HANS ZIMMER LIVE: THE NEXT LEVEL
Music composed by Hans Zimmer
Music director: Steven Doar
Keyboard and synths by Hans Zimmer
Violin and vocals by Molly Rogers
Violins: Alexandra Tirsu and Amy You
Cello: Mariko Muranaka
Flutes: Veronika Vitazkova
Bass: Andy Pask
Bass guitar: Juan García-Herreros
Guitars: Guthrie Govan and Nile Marr
Drum kits: Holly Madge and Aicha Djidjelli
Percussion: Aleksandra Šuklar and Steven Doar
Keyboards and accordion: Eliane Correa
Synthesizer: Kevin Schroeder
Featured vocalists: Lebo M, Refi Sings, Lisa Gerrard and Loire Cotler
Featured choir: Nairobi Chamber Choir
Featured horn section: French Horn Sextet
Aerial performance artist: Nina Treiber
September 16, 2026
Pia Arena MM
Yokohama, Japan
PART 1: WELCOME TO THE NEXT LEVEL
Regardless of how many times I see HANS ZIMMER LIVE, it never gets old.
The musical arrangements and solos change, and the featured performers lift their game to the (ahem) next level as Hans Zimmer’s (HZ) iconic music continues to enrapture audiences and create new fans the world over.
This again proved true as HZ and band returned to Japan for night only last Wednesday at Pia Arena MM in Yokohama, Japan.
Returning with some crowd favorites in slightly altered arrangements, this concert also showcased some of HZ’s lesser-known scores as well as a showstopping performance of his recent music for the Brad Pitt film, F1: THE MOVIE.
I, as well as many others that attended the show, left feeling cool, energized, and busting to put on some HZ tunes on the trip home.
PART 2: THE SET LIST
The set list for the Yokohama performance on September 16th was as follows:
– THE FIRST HALF –
- THE DARK KNIGHT: Like a Dog Chasing Cars
- THE DARK KNIGHT: Why So Serious? Second half
- THE DARK KNIGHT RISES: The Fire Rises second half
- DUNE: Paul’s Dream
- MAN OF STEEL: What Are You Going to Do When You Are Not Saving the World?
- MAN OF STEEL: If You Love These People
- HANNIBAL: To Every Captive Soul
- THE DA VINCI CODE: Chevaliers de Sangreal
- SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS: Tick Tock (Shadows – Part 2)
- SHERLOCK HOLMES: Discombobulate
- GLADIATOR: Homecoming
- GLADIATOR: Barbarian Horde
- GLADIATOR: Duduk of the North
- GLADIATOR: The Battle (Ending only)
- GLADIATOR: Honor Him
- GLADIATOR: Now We Are Free
– THE SECOND HALF –
- INCEPTION: Dream is Collapsing
- ANGELS & DEMONS: 160 BPM
- PEARL HARBOR: …And Then I Kissed Him
- PEARL HARBOR: Tennessee
- F1: THE MOVIE: F1
- DUNE: PART TWO: A Time of Quiet Between the Storms
- INTERSTELLAR: Day One
- INTERSTELLAR: Murph
- INTERSTELLAR: Coward
- INTERSTELLAR: Stay
- THE LION KING: Nants’ Ingonyama
- TEARS OF THE SUN: Kopano Part III
- RHYTHM OF THE PRIDE LANDS: Busa
- THE LION KING: To Die For
- THE LION KING: King of Pride Rock
- THE LION KING: Circle of Life
- PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN’S CHEST: The Kraken
- PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN’S CHEST: Jack Sparrow
- PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD’S END: One Day
- PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD’S END: Up is Down
- PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL: He’s a Pirate
- INCEPTION: Time
As with previous HZ LIVE concerts, pieces were preceded with short anecdotes from Zimmer who also used every opportunity to shower his band mates with appreciation and praise.
PART 3: THE FIRST HALF
THE DARK KNIGHT
– Like a Dog Chasing Cars
– Why So Serious?
The concert kicked off with the ominous rumble of thunder as those unmistakable pulsating synths from THE DARK KNIGHT started to fill the air.
HZ’s iconic two-note Batman theme then made its appearance as a new synth backing gave added attitude to the piece. The piece then segued into that gloriously feral theme for the Joker before HZ took to the microphone to voice a processed chant of the famous “Deshi Basara” line from THE DARK KNIGHT RISES score.
