Conductor: Ben Parry
Such is the power of film that Symphony Hall is packed to the rafters for an evening of music from the movies. Featuring composers such as Alan Silvestri, Hans Zimmer, Alan Menken and, of course, John Williams, this evening of film music presented by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) holds the Symphony Hall audience in thrall.
Petroc Trelawny, who has an impressive range of classical music credits, has over 20 years of presenting BBC Proms on radio and TV, and leads us through the evening’s music. He brings the air of a genial and precise headteacher to proceedings as he discusses the pieces we are about to hear, imparting interesting nuggets about them, the films and the composers. He also leads a short discussion with tonight’s conductor, Ben Parry, about film music and his background. It’s interesting to hear just how little rehearsal the orchestras playing film music can have, with, for example, scenes for which music has already been composed and recorded being re-done and thus new music being required at short notice. On the rostrum, Parry is controlled and authoritative, conducting with precision and authority.
There’s only one way in which such a concert can begin, of course, and that’s with the 20th Century Fox fanfare from Alfred Newman – it’s hard to believe that this old lady is over 90 years old. The drums and horns still have the power to transport one back to a childhood sitting on red velvet in a smoky cinema as the CBSO fills the hall with the fanfare’s might. And the classics continue, with John Barry’s familiar theme to the films of James Bond with the well-known guitar line and raucous horns; it still sounds fresh and provides the CBSO with an opportunity to raise its skirts of over a hundred years and really swing.
The evening is one of light and shade with the familiar set cheek-by-jowl with themes that might not be as well known, So the James Bond theme gives way to the tinkling celeste that characterises Hedwig’s Theme from the Harry Potter films and the delicate My Edward and I from Dario Marianelli’s score for Jane Eyre.
Our hearts are stirred by rousing tracks from, for example, Elmer Bernstein’s theme to The Magnificent Seven and the Star Wars main theme of John Williams. But there are more introspective pieces in this carefully curated evening: the theme from Titanic, My Heart Will Go On, provides an opportunity to catch one’s breath as the oboe evokes the vocal line. Ethereal lighting supports the simplicity of the piano line in Isobel Waller-Bridge’s simple but effective piece for The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse, creating a serene and introspective atmosphere.
The CBSO, of course, features world-class musicians among its number, skilfully evoking the moods of the pieces, moving from a feeling of sprightly mischief in Rachel Portman’s Passage of Time from Chocolat to foreboding in Hans Zimmer’s main theme from Gladiator. The leader of the orchestra, Zoe Beyers, provides a plaintive and moving violin solo in the achingly beautiful Schindler’s List, a score that won John Williams one of his five Oscars.
All too soon the evening is over and we can reflect on what film music does best, manipulating our moods from sombre to jolly in tune with the action on screen.
Reviewed on 19 January 2025