Soundtrack for the film Manhattan

The soundtrack for Woody Allen’s film, Manhattan, features the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra

In January of 1977, under the baton of music director Michael Tilson Thomas, the BPO recorded a very successful LP titled Gershwin on Broadway for Columbia records (34542). The recorded pieces include six Gershwin overtures: Girl Crazy, Of Thee I Sing, Let ‘Em Eat Cake, Oh Kay, Funny Face and Strike Up the Band.

A few months after the recording was released, the Buffalo Philharmonic received a request from Woody Allen to use some of the tracks from the new LP for the background score of his upcoming film, Manhattan, which would be released early in 1979. In order to secure the legal rights, Allen’s producers sent each BPO musician a check for an extra recording session that would never take place. Allen simply used the original master tapes that had been made in Kleinhans. Part of the film score is also provided by the New York Philharmonic, and both orchestras are acknowledged in the film credits at the end of the movie.

Manhattan is readily available on DVD. The original BPO-Gershwin LP was later issued on a very popular CD (SONY MK42240), which also features the New York Philharmonic.