THE DARK KNIGHT RISES
– The Fire Rises
The chaotic and menacing “The Fire Rises” from THE DARK KNIGHT RISES came next, featuring the “Deshi Basara” chant and a wicked electric guitar solo by the legendary Guthrie Govan.
DUNE
Paul’s Dream
Vocalist Loire Cotler now took to the stage to provide a savage and haunting take of the iconic “Paul’s Dream,” which can be found in its original form on THE DUNE SKETCHBOOK album.
MAN OF STEEL
– What Are You Going to Do When You Are Not Saving the World?
– If You Love These People
Oh how I love this score – perhaps even more so than John Williams’ legendary score for the original film (sorry, don’t kill me!)
What I loved most about this new arrangement were the cello embellishments by Mariko Muranaka as the theme is building into that huge heroic reveal. And when it finally segues into the tragic “If You Love These People” piece with Govan again drawing on his superpowers to perform one of the coolest and most achingly beautiful guitar solos ever, I was in musical heaven – surely, I wasn’t the only one in the audience that wanted to hear this piece again?!
HANNIBAL
– To Every Captive Soul
What a piece to slip into the program!
When I first got the score to HANNIBAL – almost 25 years ago now – I was immediately blown away by the gorgeous “To Every Captive Soul,” although it always had me scratching my head – what was a piece like this doing in a film like that?!
In any case, the piece received a SUBLIME performance by Muranaka who took centre stage as the choir stood behind her softly cooing with candles in their hands. It was heartbreaking yet uplifting, dark yet divine – in other words, it was utterly gorgeous.
THE DA VINCI CODE
– Chevaliers de Sangreal
One of HZ’s most iconic pieces, this was another stunner featuring tremendous cello and violin parts performed by Muranaka and the multi-talented Molly Rogers.
The accompanying synth and percussion parts here were just tops, giving the piece a fresh and uplifting tone.
SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS
– Tick Tock (Shadows – Part 2)
HZ then took to the microphone to announce that “the nice music” part was over and that the band would now be “getting a little noisy.”
That noise came from a blistering piece of action music from SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS featuring some delirious violin work from acclaimed violinist Alexandra Tirsu.
SHERLOCK HOLMES
– Discombobulate
This was followed by a fun performance of HZ’s quirky “Discombobulate” from SHERLOCK HOMES.
Tirsu again featured as other soloists on accordion and banjo joined in on the fun.
GLADIATOR
– Homecoming
– Barbarian Horde
– Duduk of the North
– The Battle (Ending only)
– Honor Him
– Now We Are Free
It was now time for a tremendous 20-plus minute suite from GLADIATOR that included the very best bits from the score.
It kicked off with “Homecoming,” which can be found on the GLADIATOR: MORE MUSIC album, a piece featuring a killer acoustic guitar solo by Govan (what’s new?).
Next came the exciting “Barbarian Horde,” which featured with an uplifting arrangement of the “Now We Are Free” theme and some stirring violin work by Amy You to underscore the moments in the film when the Russell Crowe character finally reveals his true identity to the evil Commodus.
Veronika Vitazkova then took centre stage with her duduk, an Armenian woodwind instrument, to give a deeply soulful performance of the “Duduk of the North” piece from the GLADIATOR: MORE MUSIC album.
It was now time for someone very special to grace the stage: Lisa Gerrard, the original vocalist on the GLADIATOR soundtrack. She delivered a STUNNING performance of the lament that appears at the end of “The Battle” track on the soundtrack (it’s the scene in the film when the battle has ended and the tragic cost of victory becomes apparent).
This segued into a powerful Gerrard and choir performance of “Honor Him” before ending with an uplifting performance of the sensational “Now We Are Free.” Hearing those gentle drums run through the piece as Gerrard bared her soul in sounds was quite the thing to behold.
The first half finally came to a hopeful and serene end as Gerrard gently sung the final strains of the piece.
PART 4: THE SECOND HALF
INCEPTION
– Dream is Collapsing
The second half kicked off with a cooler than cool performance of “Dream is Collapsing.” While I was disappointed to not hear the classic drum-led “Mombasa,” “Dream” more than made up for it with its iconic electric guitar part performed by none other than Nile Marr, son of the original score’s guitarist.
