ROYAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA: FILM MUSIC GALA

ROYAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA: FILM MUSIC GALA

Thursday 2 June 2011 - 7:30 PM

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra returned to the Royal Albert Hall for its annual celebration of film music, featuring classics from the golden age of Hollywood together with the latest Box Office blockbusters!

I went to this event on Thursday with a friend, and it was fantastic!

Highlights of the night included iconic soundtracks from films such as: Gladiator, Avatar, Harry Potter, Star Wars, Rocky, Out of Africa, Lord of the Rings, Jurassic Park, Pirates of the Caribbean, Mission Impossible, plus scores from Citizen Kane, Taxi Driver, Psycho, North by Northwest and Vertigo, as a special tribute to Bernard Herrmann in celebration of his centenary.

Special guests John Scott and Debbie Wiseman each conducted 2 scores themselves.

All scores were amazing, but if I was to pick the audience's favourites, they were scores from Harry Potter, Star Wars, Pirates of the Caribbean, Rocky, and of course, Psycho. Rocky was the finale piece, and it was all very exciting to see (although I could not really see that side of the stage) electronic instruments used alongside the classic orchestra to give that 'rock-y' edge:-) 

The whole atmosphere inside the hall was very relaxed and warm (the commentator did a good job here) , and you could see that people were there to enjoy themselves by indulging in some quality musical memories, showcased by the roar of laughter that came out as soon as the soundtrack from Psycho began with the nerve-tingling but oh-so-familiar sound of super-high-pitched violins.

My two favourites of the night (although my all-time favourite soundtracks include themes from Gladiator and Lord of the Rings) have got to be: 

1. 'Hegwig's Theme' from Harry Potter for its sheer diversity in the instruments used. I particularly like the sound of xylophones and harps, which were used a lot in this score, and it was amazing to see how complex playing this piece must be, looking at the violinists whose left hands were moving frantically along the strings! I never really liked the film version of Harry Potter (except fro the first one, maybe) and always though this theme is too eery, rather than magical. But to see it played live by a orchestra.. The experience is just totally different, and you can appreciate the score much more as a stunning piece of music, rather than something attached to the visuals of a film.

2. 'Pirates of the Caribbean' theme - I never really realised how much 'cultural' references were blended into it.. it was almost like a folk-music in some parts. Also it was absolutely amazing to discover that on hearing the very first note of this piece, everyone in that hall was seeing Jack Sparrow (or Captain Jack Sparrow) walking on a busy harbour with the distinctive hand-gesture or the Black Pearl rocking along the waves in their minds in HD quality. The 'flow' of the music and its perfect resemblance of waves and ships that move with or against them... 




It was just sheer pleasure to witness these great music first-hand from one of the world's best orchestra - it is easy to miss their brilliance when you are hearing them whilst looking at visuals, but listening to them separately with a musical interest, rather than as a 'background sound' to a visual, really puts the spotlight on the unmatched talents behind these masterpieces.