Play! A Video Game Symphony

PLAY! A Video Game Symphony was a concert series that featured music from video games performed by a live orchestra. The concerts from 2006 to 2010 were conducted by Arnie Roth. From 2010, Andy Brick took the position of principal conductor and music director. Play! was replaced by the Replay: Symphony of Heroes concert series.

PLAY! concert series logo
"Play! A video game symphony V": Anno 1701 soundtrack (2 June 2007)

History

In 2004, Jason Michael Paul was approached by Square Enix to organize a concert for music from its Final Fantasy series. After the concert sold out in a few days, Paul decided to turn video game music concerts into a series.[1] Arnie Roth, who had previously conducted the Dear Friends - Music from Final Fantasy and More Friends: Music from Final Fantasy concerts, was selected to conduct the concerts.[2] Andy Brick, who had previously conducted the Symphonic Game Music Concerts, was chosen as the associate conductor.[3] The concerts are performed by local symphony players and choirs.[4]

Play! premiered on May 27, 2006 at the Rosemont Theater in Rosemont, Illinois.[5] The premiere show featured performances by Koji Kondo, Angela Aki, and Akira Yamaoka,[6] and composers Nobuo Uematsu, Yasunori Mitsuda, Yuzo Koshiro and Jeremy Soule were in attendance.[7]

Concerts

Each concert features segments of video game music performed by a live orchestra and choir, with video footage from the games shown on three screens.[2] An opening fanfare, written by Nobuo Uematsu, is performed at each show.[7] Music from all video game eras is performed at the shows.

According to Paul, the show is a "straightforward music program," designed "to keep the arts alive in a way that is classy."[1]

Performed music

Music from the following games has been performed at Play!:

Album

On January 9, 2009, a live album CD and DVD of the concert was released. It was recorded in Prague and was performed by the Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra.[8]

Track listing
No.TitleLength
1."PLAY! Opening Fanfare"2:12
2."Commodore 64 Medley"8:24
3."Castlevania"6:52
4."Sonic the Hedgehog"6:41
5."Chrono Cross"4:45
6."Silent Hill 2"2:58
7."Halo"7:28
8."Kingdom Hearts"4:41
9."Battlefield"6:42
10."World of Warcraft"7:40
11."The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion"9:16
12."Guild Wars"6:56
Total length:74:35

Reception and legacy

The concerts have been well received. Audiences regularly give standing ovations after each song.[4] Jeremy Soule, composer of the music for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, said that he "consider[s] 'Play' to be the ultimate video-game surround system."[9]

According to Paul, Play! helps to promote the work of composers, as well as "lend credibility to the genre of video-game music."[4] Roth stated that the concerts help to also push the classical industry forward and to "draw new audiences."[4] According to Soule, video game concerts can help to educate old generations "that game music isn't just a bunch of bleeps and bloops."[1] One associate conductor stated that the performance crosses the generational gap, bringing together older and younger generations.[1]

See also

References
  1. Musgrove, Mike (2006-08-03). "Mario's New World: Symphonies". Washington Post. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
  2. "Interview with PLAY! A Video Game Symphony producer Jason Michael Paul". music4games.net. 2006-04-29. Archived from the original on 2009-01-01. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
  3. "GP Q&A: Video Game Music Grows Up". GamePro. 2007-05-25. Archived from the original on 2011-06-07. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
  4. Colbourne, Scott (2009-04-06). "Gaming's high note". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
  5. "Koji Kondo to attend Chicago world-premiere". Anime News Network. 2006-04-17. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
  6. "PLAY! A Video Game Symphony - Rosemont Theatre, Chicago (05/27/06)". music4games.net. 2006-06-05. Archived from the original on 2009-01-01. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
  7. "Nobuo Uematsu to attend Chicago world-premiere". Anime News Network. 2006-04-11. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
  8. "PLAY! A Video Game Symphony and the New Year!". Play! A Video Game Symphony. 2009-01-02. Archived from the original on 2009-05-31. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
  9. Buckendorff, Jennifer (2008-01-21). "Seattle Symphony playing with video games". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
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