Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, conducted by Ernst van Tiel

Royal Albert Hall, June 3, 2018

A lively performance of Michael Giacchino’s score to the most recent Star Trek film live to picture…

No, we didn’t get the Beastie Boys performing a live rendition of Sabotage for one of the key sequences in the film, but that’s pretty much the only musical element that wasn’t brilliantly brought to life by the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra in this performance of Star Trek Beyond. In my review of the film elsewhere on this site, I sum it up as “The best Star Trek film in decades – a highly entertaining two hours that never loses sight of what makes the series tick” and that certainly proved to be the case seeing it in this format.

The afternoon began with a short intro from Simon Pegg – in his capacity not only as Scotty but also as co-writer, and, perhaps most importantly, friend of Anton Yelchin. Pegg talked about the rapidity at which this had to be penned (although understandably not going into the reasons why), and praised the work of his co-stars on screen, with special mention of Yelchin. He then got the entire audience to make the Live Long and Prosper sign so he could photograph it from the stage.

The movie was, thankfully, subtitled – although, unlike on some occasions, we could probably have got away without them for the vast majority of the time, as the orchestra, foley and effects tracks and dialogue were very skilfully balanced. The RPCO were absolutely on the ball throughout responding to van Tiel’s baton, and the slight variations in the orchestration from that used in the original score were only obvious if you really knew the extended soundtrack inside out.

The interval break came unexpectedly during an action sequence, which initially felt a little odd, but actually worked really well – particularly given the extra cue that was arranged to begin the second half (after a respectfully observed minute’s silence for the London Bridge remembrance) that took the Yorktown theme and segued neatly into the original score.

The orchestra and conductor got a deserved standing ovation at the end and for a brief moment I wondered if we might get a rendition of one of Giacchino’s standalone themes that are on the extended album. Sadly that was not to be, but by that point, the orchestra had certainly given their all in some of the powerful action sequences.

Verdict: One of my favourite Star Trek movies given a terrific treatment. 9/10

Paul Simpson