Charlie Chaplin’s “Smile”: Anne Akiko Meyers

Smile, composed by Charlie Chaplin as the love theme for his 1936 film, Modern Times, was inspired by the soaring, romantic melodies of Puccini’s Tosca. Here is an excerpt from the film with the music in its original form. Lyrics were later written by John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons and the song became a standard. It was first recorded in 1954 by Nat King Cole. Later, it was performed by artists including Barbra Streisand, Josh Groban, and Michael Jackson.

Violinist Anne Akiko Meyers and pianist Akira Eguchi included this dreamlike version of Smile, arranged by Claus Ogerman, on their 2009 album of the same name. It seems like appropriate music for the unofficial end of summer:

Recordings

  • Anne Akiko Meyers’ Smile album Amazon

About Timothy Judd

A native of Upstate New York, Timothy Judd has been a member of the Richmond Symphony violin section since 2001. He is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music where he earned the degrees Bachelor of Music and Master of Music, studying with world renowned Ukrainian-American violinist Oleh Krysa.

The son of public school music educators, Timothy Judd began violin lessons at the age of four through Eastman’s Community Education Division. He was a student of Anastasia Jempelis, one of the earliest champions of the Suzuki method in the United States.

A passionate teacher, Mr. Judd has maintained a private violin studio in the Richmond area since 2002 and has been active coaching chamber music and numerous youth orchestra sectionals.

In his free time, Timothy Judd enjoys working out with Richmond’s popular SEAL Team Physical Training program.

1 thought on “Charlie Chaplin’s “Smile”: Anne Akiko Meyers”

  1. I was very familiar with both Barbra Streisand’s breathtakingly beautiful, poignant recording and Nat King Cole’s melodious rendition. It was a surprise that the original melody was composed by Charlie Chaplin!

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Mary McGagh Cancel reply