The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) performs at St Andrew's Hall for a special one-off concert to celebrate the meeting of science and the arts as part of the BA Festival Of Science. Dispelling the idea that science can only ever be cold and emotionless, this world-class concert opens with an iconic piece of science fiction film-music from 2001 - A Space Odyssey. The programme then goes on to feature the Sorcerer's Apprentice, made famous by Disney's Fantasia and finally raises the roof with Holst's Planets suite. The orchestra's managing director Ian Maclay told Martin Barber that the RPO and the BA Festival is an unusual partnership:IM: That's right. When we came to discussing the programme it was quite difficult finding pieces that had a scientific association. We've got Holst's The Planets in the second half, obviously a mind blowing thing that everyone will recognise and know really well.  | | Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (detail) |
It's very suitable and actually very appropriate at the moment as there's a lot of discussion about the planets and Pluto, so its very topical indeed. We're opening the concert with Also Sprach Zarathustra that was used in the film 2001. We thought that was suitably scientific. And then we have Sir Arthur Bliss' march from the Things To Come Suite. That's sort of science fiction if you like, but it's close enough for us. And then a couple of pieces everyone will know like the Polovetzian Dances from Prince Igor and also Paul Dukas' Sorcerer's Apprentice. That's sort of magical as much as scientific, but I hope people will forgive us if one or two of the links are slightly tenuous. MB: Have you found more people are coming to experience a live performance of classical music.IM: There are a lot of doom and gloom people who write articles for the press about how the audiences for classical music are falling and orchestras are dinosaurs and they've got to do this, that and the other. I have never really encountered that. Maybe we're just fortunate being the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with the status and prestige that guarantees that the audiences have always held strong. Certainly our audiences in the last two or three years have grown year-by-year. It's possible that people are coming for different reasons, they are looking for different things.  | | French horn players of the RPO (detail) |
They hear different things on the radio. The crossover audience these days has perhaps helped publicise classical music. There’s a bit of a confusion between classical music and orchestral music. A lot of people say 'I listen to classical music' and what they are listening to is film soundtracks. I don't have a problem with that at all because film soundtracks are terrific. If a way in to hearing a symphony orchestra like the RPO is to buy the soundtrack from Star Wars or Gladiator or whatever, that's terrific. But it shouldn't necessarily be confused with hearing the great classics which have stood the test of time from three or 400 years ago. MB: It's not the first time you've performed at St Andrew's Hall.IM: We've played before as part of the Norfolk & Norwich Festival in the normal festival span. It's a very nice acoustic and it's a pleasure to play in the place, I always enjoy it. We used to play in the Theatre Royal in Norwich as well. I'm always slightly surprised that a flourishing city like Norwich with a big catchment area has never invested in a big concert hall. There is a very loyal and worthwhile following there and St Andrew's is lovely to play in, but its quite small. It's presumably down to money or the will, I don't know.  | | Royal Philharmonic Orchestra |
We used to mix the concerts between the Theatre Royal and St Andrew's, but none of them were designed as concert halls. This is not untypical in a number of other towns and cities around the country. We love playing in St Andrew's but I'm always surprised that with the amount of arts and music that goes on, a purpose built music venue has never been designed in Norwich. Over the last 20 years there's been about a dozen substantial new concert halls in lots of cities, in places like Basingstoke, Northampton, Cardiff, Birmingham and Glasgow. You'd like to think Norwich would be up there with them because it does dominate East Anglia and it should have a major concert hall of its own. The RPO performance on Tuesday, 5 September, 2006 forms part of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra's 60th anniversary celebrations. For tickets call 01603 766400.Programme:
Strauss, Opening of Also Sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30 (1896)
Borodin, Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor (1890)
Bliss, Things to Come Suite (1936)
Dukas, The Sorcerer's Apprentice (1897)
Holst, Planets Suite, Op. 32 (1916) Ladies of Keswick Hall Choir conducted by John Aplin
Conducted by Nicholas Cleobury | 
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