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| This is a comments thread about FSM Online article: Concert Review: La Magie et la Maîtrise |
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'Rise of the Guardians' would have been a very welcome addition, particularly the colourful orchestrations and considering the time of year. Perhaps another time.
Great review, Jim. Thanks!
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Jim, thank you for the review. I was there as well and had a different opinion of the concert.
First of all, I really do not feel Desplat's music is well suited for concert presentation. Many of his tracks are ostinati or waltzes and once you realize that pattern it all grows old very quickly. Also, the "concert suites" that he put together were only a series of tracks from the scores with pauses between them and all. Some of his stuff like "Benjamin Button" and "The King's Speech" sounded flat and unimpressive. On the other hand, "Harry Potter" was bombastic but lacked any memorable themes. The main title from "Godzilla" was performed to picture somewhat out of synch. I felt it was a bit underwhelming.
His music is very smooth, nicely orchestrated with many parallel lines. The atmosphere it conjures is almost palpable and fragile at times. I did notice that the players of the London Symphony have a nice relationship with Desplat. Many of them were smiling during the concert and clearly enjoying themselves. The composer was very nice to the audience during a pre-concert talk and gave autographs afterwards.
My favorite moments were the "Ghost Writer" tracks, which had a driving black humour, and the two encores: "Un Héros Très Discret" and "Coco Avant Chanel".
All things considered, I guess his music is a perfect match for several of his movies and that the live presentation was somewhat of a disservice to his talents. It made him sound like a one-trick pony, which he definitely is not. Maybe it needed more diverse selections, such as "Monuments Men". I would think twice before attending another of his concerts.
Such a shame that Morricone postponed his O2 gig on the eve of Desplat's concert. But the Danny Elfman / Tim Burton concert at the Royal Albert Hall was expertly produced by Richard Kraft and was an absolute blast. Where you there? Cheers!
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