Birmingham Philharmonic Orchestra,
The Silver Screen
Theatre Severn
Sunday 29th January 2017
There’s something rather special about a matinee performance, there seems a certain kind of decadence to be watching a show when others are either working or trying to recover from the week they had working. Such was the scheduling of this rather exciting concert with The Birmingham Philharmonic Orchestra.
Named Silver Screen; it did what it says on the tin, delivering a highly eclectic homage to the great composers of Hollywood. The score included works of Bernstein, John Williams, Matthew Arnold, Shostakovich and Eric Korngold. The music was from films such as West Side Story, Bridge Over the River Kwai, Gadfly and Star Wars, Also including John William’s new Star Wars score, The Force Awakens.
Conductor Richard Laing informed the audience that this was in fact, an English premier of The Force Awakens so there’s a nice little notch on the Shrewsbury yardstick of claims to fame!
The unique selling point of BPO is the fact that they are the country’s largest non-professional Philharmonic Orchestra and it has been running for seventy seven years it is undoubtedly every bit as polished and professional as any other symphony orchestras in Europe.
One must not make the mistake of attaching thoughts of inferior performances to amateur groups. Those days are gone and naturally if one has the confidence to fill a theatre on a Sunday afternoon then one realises you would have to be brilliant: And they are!
Laing controlled these some seventy musicians with his entire body. A joy to watch. He brought every note up from the soles of his feet to the tip of his baton. He was living the music and with his expressive moves and gestures he stood before the Orchestra like a toreador having calmed a bull. One knows there is immense power there but it is all in the hands of the maestro and will be controlled and delivered to the crowd that are lapping it up.
One of the highlights of the show was the wonderful score from Berstein’s West Side Story. The audience really did feel the power of the orchestra and in one’s mind’s eye The Sharks and The Jets sprang into view to dish out their street culture. Lovely to hear.
Today’s performance was lively, fresh, pensive at times, exhilarating at others. It was a real journey through the classics of our movie world.
The programme from today’s event appealed for members to play or to get involved in a plethora of ways. They are our local symphony orchestra . Based in King’s Heath, Birmingham;.they truly are local If you are interested you can call them on 07759186198 or email them at info@bpo.org.uk.
This Orchestra is modern, entertaining, dynamic and great fun. What a pleasant way to spend a rainy Sunday afternoon.
This is a Four Star Review
Owen J.Lewis
Sofia is a successful playwright living in Shrewsbury. After graduating from Wolverhampton University in theatre. Sofia went on to become an actor and film maker. Her first play was published in 2015 and her plays have been seen all around the world. She is also the instigator of the popular concerts, The Sound Of Shrewsbury Folk. She has been writing with loveshrewsbury for 13 years and loves Theatre Severn and all she sees there.
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