The sounds of Star Wars and Beethoven hit the waterfront at Symphony at Sunset, July 11

Vancouver Symphony Orchestra moves its wildly popular, free outdoor concert to David Lam Park this year

Vancouver Symphony Orchestra presents Symphony at Sunset on July 11 at 8 pm at David Lam Park

BLOCKBUSTER FILM scores from Harry Potter and Star Wars movies meet Elgar and Beethoven in Vancouver Symphony Orchestra’s hugely popular Symphony at Sunset this year.

Conducted by VSO music director Otto Tausk, the concert this year moves to David Lam Park on the shores of False Creek, due to water-tunnel work at Sunset Beach. Arrive early, bring a blanket, and pack a picnic for an open-air program that spans centuries of music.

After opening with “O, Canada” and the “Coast Salish Anthem”, the program delves into Ludwig van Beethoven’s iconic “Allegro con brio” from Symphony No. 5—the one that starts with the rhythmic “da-da-da-dum” motif in unison that Beethoven famously described as “fate knocking at the door”. The orchestra will also play the “Allegretto” from his Seventh Symphony.

Beethoven’s heroic grandeur, dramatic structure, and rhythmic drive influenced John Williams in his movie scores, though the 94-year-old conductor and composer has said he was most directly inspired by the likes of Holst and Wagner. You’ll hear his “Flying Theme” from E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial; Star Wars’ “Obi-Wan Kenobi Theme”; Hook’s “The Flight to Neverland”; and a few tunes from his soundtrack for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

Elsewhere, Tausk has put together a program that mixes old and new. On one hand, you have Sri Lankan-born Canadian Dinuk Wijeratne’s “Letter From the Afterlife”; then jump back to the 19th century for Tchaikovsky’s joyful Symphony No. 4.

There's more, including a "Rondo" by Saint-Saëns and Edward Elgar's pulsing, poignant Enigma Variations: Nimrod. It's all free, presented in partnership with the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation—views courtesy of Mother Nature.

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Janet Smith

Janet Smith is founding partner and editorial director of Stir. She is an award-winning arts journalist who has spent more than two decades immersed in Vancouver’s dance, screen, design, theatre, music, opera, and gallery scenes. She sits on the Vancouver Film Critics’ Circle.

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The sounds of Star Wars and Beethoven hit the waterfront at Symphony at Sunset, July 11

Vancouver Symphony Orchestra moves its wildly popular, free outdoor concert to David Lam Park this year

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