This year, Soundtracks-in-Concert.com was fortunate to attend and review seventeen soundtrack-related concerts around the world.
The year started with Eric Serra and his band rocking Billboard Live Tokyo with a selection of his most beloved movie music including LE GRAND BLEU, THE FIFTH ELEMENT, and more.
Next came LOST IN CONCERT, with Michael Giacchino conducting his own music in what is without doubt the most emotional experience I’ve ever had at a concert.
We then flew to L.A. for the world premiere of Robert Townson’s PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION: THE PAINTINGS OF BOB PEAK. Featuring newly composed music by film music luminaries such as Michael Abels, Jeff Beal, Marco Beltrami, Bill Conti, Mychael Danna, Ihab Darwish, Don Davis, Harry Gregson-Williams, Maria Newman and Marc Shaiman, it was certainly one for the history books!
This was followed by the world premiere in London of Daniel Pemberton’s SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE – LIVE IN CONCERT, arguably the best and most innovative score of the last few years.
Next up was a live-to-picture performance of Michael Giacchino’s UP, where we were again brought to tears during the iconic “Married Life” sequence.
Despite a busy world tour, Joe Hisaishi made a stop in Tokyo to conduct one of his newest compositions while also taking us through some excellent performances of music by Philip Glass and Max Richter.
Taro Iwashiro, noted for composing music for films by John Woo such as RED CLIFF, then gave a career overview while telling fascinating anecdotes and performing select pieces at the piano.
Then came my most viewed review of the year which was for the Film Score Philharmonic Orchestra’s superlative Jerry Goldsmith concert. It was an incredible tribute concert that highlighted why Goldsmith remains a favourite among many fans around the world.
SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE – LIVE IN CONCERT had its Japan premiere, and I was again blown away by its incredible score and how it functions in the film. My son, who is 7 years old, fist bumped Daniel Pemberton when we ran into him in the lobby before the concert!
Terence Blanchard, his band and the Turtle Island Quartet made a stop in Japan to perform selections from their incredible album ABSENCE at the Cotton Club Tokyo.
In celebration of Yukio Mishima’s centenary, Dennis Russell Davies and Maki Namekawa performed the Japan premiere of the MISHIMA CONCERTO, a stunning composition for the Paul Schrader film composed by Philip Glass.
We then flew to Belgium for the World Soundtrack Awards to see and hear Elliot Goldenthal being honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Special suites of music from Philippe Rombi and Simon Franglen’s AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER were also performed at the concert.
A day after the above concert, we were treated to the sensational James Horner Tribute Concert with a few pieces receiving their world premiere performances including “Ride of the Firemares” from KRULL.
Back in Japan came a handful of jazz/fusion concerts featuring some of the hottest performers today including Dave Grusin, Lee Ritenour and Ivan Lins at the Blue Note Tokyo, with Herbie Hancock and Terence Blanchard also lighting up the town with their sensational set at the Montreux Jazz Festival Japan.
The Montreux Jazz Festival also saw a rip-roaring performance of Yoko Kanno’s music from COWBOY BEBOP and GHOST IN THE SHELL.
The year ended with an intimate career retrospective by Randy Edelman at the piano in Carnegie Hall. It was a reminder about how special it is to see a composer talk about and perform their own music live – there really is nothing better, especially when you’re as distinguished as Edelman!
Looking ahead to 2025, we’ll be reviewing the Broadway, West End and Tokyo performances of BACK TO THE FUTURE: THE MUSICAL as well as concerts with music by George Fenton, Alexandre Desplat, Justin Hurwitz, John Williams, Alan Menken, Howard Shore, James Newton Howard and many more!
Wishing you and yours a happy holiday season and a most successful 2025 🙂