When I started Soundtrack World in 2017, I traveled to numerous locations in Europe to attend film music concerts. After a few years I stopped going for various reasons, including budget and time constraints. I still attend concerts closer to home in the Netherlands, and I still cross the border for film music festivals and larger concerts when a composer is in attendance, but when one of your film music friends wants to celebrate a birthday weekend in Cologne, including a film music concert, who am I to say no? That is how I found myself in Cologne to experience a film music concert by the WDR Funkhausorchester.
What I loved about going to this concert was that I went in completely clueless about what would happen. I did not know which orchestra would be performing, who the conductor was, or what the venue would be like. When I entered the magnificent Kölner Philharmonie, I was already quite impressed, because the hall was huge and could house thousands of people, and even better: the concert was sold out.
After conductor Michael Seal took the stage, the orchestra started to perform the well known introduction “20th Century Fox Fanfare”, which transitioned straight into the “Main Title” from Star Wars, and I was immediately hooked. The venue was large, but the orchestra was not amplified, and especially the brass section came out clearly while playing this iconic piece from John Williams. During the first half of the concert, we could listen to more traditional film music, which is familiar to people with an affinity for film music. The music for The Lord of the Rings, Forrest Gump and E.T. was excellently performed. I also have to give my compliments to the concert master for a wonderful performance of the solo from Schindler’s List. We, as the audience, also had to participate in a piece by whistling the famous tune from The Bridge on the River Kwai, which was impressive to hear in the large hall.
What I understand about the WDR Funkhausorchester is that, with its ties to one of Germany’s major broadcasting networks, it can play a wide range of music, including music that is both entertaining and easy to listen to. In the first half, we could hear examples of this with a suite from Mary Poppins and an instrumental version of “The Time of My Life” from Dirty Dancing, both of which were wonderfully performed.
In the second part of the concert, we could still listen to some traditional orchestral film music, featuring music from Jaws and Up, but the majority of this part was filled with higher entertainment value in the form of various medleys. The first medley was with music from The Little Mermaid, and it is always fantastic to hear the joyful melodies from this Disney movie. Another medley was the fantastic “Shaken, Not Stirred” featuring a variety of James Bond songs, arranged by one of the orchestra members. The conductor had also prepared a suite for us, which was a kind of film music quiz with eight cues from scores that should have won an Oscar, but didn’t. In it were all sorts of iconic pieces, including music from Batman, Vertigo, and Psycho. I had guessed almost all of them correctly. The only one that eluded me was the music from North by Northwest. After all these great pieces, it was time for one final song as an encore, which was from La-La Land.
Without knowing anything about what the night would bring, I was pleasantly surprised. The orchestra put in an excellent performance. Having to play traditional orchestral music, such as the challenging John Williams pieces, is quite different from performing easy-listening music, and this orchestra demonstrated to the audience that they know how to play both styles exceptionally well. One of my group members had a conversation with the organizers beforehand, and he told me that there was no marketing campaign for this concert. This means that they were able to sell out only by including this concert on the program, which is quite remarkable. I am still amazed that film music concerts are so popular outside of the Netherlands, but this concert showed how entertaining film music can be, even without the help of a big screen with images or other entertainment factors, such as hiring additional artists. I was being entertained by only one host, one conductor and one orchestra, which performed some excellent film music. After experiencing this concert, I was no longer surprised why it sold out. After experiencing such a delightful evening, I will happily return to another film music concert by the WDR Funkhausorchester, whenever I will see it on their program.
Concert information
Where: Kölner Philharmonie in Cologne, Germany
When: July 4, 2025
Orchestra: WDR Funkhausorchester conducted by Michael Seal
Host: Sabine Heinrich
Program
- Alfred Newman – 20th Century Fox fanfare
- John Williams – “Main Title“ from Star Wars
- Howard Shore – Suite from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
- Richard M. Sherman – Ouverture from Mary Poppins
- Previte, DeNicola, Markowitz – “The Time of my Life” from Dirty Dancing
- Malcolm Arnold – “Colonel Bogey March” from The Bridge on the River Kwai
- Alan Silvestri – Suite from Forrest Gump
- John Williams – Theme from Schindler’s List
- John Williams – “Flying Theme” from E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Intermission
- John Williams – “The Shark Theme” from Jaws
- Alan Menken – Suite from The Little Mermaid
- Michael Giacchino – “Married Life” from Up
- Michael Seal – Michael’s Magnificent Movie Music Medley
- Various – Shaken, not stirred Medley from James Bond
- Justin Hurwitz – “City of Stars” from La-La Land (encore)
