Ilaiyaraaja records with symphony orchestra in Budapest for 'Music School'

Maestro Ilaiyaraaja has orchestrated and recorded the background score for the musical film, Music School in Budapest, Hungary.

According to sources, the much-awaited musical with compositions by Ilaiyaraaja is getting its final touches in Budapest.

Featuring 11 songs, Music School is written and directed by Papa Rao Biyyala. The film includes three songs from the Oscar-winning and much-loved classic The Sound of Music.

The film is produced by the Hyderabad-based company Yamini Films. The producers planned to record background music in Budapest to match the quality of the music from The Sound of Music.

"Dr Ilaiyaraaja has written many parts of the film's background music for a symphony orchestra. Hence we approached the Budapest Symphony Orchestra - one of the leading orchestras in the world," director Biyyala said. 

Earlier, three songs from The Sound of Music were orchestrated by the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

So, the music composer and the director thought it would be wise to have an orchestra of equal stature like the Budapest Symphony score the rest of the music for the film.

The recording was done at the Tom-Tom Studio in Budapest and Laszlo Kovacs conducted the Budapest Symphony Orchestra.

"I am very happy that Raaja sir gave so much time and involvement to my film," director Biyyala said.

Music School is about how school systems and parents put pressure on children to continue with endless hours of studies, with the hope of producing doctors and engineers, thereby leaving no time for art and leisure activities.

The film's cast is led by Shriya Saran, Sharman Joshi, Shaan, Prakash Raj, Suhasini Mulay, Benjamin Gilani, Gracy Goswami and Ozu Barua. Kiran Deohans has filmed Music School. 

Music School is to be screened on September 12 and 18 in the industry/market section of the Toronto International Film Festival.