Two Worlds Collide: M83 Meets L.A. Phil at Disney Hall

The program will conclude with a joint performance by M83 and the L.A. Philharmonic, which Gonzalez seems quite confident about, despite it being his orchestral debut. “I’m more intimidated by the 30 minutes of music I have to play alone just by myself,” he confesses. “Playing with the orchestra I won’t do a lot of things — I won’t play a lot of instruments because I want to give a lot of space to the orchestra since there are a lot of musicians in it. But I’m not really stressed about playing with the orchestra. I’m gonna have a lot of pleasure playing with them.”

While the orchestra may not be entirely familiar with M83’s material just yet, Gupta reassures, they’re excited by the prospect of the collaboration. “I’ve seen orchestras where the stuffy nature of the players is really constraining and they don’t enjoy music that’s outside their comfort zone,” he says. “But this orchestra is a bunch of really great sports and good musicians because it takes a good musician to appreciate the validity of musical expression in a band like M83.”

Anouck Bertin

Classical gas: Anthony Gonzalez, a.k.a. M83

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More About

• Anthony Gonzalez
• Robert Gupta
• Los Angeles Philharmonic Association
• Orchestral Music
• Classical Music

Should M83 feel slighted that the violinist isn’t yet familiar with their repertoire, they may take comfort in knowing they’re in good company. When legendary diva Diana Ross performed with the orchestra at the Hollywood Bowl last summer, Gupta found himself in a similar position. “I was embarrassed that I didn’t know her stuff because she’s a cultural icon,” he admits. But the consummate professional intends to do his homework before the show. “We’ll prepare on our side, they’ll prepare on their side, and we’ll meet together and make music. So whatever challenges that manifest themselves, we look forward to, because that’s part of the job.” In the meantime, Gupta says, “I’m going to download M83 off of iTunes right now!”

M83 perform with the L.A. Phil at Walt Disney Concert Hall on Saturday, March 7.