In the midst of the announcement of the world-renowned rock band, Radiohead’s return tour after seven years away, the Lincoln Cathedral welcomed London Concertante’s ‘Radiohead Reimagined by Candlelight.’
On November 10, the ensemble played some of bands’ most acclaimed songs, like ‘No Surprises’ from ‘OK Computer’ and ‘Fake Plastic Trees’ from ‘The Bends’, with a unique symphonic twist.
Around 317 people attended the candlelit cathedral to hear the sounds of Radiohead, with many being fans of classical music – or perhaps because they missed out on tickets to see them in November later this year in London, like myself.
Founded in 1991, London Concertante’s ‘Radiohead Reimagined’ was a great replacement – with the added bonus of Lincoln Cathedral looking slightly better than the O2.
On the night, the setting and the orchestra made for quite an enjoyable evening, especially as a Radiohead fan, hearing a classical rendition of hits like ‘High and Dry’, was raw, yet peaceful.
Personal standouts from the show include ‘Exit Music (For a Film)’ from ‘OK Computer’ and ‘Everything In Its Right place’ from ‘Kid A’, weirdly, worked neatly in an orchestral arrangement.
Chris Grist, one of the cellists and the Artistic Director of London Concertante, provided crowd interaction, even joking about not playing ‘Creep’, the bands most streamed song, because they were bored of it, similarly to the opinion of Thom Yorke.
Having previously attending a Smashing Pumpkins gig, this was quite the change of pace – nonetheless, for just over £20, I certainly got my money’s worth.
However, a lot of the preparations were made prior to the first note played.
Ellie Stocker, from the Candlelight Concert Team, said: “A lot of different factors had to be accounted for, and spread across the two different departments, marketing and concerts”.
It’s certainly impressive when you hear a glimpse into the behind-the-scenes of events like this one, and how much time and effort is spent.
“Our Radiohead show is part of our regular repertoire, and so the music had been curated in advance, but everything else such as sourcing the musicians, marketing the event, booking transport, setting up the staging, organising seating numbers, preparing the bar, was done across several weeks”.
You can catch the London Concertante’s ensemble on the 15th November, as they return to Lincoln Cathedral for their ‘Four Seasons and The Lark Ascending’ show.