Charlie Chaplin, l'homme orchestre, the exhibition at the Philharmonie

Everyone remembers images of Charlie Chaplin 's 1910 burlesque character, the Tramp. A character with recognizable facial expressions and a unique silhouette, he plays a lot with his body on screen.

His career is presented at the Musée de la Musique de la Philharmonie de Paris from October 11, 2019 to January 26, 2020 through the prism of music (a logical angle for the Musée de la Musique)... Theexhibition takes us from his childhood to the last years of his career, with period photos, works of art, rare documents, film extracts and music.

Charlie Chaplin was immersed in the world of art and show business from an early age: after all, he was the son of two music-hall performers. He learned to play the piano, violin and cello, and at an early age performed in London's music halls. At the age of 18, he was spotted by Fred Karno, the leading British cabaret impresario of the time.

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It was a tour of the United States that changed the course of his life: he was given a chance to become an actor. It took only 4 years for the young Charlie Chaplin to become one of the world's best-known personalities, and at the age of 30 he co-founded United Artists and made his first feature films, including The Kid (1921).

For Charlie Chaplin, music was one of the components of film: his dancing body, attuned to the rhythm of the music, was his signature. From Lumières de la ville (1931) onwards, he composed the soundtracks for his films himself.

The focus is on the moment when cinema switched from silent to talkies, when he delayed Charlot's speech in his films to allow emotions to shine through through music and movement.

This is a great opportunity to rediscover Charlie Chaplin's 11 timeless films in an original soundtrack!