Foto: @[100890010083913:Frank Embacher Photographie]
The World of Hans Zimmer, Resorts World Arena, 9th April 2024
Currently touring the UK & Europe as part of the A New Dimension tour, The World of Hans Zimmer found itself at the Resorts World Arena in Birmingham on Tuesday evening to perform in front of a jam-packed audience of film score enthusiasts. It’s reported that by the end of the tour, the show will have been seen by half a million people.
Curated by Hans Zimmer himself, the tour performs the music of the two-time Academy Award winner with a huge orchestra conducted by Gavin Greenway.
Opening with the music from Man of Steel, the first half of the concert took audiences through various movie soundtracks including Pearl Harbour, The Dark Knight, No Time To Die and Interstellar. The highlight of the first section however was the fantastic performance of Gladiator, in which the orchestra were joined by vocalist Lisa Gerrard.
The second half featured performances of soundtracks including Kung Fu Panda, Wonder Woman, and a recent addition to the catalogue of Dune Part Two. The highlights however were the fantastic The Lion King, in which the orchestra were joined by vocalist Lebo M as well as the closing section of Pirates of The Caribbean with plumes of fire gracing the huge stage.
The concert was interspersed with video messages from the main man himself, talking about the experience of producing the soundtrack as well as what various songs and movies mean to him. The concert had a good balance of the hard hitting, impactful and memorable moments that Zimmer has become known for as well as some more sombre and quiet moments that made for a dynamic musical texture throughout the performance.
With the orchestra taking up a large proportion of the stage, the sides were accented by towers that housed the choir that appeared during various sections of the performance as well as a large video screen behind, that showed moments from the film in case you needed prompting as to what film was being performed.
What the evening really did however, was demonstrate the impact and reach that Zimmer has produced in terms of film soundtracks and developing its accessibility as music in it’s own right rather than just an accompaniment to a movie. Fantastic.
Review: Dan Earl
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