The New Yorker has profiled George Daughterty, conductor for the “Bugs Bunny at the Symphony” program since he started the concert series in 1989. The series pairs original Looney Tunes cartoons (including “What’s Opera, Doc?”, “Corny Concerto,” and “The Rabbit of Seville”) with live orchestral accompaniment. Among other topics, Mr. Daughterty discusses how he started the concert series, how Looney Tunes cartoons were the gateway drug to classical music for many classical musicians across multiple generations, the reason why Hollywood had a world-class classical music scene in the 1930’s and 40’s, and the specific problems that Daffy Duck causes in their efforts to strip out music from the original Looney Tunes cartoons.
(via Mark Evanier’s weblog)
