(August 14, 2023 – Los Angeles, CA) – Hollywood Records is excited to announce the 12” 2-LP vinyl album release of Chevalier (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) with an original score by Kris Bowers, including two new tracks, “VIOLIN CONCERTO IN C MAJOR, OP. 5, NO. 1: I. ALLEGRO” and “VIOLIN CONCERTO IN A MAJOR, OP. 5, NO. 2: II. LARGO” available exclusively on the vinyl. Included on the album are on-camera performance tracks produced and arranged by Michael Abels, and songs composed by Joseph Bologne, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Alessandro Scarlatti.
Inspired by the incredible story of composer Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges. The illegitimate son of an African slave and a French plantation owner, Bologne (Kelvin Harrison Jr. in a tour de force performance) rises to improbable heights in French society as a celebrated violinist-composer and fencer, complete with an ill-fated love affair and a falling out with Marie Antoinette (Lucy Boynton) and her court.
“The story isn’t being told because it’s a black person that existed in this time period. This is one of the greatest composers who was overlooked because he was black,” says Bowers. With Bologne’s incredible talent and charisma, some liken him to an 18th century rock star, with Michael Abels calling him “the Prince of his day.”
The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is also available on all digital platforms.
ABOUT KRIS BOWERS
Emmy award-winning composer and pianist Kris Bowers creates genre-defying music that pays homage to his jazz roots with inflections of alternative and R&B influences. The versatile composer’s repertoire includes documentaries Kobe Bryant’s Muse and Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You, scripted series “Bridgerton”, When They See Us and Dear White People, and films ranging from biopics King Richard, Respect, and The United States Vs Billie Holiday, to the live action/animated feature Space Jam: A New Legacy. In 2018, Bowers had the honor of collaborating with Emmy and Academy Award-winning director Peter Farrelly and Academy Award-winning actor Mahershala Ali on their critically acclaimed and Academy Award winning Green Book, not only scoring the film but also serving as Ali’s on-screen hand-double and piano coach.
Bowers received a Primetime Emmy nomination for his work in Ava DuVernay’s 2019 Netflix miniseries “When They See Us” about the Central Park Five. In 2020, he received another Primetime Emmy nomination for his work on the FX miniseries “Mrs. America”, and a further two nominations in 2021 for “Bridgerton”.
At the 93rd Academy Awards, he was nominated for his documentary short, A Concerto is A Conversation, which he produced, co-directed, and scored. Executive produced by Ava DuVernay, the documentary premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival.
Bowers’ most recent work can be heard on Netflix in seasons one and two of “Bridgerton”, “Inventing Anna”, and “Colin in Black and White”, in the HBO series “We Own This City” (helmed by his King Richard and Monsters and Men director Reinaldo Marcus Green), as well as in the Ava DuVernay HBO Max limited series “DMZ”. His forthcoming film releases include Disney’s Haunted Mansion, from his Dear White People and Bad Hair director Justin Simien, starring Danny DeVito, Owen Wilson, and Tiffany Haddish.
Bowers has recorded and performed with artists including Q-Tip, Aretha Franklin, Ludacris, Christian Rich, Jay-Z, and Kanye West and has contributed to albums by Marcus Miller, José James, Moses Sumney, and Murs. Bowers is an official Steinway Artist and was named one of twelve ‘Artists to Watch’ by iTunes in 2014. In 2020, he was honored with the Distinguished Film Composer Award by the Middleburg Film Festival. In 2019, he received the prestigious ROBIE Pioneer Award from the Jackie Robinson Foundation.
ABOUT MICHAEL ABELS
Two-time Emmy-nominated composer Michael Abels is known for his genre-defying scores for the Jordan Peele films Get Out and Us, for which Abels won a World Soundtrack Award, the Jerry Goldsmith Award, a Critics Choice nomination, and multiple critics’ awards. The hip-hop influenced score for Us was short-listed for the Oscar and was even named “Score of the Decade” by The Wrap. Other recent media projects include the films Bad Education, Nightbooks, Fake Famous, and the docu-series Allen v. Farrow. Current releases include Beauty which premiered at the Tribeca Festival and is now streaming on Netflix and Breaking (formerly 892) which premiered at Sundance and opens in theaters August 29. Abels’ third collaboration with Jordan Peele, Nope, released in July 2022.
