Preview Cleveland Orchestra at Blossom: two Pixar in Concert evenings— a conversation with conductor Richard Kaufman by Mike Telin “I’ve been very blessed,” conductor Richard Kaufman says of his impressive musical career — most of which he has devoted to conducting and supervising music for A./#0&6'.'8+5+10241&7%6+105#59'..#52'4(14/+0) A./#0&%.#55+%#./75+%+0%10%'46*#..5#0&104'%14&- ings. On Saturday, August 31, and Sunday, September 1, at Blossom Music Center, Richard Kaufman will lead The Cleveland Orchestra in Pixar in Concert. The pro- duction includes musical selections from A Bug’s Life, Brave, Cars and Cars 2, Finding Nemo, Monsters, Inc., Toy Story, Toy Story 2 and 3, Ratatouille, Up, and WAL- L·E#.10)9+6*8+&'1%.+251('#%*A./16*%10%'465 9+..$'(1..19'&$;A4'914-59'#6*'42'4/+66+0) “I was part of the team that created the show at Disney and this weekend's program is a montage of the 13 Pixar A./5/75+%?#7(/#021+0651766*#62'4(14/+0).+8' 61#0+/#6+10+5016#0'#5;6#5->*#8'615#;6*#6*#8'2.#;'&8+1.+0(14/#0;A./ scores but I think that playing for animation is by far the most challenging. In animation everything moves very quickly: you have to be able to turn on a dime. In the studio all the musicians use click-tracks but this weekend only part of the orchestra will be using click-tracks. And the fact that The Cleveland Orchestra is going to be playing this music on two summer evenings at Blossom is truly wonderful. It’s like all of the Planets have aligned.” Born in Los Angeles, Kaufman began studying the violin at the age of seven. “There were amazing music programs in LA when I was growing up and my youth orchestra 917.&1(6'02.#;#44#0)'/'0651(A./5%14'54+)*6#.10)9+6*6*'/75+%1(!%*#+-185-; #0& 41-1A'89#5#/'/$'41(6*' '6'4'4'/$.7/#.+(140+#70+14 4%*'564##0& 9*#69#54'#..;(70+56*#6 '6'49#5)11&(4+'0&59+6*$16*#%-'00;#0%*# Heifetz, so we got to meet them. And just as an aside, Burt Lancaster was my Pony League baseball coach.” Although Kaufman did not come from a musical family — his father was in the clothing business — he says his parents enjoyed a variety of music. “Because of my upbringing I learned to value all kinds of music. But I was always attracted to the symphonic sound on 6*'4'%14&+0)51(A./5%14'56*';$17)*6*1/'?0&)419+0)72+0&+&/'#06*#6 one was surrounded by the movie industry which presented more then a few opportuni- ties. Kaufman recalls that “One day, people from Warner Brothers came to my school .11-+0)(14-+&561#7&+6+10(146*'A./8'45+101(The Music Man. Since I played the vi- olin and there were no violins in the movie, I practiced playing the Trombone. Not to ac- tually play it but to make it look like I knew how to play it. So I auditioned and got the part.” "14-+0)+0A.//75+%%#..5(14#-019.'&)'1(#..-+0&51(/75+%#0&(14'+)*6''0;'#45 Kaufman served as the Music Coordinator at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, something he says he pinched himself over every day. “I was working as an assistant to Lional New- man at 20th Century Fox when Harry Lojewski at MGM invited me to come and work 9+6**+/57&&'0.;(170&/;5'.(914-+0)9+6*51/'1(6*'/156%4'#6+8'2'12.'+0A./ /75+%9#5+081.8'&+06*'18'4#../75+%#.241&7%6+10(14$16*6'.'8+5+10#0&A./+0- cluding assisting with the hiring of composers as well as doing some of my own compos- ing.” A unique aspect of his career has been coaching actors in musical roles, including Tom Hanks, who had to play the role of an orchestra concertmaster performing the Scheherazade51.15+06*' A./The Man with One Red Shoe. A more complicated 6#5-9#5%1#%*+0)#%- +%*1.510612.#;8+1.+0#0&2+#01#.10)9+6*/#-+0) 75#0 #4#0&10#%108+0%+0)%'..+56(146*' A./The Witches of Eastwick. “The idea was not to teach them to play, but to teach them to look as though they had been paying the instruments all of their lives.” "*;&1'5#7(/#06*+0-6*' +:#4A./5512127.#49+6*#7&+'0%'51(#..#)'5>!*'; #4'A./56*#66'..5614+'56*#6/18'75#52'12.'!*';#4'01&+(('4'066*'0Gone with the Wind.” And although he says he loves all of them he does have a special feeling for UP. >6@5#.18'5614;(41/$')+00+0)61'0&=%#..+6#691*#0&-'4%*+'(A./?
Published on clevelandclassical.com August 27, 2013