June 21 - Lalo Schifrin (The Musical Birthday Series, 3rd Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for June 21th are found here: Alois Hába (2019) and Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach (2020)

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Lalo Schifrin (b. 21 June 1932) is an Argentine-American pianist, composer, arranger and conductor, especially known for TV and movie scores.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two Biographical Curiosities

Impossible Dream

“I sat at my desk and wrote that theme in exactly one-and-a-half minutes. It was not inspiration; it was a need to do it. It was my own little mission impossible! The whole thing – including the chorus, the bongos, everything you hear – took me maybe three minutes.” -- Lalo Schifirn, as qtd, in Martin Chilton, Independent, 18 November 2018

When Schifrin concocted the scheme

Of the Mission Impossible theme,

He says that the score,

In iconic 5/4,

Arrived all at once like a dream.

Star Struck

“When Tom Cruise saw me, he hugged me twice. He said he grew up with the television series and the music was one of the biggest elements that convinced him to get involved in the movie project, not only as an actor but as the co-producer. So he made my day.” -- Lalo Schifirn, as qtd, in Martin Chilton, Independent, 18 November 2018

When Schifrin encountered Tom Cruise,

The latter began to enthuse;

He said that the theme

Made the character seem

Like a part that he couldn’t refuse.

 

 

 

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