Orchestra to be broadcast in 3D

In keeping with technological advancements in cinema and music, an orchestral concert is set to be screened in 3D at cinemas across the UK.
The film will feature Sir Simon Rattle conducting the Berlin Philharmonic and performing both Mahler’s Symphony No 1 and Rachmaninov’s Symphonic Dances. Entitled A Musical Journey, the performance will be screened in more than 60 cinemas from May 9th to 29th.
It will be the first time that an orchestra has been filmed and screened in this way in the UK.
Sir Simon has conducted a wide variety of music over the course of his career and is best known for his interpretations of late-19th and early 20th century composers such as Mahler.
According to Michael Beyers, the orchestra director, he hopes that the project will give cinemagoers and classic music fans an idea of what being “in the middle of music and life” was like.
Mahler’s First Symphony was filmed in Esplanade Concert Hall, Singapore, last November. A number of 3D camera operatives and technical teams from Japan and the US came to Singapore to film the concert.
Stanley Dodds, a violinist with the orchestra, told the Guardian newspaper that it was an incredible experience to be involved with and watch back the film.
“Nothing of its kind has ever been done before,” he said. “It gives the feeling of being in an orchestra. When you see the winding tubes of a horn, or a very nice old Italian violin in 3D, you feel you could touch it.
“You can observe the concentration and intensity of the musicians’ facial expressions and body language.”
Productions of opera and ballet have already been screened in 3D on cinema screens around the UK, with Giselle becoming the latest to hit screens this month.