The French Horn Sextet also took centre stage to give the piece added power and size.
ANGELS & DEMONS
– 160 BPM
A mad rush on the two drum kits marked the beginning of “160 BPM” from ANGELS & DEMONS. Choir, electronics and percussion dominated this dark and frantic piece. Midway was a short drum kit and percussion interlude that featured stupendous lighting effects focusing on the four drummers on stage: Aleksandra Šuklar, Holly Madge, Aicha Djidjelli and Steven Doar, who is also the tour’s musical director.
The piece then ended with a return to the main theme and a furious climax.
PEARL HARBOR
– …And Then I Kissed Him
– Tennessee
Before performing this piece, HZ proudly proclaimed that he would be playing it for his wife, who happened to be sitting in the audience, as she loves it so much.
“…And Then I Kissed Him” is a classic HZ love theme and its performance here – featuring some lovely violin work by Rogers – was utterly gorgeous.
But what came next was even better: HZ’s classic “Tennessee” theme, which was supplemented with softly pulsating synths and an ethereal theremin-like sound. When Refi Sings finally joined with a vocalization of the theme, all I could do was melt in my seat.
F1: THE MOVIE
– F1
This was without doubt the biggest crowd-pleaser of the night.
Driven by a killer beat, “F1” is a classic HZ power anthem that was supplemented by the onstage French horns and a short but very cool Govan guitar solo.
Impossible as it may have been, I wouldn’t have minded if they had played the catchy vocal version of the theme (“Lose My Mind”) instead.
DUNE: PART TWO
– A Time of Quiet Between the Storms
With the stage dark, the spotlight opened up on bass player Snow Owl (a.k.a. Juan García-Herreros) who started to produce an alien-like grinding sound on his unique bass instrument.
As he faded into silence, Govan took the spotlight to play a smoky electric guitar version of the theme in “A Time of Quiet Between the Storms.” Cotler then joined to provide gentle vocal accompaniment, filling the concert hall with an air of calm and peace.
INTERSTELLAR
– Day One
– Murph
– Coward
– Stay
INTERSTELLAR, which is undoubtedly HZ’s magnum opus, stunned with a 15-minute suite featuring the score’s best moments – and there are many.
Opening with HZ on the piano for “Day One,” Tirsu took centre stage to play a melody full of doubt and hesitance with a high crystalline-like sound on her violin.
THAT iconic recurring theme for organ then made its appearance with Muranaka (?) at the keyboard.
A huge wave of sound then marked the beginning of the superlative “Murph” as the stage background changed to a field of stars. Tirsu took her position at the top of the stage to continue that beautiful crystalline sound on her violin as Rogers prepared to vocalize in unison with her. And when she did, boy did my heart melt.
As the piece built and built with Tirsu and Rogers playing off each other as the drum kits rose in climax, I felt nothing but sheer ecstasy. Calling this performance mind-blowing would be an understatement – it really was that good.
The intense “Coward” followed with some blistering keyboard work by Muranaka.
The tremendous “Stay” then concluded the suite with a KILLER electric guitar performance by Govan (once again) and an aerial acrobatic performance by Nina Treiber, who was decked out in a sparkling suit of light.
Muranaka joined Govan on cello to give the piece extra weight – as if it could get even heavier – while three timpanists took centre stage to bring the piece to a climax to end all climaxes.
Just listening to my phone recording again of this superlative suite makes me love the score even more – it really is HZ’s magnum opus.
(The score was actually performed a day later live-to-film across town in Tokyo – check out my mini review here).
TEARS OF THE SUN
– Kopano Part III
It was now time for the 15-minute “Africa” suite which included music from THE LION KING, RHYTHM OF THE PRIDE LANDS (an album inspired by THE LION KING), and TEARS OF THE SUN.
Kicking off with the instantly recognizable opening call (“Nants’ Ingonyama”) from THE LION KING sung by its original singer Lebo M, it immediately transitioned to the uplifting “Kopano Part III” from the Bruce Willis war thriller TEARS OF THE SUN. Featuring Lebo M and Refi Sings on vocals with ethnic flute performed by Vitazkova, nothing but joy and positivity radiated from the stage.
