A night out at the Oscars

Halle Orchestra, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester

THE last in this season’s pops concerts from the famous Halle Orchestra packed out the Bridgewater Hall on Saturday, in a real treat to mark the end of the run.

Conductor Carl Davis — a regular for the pops — led us on a journey through Oscarland, plucking tune after tune from award-winning films spanning more than six decades.

The romp through music from the world of film had the spirits soaring with a delightful medley from “My Fair Lady,” which won eight Oscars.

The symphonic suite tantalised with snippets of songs, including “I Could Have Danced All Night,” “With a Little Bit of Luck,” “I’m Getting Married in the Morning,” and “Wouldn’t it be Loverly,” creating a rush of nostalgia.

Music from masses of Oscar-winning films evoked memories of some of the best productions to hit the screens, from “Chariots of Fire,” and Lloyd Weber’s “Evita” to “Out of Africa” and “High Noon.”

The concert crashed into life at the start with John Williams’s music from “Star Wars”, who, with 46 Oscar nominations under his belt, a record for a living composer, was well-represented in the evening with three of his compositions — from a second science fiction film, “E.T,” and the sombre “Schindler’s List.”

The hauntingly beautiful yet simple main theme tune from the film which told of the persecution of Jews in Hitler’s Germany, unfolded in the hands of a solo violinist, in a move which is unusual for the pops concerts, yet was followed by a solo cellist who brought to life to what is a genuine Chinese folk song from “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”.

Composer Tan Sun’s score for the film received a total of 40 awards, including an Oscar in 2000, and was so popular it spawned a Crouching Tiger Concerto.

One odd moment of the evening came from the gold-coated Davis — he likened himself to an Oscar, but looked more like screen detective Columbo — when he gave voice to “If I Didn’t Have You,” from “Monsters Inc”. Maybe it’s best if he sticks to conducting.

If you have missed out on the pops concerts this year, look out for next year’s programme, out this month.

And if you can’t wait until then, the Halle has a handful of promenade concerts planned for the summer months.