John Harold Kander (born March 18, 1927) is the American composer of a series of musical theatre successes as part of the songwriting team of Kander and Ebb. "Theme from New York, New York" (or "New York, New York") is the theme song from the Martin Scorsese film New York, New York (1977), composed by John Kander, with lyrics by Fred Ebb. It was written for and performed in the film by Liza Minnelli, and she also sang it in the Olympic stadium during the 1984 Summer Olympics, accompanied by 24 pianos and strobe lights.John Harold Kander (born March 18, 1927) is the American composer of a series of musical theatre successes as part of the songwriting team of Kander and Ebb."Theme from New York, New York" (or "New York, New York") is the theme song from the Martin Scorsese film New York, New York (1977), composed by John Kander, with lyrics by Fred Ebb. It was written for and performed in the film by Liza Minnelli, and she also sang it in the Olympic stadium during the 1984 Summer Olympics, accompanied by 24 pianos and strobe lights.John Harold Kander (born March 18, 1927) is the American composer of a series of musical theatre successes as part of the.