Our Hospitality (Buster Keaton, 1923)
75 minutes
Instrumentation
violin, cello, guitar/banjo, piano, percussion
Premiere
Smithsonian National Museum of American History, December 2023
Synopsis
Set in 19th-century America, this riff on the famous Hatfield-McCoy feud somehow turns a murderous shoot-on-sight situation into comedy. Buster meets a girl on a train, and she invites him to dinner. All goes well until Buster learns he has stumbled into the home of his family's enemy. But her family can't kill him - so long as he is a guest in their house. A terrific comedy with some amazing stunt work from Keaton and his real-life wife Natalie Talmadge. Buster's son and father appear in this picture, as well.
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OUR HOSPITALITY Main Title
Andrew Simpson Ensemble, Smithsonian National Museum of American History, Washington, DC, Dec. 14, 2023. Live performance recording.
Anna Luebke, violin; Erin Murphy Snedecor, cello; Mark Sylvester, guitar/banjo; Liz Hill, piano; Chris DeChiara, percussion; Andrew Earle Simpson, conductor
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OUR HOSPITALITY Bluegrass
Andrew Simpson Ensemble, Smithsonian National Museum of American History, Washington, DC, Dec. 14, 2023. Live performance recording.
Anna Luebke, violin; Erin Murphy Snedecor, cello; Mark Sylvester, guitar/banjo; Liz Hill, piano; Chris DeChiara, percussion; Andrew Earle Simpson, conductor
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OUR HOSPITALITY Rescue
Andrew Simpson Ensemble, Smithsonian National Museum of American History, Washington, DC, Dec. 14, 2023. Live performance recording.
Anna Luebke, violin; Erin Murphy Snedecor, cello; Mark Sylvester, guitar/banjo; Liz Hill, piano; Chris DeChiara, percussion; Andrew Earle Simpson, conductor