Birmingham Philharmonic Orchestra:Movie night!

My seat was in the stalls at theatre Severn. the seats are comfortable, with a good view of the stage. on the stage, seats and music stands are already set up, waiting for the musicians to enter.

they took a while to enter, but the audience didn't seem to mind. people were talking amongst themselves quietly. The conductor entered, and announced that the orchestra would play four pieces from the original star wars "star wars episode 4. You still with me?". he was charismatic and kept the audience going. I wish we had heard more of him. sometimes he didn't even announce the names of the pieces.

The orchestra were very skilled. all the violin bows moved in harmony, the drums came in at the correct time, and the conductor conducted with energy and enthusiasm. It was clear that they were enjoying the performance. They played songs from ET, Disney, and Star Wars, as well as music from some less well known films, including "The unforgettable year of 1919", which as the conductor noted, "Everyone's forgotten about now". The star wars felt a bit cliché. It's often played by orchestras. But all the songs were good. There was a "Movie matinee", with more child friendly film music. I think that might've had a more interesting selection of songs for teenagers, as lots of the movies they selected songs from, I was too young to have seen. However, as the audience mostly consisted of older adults, I think the choices were appropriate.

However, I couldn't see the brass section, which was a bit disappointing. They were a very large orchestra, and I think they had difficulty fitting themselves on to the small stage. Some of the audience complained that they could "only see feet", or that they could only see the piano. But what you could hear was well worth the visit.

Halfway through the first part, the conductor, assisted by the players, moved the chairs and brought a grand piano onto the stage. The woman playing the piano was clearly very skilled. However, she was a professional player, whom they gave many solos. I would've liked to have heard more of the orchestra. I don't think the pianist was needed.

There were a few gaffes throughout, such as the violinists starting the pieces at the wrong time. But when they played at the right time, they were really very good.