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25 May 2025 Thun (Switzerland)
Symphony Concert - Film Music
Thuner Stadtorchester conducted by Laurent Gendre - KK Thun
Program Info: Endless expanses, high-speed chases, sweet and not so sweet dinosaurs, a crazy pirate, daring-looking cowboys or a grumpy mafia boss. These are all successful ingredients for an exciting evening at the cinema. Seemingly all-round heroes like Agent James Bond, who has repeatedly saved us from despots in 25 films, or the more word-card cowboy “Joe, the Stranger” from Morricone’s “For a Fistful of Dollars” have long since become legends. But often it is the inconspicuous ones, like the hobbits from “The Lord of the Rings” or Chaplin as “Calvero” in the melodrama “Limelight” from 1952, who ultimately make the difference.
What would all these film heroes and protagonists be without music? In “Star Wars,” martial marching rhythms reminiscent of Richard Wagner alternate with delicate and dreamy flute and string sounds. Charlie Chaplin's melody for "Limelight" (Limelight) conveys melancholy and hope in an impressive way, and Nino Rota also always plays with the feelings of the film viewers with unmistakable melodies. Sheer despair dissolves into hope and redemption. The combination of these musical emotions paired with strong images from the great directors are the essence of the great films.
The French composer Camille Saint-Saëns composed the first original film music in 1908 for the film “L'Assasinat du Duc de Guise”. At that time, film music was still very costly and time-consuming. The conventional use of film music only began in the 1920s and 1930s, of course with the advent of sound films. Film music changed during the post-war period. New influences from jazz and light music were added. Representatives of this new direction at this time included Henry Mancini (The Pink Panther) and John Barry. The latter, among other iconic film scores, was credited with the famous James Bond theme. In a ruling in 2001, the authorship went to Monty Norman, who had already used the theme for a musical, which was never performed. Nowadays, composers like Hans Zimmer (Pirates of the Carribean), Howard Shore (The Lord of The Rings) and of course John Williams dominate the film music scene.
Charles Chaplin - Limelight Monty Norman / John Barry - James Bond Medley Nino Rota - Godfather John Williams - Highlights from Jurassic Parc Howard Shore - Symphonic Suite from The Lord of The Rings Hans Zimmer, Klaus Badelt - Pirates of the Carribean Ennio Morricone - Gabriel's Oboe Ennio Morricone - Themes from "The Good, The Bad & The Ugly", "Cinema Paradiso" & "A Fistful of Dollars" John Williams - Star Wars
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