RHYTHM OF THE PRIDE LANDS
– Busa
A short interlude by the Nairobi Chamber Choir marked the return to THE LION KING with another joyous Lebo M-led vocal piece called “Busa” that originally appeared as a fully fleshed out song on the album RHYTHM OF THE PRIDE LANDS. This piece also featured a fantastic accompanying keyboard part that, if my eyes weren’t deceiving me, was performed by Eliane Correa.
THE LION KING
– To Die For
– King of Pride Rock
– Circle of Life
The mood soon changed to danger and despair as the band started to play the music from “To Die For,” the scene featuring the stampede and subsequent death of Mufasa.
Led by strings, flute and a deeply somber choir, the music for the death scene was particular heartbreaking. But when Refi Sings made her appearance and sung the most tragic of laments, I couldn’t help but shed a tear.
Deep bass notes marked a shift in mood as the triumphant finale of “King of Pride Rock” played with Lebo M and Refi Sings singing off each other beautifully. This feeling of redemption, triumph and hope in the music was capped off with an incredibly joyous performance of “Circle of Life” that received wild and sustained applause from the audience.
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN’S CHEST
– The Kraken
– Jack Sparrow
The PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN suite featured music from the first three films and kicked off with what HZ described as “sort of world premiere” performance of a new rock arrangement of “The Kraken” arranged and performed by Govan on electric guitar. Rogers joined in on the chaos on violin, with the drum kits hammering away as if their life depended on it.
The adventurous and heroic “Jack Sparrow” came next with a fun cello-led arrangement. For most of the PIRATES suite, choir members could be seen funkily dancing away at the top of the stage – almost as if they were in a mosh pit! I couldn’t help but chuckle (and secretly wish that I could join them!)
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD’S END
– One Day
– Up is Down
The beautiful and epic “One Day” followed with Muranaka again taking centre stage to bring the feels with support from the string section.
Then came a spirited take on “Up is Down” led first by violin, then whistle by Vitazkova.
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL
– He’s a Pirate
This naturally led to a performance of the ubiquitous “He’s a Pirate,” a stirring power anthem for our hero Jack Sparrow. With the whole band joining in, you could nothing but smile.
INCEPTION
– Time
It was a foregone conclusion that the concert would end with HZ performing his truly iconic piece from INCEPTION, “Time.” What was great about this performance is that HZ was placed on top of the stage free of all his synthesizers and devices – it was just a man and his piano, and that gave the piece infinitely more weight and importance.
As the piece progressed, cello and violin joined the spotlight, with Marr following with that iconic electric guitar part.
The piece came to a close with Rogers coming to the piano and playing those gentle but high string notes as HZ’s piano slowed.
As HZ’s final solo piano notes faded into silence, the room remained silent, stunned by what it had just witnessed.
And then applause, never ending applause.
HANS ZIMMER LIVE: THE NEXT LEVEL had come, conquered and left its mark on the minds of all in attendance that night.
PART 5: BEYOND RANGOON & NICK GLENNIE-SMITH
HANS ZIMMER LIVE: THE NEXT LEVEL was an astounding live concert experience that featured Zimmer’s very best music performed by the world’s very best musicians.
As a sign of what would be on the concert set list, t-shirts were sold listing what we could expect to hear. Unfortunately, music from BEYOND RANGOON was not performed despite it being listed on the t-shirt.
In addition, nothing was played or said about Nick Glennie-Smith, who had toured with HZ LIVE from the very beginning and had only recently passed away. A performance of the main titles from THE ROCK would have been a nice tribute to him, but alas, it was not to be…
I was incredibly fortunate to see Glennie-Smith perform at a HZ LIVE show in Germany in 2023 – it’s a memory I shall forever cherish.
R.I.P. Nick Glennie-Smith.
PART 6: CONCERT MERCH
As with every HZ LIVE tour, merch sales play a very big part.
Quite a lot was on offer this time, with a silk scarf selling out within minutes of the merch store opening 2-and-a-hours before the concert even started!
I just wish they’d sold a tour poster…
PART 7: OVER TO YOU
Did you go to this concert too? How did you like it?
And what did you think of my report? Feel free to comment below or reach out to me directly in the “Contact Me” section.
