De Avond van de Filmmuziek (The Evening of Film Music) is the biggest annual concert focusing on film music in the Netherlands, and it celebrated its tenth anniversary this year. I have attended quite a few of these and have written reports about them. The first concert, before I started attending, was back in 2014 in Het Concertgebouw, and according to host Ruben Nicolai, who was the host ten years ago as well, it was almost sold out with only six seats left. The concert started to sell out in the following years, and the event expanded to multiple concerts a year. While I love the smaller Het Concertgebouw as a venue, I understood the transition to the massive Ziggo Dome. De Avond van de Filmmuziek event has become such a staple in the Netherlands that it almost sold out four times for this year’s edition, and this resulted in around 60.000 people enjoying this year’s program – including me. I knew what to expect for this year’s concert because the organization announced way in advance that this anniversary edition would be a ‘Best Of’ edition, and people could vote on previously performed music to be included in this year’s program.
After the traditional “Also Sprach Zarathustra,” we could listen to delightful music from two movies. After a wonderful suite from Forrest Gump, Romain Collin stepped behind the piano to perform a stunning version of “Comptine d’un Autre Été, l’Après-midi” from Amélie, followed by “La Valse d’Amélie.” After the music from Amélie, it was whistler Jonas Pap’s turn to enter the stage for the iconic piece from Turks Fruit. I loved this version, which contained quite some improvisation, and it showed the true skill of the Metropole Orkest, focusing on jazz and pop music. It was not the only piece by our famous Dutch composer Rogier van Otterloo. The music from Soldaat van Oranje was a great homage to the composer, who had led the orchestra until his passing in 1988.
After fantastic performances of music from The Godfather and Gladiator, Jonas Pap returned to the stage, but with a cello this time. He performed the main theme from Game of Thrones together with the principal cello player from the orchestra. This version with soloists was much better than the one from 2019, since I could clearly hear the main melody this time. For Once Upon a Time in the West, Romain Collin was accompanied by harmonica player Grégoire Maret, and, together with the orchestra, they performed a brilliant version of “Man with a Harmonica.” It was not the only piece from that Western as the main theme was also performed, and it was beautifully sung by soprano Maria Fiselier.
The two last pieces before the intermission were quite a delight. After Pirates of the Caribbean, it was time for the main theme from Jurassic Park. During that performance, giant dinosaur-like puppets entered the venue, walking around and trying to bite people in the audience. It was quite an impressive sight from my spot on the balcony.
The first piece after the intermission was a familiar one. I have heard “Navras” performed by the Metropole Orkest several times, and it never disappoints. It is such a powerful choir piece, beautifully sung by the Dutch Concert Choir this time. Another familiar sight was Lavinia Meijer returning with her harp for another stunning performance of “Una Mattina” from Intouchables. After a homage to Johann Johannsson with music from The Theory of Everything and hearing the music from 1492: Conquest of Paradise, it was time for something unique for De Avond van de Filmmuziek. Magician Christian Farla entered the stage with his assistants to perform his ‘magic’ during “Hedwig’s Theme” from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, as he has done before during a different Harry Potter concert I attended. I can imagine that people in the audience liked his performance, but from a considerable distance, the ‘magic’ did not land. I was just listening to John Williams’ wonderful music instead.
For the next piece, LAKSHMI got on the stage as she had done last year. For this evening she performed “May it Be” as the start of a new suite from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Maria Fiselier also appeared at the end of the suite to mourn Gandalf’s death. After this wonderful suite, another artist returned for this edition, Noa Wildschut, who reprised her version of the theme from Schindler’s List on the violin.
After a brilliant version of the James Bond theme, another showcase of the Metropole Orkest’s strength, we could enjoy pieces from two Christopher Nolan movies. The music from Inception and Interstellar was the highlight of the evening for me. For this occasion, organist Anna Lapwood had been invited, whom I have followed on the internet for the last few years. It was a privilege to witness her behind an organ on stage to help the orchestra perform “Time.” For Interstellar, she asked the audience to light their phone torches, making that piece’s performance a breathtaking experience.
After a lot of film music, we came to the end of the program with familiar music from Star Wars, which was, of course, a piece the audience had voted on, but the encore was something new. Quincy Jones sadly passed away in 2024, and to pay tribute to him, “A Brand New Day” from The Wiz was excellently performed by Nyassa Alberta, Juneoer Mers, Jared Grant, and Jeroen Phaff, who dressed up for the occasion. It was a great finale to a long but fantastic evening.
If you have read my reports in the past, you have read about my doubts about the transition from Het Concertgebouw to the big Ziggo Dome. The focus of the concerts switched to entertainment and less on the film music itself, with a big role for songs used in movies and dance acts. When actual film music was played, it was often the most well-known iconic pieces I have heard many times before. So when they announced this ‘Best Of’ idea, I was skeptical at first, but thankfully, that turned out to be unjustified. Many pieces were performed in the past, but with the orchestra’s experience in the bigger venue, the music sounded much better than it did previously. I could also hear different music from previously showcased movies, which I liked. I loved the fact that the entertainment of the evening was not getting in the way of the music by hiring artists to perform the actual film music. I also appreciated that there were two presenters again for this edition, with great chemistry between Dominic Seldis and Ruben Nicolai for an extra load of entertainment.
After this edition, I can happily say that De Avond van de Filmmuziek has found its home in the Ziggo Dome, and it was finally a true celebration of film music. It makes me curious what the organization will do for next year. They have already played the “We are going to perform pieces from previous editions” trump card, so I am excited about what they will come up with next.
Concert information
Where: Ziggo Dome – Amsterdam, The Netherlands
When: November 16, 2024
Orchestra: Metropole Orkest conducted by Jules Buckley
Choir: Dutch Concert Choir
Performers: LAKSHMI, Jonas Pap, Noa Wildschut, Maria Fiselier, Christian Farla, Nyassa Alberta, Juneoer Mers, Jared Grant, Jeroen Phaff and Anna Lapwood
Hosts: Ruben Nicolai and Dominic Seldis
Program
- Richard Strauss – “Also Sprach Zarathustra”
- Alan Silverstri – Suite from Forrest Gump
- Yann Tiersen – Amélie
- “Comptine D’un Autre Été: L’après Midi”
- “La Valse d’Amélie”
- Rogier van Otterloo – “Turks Fruit from Turks Fruit
- Rogier van Otterloo – Theme from Soldaat van Oranje
- Nino Rota – The Godfather
- “Main Theme”
- “Love Theme”
- Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard – Suite from Gladiator
- Ramin Djawadi – “Main Theme” from Game of Thrones
- Ennio Morricone – Once Upon a Time in the West
- “Man with a Harmonica”
- “Once Upon a Time in the West”
- Klaus Badelt – “He’s a Pirate” from Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
- John Williams – Theme from Jurassic Park
Intermission
- Don Davis and Juno Reactor – “Navras” from The Matrix Revolutions
- Ludovico Einaudi – “Una Mattina” from Intouchables
- Jóhann Jóhannsson – “Domestic Pressures” from The Theory of Everything
- The Cinematic Orchestra – “Arrival of the Birds” from Theory of Everything
- Vangelis – “Conquest of Paradise” from 1492: Conquest of Paradise
- John Williams – “Hedwig’s Theme” from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
- Howard Shore – Suite from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
- John Williams – Theme from Schindler’s List
- Monty Norman – James Bond Theme
- Hans Zimmer – “Time” from Inception
- Hans Zimmer – Suite from Interstellar
- John Williams – “Main Title” from Star Wars: A New Hope
- Luther Vandross, Quincy Jones – “A Brand New Day” from The Wiz (encore)
