Boston Pops Celebrate Halloween with Organ Wunderkind Brett Miller Accompanying Horror Classic 'Nosferatu' on Wednesday

There is no keeping "Nosferatu" dead. Some 102 years after this horror classic, directed by F.W. Murnau, was released in Germany, a remake is scheduled for a holiday release – and not Halloween, but this Christmas with a heavily prostheticized Bill Skarsgård as the titular character in Robert Eggers' redo.

The original film, released in 1922, also has legs (so to speak), especially this time of the year with special screenings turning up to show why it remains the granddaddy of vampire movies. Even upon its release, its connection with "Dracula," the popular novel-turned-stage hit in the 1920s, was so apparent that the widow of Bram Stoker, who wrote the novel, successfully sued for copyright infringement. Her win almost led to the destruction of all prints; fortunately, some copies survived. But what makes it different from "Dracula," is that Nosferatu (or Count Orlok played by German actor Max Schreck) doesn't take a recognizable human form such as Bela Lugosi took in the stage play and film; rather Nosferatu's features resemble that of a rodent with deadly pale, alabaster-white skin. His is a scary visage and iconic horror image that has found its way into popular culture, most notably in 1979 in the television adaptation of Stephen King's "Salem's Lot" in which the villain is meant to look like Nosferatu; and a recurring character, named Count Orlik, on "SpongeBob Square Pants," which is as close as many under 35 have ever been to Murnau's scary creation.

This week as part of the Boston Pops' wide-ranging Halloween programming, the film will be shown in Symphony Hall on Wednesday, October 30 at 7:30pm, but not with the Pops playing the orchestral score; but rather organ soloist Brett Miller standing in for orchestra and playing it on Symphony Hall's famous instrument – the Aeolian-Skinner organ – whose pipes sit prominently on the room's back wall. In 1949, the organ replaced the hall's first, built in 1900 by George S. Hutchings, because its heavy sound fell out of favor. In 2003, the organ received a complete overhaul by Foley-Baker Inc. to further enhance its sound.

The Pops Halloween programming also includes two screenings of Tim Burton's "The Nighttime Before Christmas" on Thursday and Saturday with Keith Lockhart conducting the Pops in Danny Elfman's score in Symphony Hall, 7:30pm. And in conjunction with "Dia de los Muertos" ("Day of the Dead"), a major event in Mexico, the Pops will present "Celebrating Día de Muertos – The Day of the Dead" on Friday night at 7:30pm in Symphony Hall. According to a press release, "The Boston Pops' inaugural Day of the Dead concert sets out on an exploration of the rich and varied offerings from the world of Mexican music: nationally flavored works from contemporary Mexican composers like Gabriela Ortiz and Arturo Rodríguez, popular and traditional song associated with Día de Muertos, and the vibrant folk styles of mariachi and son jarocho, in collaboration with local artists Veronica Robles and Zaira Meneses." For ticket information to these concerts, follow this link.

Miller will be coming to Symphony Hall to cap a busy month of these live-to-film performances, which not only include "Nosferatu," but also "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" and "Phantom of the Opera" in concert halls throughout the country. At the young age of 22, Miller has become one of the leading proponents of these interactive concerts of silent classics. Currently studying to be a conductor at the Eastman School of Music, Miller spoke to EDGE about how at the age of 10 his parents took him to see the silent version of "The Phantom of the Opera" with organ accompaniment, and he immediately asked if he could learn how to play the instrument.

EDGE: This time of the year must be your busy season...

Brett Miller: My October gets so busy, like these, you know, the past two weeks is, you know, just bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, and then, you know, November, it's dead silent. And so, you know, it kind of just gets really packed all at once. But it's all good. It's good busy.

EDGE: "Phantom of the Opera" was where it began for you, correct? You saw a screening of it when you were about 10 and became obsessed with it?

Brett Miller: I saw it at the University of Pennsylvania, Irvine Auditorium. And I was hooked. I mean, it's, it was such a unique experience. And my first time seeing a silent film with a live accompaniment. To hear the organ roaring away during the film was life changing.

EDGE: This led you to ask your church organist if you could learn to play the organ?

Brett Miller: I grew up outside of Philadelphia, and we had a small neighborhood church. I asked the organist if I could take lessons, and she agreed. And then, a family friend of ours knew the film accompanist for the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, and put me in contact with him. He gave me a couple lessons and introduced me to other people with whom I still in touch with, and we just talk about Silent films and how to accompany them. So it's a very small community, but it's, it's kind of funny how, you know, close knit it still is some twelve years later.

EDGE: And you being from a generation for whom silent films must seem very remote. What was it about them that affected you so?

Brett Miller: I think the biggest thing is that they're great films. I admire what these filmmakers were doing. And at the time, they were in uncharted territory, essentially. Look at "Nosferatu," what they were achieving from a cinematic standpoint is amazing. But what really hooked me is how my playing connects the audience to the film. I have this massive instrument in front of me that is really a tool to communicate to the audience. What really fascinates me is that I have seen many, many silent films played this way and every single one has a different interpretation. So it's a really, you know, you have this blank canvas to basically work with, and it's just really fun. It's a really fun thing.

EDGE: Did you write your own score?

