One of the film music concerts I always look forward to in the Netherlands are the ones by Het Nederlands Filmorkest (The Dutch Film Orchestra). As an orchestra fully dedicated to film music, their concerts, which I have been attending over the last few years, have always been exciting. They also tend to perform lesser-known music than their professional counterparts. For their latest concert, John Williams / James Newton Howard / Hans Zimmer, I found myself once again in the main hall of the movie theater in Ede, which can accommodate an orchestra on quite a small stage.
Having attended several of their concerts, I know what to expect from their performances, which feature a wonderful selection of themes and suites from a wide range of film music accompanied by scenes or images from the films on the big theater screen. As the title of this concert suggests, we could listen to the music from three fantastic, yet distinct composers.
The evening started with a wonderful collection of music from John Williams. When performing work from Williams, it is almost impossible not to play some of his iconic themes, which the orchestra did by performing two themes from Star Wars. Before we could listen to these iconic themes, we listened to the well-known, yet not often performed, music from Jurassic Park first and the impressive theme from Schindler’s List. The latter was again an excellent example of how much more emotional a solo becomes when performed without any sheet music, as wonderfully demonstrated by the concertmaster, Jet Verkade. The last John Williams piece I haven’t mentioned yet was “The Flight to Neverland” from Hook, which is always a pleasant surprise. It is another familiar piece from Williams with less play time at concerts than his iconic themes.
After the John Williams block, it was time for music from the Harry Potter franchise, which was, funnily enough, not music by Williams, but started the James Newton Howard block with a suite from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. The suite was quite lengthy and a fantastic showcase of Howard’s music, and having scenes on the big screen made it a fun watch as well. The two other pieces from Newton Howard were also lengthy suites with scenes on the screen as well, with King Kong before the intermission and The Hunger Games, including “The Hanging Tree,” beautifully sung by clarinet player Belén Kerkhoven, as the first piece after the break.
The finale of the concert was for Hans Zimmer. For his music, we were treated to several suites as well. I had heard the suite from The Dark Knight Rises by Het Nederlands Filmorkest before, and it was again a delightful experience. For the music from Interstellar and Pirates of the Caribbean – Dead Man’s Chest / At World’s End, they asked organist Adriaan van der Poel to help them, which, as a fan of the instrument, is always an amazing experience, bringing both suites to the next level. In between these last two pieces, we could listen to one of my favourite scores from Zimmer: The Rock. Hearing such an excellent score at a concert is a rarity, and that is one of the reasons I love attending concerts by Het Nederlands Filmorkest.
It was again a fantastic evening, featuring wonderful music performed by the orchestra. One thing I do have to mention, though, is that I am aware that Het Nederlands Filmorkest is not a professional orchestra, which can be heard from time to time in, as painter Bob Ross would say, some happy little accidents. I have seen many professional orchestras perform, and many of them cannot compete with the enthusiasm and passion of Het Nederlands Filmorkest, making their concerts always a great experience.
Concert information
Where: Pathé – Ede, the Netherlands
When: Juni 28, 2025
Orchestra: Het Nederlands Filmorkest conducted by Sander Vredenborg
Organist: Adriaan van der Poel
Host: Helge Slikker
Program
- John Williams – Jurassic Park
- John Williams – “The Flight to Neverland” from Hook
- John Williams – Schindler’s List
- John Williams – “Princess Leia’s Theme” from Star Wars: The New Hope
- John Williams – “Imperial March” from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
- James Newton Howard – Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
- James Newton Howard – King Kong
Intermission
- James Newton Howard – The Hunger Games
- Hans Zimmer – The Dark Knight Rises
- Hans Zimmer – Interstellar
- Nick Glennie- Smith / Hans Zimmer / Harry Gregson-Williams – The Rock
- Hans Zimmer – Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest and At World’s End
