Emma Thompson Stars in New Film with Australian Orchestra

ABC Classic

Topic: Classical Music

Emma Thompson asked to join the Symphonic Cinema project after seeing an earlier film.

Emma Thompson, a live Australian orchestra, and music inspired by astrology come together.

A new orchestral experience in Sydney features Gustav Holst's The Planets.

Holst composed The Planets between 1914 and 1917. His music influences our understanding of the sky.

The Planets is at the intersection of myth, psychology, and orchestral innovation, says Benjamin Northey.

The suite has long influenced screen composers, from John Williams to Joff Bush.

The Sydney Symphony Orchestra will conduct a silent film starring Emma Thompson and Greg Wise.

Creating a film for a live orchestra is a unique challenge.

Traditionally, The Planets is used as a soundtrack in numerous films and TV shows.

Van Woerkum creates a film to accompany the existing music.

LOSS explores the process of dying.

Greg Wise and Emma Thompson play married artists in LOSS.

You'll see the person who's left behind and the one who's making the journey to the afterlife.

Thompson asked van Woerkum to join the Symphonic Cinema project after seeing his earlier film.

Thompson was blown away by the synthesis of a live orchestra and film.

Van Woerkum was surprised by Thompson's interest in the project.

Films with a live orchestra are a regular concert feature, but Symphonic Cinema is different.

Van Woerkum will sit with the orchestra and control what appears on screen.

Every shot of the film is triggered by van Woerkum to bring it in sync with the music.

Processing loss

Thompson says the on-screen couple in LOSS isn't based on her real-life marriage.

Emma Thompson in the silent film LOSS, premiered by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

The on-screen couple is used to being in peaceable and creative silence.

Thompson and Wise's experiences with grief inform their characters.

Thompson's father died when she was 23, while Wise lost his best friend when he was young.

No one really talks about grief or death.

We have a very uneasy relationship with death.

Thompson wouldn't reveal which character dies during the film.

Planets with personalities

Holst based his seven-movement orchestral suite on astrology.

Each planet has a distinct personality, from Mars to Venus.

It's not just about the planets, but human psychology filtered through astrology.

Many screen composers have referenced The Planets.

John Williams turned to Mars for inspiration when writing the music for Star Wars.

Williams directly copied the big, full-orchestra chords at the end of Mars.

You've got this relentless drumbeat ostinato, and a brass-led, militaristic colour.

Williams isn't the only composer who has turned to The Planets for inspiration.

Bluey's lead composer, Joff Bush, extensively quotes Jupiter in a dream sequence.

Others have borrowed from The Planets, including in Gladiator and The Man Who Fell to Earth.

Music that keeps expanding

Since Holst wrote The Planets, our knowledge of the universe has expanded dramatically.

Benjamin Northey has overseen many live-to-film orchestral productions.

Pluto was discovered in 1930 and later reclassified as a dwarf planet.

Holst didn't revisit The Planets to add a movement for Pluto before he died.

Others have taken up the challenge, including Leonard Bernstein and Colin Matthews.

In 2024, Australian composer Deborah Cheetham Fraillon added a movement for Earth.

The Planets still feels alive, says Northey, because it works on every level.

The music remains the most important thing, but the visuals deepen the emotional trajectory.

Thompson highlights the double-helix relationship between the music and the film.

Interview with Emma Thompson and Lucas van Woerkum by ABC Classic Breakfast presenter Megan Burslem.

Symphonic Cinema: The Planets will be performed by The Sydney Symphony Orchestra from May 1-3.

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