Birkin Gainsbourg The Symphonic (with special guests) @ Beacon Theater on March 6th
Birkin Gainsbourg The Symphonic
Starring Jane Birkin, With full orchestra
Special appearances by Iggy Pop and Charlotte Gainsbourg
Artistic direction: Philippe Lerichomme
Arrangements and piano: Nobuyuki Nakajima
Friday, March 6, 2020 at 8:00PM @ Beacon Theatre
Actress, singer, songwriter and fashion icon Jane Birkin will pay tribute to late husband Serge Gainsbourg with Birkin Gainsbourg The Symphonic at the Beacon Theatre on Friday, March 6 at 8:00PM. Birkin will be joined by Iggy Pop and Charlotte Gainsbourg. Tickets are $75, $95 and $125 and will be available through Ticketmaster (866.858.0008, www.ticketmaster.com).
Arranged by Emmy Award-winner Nobuyuki Nakajima with artistic direction by Philippe Lerichomme, the concert offers symphonic versions of classic Serge Gainsbourg songs ranging from the beginnings of his career in the 1950s to those written especially for Birkin, such as ‘Jane B’ and ‘Baby Alone in Babylone,’ penned after the legendary couple’s separation.
Iggy Pop, legendary ‘godfather of punk’, singer-songwriter, musician and actor. With a career spanning over 50 years. e is known for his charismatic, at times outrages performances and eternally evolving music style.
harlotte Gainsbourg is an internationally acclaimed actress and singer/songwriter. She released her fifth studio album, ‘Rest’, in the fall of 2017
As Serge Gainsbourg’s companion of 12 years (during which daughter Charlotte was born), Birkin occupies a unique position as an interpreter of his music. “It is a privilege that one of the greatest French writers wrote for me from the age of 20 to 45”, Birkin says. “In a way, it never stopped. It’s a strange situation. What can I do for him now, even though it’s too late! At least I can wear him, take him with me. Say his words!”
Having sung his songs on stages around the world for more than 30 years, Birkin came to the realization that Gainsbourg had been so inspired by and used classical music so often within his music that a symphonic project would mark a truly logical extension of his body of work.
A live collaboration with Nakajima in Japan surrounding a benefit for the victims of the 2011 tsunami and Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster led to a deep admiration for his arrangements of Gainsbourg’s music and solidified the concept. “Nobu writes beautiful arrangements, so delicate, so moving,” she notes. “He has understood Serge’s charm, which can be funny as well as dramatic, can make you laugh out loud or cry when your soul is touched.”
Serge Gainsbourg was a prolific singer/songwriter, novelist, actor and filmmaker known for his provocative words and outrageous behavior. His musical genius covering classical, chanson, jazz, rock, reggae and more is still felt in France and around the world more than 25 years after his death in 1991.
An inspiration for musicians across the world, his songs have been sampled by artists ranging from De La Soul to Massive Attack and his work cited as influences by Beck, Yo La Tengo, and Tame Impala, to name just a few. So important is his impact on the cultural life of his home country that François Mitterrand, the French president at the time of Gainsbourg’s death, described him as “our Baudelaire, our Apollinaire. He elevated song to the level of art.”
