BACK TO THE FUTURE

Set in a nightmarish urban dystopia in 2027, Fritz Lang’s 1927 silent masterpiece Metropolis invented the science-fiction-film genre and revolutionized cinema with sets and special effects that made it the most expensive film of its era. Over the years, it’s also inspired countless musical scores, some more bizarre than others (an ’80s pop version with songs by the likes of Pat Benatar and Freddie Mercury outraged purists). Tonight, however, we predict the reviews to be positive when the new-music ensemble Manhattan Sinfonietta perform the U.S. debut of the 1994 score by Argentine-born composer Martin Matalon, which combines jazz, fusion, electronics, and psychedelic rock to accompany a 140-minute version of the film with English subtitles.

Fri., Sept. 19, 7 p.m., 2008