Golden Age Hollywood and Beyond

The Concert

From Ben Hur and Gone with the Wind to The Godfather and Cinema Paradiso, relive the golden age of Hollywood and beyond with music by some of cinema’s most brilliant and influential composers.

The Music

The influx of European émigrés to America with the turmoil of the early 20th century helped shape a burgeoning movie industry both in front and behind the camera. Through new musical talent, top studios had the pick of richly scored, high-Romantic soundtracks to go hand in hand with the new fashion for lavish storytelling, and so the gifted composers that scored them played an all-important part in the emergence of a Hollywood ‘Golden Age’. This concert celebrates some of the emotionally-charged scores that defined the era, with music from Ben Hur (Rózsa) and Vertigo (Herrmann) to Gone with the Wind (Steiner) and Laura (Raksin).

Alongside are works by European composers who brought their own distinctive voices to the screen in parallel to Hollywood: Walton’s stirring music for Henry V, Rota’s iconic waltz for The Godfather and Morricone’s deeply moving themes from Cinema Paradiso and The Mission. Together, they offer a vivid portrait of film music at its most powerful and enduring.

The Performers

From Star Wars and Superman to The Shape of Water and Notting Hill, the LSO has enjoyed a long, illustrious relationship with film music. A thrilling evening is all but guaranteed.