IN HARMONY WITH HARRY
BOWS and batons were swapped for wands and Hogwarts robes when the Queensland Symphony Orchestra played the second instalment in the Harry Potter – In Concert series.
The Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre was a melting pot of longstanding classical music fans and distinctively scarfaced youngsters who had likely never seen a full orchestra in concert before.
In an age where the Harry Potter movies are readily available on streaming services like Netflix, one might ask what makes the orchestral experience any different to watching the movie with a HD surround sound system.
Rather than just enjoy John Williams’ masterful score as a backdrop to Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the Grammynominated music takes centre stage in all its bewitching glory.
It also makes for an extraordinary trip to the cinema.
The crowd is encouraged to make as much noise as they want during the film and they complied with gusto, creating a parallel soundtrack to the one being played on stage with their collective gasps, cheers and laughter.
Each character’s entrance was met with thunderous applause, while the villains were mercilessly booed – you’d be forgiven for thinking you were at a playhouse.
The “live to picture” trend dates to the 1980s, when Goberman persuaded the LA Philharmonic to perform Prokofiev’s score to Alexander Nevsky live to the film.
The “technology” was nonexistent: an orchestra librarian had to sit next to the conductor and cue him before the start of every musical sequence.
Today, these types of performances appear annually on the programs of symphony orchestras all over the world.
The QSO will play the third instalment, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,next May.