generated imagery are unprecedented, The role of music as a vital adjunct to the story-telling is no less important.

All 13 scores have been written by just four composers; Randy Newman (b. 1943), Michael Giacchino (b. 1967), Thomas Newman (b. 1955), and Patrick Doyle (b. 1953). Collectively, this music has won three Academy Awards®, received ten additional Oscar® nominations, and won ten Grammys.

“Music, to me, is one of the most important things to give a movie emotion,” John Lasseter, Chief Creative Officer of Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios, told Variety during a Hollywood recording session last year. “Lighting, color, and music are all things I use as a storyteller. I’m in absolute awe of the talent of these musicians… the fact that they have never seen this music before and yet play it perfectly, with feeling and interpretation.”

Six Pixar films have won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature, including four consecutive awards between 2007 and 2010. Pixar is hoping to make it seven with Brave. 

Tickets from $35* via www.sydneysymphony.com or the Sydney Symphony Box Office.

Family tickets $199* (2 adults + 2 children, C Reserve). Only available via the Sydney Symphony Box

 *Booking fees of $7.50–‐8.95 may apply.

Sydney Symphony Box Office : 9am – 5pm Monday to Friday on 8215 4600 or visit www.sydneysymphony.com