Heroes and Superheroes by BSO @ Lighthouse Poole Review
DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW
Reviewed by Georgina Bentley
Poole Lighthouse is the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra’s home and it is great to hear them perform in this fantastic venue that lends itself to orchestral music. It doesn’t matter where you sit in the concert hall as the ambience in the hall will be sure to give you an evening to remember.
The 70 musician strong orchestra was being conducted this evening by Pete Harrison, who certainly took them through their paces with this exciting program of varied music.
Tonight’s opener was The Magnificent Seven which was tight and precise from the start. The percussion section of 6 musicians were certainly kept busy in this best Western score ever composed, the evening had got off to a great start. From the Deserts of the Wild West to the Deserts of Arabia we head next in this musical journey, with music from Lawrence of Arabia. The percussion start off this piece with great sounds from the timpani and bass drums, followed by a lovely lament of strings giving us the hearty tune.
John Barry’s Dances with Wolves: John Dunbar Theme was beautiful with the unison strings playing out the tune and the solo trumpet playing the conclusion so perfectly. Fast forward next to 2054 with John Williams music from Spielberg’s film Minority Report: A New Beginning, this was a very interesting, soft, enchanting piece of music that was new to me.
A fanfare of trombones and trumpets start off the Ski Chase from On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, they feature a lot throughout this music, with fast underlying notes in the strings, what an exciting piece of music. After the energy in the ski chase we had a very contrasting piece of music in Saving Private Ryan: Hymn to the Fallen in which the music honours the lives of those lost at was. You could really feel the emotion in this piece right from the very start.
Jesper Svedberg, the lead Cellist, gave a faultless performance of the music from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The range on Jaspers’ Cello was phenomenal and you could be mistaken for thinking it was a violin being played at times. There was also some amazing sounds from the Harp during this piece which was a feast to our ears.
The BSO ended the first half with music from Superman Returns, a majestic piece in which you really did feel like Superman had arrived when the music climaxed at its conclusion.
The second half of the program was also a fantastic feast of superb music. Hans Zimmer and John Williams had two pieces each being played with music from Batman Begins, Angels and Demons (which featured Amyn Merchant playing the violin so proficiently and sensitively), Hook and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Before which the second half was kicked off with the exciting Captain America March. A Star Wars Story: Adventures of Han also got your heart racing with this energetic music, I noticed the double bass section working particularly hard during this piece!
The highlight for me this evening was the wonderful ethereal playing of the beautiful piece For the Love of a Princess from Braveheart, this was just so relaxing and took me to a different world. We were also wowed at the very emotive playing of the main theme from Apollo 13 and also felt the expression of music through all of the musicians during The Fellowship from Lord of the Rings.
The evening was topped off with an encore from the orchestra of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.
A well-deserved standing ovation was given by the packed concert hall as we reflect on another fantastic musical fiesta from the BSO.
Rating: 5/5
Tickets cost from £14 – £46 (booking fees may apply)
The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra performed Heroes and Superheroes at the Lighthouse Poole on Saturday 15th March 2025, for more information visit www.lighthousepoole.co.uk or call the box office on 01202 280000
Poole Lighthouse, 21 Kingland Road, Poole, Dorset, BH15 1UG
The BSO will be performing Heroes and Superheroes again on Friday 21st March at the Portsmouth Guildhall