Lalo Schifrin is a true Renaissance man. As a
pianist, composer and conductor, he is equally at home conducting a symphony
orchestra, performing at an international jazz festival, scoring a film or
television show, or creating works for the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra or the
London Philharmonic.As a young man in his native Argentina, Lalo Schifrin received classical training in music, and also studied law. He came from a musical family, and his father, Luis Schifrin, was the concertmaster of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Buenos Aires at the Teatro Colon.
Lalo Schifrin continued his formal music education at the Paris Conservatory during the early 1950's. Simultaneously, he became a professional jazz pianist, composer and arranger, playing and recording in Europe.
When Schifrin returned to Buenos Aires in the mid 1950's, he formed his own big concert band. It was during a performance of this band that Dizzy Gillespie heard Schifrin play and asked him to become his pianist and arranger. In 1958, Schifrin moved to the United States and thus began a remarkable career.
His music is a synthesis of traditional and twentieth-century techniques, and his early love for jazz and rhythm are strong attributes of his style. "Invocations," "Concerto for Double Bass," "Piano Concertos No. 1 and No. " "Pulsations," "Tropicos," "La Nouvelle Orleans," and "Resonances" are examples of this tendency to juxtapose universal thoughts with a kind of elaborated primitivism.
He has written more than 100 scores for films and television. Among them "Mission Impossible," "Mannix," "The Fox," "Cool Hand Luke," "Bullitt," "Dirty Harry," "Tango," "Rush Hour" and "Rush Hour 2" which have become very popular. Lalo Schifrin has won four Grammy Awards (with twenty-one nominations), one Cable ACE Award, and received six Oscar nominations.
In 1987, a select group of some of the best musicians in France decided to form the Paris Philharmonic Orchestra for the purpose of recording music for films, performing concerts and participating in television shows. The appointed Lalo Schifrin as Musical Director and their inaugural concert took place at the Theatre des Champs Elysées on January 26, 1988. His first recording with this orchestra was released on September 1988. Schifrin held this post for five years before resigning to spend more time composing.
Among Schifrin's other conducting credits are the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Israel Philharmonic, the Mexico Philharmonic, the Houston Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, the Mexico City Philharmonic, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra of Saint Luke (New York City), and the National Symphony Orchestra of Argentina.
In 1986, the Glendale Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Lalo Schifrin, performed at the Hollywood Bowl. His "Salute to the Statue of Liberty" was received with a tumultuous ovation by a crowd of 17,000 people. In 1987, Schifrin was commissioned to write the overture for the Pan American Games which he recorded in Toronto and premiered with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. In 1995, Schifrin composed ad conducted the finale for the Pan American Games, which were held in Argentina.
It is Schifrin's ability to switch musical gears which makes him so unique in the music world. As a jazz musician he has performed and recorded with great personalities such as Dizzy Gillespie, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Stan Getz, and Count Basie.
His "Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra," was recorded by the London Philharmonic Orchestra featuring soloist Angel Romero. "Dances Concertantes" for clarinet and orchestra which he conducted at the Pyramids of Teotihuacan in Mexico with Placido Domingo as the tenor soloist. The event was telecast in 1989. In 1999, this concert was released on CD, DVD and VHS.
In April, 1989, Lalo Schifrin was appointed Music Director of the Glendale Symphony Orchestra, and he served in that capacity for six years.
Lalo Schifrin is a recipient of the 1988 BMI Life Achievement Award. He has been honoured by the Israeli government for his "Contributions to World Understanding through Music." In 1988, Schifrin received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame from the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. He was given Honorary Doctorate Degrees from the Rhode Island School of Design and the University of La Plata, Argentina. He was honoured at the M.I.D.E.M. Classique Festival in January, 1990, at Cannes, France, conducting the National Symphony Orchestra of Lyon. He received the "Distinguished Artist Award" in 1998 from the Los Angeles Music Centre.
Lalo Schifrin has been appointed "Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et Lettres," one of the highest distinctions granted by Frances' Minister of Culture, which in this case was Mr. Jack Lang.
In 1998, the Argentine government appointed him Advisor to the President in Cultural Affairs with a rank of Secretary of the Cabinet.