Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) began their ‘Harry Potter’ film series in 2017. Six years and one pandemic later, the series came to a close with the presentation of ‘Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2’ at Arts Centre Melbourne.
This magical score from Alexandre Desplat wraps the film series up beautifully, with dark, brooding moments signifying that the end is near and plenty of booming, epic musical moments fit for the action-packed final battle of Hogwarts.
Before the film began, conductor Nicholas Buc asked those who had attended all of MSO’s ‘Harry Potter’ performances to stand up. A considerable amount of audience members got on their feet – a signifier of the franchise’s huge impact on the world since its beginning in 1997.
It was a beautiful celebration, and the score featured the perfect highs and lows to bring the concert series to a close. Considered applause after some of the bigger musical moments was heartwarming to hear – the orchestra deserve to hear its audience’s appreciation – but a particularly loud audience member at this show (Friday 31 March) felt on the cusp of disrespectful, whooping, cheering, and even talking during some of the more intense parts of the score, being played live!
Distracting audience members aside, the talent in Melbourne Symphony Orchestra shone through in this performance. Highlights for this reviewer included the incredible ‘Lily’s Theme’ with its hypnotising aria, ‘Severus And Lily’ providing an emotional backdrop for Snape’s Pensieve memory, and ‘A New Beginning’, the last of Alexandre’s pieces to feature in the film as the trio of Harry, Ron and Hermione stand at the edge of the Hogwarts ruins.
Eight films later, huge congratulations is in order for the entire Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. They’ve successfully delivered a concert series with eight different scores by four different composers, bringing magic to Melbourne and celebrating the power of music in film. It’s clear how music this film series and its scores mean to audiences, and it was a true joy to watch audiences show up in their hundreds in Hogwarts house colours and outfits.
