EXPERIENCE AN ORCHESTRAL EVENING IN ONE OF LONDON’S MOST FAMOUS NIGHTCLUBS

A review by Jess

Aurora Orchestra, one of Europe’s leading chamber orchestras, performed Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony at unconventional music venue Printworks. Nowadays Printworks is most known as a nightclub but before 2017, it was one of the largest printing factories in Western Europe. The original aesthetics of the printing factory remain such as giant machines and printing presses, which made Printworks a unique choice of venue for the concert.

Beethoven wrote his Fifth Symphony between 1804-1808 and the work opens with perhaps the most famous four notes in Western classical music. It is also known as the Symphony of Fate with Four Movements in total, each with its own strikingly different character. Aurora Orchestra’s rendition of this historical symphony was fantastic. The concert was a standing event which allowed the audience to move around between each movement and experience the music from many different angles!

Each musician in the orchestra played the symphony from memory and when the conductor pointed to each instrumental solo, the light shined on them to draw the audience’ attention. The lights played a big part in the show, matching the tone of the music that is was played, such as red in the more eerie movements within the work. When the tempo moved from allegro to presto the lighting also got brighter.

There were two shows on Thursday 23rd of March, one at 6PM and the second at 9PM. Each movement lasted approximately 10 minutes, with the exception of the last movement which lasted 24 minutes. There was a break of about 10-15 minutes between each piece. This allowed the guests to grab a drink at the bar and enjoy the contrasting music by multi-disciplinary artist Nwando Ebizie. As an admirer of Beethoven’s work at a young age, Ebizie frames the music in a whole new way in his work Amor Fati. There was a light installation that accompanied his work which helped create a creating a multi-sensory, ritual experience.

After the show it’s easy to see why there was a demand for Aurora Orchestra to return after their sold-out debut performance in 2021. This event was definitely worth attending, especially for music lovers looking for a unique experience in London. See what other events Aurora Orchestra have coming up on their website now.