Words by Ed King
On Sunday 4th February, There Will Be Blood:Live gets a special screening at the Symphony Hall – with the London Contemporary Orchestra (LCO) playing the film’s score live. Clue’s in the title.
Conducting the LCO will be founder Hugh Brunt, featuring Cybthis Millar on Ondes Martenot, Galya Bisengalieva on violin and Oliver Coates on cello. Doors open at 7pm, with tickets priced between £48-28. For direct event info, including venue details and online ticket sales, click here.
Paul Thomas Anderson’s Oscar-winning film was another feather in the increasingly distinguished hats of both film maker and film star, with Daniel Day Lewis becoming an ambitious oil and family man in the way that only he does. And before you throw Raging Bull at me, I’m not sure even DeNiro could have pulled of Christy Brown.
But it was a score (pun intended) for Jonny Greenwood too, who left his despondent Oxford pals alone to write an orchestral accompaniment to the film. And he’s not the first well known modern musician to jump from guitar to something a little more… with both Rufus Wainwright and Bill Ryder-Jones trading their mainstream endeavours for music more suited to the Symphony Hall.
It also taps into a running conversation we’ve been having at Birmingham Review – namely, my kickstarting whinge about contemporary classical composers cashing in only at the box office. I had Hans Zimmer in mind when I put finger to keyboard, following his recent Lion King love in at the Barclaycard Arena last April, but to get the full starter for ten read my OPINION: Michael Nyman Syndrome.
Then read Sam James’ OPINION: Contemporary music is bigger, broader and weirder than you thought – from a man who practices what he preaches and performs what he practices. Now we hand the baton to Billy Beale, who will be going to There Will Be Blood: Live for a Birmingham Review and to throw some more constructive fuel onto this incendiary conversation (people really love The Lion King…). You can always join into – just email you two cents to ed@birminghamreview.net
Or you could just go and see the show, which Rob Hastings (The Independent) called “Sparse and at times just plain peculiar – but in a brilliantly original way. It’s magnificent.” And there’s a trailer below if you’ve had enough words for one day.
There Will Be Blood: Live
There Will Be Blood: Live comes to the Symphony Hall on Sunday 4th February – with the film screened to live accompaniment from the London Contemporary Orchestra . For direct event info, including venue details an online ticket sales, click here.
For more on the London Contemporary Orchestra, visit www.lcorchestra.co.uk
For more from both the Town & Symphony Halls. including full event programmes and online ticket sales, visit www.thsh.co.uk