If I were to compile a list of the great composers of orchestral music the names would, I think, be predictable – Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Puccini, to name a few. All of them long dead but still as popular and memorable. The power of their work lying in its layered complexity and deep emotional resonance.
Yet what I haven’t fully realised is that there is orchestral music being composed in our era that is just as moving, well constructed and powerful – the scores of major motion pictures. Don’t get me wrong, of course I know that in reality and I love film soundtracks.
But somehow I’ve managed to separate those earlier composers into an elite category and viewed the likes of John Williams, Danny Elfman, or James Horner as incredibly talented but not of the same pedigree.
After attending the Art of the Score: The Music of Hans Zimmer any notion of movie composers not belonging in that elite group has been truly shattered.
The concert was a collaboration between Auckland Philharmonia and the creators of the Art of the Score podcast Professor Dan Golding and Andrew Pogson. These two affable and charming musical experts shared snippets of Zimmer’s life story and introduced each suite of music in a fun and accessible way.
They were joined by guest conductor Nicholas Buc who brought a playfulness to the evening and watching his masterful and fluid precision on the podium was a real treat.
The scores performed included major sci-fi films as well as romantic comedies. Zimmer has been quite prolific.
From the urgent and thrilling opening of Sherlock Holmes to the sweetness of Driving Miss Daisy the composer’s brilliance shone through.
Pogson and Golding cleverly deconstructed the music to explain its origins. In one case, with the help of the orchestra, the duo showed how just two notes from Piaf’s Je Ne Regrette Rien formed the basis of the main theme of the film Inception. Zimmer composed the scores for Batman Begins and The Dark Knight and in analysing these we were treated to a rendition of the original Batman TV series theme tune with a bit of audience participation.
There were so many other incredible pieces – The Pirates of the Caribbean suite, Kung Fu Panda, The Thin Red Line, rom com The Holiday. Each and every one of them exceptional.
The stand out for me was the theme from The Da Vinci Code. Pogson explained beforehand how the piece begins with an insistent violin theme followed by a rising call that starts in the timpani section and then sweeps through the orchestra to be finally answered by the violins. Listening to this incredibly emotional and stunning piece of music unfold exactly as described brought tears to my eyes.
If there was any lingering doubt about the magic of cinematic music this piece destroyed it.
Of course, any score is ultimately in the hands of the musicians who play it. Our city should be rightly proud of the members of the Auckland Philharmonia. This world-class orchestra absolutely smashed it. The music was flawless, full of passion, emotion and gorgeous layering and it was all down to this dedicated group of people.
Together, all the participants delivered a truly beautiful evening of inspirational and transcendent music.
Photo credit – Thomas Hamill
ART OF THE SCORE: THE MUSIC OF HANS ZIMMER
4th April 2025
Aotea Centre – Auckland
