Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. Festival Theatre. 11 Jul 2024
For a number of years now, the music of Hans Zimmer has been showcased (and rightly so!) in various major concerts around the world, with more to come throughout 2024 (at least). Tonight’s concert – one of two sold-out performances given by the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra in the Adelaide Festival Theatre – was recently performed in Perth, Melbourne and Sydney and featured the talents of their local preeminent orchestra. The concerts all feature Nicholas Buc as conductor, Dr Dan Golding and Andrew Pogson as hosts, and a local soprano (Desiree Frahn in Adelaide).
It would be difficult to find someone who has not previously listened to the music of Hans Zimmer, even if they didn’t know it. His name is writ large in the world of film music, and he has scored (or collaborated in scoring) the soundtracks for mega hits such as Gladiator, The Lion King, Inception, Pirates of the Caribbean, Driving Miss Daisy, the (Christopher Nolan) Batman trilogy, The Da Vinci Code, and even The Thin Red Line, The Holiday, Kung Fu Panda and Interstellar. Tonight’s concert featured compositions from all of these, and the audience lapped it up!
The stage of the Festival Theatre was absolutely chockers with the Adelaide Symphony at full might. Even though a number of guest players were filling in for absent principals, conductor Nicholas Buc was working with an aggregate of phenomenal musical talent, and the audience showed their immense appreciation during the curtain call as Buc acknowledged each of the sections of the orchestra. Because of the nature of the music, the full extent of percussion instruments was on display with a gun team of five percussionists moving efficiently from one instrument to another. The standard orchestra was also supplemented by guitars, harp, and electric keyboards that played piano and pipe organ parts.
The audience was diverse, and ages ranged from nine to ninety, such is the appeal of Zimmer’s film music. For some (many?), this was their first experience of a live orchestra, and what an experience it was. And for the dedicated film goer, who doesn’t think they are ‘into’ serious art music, this concert gave them a new reference point to appreciate film scores: actually seeing it played, rather than merely hearing it whilst watching the actual film. In his closing remarks, co-MC Andrew Pogson challenged the audience to ‘take a chance’ and go along and experience the orchestra in one of its more traditional concerts.
Dearest gentle reader, to coin an oft used phrase from the Bridgerton TV series, if you are yet to experience the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra performing fabulous music from the classical repertoire, may this reviewer exhort you to heed Pogson’s advice!
An enjoyable aspect of the concert was the commentary provided by Golding and Pogson about Zimmer’s career, and some of the ‘theoretical’ features of his music. It was fascinating to learn, and have demonstrated by the orchestra, the direct links between the iconic song Non, je ne regrette rien made famous by French chanteuse Édith Piaf and a melody found in Zimmer’s Suite from Inception. There were other similar bon mots that had the audience oohing and ahhing!
The scoring of Zimmer’s music usually includes a vast array of electronic instruments and techno aural wizardry. The arrangements used in tonight’s concert mostly did not include such instruments, and the ‘attack’ and ‘punch’ that is inherent in Zimmer’s music sometimes did not fully come through with a mostly acoustic orchestra. But did the audience care about that? Not at all! They had a great time, and their final applause was loud, lengthy, effusive and replete with wolf whistles, cheers and foot stamping – something more expected from a mosh pit than a symphony orchestra concert. Such is the magic of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, and the music of Hans Zimmer!
Kym Clayton
When: 11 Jul 2024
Where: Festival Theatre
Bookings: Closed
