Master of movie soundtracks
> MPO brings the music of Hollywood legend Hans Zimmer to life at the DFP
IF THE cinema were a battlefield, the soundtrack of the movie would be the powerful long-ranged artillery, its biggest guns of war, bombarding the enemy sight unseen and driving the frontline forward.
On such a battlefield, few can match the mastery of German-born rock-star composer and Hollywood legend Hans Zimmer, considered a ‘military genius’ among film composers.
Recently, the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO), led by Gerard Salonga, celebrated some of Zimmer’s most famous works in The Music of Hans Zimmer, a two-day concert held at the Dewan Filharmonik Petronas (DFP), Kuala Lumpur.
The performance began with the title score from the 1989 Driving Miss Daisy, a relaxing and jaunty constitutional that acted as a gentle, and to some, familiar preface to the music that was to come.
After a short introduction, the MPO took the audience straight into the thick of ‘war’, with Journey to the Line from the landmark 1998 World War II movie, The Thin Red Line.
This quiet yet intense piece not only showcases Zimmer’s mastery of the cinematic score but, also the MPO’s ability to musically transport the audience to the frontlines of 1942.
The concert continued with Catatonic and Discombobulate from the two Sherlock Holmes movies starring Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law.
Both pieces conveyed the sense of discord between darkness and jolliness that reflected the native London of this iconic detective.
The 2003 Last Samurai may not have impressed the critics, but the soundtrack certainly did.
Way of the Samurai was one of the final pieces from the Golden Globe Award-nominated score.
MPO added power and intensity to it with a sweeping orchestral arrangement, using Japanese melodies that captured the spirit of the warrior.
One of the most highlyanticipated pieces of the evening was the Inception Suite, which is made up of excerpts from the highly-acclaimed 2010 movie, Inception.
The MPO rendition was potent. You only had to close your eyes and listen, to see the rolling dream landscapes from the Christopher Nolan movie.
After the interval, the MPO picked up the pace with Chevaliers de Sangreal, from The Da Vinci Code. This lofty piece perfectly summarises the movie’s adventurous setting.
This was in stark contrast to Zoosters Breakout from 2005’s Madagascar. This piece stood out the most during the concert.
While MPO’s rendition of the piece is more refined, it did not drown out the happy, uplifting, and sometimes, manic tone of the cartoony music.
From there, Salonga led the band through three superhero movie scores, which included a medley from The Dark Knight, Is She With You from Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice, and selections from Man of Steel.
These three pieces gave me goosebumps.
According to Salonga, Is She With You – better known as Wonder Woman’s theme – was not in the original lineup.
That is, until a Facebook friend of his pointed out that the concert needed music from a film with a female hero.
Zimmer is best known for his work in The Lion King, so Disney’s The Lion King Orchestral Suite, I think, should have been the high point of the concert, but it was not.
The music was good, but it felt like the grandeur was missing. Perhaps it would have been better if it swapped places with Chevaliers de Sangreal.
Gladiator brought the concert back to the themes of war and combat. Based on music from the 2000 film of the same name, the score took the audience on a journey of blood and sweat through the Roman Colosseum, into the heat of battle, and back again.
The night ended with a surprise encore, a selection from 2016’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.
It perfectly capped a night of excellent music, tying it all together with adventure, fun, combat, and a hint of the macabre.
The Music of Hans Zimmer was a treat. However, the tone was decidedly mixed, because each piece is a journey onto itself.
With each of the movie score having its own theme, they can be jarring when strung together.