Brett Miller: No. It is actually based on the original score from 1922. It was written by a German composer named Hans Erdmann. But the wife of Bram Stoker, who wrote the original "Dracula," sued the filmmakers for copyright infringement and she won. Materials related to the film were destroyed, including prints of the film and the score.Some five years later, Erdmann wrote a book in which he threw in themes from the film along with descriptions of what they are meant to accompany, such a bats flying around a castle on the hill. His score was reconstructed from these notes. It is interesting history how that score has survived after all the prints of the film were thought destroyed.

EDGE: It was scored for orchestra, then you reduce to an organ transcription?

Brett Miller: The job of the organ is basically to replace the orchestra. So it is fun for me such in this case, to become the Boston Pops because in this case I am using organ more like an orchestral instrument. If the score calls for a clarinet, I'll try to make the organ reproduce the clarinet sound. The same is true for strings. And there was even some organ used in the original score. With thos passages, I can let the organ rip a bit. r if it calls for strings, stuff like that. Or if it even calls for organ, there was organ in the original score. Then you then you can let the organ rip a little bit.

EDGE: Are you excited to be playing in Symphony Hall with its famous Aeolian-Skinner organ?

Brett Miller: Symphony Hall is such a landmark of a hall, and for or me, it is the room that is really the instrument. I am still pinching myself at this opportunity because I love the Boston Symphony. I love the Boston Pops. I grew up listening to Keith Lockhart and John Williams recordings with the orchestra. And it such a strange and wonderful thing to see myself in the room where it happened. The recordings. The organ was built by the firm Ian Skinner, which was based in Boston, and then I believe it was renovated a couple of years ago. The instrument really is a Boston landmark. The facade itself is just striking. You see it when you come into the hall and it is really something. It is a very special instrument in a very special hall.

EDGE: Is there a organ sound that you prefer? A heavier sound? A lighter sound?

Brett Miller: I kind of go in between, especially when I accompany a film. I mean, the film is an hour and a half long and I need to balance the sound. When I was younger, I went for a loud sound, but realized that for the audience, this can get tiring very quickly. But I have learned that the power of the organ comes with its huge dynamic range. I can go from near silence to an absolutely ear-shattering sounds. So I don't think prefer one sound or the other. I just like knowing that I have the ability to go between such extreme dynamics in seconds.

EDGE: Do you watch the film as it shown on the screen?

Brett Miller: This one I do because I have done enough times and have memorized the music. But also since I'm using the original themes, I get to do a great deal of improvisation. So it's never the same every time I play it. And watching the film I can get a feel on how the audience is responding to the music. "Nosferatu" is kind of funny – it starts off almost campy and light-hearted, then gets really, really dark; so I always like to see the shift in the audience – laughing at ifirst, then watching their reaction change as Nosferatu brings plague and every man character – spoiler alert – dies with the heroine sacrificing herself to kill Nosferatu. So the mood in the room shifts very quickly. And I like to feel that moment.

EDGE: What is it about "Nosferatu" that appeals you as a film?

Brett Miller: What has always amazed me is the cinematography. It was filmed mostly on location, with all this stuff filmed on location. But the biggest thing is how creepy it is for a film that's 102 years old. It still has a disturbing factor to it, which is great for Halloween. It's funny I like to joke that my generation has gotten to know "Nosferatu" from SpongeBob episodes, and I hear that a lot. And they see it as this campy thing, which it is not. And it is fun to watch the audience see their expectations unpended. "Nosferatu" is a scary and disturbing movie.

EDGE: And the movie never seems to go away. There is a major remake coming...

Brett Miller: Yes. That opens on Christmas, no less! I mean, vampires for the holiday season. Here is the granddaddy of vampire movies get a remake!

EDGE: What print will you be showing?

Brett Miller: It is the most recently restored version. So it's the print is crystal clear. It's actually even tinted at different moments. For instance, when ight falls, the film is tinged with a purplish color. When it is daytime, it turns yellowish; when the sea is involved, it turns blue. It is a really good copy that been lovingly restored as it was when it premiered in 1922 and follows the original color coding scheme. I believe it was digitally restored from one of a print once thought lost.

EDGE: What about other silent movies? Would you like to do this with one of them?

Brett Miller: Of course. At the top of head, I think of "Wings," which was one of the first winners of the there's some massive dramas. I mean, wings, which is 1927 which won the Academy Award for Best Picture – I think it was the first. It is a great, great movie. I did a screening that used the score from the original film, which was really fun because I get to this traveling back in time with these films. And it is amazing to see these movies when they are restored. "Metropolis" is another favorite, because it a classic sci-fi film that is so unique. And then anything Buster Keaton, I always find Keaton really just. Is his comedy is really still refreshing now, and his films are just absolute masterpieces.

EDGE: And you are studying to be a conductor, so we may just to get to see on the podium at Symphony Hall as well?

Brett Miller: Yes. I am in Rochester right now.at Eastman School of Music doing my Masters in orchestral conducting.

Brett Miller plays the original score to "Nosferatu" at a screening of the film, Wednesday, October 30, 2024, 7:30pm, at Boston's Symphony Hall, 301 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, MA. For more information, follow this link.