Royal Albert Hall, August 7 2019

The London Contemporary Orchestra perform a selection of sci-fi movie suites and themes in a late night Prom that took us into the wee hours.

If ever proof was needed that Londoners are a hardy bunch, witness the full auditorium at the Royal Albert Hall for a concert that started at 10:15 PM. But then this was a rare concert of (mainly) contemporary sci-fi themes, so late mid-week finish be damned. It’s unusual for a sci-fi concert to have no Williams or Goldsmith, but this didn’t detract from a programme that featured award-winning compositions.

Robert Ames led the London Contemporary Orchestra, this ensemble having previously recorded the original scores including Alien: Covenant, Overlord and Captive State. It was a nice change to see the orchestra in plaid shirts and T-shirts, lending a more relaxed atmosphere to the evening.

A suite from Steven Price’s Oscar-winning Gravity (2013) with vocals by Lisa Hannigan warmed up the crowd, the composer himself participating with live electronics, followed by the dissonant and hypnotic Under the Skin (2013) by Mica Levi. John Murphy’s Adagio in D Minor from Danny Boyle’s Sunshine (2007) was sublime, performed against a stage lit in fiery red, Ames gesticulating wildly while flicking his hair out of his vision, and welcoming the composer to the stage for a well-deserved now.

A burst of Kubrick collaborator Wendy Carlos’ electronic Scherzo from Tron (1982) was a brief palette cleanser before Carly Paradis’ suite from Netflix show The Innocents (2018), the composer on piano duties, with Norwegian vocalist EERA singing the end credit song. The Moon suite (2009) by Clint Mansell, like most compositions this evening, received its first Proms performance, followed by a snatch of electronic tonalities from Forbidden Planet (1956) by Louis and Bebe Barron.

A suite from Ridley Scott’s Alien: Covenant (2017) by Jed Kurzel received its world premiere, with special mention to the percussionists wrestling some visceral and snarling sounds from their selection of instruments. The composer provided live electronics and took a bow along with the orchestra. The suite from Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival (2016) by the much-missed Johann Johannsson also received its world premiere and the evening concluded with a suite from Hans Zimmer’s punchy Interstellar (2014), again using the 10,000 pipe Grand Organ, as the composer did when the whole movie was played with live orchestra in this venue in 2015.

Verdict: An opportunity to hear some popular, yet rarely performed sci-fi movie suites, it was over all too quickly in this interval-free 75 minute set. Fuelled by caffeine, this was a special night of a billion stars and another great piece of programming by the BBC Proms. 9/10

Nick Joy