The BBC Proms is probably one of the most well-known classical music concerts in the world. This eight-week extravaganza holds daily concerts for various classical music composers and film scores. But in 2022, the Proms is making history by holding its first-ever video game concert.
Conducted by Robert Ames, the show starts tonight at 7:30pm in the Royal Albert Hall. Some of gaming's most well-known tunes will debut at this annual event and hopefully kick off a new trend of featuring the medium every year. The prominence of video game music has grown hugely over the past few years, with franchises like Kirby winning Grammy Awards.
- Further reading - 'The 8-Bit Big Band' Wins Grammy For Kirby Arrangement
The full line-up for tonight's concert was revealed over the weekend, and there are some heavy Nintendo hitters in the mix. Both The Legend of Zelda and Pokémon will be featured during the concert, and with both franchises having hundred of iconic pieces of music, we can't even begin to think of what conductor Robert Ames or arrangers Nic Raine and CHAINES have picked.
Zelda gets its own dedicated slot for five minutes, while Pokémon will be sharing the spotlight with a couple of more unusual picks — but in no way less deserving. SEGA's Ecco the Dolphin and Square Enix's Secret of Mana will feature with Game Freak's franchise in a 10-minute tribute piece, and we're eager to see how these three games come together.
Square Enix has a pretty hefty showing at the concert this year, and given the many legendary composers who have come from the studio, it's no surprise. Final Fantasy is making an expected appearance, with Nobuo Uematsu's 'Liberi Fatali' from Final Fantasy VIII showcasing the legendary JRPG composer's talent. Kingdom Hearts' music will also feature, and while the listing credits both composer Yoko Shimomura and singer Hikaru Utada, the 4-minute track/set hasn't been revealed.
Here's the full line-up for tonight's Gaming Proms, 'From 8-Bit to Infinity', from the BBC's website:
Programme
- Matt Rogers, Tim Follin - Loading Chronos (8 mins) BBC commission: world premiere
- Koji Kondo - The Legend of Zelda (5 mins) arr. Nic Raine
- CHAINES - Tribute to Pokémon, Ecco and Secret of Mana (10 mins) Original compositions by Junichi Masuda, Hiroki Kikuta, Spencer Nilsen, Attila Dobos, András Magyari, David Javelosa and Andy Armer
- Nobuo Uematsu - Final Fantasy VIII: Liberi Fatali (5 mins) arr. Andrew Skeet
- Kow Otani - Shadow of the Colossus – suite (8 mins) arr. Tomomichi Takeoka- Yoko Shimomura, Hikaru Utada - Kingdom Hearts (4 mins) orch. Kaoru Wada
- Austin Wintory - Excerpts from Traveller – A Journey Symphony (15 mins)
- Hildur Guðnadóttir, Sam Slater - Selections from Battlefield 2042 (14 mins) arr. Robert Ames; European premiere- Jessica Curry - Dear Esther/So Let Us Melt – I Have Begun My Ascent; The Leaving (5 mins) arr. Jim Fowler
For a first-ever Proms for video game music, that's a pretty broad selection of classics and new music. We hope this will kickstart more video game concerts in the UK, and worldwide.
Are you happy to see video game music getting its chance at the Proms? Let us know!
[source bbc.co.uk]
Comments 22
Shame they have missed out Sephiroth's Theme from FF VII, that live with full orchestra and singers would be immense
My question is how do you get 14 minutes of music out of a Battlefield game. And not even a good one at that!
I'm gutted I won't be able to see this live. Will they show it on TV?
I appreciate some people like this sort of thing but I can't stand it, sounds wrong to me.
@AstralToaster IIRC BF2042 reuses some of the best music from the franchise. You’d be surprised how good of music some BF and CoD games have, and BF’s main theme is a massively iconic videogame arrangement.
Buzzing for this. Incredibly cool that they got Tim Follin to put together a new piece specifically for this! His Silver Surfer soundtrack is legendary.
@HamKnight I wondered the same - the BBC page linked in the article states “Broadcast on BBC Four on Friday 5 August”
When this first announced, nearly half of the show was Battlefield music!
Whilst the Battlefield tune can be iconic, you could have that and two other arrangements in the same time frame.
Love Zelda and Pokemon's soundtracks, though I'm never going to be happy with any collection like this again unless it includes Xenoblade. 1 and 2 were already tied for my favorite soundtracks, and 3 has been matching them at every step so far.
Oh boy! I wonder what Sega music they will play?
"Ecco The Dolphin"
............what!? <_< Not Sonic 2, Sonic 3D Blast, Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine, Sonic Spinball, Sonic Heroes, Comix Zone, etc. No, blooming Ecco the mother dolphin with one of the worst sound track ever.
So happy it's finally happening!
Big step in mainstream acknowledgement of vgm legitimacy!
I probably would have bought tickets if they had been more up front about the length and content.
Oh, this is excellent. Hopefully the first of many to come.
Great news! Just checked and this will be broadcast on BBC 4 on Friday 5th August from 7:30 in the UK.
Put this on record since I'm gonna be on holiday while it's on. Sounds great!
@Markiemania95 That's excellent, thank you!
@RadioShadow
disagree, ecco games have great music.
Why do they call it a prom? The description makes it sound more like an orchestral concert, but the name makes it sound like a dance I would ask a girl to. I went to my Junior prom with a friend but regret that I never really dated in high school. I would unironically love a prom for adults (if it were classy and not with all the grinding and other dirty dancing all the kids at my high school prom were doing), but I don't think this is what that is at all, lol.
This is great news. VGM is pretty much the only music I am listening too. Even right now. Many tracks are really peaceful or happy, especially Nintendo music.
Would be cool if Uematsu made some more tracks for Nintendo games. The last game I remember is Fantasy Life, which had a good soundtrack.
Me and some friends went to watch the Royal Philharmonic play select music from PlayStation titles at the Royal Albert Hall in 2018 and it was brilliant.
@AlanaHagues Just so you know, the first paragraph is missing a word, I think: “But in 2022, the Proms is making by holding its first-ever video game concert.”
It should say: “But in 2022, the Proms is making historyby holding…”
@Not_Soos
Prom comes from promenade - "A leisurely walk, especially one taken in a public place as a social activity."
From wikipedia
"Prom is short for promenade concert, a term which originally referred to outdoor concerts in London's pleasure gardens, where the audience was free to stroll around while the orchestra was playing. "
SILVER SURFER?!
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