Gladiator with a symphony performing the score in the foreground, a fantastic way to hear the music & see the movie.

There was a time when silent movies were accompanied by a live musician playing an organ, or a piano.  Somewhere over the years theaters shifted to the sound being delivered along with the film, and audiences grew accustomed to an entirely pre-packaged experience being shipped off and delivered to them.  Admittedly it gives the director, and the musicians, more control over the final product.  They are no longer wondering if the musician in each town and theater is timing the crescendos to the exact moment the director wanted it to hit, if the haunting moments of a characters theme are synced to the exact movements of an actor — now all of that is determined in the editing phase and the sync of music and action is set, and every audience now sees the same film, experiences it in the same way.

But at the same time we lost that sense of live music.  The feel of the orchestra performing, the power of all those instruments coming together to add another layer of depth and breath to the film we are watching.  The scores of soundtracks are labored over in the production phase, so often composed just for this film, and the film edited so that the images play in harmony with that music.  Many of us may think of certain songs as being a part of holiday celebrations and fireworks shows, or being the perfect song to get our juices flowing as we get ready to start our day, or the ultimate finale to a tough work out.  However, first and foremost, in many cases, they were envisioned in a far different way.

Often when the score is being recorded the musicians will even have the film playing, so they can see the dramatic moments their music will be figuratively dancing with.

One of the booths at Fan Expo Canada was for a Symphony, with a great presentation about how at the Sony Centre in Toronto there are upcoming opportunities to step back in time, and see movies as they were once experienced.  Instead of silent films accompanied by just an organ (see one of those organs at Casa Loma) the audience will have the chance to watch a modern cinematic wonder accompanied by a full symphony — think Gladiator (Hans Zimmer’s and Lisa Gerrard’s sweeping score) or the Star Trek (Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony performs the Score by Michael Giacchino) that relaunched the ever-popular science-fiction series on the big screen.

Links of interest:
Sony Centre and an article Sony Centre recommended on Why movie scores sound better live from the Den Of Geek

Hans Zimmer’s score to Gladiator continues to be one of the composer’s most famous and admired accomplishments, selling millions of copies. An original member of The Buggles (Video Killed the Radio Star), multi-award-winning Zimmer conquered the world of pop music before tackling scoring films. His list of credits include writing the scores for Oscar®-winning films, 12 Years A Slave, Thelma and Louise, Inception, The Dark Knight Rises, and The Lion King to name only a very few.

Gladiator follows loyal Roman general Maximus Decimus Meridius (Russell Crowe), who is betrayed when the emperor’s ambitious son, Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), murders his father and seizes the throne. Reduced to slavery, Maximus rises through the ranks of the gladiatorial arena to avenge the murder of his family and his emperor.

Sony Centre For The Performing Arts and Attila Glatz Concert Productions present
GLADIATOR LIVE
Friday, December 5, 2014 @ 8pm
Sony Centre For The Performing Arts, 1 Front Street East, Toronto
Ticket prices range from $47-$97
Ticket prices do not include service or delivery fees
Tickets can be can be purchased in person at the Sony Centre box office, over the phone at 1-855-872-SONY (7669) or online at www.sonycentre.ca