Play! A Video Game Symphony
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
PLAY! A Video Game Symphony is a concert series that features music from video games performed by a live orchestra. The concerts are conducted by Arnie Roth.
Contents |
[edit] History
In 2004, Jason Michael Paul was approached by Square Enix to organize a concert for music from its Final Fantasy series. After the concert sold out in a few days, Paul decided to turn video game music concerts into a series.[1] Arnie Roth, who had previously conducted the Dear Friends - Music from Final Fantasy and More Friends: Music from Final Fantasy concerts, was selected to conduct the concerts.[2] Andy Brick, who had previously conducted the Symphonic Game Music Concerts, was chosen as the associate conductor.[3] The concerts are performed by local symphony players and choirs.[4]
Play! premiered on May 27, 2006 at the Rosemont Theater in Chicago, Illinois.[5] The premiere show featured performances by Koji Kondo, Angela Aki, and Akira Yamaoka,[6] and composers Nobuo Uematsu, Yasunori Mitsuda and Jeremy Soule were in attendance.[7]
[edit] Concerts
Each concert features segments of video game music performed by a live orchestra and choir, with video footage from the games shown on three screens.[2] An opening fanfare, written by Nobuo Uematsu, is performed at each show.[7] Music from all video game eras is performed at the shows.
According to Paul, the show is a "straightforward music program," designed "to keep the arts alive in a way that is classy."[1]
[edit] Performed music
Music from the following games has been performed at Play!:
[edit] Album
On January 9, 2009, a live album CD and DVD of the concert was released. It was recorded in Prague and was performed by the Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra.[8]
| Tracklisting | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Title | Length | |||||||
| 1. | "PLAY! Opening Fanfare" | 2:12 | |||||||
| 2. | "Commodore 64 Medley" | 8:24 | |||||||
| 3. | "Castlevania" | 6:52 | |||||||
| 4. | "Sonic the Hedgehog" | 6:41 | |||||||
| 5. | "Chrono Cross" | 4:45 | |||||||
| 6. | "Silent Hill 2" | 2:58 | |||||||
| 7. | "Halo" | 7:28 | |||||||
| 8. | "Kingdom Hearts" | 4:41 | |||||||
| 9. | "Battlefield" | 6:42 | |||||||
| 10. | "World of Warcraft" | 7:40 | |||||||
| 11. | "The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion" | 9:16 | |||||||
| 12. | "Guild Wars" | 6:56 | |||||||
| 74:35 | |||||||||
[edit] Reception and legacy
The concerts have been well received. Audiences regularly give standing ovations after each song.[4] Jeremy Soule, composer of the music for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, said that he "consider[s] 'Play' to be the ultimate video-game surround system."[9]
According to Paul, Play! helps to promote the work of composers, as well as "lend credibility to the genre of video-game music."[4] Roth stated that the concerts help to also push the classical industry forward and to "draw new audiences."[4] According to Soule, video game concerts can help to educate old generations "that game music isn't just a bunch of bleeps and bloops."[1] One associate conductor stated that the performance crosses the generational gap, bringing together older and younger generations.[1]
[edit] See also
- Dear Friends: Music from Final Fantasy
- Symphonic Game Music Concert
- Tour de Japon
- Orchestral Game Concert
- Video Games Live
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Musgrove, Mike (2006-08-03). "Mario's New World: Symphonies". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/02/AR2006080201889_pf.html. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
- ^ a b "Interview with PLAY! A Video Game Symphony producer Jason Michael Paul". music4games.net. 2006-04-29. http://www.music4games.net/Features_Display.aspx?id=57. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
- ^ "GP Q&A: Video Game Music Grows Up". GamePro. 2007-05-25. http://www.gamepro.com/article/news/113208/gp-q-a-video-game-music-grows-up/. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
- ^ a b c d Colbourne, Scott (2009-04-06). "Gaming's high note". The Globe and Mail. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/article845595.ece. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
- ^ "Koji Kondo to attend Chicago world-premiere". Anime News Network. 2006-04-17. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/press-release/2006-04-17/koji-kondo-to-attend-chicago-world-premiere. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
- ^ "PLAY! A Video Game Symphony - Rosemont Theatre, Chicago (05/27/06)". music4games.net. 2006-06-05. http://www.music4games.net/Features_Display.aspx?id=95. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
- ^ a b "Nobuo Uematsu to attend Chicago world-premiere". Anime News Network. 2006-04-11. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/press-release/2006-04-11/nobuo-uematsu-to-attend-chicago-world-premiere. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
- ^ "PLAY! A Video Game Symphony and the New Year!". Play! A Video Game Symphony. 2009-01-02. http://www.play-symphony.com/news.php?full=102. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
- ^ Buckendorff, Jennifer (2008-01-21). "Seattle Symphony playing with video games". The Seattle Times. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/thearts/2004133288_videogamesymphony21.html. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
[edit] External links
|
|||||
