Charlie Chaplin loved classical music!

[Lance]

I am reading Charles Chaplin's My Autobiography, a paperback edition from Modern Classics (Penguin) just received from England. I'm delighted to have it as I have been enjoying my Chaplin Edition DVDs of late, both the silent- and the with-sound movies. Limelight is a particular favourite (and a tear-jerker) with Monsieur Verdoux a close second. I always knew Chaplin loved classical music and its musicians—he had tons of friends in all fields of the arts, but especially music—and he speaks about it in his book with a reference to pianist CLARA HASKIL whom he knew. Chaplin lived in Veyvey, Switzerland, a place whose streets I have walked and where I have seen many famous people, but not Chaplin, unfortunately. Chaplin also composed a great deal of music for his own films. I quote from the book:

"In Vevey we have new friends, among them Mr Emile Rossier and Mr Michel Rossier and their families, all of them lovers of music. Through Emile I met Clara Haskil, the concert pianist. She lived in Veyvey and whenever in town, Clara and both the Rossier families wou9ld come to dinner, and afterwards Clara would play for us. Although past sixty, she was at the apogee of her career, having her greatest triumps in both Europe and America. But in 1960 she slipped off the step of a train in Belgium and was taken to hospital where she died.

Often I play her records, the last she made before her death. Before I started the task of rewriting this manuscript for the sixth time, I put on Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3 with Clara at the piano and Markevitch conducting — which to me is as near an approximation of truth as any great work of art could be and which has been a source of encouragement for me to finish this book." [page 472]

[Seán]

What a wonderful life: having Clara Haskil over to dinner and then she plays for you, this is the stuff of dreams.

[absinthe]

^^^ Yes. A shame he couldn't return the gesture but with his feet as they were he kept missing the pedals. This was also the reason why he didn't try the organ.

[smitty1931]

Veyvey is a beautiful little Swiss town with a statue of Chaplin as the tramp.

[Wallingford]

Try doing a search on Amazon Music for the CD "Oh That Cello." It was recorded in about the late 80s and featured new recordings of Chaplin's choisest tunes, with a celllist and pianist whose names I can't recall. I had the disc once myself.

In '67 Chaplin had a true international hit with a song popularized in both English and French by Petula Clark--"This Is My Song" (C'est ma chanson). Haunting melody.

[stenka razin]

Try doing a search on Amazon Music for the CD "Oh That Cello." It was recorded in about the late 80s and featured new recordings of Chaplin's choisest tunes, with a celllist and pianist whose names I can't recall. I had the disc once myself.

In '67 Chaplin had a true international hit with a song popularized in both English and French by Petula Clark--"This Is My Song" (C'est ma chanson). Haunting melody.

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