Abels’ creative output also includes many concert works, including At War with Ourselves for the Kronos Quartet, Isolation Variation for Hilary Hahn, and the opera Omar co-composed with Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Rhiannon Giddens, which opens at Los Angeles Opera on October 22. His scores have been performed by the New York Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony, the Los Angeles Master Chorale, and many others. Some of these pieces are available on the Cedille label, including Delights & Dances and Winged Creatures. Current commissions include a work for the National Symphony, and a guitar concerto for Grammy-nominated artist Mak Grgic.
Abels is co-founder of the Composers Diversity Collective, an advocacy group to increase visibility of composers of color in film, gaming, and streaming media.
ABOUT HOLLYWOOD RECORDS / DMG
Disney Music Group is home to Hollywood Records, Walt Disney Records, Disney Music Publishing, Buena Vista Records, and Disney Concerts. DMG releases music and film and television soundtracks from some of the largest movie franchises in the world – from Disney, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, Pixar, Searchlight Pictures, and 20th Century Films including the chart-topping albums “Encanto,” “Frozen 2,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” the Oscar® and Grammy®-winning “Frozen,” the Grammy-winning “Guardians of the Galaxy,” the Emmy®-winning music from “WandaVision,” the Emmy-winning music from “The Mandalorian,” the Oscar and Grammy-winning “Soul” score, plus the Oscar-winning “Black Panther,” “Coco” and “Moana” soundtracks. Recent titles include “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” “The Banshees of Inisherin” and “Avatar: The Way of Water,” plus the television soundtracks “Andor” and “Only Murders in the Building.” Upcoming releases include “Chevalier,” “Elemental,” “Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3” and “The Little Mermaid.” DMG’s rich and eclectic catalog has impacted pop culture globally, including music from films such as “Snow White,” “Star Wars,” and “Beauty and the Beast,” as well as recording artist Annette Funicello, and the beloved classic song “It’s a Small World.” DMG produces Disney’s For Scores podcast series and The Big Score podcast and docuseries, highlighting conversations with acclaimed film composers from DMG soundtracks, as well as the recently launched Disney Hits Podcast featuring trivia and anecdotes behind favorite Disney hit songs. Disney Concerts licenses and produces hundreds of shows around the world, including Star Wars in Concert, Disney on Classic, Pixar in Concert, and many more.
The labels’ genre-spanning rosters include Queen (in North America), Andy Grammer, Sofia Carson, TINI Stoessel, almost monday, New Hope Club and more.
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ABOUT SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES
Searchlight Pictures is a global specialty film and television company that develops, produces, finances and acquires motion pictures and series for both worldwide theatrical and streaming releases. It has its own marketing and distribution operations, and is part of The Walt Disney Studios, a division of The Walt Disney Company. Founded in 1994 as Fox Searchlight Pictures, the company’s titles have grossed over $5 billion worldwide, amassing 46 Academy Awards including five Best Picture winners since 2009: Slumdog Millionaire, 12 Years a Slave, Birdman, The Shape of Water, and Nomadland; 55 BAFTA Awards, 32 Golden Globe Awards, and 10 Grammy Awards. Searchlight Television, the division which develops and produces series for streaming, network, and cable partners, earned a Primetime Emmy Award for Best Actress and an additional 5 nominations for its first production “The Dropout” from Elizabeth Meriwether, in partnership with Hulu and 20th Studios. Searchlight recently released Stephen Williams’ Chevalier; Mark Mylod’s The Menu; Martin McDonagh’s Academy Award nominated The Banshees of Inisherin; Andrew Ahn’s Fire Island; and Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson’s Oscar-winning documentary feature Summer Of Soul (…Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised) with Hulu and in partnership with Disney’s Onyx Collective. Upcoming releases include Eva Longoria’s Flamin’ Hot; Taika Waititi’s Next Goal Wins; and Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things.
