INTERSTELLAR LIVE - Hans Zimmer
“It’s not possible.”—Case
“No, it’s necessary.” —Cooper
I think this quote (and to be honest there are a number I could have used) sums up last night’s Royal Albert Hall extravaganza perfectly. Everything about the evening was necessary and Orchid Media managed to put on something that has raised the bar high up into the stratosphere for all future live orchestra and film events. Bravo to all involved and let’s go boldly, not gently into the night!
To start this review I think it is necessary to swiftly delve into the programme notes. Tommy Pearson describes a conversation over lunch at Abbey Road where he states to Hans Zimmer “I’ve got a date at the Royal Albert Hall what shall we do?’ and the reply comes “We have got to do Interstellar LIVE!” All I can simply say is thank goodness for the dedication, vision and overwhelming passion of Team HZ... as well as a certain crazy streak. Whilst the film upon its release in November 2014 polarised a number of individuals one thing was a staple talking point and that was Zimmer’s etheral, gothic and bold underscore for Christopher Nolan’s Sci-Fi epic. If you had visited any number of forum boards, fan pages and review sites it was quite evident that Hans had once again shown the music world his ability to reapply, rewrite and rework the entire compositional rule book. There are the haters, the bashers and general film music trolls who have their opinion before slinking off into the next thread but the overwhelming responses to the score were highly positive and from the initial trailer that teased us with the pipe organ through to the various score releases it was clear that the ‘genius’ was once again at musical play.
After the recent Hans Zimmer and friends events in London it was hard to imagine when we would see the Maestro returning to the UK stage in the foreseeable future; so to have the opportunity to witness his Interstellar score performed live at the Royal Albert Hall was definitely a pleasant surprise. Only it was not just this, we were being treated to a whole lot more... a red carpet event of stellar proportions. The guest list of Christopher Nolan, Hans Zimmer, Prof. Kip Thorne, Prof. Brian Cox, Prof. Stephen Hawking, Jessica Chastain, Michael Caine were just the start of it all. Mingling amongst the audience were composers, musicians, celebrities, scientists and the energy in the auditorium was electric in more ways than one. Having attended a number of similar events over the years I can honestly say that I have never been to a pre-show talk that was full to the rafters. People had travelled far and wide to witness this unique event and to have had the opportunity to be in the same room as some of the world’s finest physicists as well as the creative duo of Nolan and Zimmer was something that I will not forget. I am a fan of film, of music but also of the artistic lengths that the creative teams go to in order for the movie goers to receive an authentic experience and the pre-show talk introduced by Prof. Stephen Hawking was a great opportunity to listen to the processes involved. Nolan and Zimmer entertained with stories of their working process and the history of the project and recounted the idea that the movie is not simply about portraying a message, it has many layers and meanings; much like the Tesseract in the movie but is ultimately about entertainment. Nolan even quoted the great Samuel Goldwyn “Pictures are entertainment, if you want a message go to Western Union.”
Much to Prof. Brian Cox’s amusement and in true scientific nature Prof Kip Thorne had brought a slide show of images to explain the theories behind some of the movies key ideas and concepts. I have to admit being baffled by some of the principles but the one striking moment was the discussion that developed around the need for the visual effects team to be understanding the correct levels of glare from the black hole and coding the light to warp around it. It was almost like an opportunity to sit in a production meeting with Nolan and his Producer as they debated about the colour differentials and temperatures involved etc.. all the while Hans sat quietly on stage before being asked his thoughts on the scientific side of the film. “I live and work in the abstract world” said Zimmer and from this statement it was apparent that the trust amongst the Interstellar team was exceptional as they molded the ideas from Jonathan Nolan’s screenplay into the final treated film. The talk flew by and so much was crammed into the 45mins that was a perfect balance of science, film and music discourse; it finished perfectly with Zimmer quipping “I’ve got to go and do some work now.”
A brief 30 minute break before the main event and then the atmosphere was something of nervous anticipation. A small orchestral set up with the familiar flashing digital lights that any seasoned film score fan has become accustomed to seeing in place amongst the traditional instruments. It seemed everybody was aware of what an aural and visual treat they were about to receive but could not quite believe they were going to witness it. Michael Caine introduced the film (and it was not so long ago that he was the main event on the same stage) and spoke of his first meeting with Nolan and how he was eternally grateful for giving him some of the finest roles he has ever played before introducing Nolan, who in turn introduced his friend Gavin Greenaway (Conductor) before Caine welcomed his friend and ‘a truly great guy’ Hans Zimmer. After the applause and introduction of organist Roger Sayer the lights dimmed and the spectacle began...
I am not going to review the movie but I shall say that watching the ‘No Time For Caution’ cue was a visceral and foreboding moment, understandably earning the musicians and Zimmer rapturous applause. The brass banging their valves to replicate the ticking clock and the strings plucking in pizzicato whilst two pianos accompanied Zimmer on the synths made the film come alive. Having seen the film previously on IMAX it had a different meaning when viewing a second time and I think this was aided greatly by the accompaniment of the live orchestra (most of whom performed on the original soundtrack). It seems as though we are reverting back to the old fashioned method of cinema where the music is live. A great evening of entertainment, discussion, fandom and I know that the acorn is growing into a mighty oak and these events are going to become far more common place and open up the doors to a whole new appreciative audience.
Thank you Hans Zimmer for your inspiration, music and ability to dream where others can only watch and imitate.
