All kinds of film music concerts are being organized. They range from well-known orchestras performing in large concert halls, sometimes with famous artists, composers or other guests present, to small ensembles performing film music in a church. It is a wide range, and the ones I attend most are in the middle, with a local orchestra performing some fantastic music in a decent-sized concert hall. There are, on the other hand, many other concerts I tend to avoid, in addition to the ensemble concerts in a church, and those are the ones that are part of a tour, crossing multiple countries, and focus only on the most iconic film music. These concerts sound more like a product to be sold than a celebration of film music. A key sign for me is that these concerts are held at the MartiniPlaza in Groningen. This theater can house a large audience but has lower sound quality and a smaller stage than Groningen’s concert hall, De Oosterpoort for an orchestra. A good friend from out of town wanted to attend this concert, so I ended up at the MartiniPlaza for The Good, the Bad, Me and Morricone.
The program for this concert featured music from films by Italian composers and directors, and it got off to a great start with the theme from Once Upon a Time in the West, beautifully sung by a soprano. Afterwards, the Italian conductor introduced her, himself and the orchestra. I cannot remember their names, but the orchestra was a mashup of two Ukrainian orchestras: Kyiv Camerata and the National Academic Symphonic Band of Ukraine. The first half of the evening continued with some lovely music, including a long suite from The Untouchables, a tenor singing lyrics on the love theme from The Godfather and many other iconic music from Westerns, with some of them very old.
The second half began with music from Cinema Paradiso and The Professional by Morricone, with solos by violinist Bohdana Pivnenko. After music from The Magnificent Seven and Taxi Driver, the conductor left the stage, and Pivnenko played with the strings a stunning, emotional “Melody” by Myroslav Skoryk, a Ukrainian piece dedicated to all the struggles the country of these musicians is going through. Even though it is not film music, it was my highlight of the evening. The evening ended with one encore, another iconic film music piece with lyrics added to it. It was “Nella Fantasia,” a song based on “Gabriel’s Oboe” from The Mission.
This concert was a great success. The MartiniPlaza was fully sold out, and afterwards I heard around me that people enjoyed it. Even back in my friend’s hotel, people at the bar were replaying movies that they recorded during the concert. These concert tours work and are a fantastic way to promote film music to a wider audience. In other words, it should be something to be celebrated, but sadly, there are certainly some caveats I need to address. First of all, it is about crediting your musicians. I have been writing concert reports since 2017, and have been going to them for years before that. This is the first time I have not been able to credit all the musicians and artists on stage properly. The Italian conductor mentioned his and some artists’ names only once, and I was lucky enough to identify the two orchestras from my notes. I do not understand why they are not mentioned in the concert announcement. Even their own socials are not mentioning this tour. It is not something they need to be ashamed of. Their performance was quite adequate; in par with other orchestras I have experienced. I think they deserve to be mentioned.
There are quite a few minor caveats I could mention, like the MartiniPlaza is not really suited for orchestras, the lack of a program, and that the concert announcement mentioned a choir when there was none. But there is one last thing I really need to mention, and that is the price. I have seen fantastic concerts with professional orchestras and choirs, featuring amazing conductors and well-known artists or guests, for almost half the price. Most of these concerts are held in concert halls with acoustics that do not require amplification, and they have informative concert announcements and clear programs, so I know what to expect. Having this concert for almost twice as much money and a lesser experience than I am used to, does not feel right. I know it is probably very expensive to have a small orchestra on tour, with buses and hotels to book, but it still makes me feel more like a product to be sold than an actual audience member.
I want to end this report on a positive note, because the performance of the orchestra and soloists was well done and entertaining. These types of concerts are quite successful and bring a lot of joy to many people. I hope that these people will also experience other film music concerts in actual concert halls with local orchestras, for an even better experience. In a way, I am glad that these types of film music concert tours exist. I have to applaud them for being an ambassador of film music, and I know that these concerts are not for me.
Concert information
Where: MartiniPlaza in Groningen, the Netherlands
When: March 12, 2025
Orchestra: Kyiv Camerata and National Academic Symphonic Band of Ukraine
Program
- Ennio Morricone – Once Upon a Time in the West
- Ennio Morricone – The Untouchables
- Ennio Morricone – The Sicilian Clan
- Nino Rota – “Parla Piu Piano (Love Theme)” from The Godfather
- Jerome Moross – The Big Country
- Hugo Friedhofer – Vera Cruz
- Alfred Newman – How the West Was Won
- Dimitri Tiomkin – Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
- Ken Darby / Lionel Newman – River of No Return
- Ennio Morricone – A Fistful of Dollars
- Ennio Morricone – The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Intermission
- Ennio Morricone – Cinema Paradiso
- Ennio Morricone – The Professional
- Pietro Mascagni – “Intermezzo” from Cavalleria rusticana (Raging Bull)
- Bernard Herrmann – Taxi Driver
- Elmer Bernstein – The Magnificent Seven
- Myroslav Skoryk – “Melody”
- Ennio Morricone – “Nella Fantasia (Gabriel’s Oboe)” from The Mission (encore)
