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LA PHILHARMONIC Forward-thinking orchestra takes the EIF by storm
Unusually, the cheers that go up at Tynecastle football stadium on 2 August won’t be for home team Hearts, but for an orchestra. In a place where passion is generally fi red by one side pitted against another, it’s harmony all the way in the programme of heart-stirring movie classics which the Los Angeles Philharmonic (and their astonishingly dynamic music director Gustavo Dudamel aka The Dude) bring to the Edinburgh International Festival’s opening (and free) event. ‘We’re incredibly excited about playing at Tynecastle,’
says the orchestra’s CEO, Simon Woods (incidentally, a Brit, who used to run the Royal Scottish National Orchestra). ‘We’re very accustomed to playing in vast venues, as our summer home, the Hollywood Bowl, seats 18,000.’
Their repertoire in Edinburgh includes a selection from John Williams, one of the most successful fi lm music
composers ever: Star Wars, ET and Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone are all there. ‘We played our John Williams programme in the Olympic Stadium in Seoul [capacity 70,000], and for conductor Gustavo Dudamel, these large-scale events are something he fi nds very meaningful,’ says Woods. ‘He is passionately committed to music being for everyone. It’s a philosophy he feels very strongly about and it’s a wonderful chance for us to play for a broader Scottish audience.’ In addition to Tynecastle, the LA Phil play twice at the Usher Hall, with YOLA, their orchestra of young musicians, giving an open rehearsal. (Carol Main) ■ Los Angeles Philharmonic, Tynecastle, 2 Aug, 7pm, free but ticketed; Usher Hall, 3 Aug, 7pm, £20–£60; Usher Hall, 4 Aug, 7.30pm, £12.50–£50; Youth Orchestra Los Angeles with Big Noise Raploch, Usher Hall, 4 Aug, 3.30pm, free but ticketed.
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31 Jul–7 Aug 2019 THE LIST FESTIVAL 95