A cinematic symphony

A look at live music in a movie theater.

Written by Jalen Hobson

On March 29, there was a screening of 2018’s “Black Panther” at the Severance Music Center in Cleveland. The only difference from watching it in theaters or at home was that the film was accompanied by the Cleveland Orchestra. Music and sound, in general, has always had what I would describe as a symbiotic relationship. Without sound, watching a film is a completely different, dare I say, rather boring experience. This has been the case since the early years of film.

Through the early decades (1895-1929), films were silent. Of course, that also means there wasn’t any music. Back then, music was provided by either live musicians or by a device called a phonograph. One can imagine what watching a film was like without either of these, or better yet, next time you watch a film, try it on mute. While it is a wonder having moving pictures, it wouldn’t be nearly as engaging without any form of sound.

When musical scoring was first being used for film, the pieces were mainly orchestral. With this in mind, I attended the screening with respect for both film and musical history and paid close attention to the auditory experience. When compared to watching the film in theaters without the live orchestra, it should go without saying that the music is much more apparent. Some movie theaters have what are called D-BOX seats. These seats essentially have speakers and actuators that are in sync with the action on the screen. I would compare the experience of this cinematic symphony to these seats. The key difference is that the music from the orchestra felt significantly more organic, which of course makes sense seeing as they are right there in the theater with the audience.

With each bang of the drum, a natural vibration can be felt. With each blare of the trumpet, a feeling of triumph can be felt. It truly was a riveting experience. A similar showing happened at  Playhouse Square with a live concert performance of “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” in September 2024. A pattern can be seen with these highly acclaimed superhero flicks with stellar soundtracks. One can only hope that these types of screenings can become much more commonplace not only for other superhero films, but for all genres as well.

Events like these not only reinforce the relationship between sound and motion pictures, but also celebrate the time and care given to both art forms. 

The Cleveland Orchestra primarily plays at the Severance Music Center. You can visit their website at clevelandorchestra.com to learn of upcoming events and performances.