Review: Heroes & Superheroes 2, Colston Hall

Few live music experiences prove as electrifying as a symphony orchestra performing classic movie soundtracks. And this is exactly what the Colston Hall delivered with its second, thrilling Heroes and Superheroes film music concert, following on from the successful first show in 2014.

As before, the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra proved themselves a formidable interpreter of some of the most famous film scores of all time. Once more under the gregarious leadership and baton of conductor Pete Harrison, the vigorous energy of the Bournemouth musicians demonstrated the fascinating way in which various aspects of the orchestra create a dialogue to communicate the narrative of a given movie.

Take for example the selection of classic war movie themes in the show (this was one that leant decidedly more towards the hero, as opposed to superhero, end of the spectrum). Among them, Elmer Bernstein’s classic theme from The Great Escape stood out, the live arrangement of the orchestra emphasising the movement from the almost whimsical opening tubas to the full-throttle assault from the brass and string section.

At completely the other end of the scale was the timeless, heartbreaking sadness of John Williams’ Oscar winning Schindler’s List theme, orchestra leader Amyn Merchant’s gutwrenching violin solo acting as a lament for those lost in the Holocaust.

However, it was perhaps the lesser known, or at least lesser heralded, pieces that proved the biggest surprises. From Michael Kamen’s tender, woodwind-led arrangement of hit Bryan Adams number Everything I Do (I Do It For You) from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, to the rousingly militaristic Ron Goodwin double bill of 633 Squadron and Where Eagles Dare, this was a show with a thoughtfully balanced blend of famous and not-so-famous pieces.

Pleasingly, Harrison also saw fit to honour the increasingly excellent orchestral work heard in modern-day console games. In a world first, there was a double-bill of pieces from rising composer David Buckley: the beautifully melodic themes of Shrek: Forever After and Call of Duty: Ghosts demonstrated we’ve made huge advances from the simplistic 8-bit sound of early 1980s/90s video games.

Even so, it was the more iconic works that generated a palpable sense of excitement in the audience. Highlights included the ballsy, brassy punch of Lalo Schifrin’s Mission: Impossible theme and the soaringly full-throttle adrenaline rush of John Williams’ Superman (complete with an amusingly unexpected appearance from the Man of Steel himself who, it turned out, was one of the orchestra members dressed up).

Even more significantly, the performance demonstrated the importance of the film score as an art form. Film music is frequently subject to adverse snobbery, derided for being overblown when it stands out and criticised for undercooked when it dares to be subtle. It’s a tricky medium, one ultimately beholden to the moving image yet, as this show proved, one that’s more than capable of bringing young and old audiences together in a glorious feeling of kinship. People laughed, people cheered, people were moved. In short, the next Heroes and Superheroes show can’t come soon enough.