How did this project come about, composing the score for the Charlie Chaplin film?
It was originally proposed by the New York Guitar Festival. In fact they even proposed the film. But I really wanted to do it because I had seen the film years ago. And I liked it. So I did it once at Merkin Hall in fact it was commissioned. That was in January [2010]. And this is only the second time I’ve done it. What was the process like? It’s a semi-improvised score. I wouldn’t say it’s through-composed. I have a couple of scenes improvised, and some parts are just pure improvisation, but I have seen the film like probably 150 times or something like that. Maybe it just seems that way. But to prepare for something like this, I’d watch it at least once a day. I prepared for it by just playing to it. How long were you working on it? For a couple of months actually. Sometimes more than once a day. And some of the themes are themes I’ve written for other films, and like I said I use them in a film-music way. I simplify them greatly. It’s amazing how little information works with film.
