Proms 2013: Hollywood Rhapsody/John Wilson Orchestra/Wilson, Royal Albert Hall - music review

Max Steiner’s Casablanca suite wove a rich musical tapestry around As Time Goes By and Venera Gimadieva luxuriated in Herrmann’s pseudo-operatic aria from Citizen Kane, but a medley of vocal hits was less successful, song following song too rapidly
2 September 2013

Bernard Herrmann's "stabbing violins" from Psycho are one of the most famous pieces of film music ever composed. If they occurred in a piece written for the concert hall they might be considered cacophonous, but in Hitchcock's movie, they fit perfectly

For this Hollywood Rhapsody Prom, John Wilson and his orchestra played the suite that Herrmann made from the film’s score, and when the stabbing began, uneasy laughter spread through the hall. Even without the images, we felt nervous. Similarly, Max Steiner’s Casablanca suite wove a rich musical tapestry around As Time Goes By: here, the ripple of laughter raised by the familiar motif was less ambiguous. And while I remember nothing about the 1958 Western The Big Country, my response to the big tune was Pavlovian: I immediately saw wide skies, vast mountains, granite-jawed cowboys.

Elsewhere, Venera Gimadieva luxuriated in Herrmann’s pseudo-operatic aria from Citizen Kane, but a medley of vocal hits was less successful, song following song too rapidly. We were left longing for Sinatra, Doris Day, Dean Martin. By contrast, a rapid-fire medley from Tom and Jerry cartoons had enough sonic gags to make Shostakovich envious. It might be good to see Wilson spread his cinematic net wider but he knows his audience and delivers what he promises.

Catch up on iPlayer. Proms run until Sep 7 (0845 401 5040, bbc.co.uk/proms)

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