27 July 2019
Symphonic Led Zeppelin, Filarmonicas: Ramnicu Valcea and Oltenia/Craiova
This was the start of the very warm Summer season with large outdoor concerts in squares all over Romania. The Filarmonica Ion Dumitrescu and the Filarmonica Oltenia came together to perform Jaz Coleman's Symphonic Led Zeppelin. The large audience of over a thousand seemed to appreciate the orchestral playing just as much as the brilliant original Led Zeppelin thematic material.
Like it's sister work (Jaz Coleman's Symphonic Pink Floyd), Symphonic Led Zeppelin was especially put together for a large orchestral recording (with the London Philharmonic) - requiring a balance between fine technical performance and all the colour and excitement that can be offered by a large orchestra. While these pieces are considered to be part of the cross-over genre - they can stand alongside much traditional symphonic writing. The LPO recordings of both these works reached no.1 on the US Billboard chart in the late 1990s - and each remained there for nearly one year!
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