Philharmonia Orchestra to stage heavy metal concert at Southbank Centre's Multitudes festival

The Philharmonia Orchestra will perform 'Forged in Sound: Heavy Metal Orchestrated' next week as part of the Southbank Centre's Multitudes festival. This concert explores connections between classical music and heavy metal, highlighting shared elements like virtuosity, volume, and transgressive spectacle. Historical parallels are drawn between figures like Paganini and modern metal guitarists, with Robert Walser's study 'Running with the Devil' cited as revealing classical influences on metal guitar techniques. Specific examples include Deep Purple's Ritchie Blackmore modeling solos on Vivaldi, Randy Rhoads using Pachelbel for Ozzy Osbourne's 'Blizzard of Ozz', and Van Halen referencing Rodolphe Kreutzer in 'Eruption'. The article contrasts this event with more extreme metal possibilities, mentioning Napalm Death's 2020 album 'Throes of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism' and their second album 'From Enslavement to Obliteration'. Simultaneously, the Royal Opera announced its new season featuring Wagner productions: Evgeny Titov's staging of 'Parsifal' with conductor Jakub Hrůša, and Barrie Kosky's 'Götterdämmerung' with conductor Antonio Pappano. Christian Gerhaher and Brindley Sherratt will perform in 'Parsifal', with Gerhaher's portrayal of Amfortas anticipated as a standout. The Proms season announcement is expected next week. The article concludes with Tom Service's recent listening: Finnish composer Ida Moberg's 1909 tone-poem 'Sunrise Suite'.