Hans Zimmer vs. John Williams
Growing up, I always found classical music boring. To me, it was just old guys playing piano. I was more into rock bands like Muse and Snow Patrol. Classical music felt like it belonged to old people, to a different generation. But this weekend, I went to a concert that changed how I see it.
It wasn’t a typical classical concert with music by Mozart or Bach. It was a Hans Zimmer vs. John Williams concert, focused on movie music. That’s when I realized that film scores are pretty much the classical music of today. They use orchestras, violins, drums, keyboards, you name it. It’s still classical music, just with a modern twist. I loved it.
A few hours after the concert, things started to make more sense. I realized that every generation has its own version of "classical" music. Back in the day, people had composers like Mozart and Bach. For my generation, it's Hans Zimmer and John Williams. Their music is just as powerful and complex, but instead of it being performed in concert halls, it features in blockbuster movies. So, saying "I don’t like classical music" doesn’t make sense anymore because I actually do like it. Or at least, certain types of it I just didn’t recognize it at first.
This concert was a bit outside my comfort zone. I’m used to rock shows, not sitting in a hall with a full orchestra playing. But because it was film music, something I already loved, I felt like I fit in. It was amazing to see an orchestra of 50 or 60 people playing the music I’ve heard so many times in movies. Without the movie scenes, you can really focus on the layers of the music. It’s a totally different experience from just watching the movie.
For me, Hans Zimmer and John Williams are both legends. I grew up with Zimmer: The Lion King was a big thing for me as a kid. I must have watched it dozens of times. But Williams gave us Harry Potter, and that’s iconic for me too. So, it doesn’t really matter which composer it is, as long as it’s one of them.
What I realized is that classical music isn’t something of the past. It has evolved, changed. It’s more than just pianos and harps.
This concert made me appreciate classical music just a little bit more. Or I'm getting old enough to start liking it...