The Morricone Duel

It must be challenging to play Morricone, especially the best pieces that most people know from the original recordings, which can be hurt by even a slightly clumsy performance. Just like singing Morricone, whistling Morricone... But the Danes can do it. The music has the right swing in their performance, it sounds very authentic, you can see that the whole orchestra is having fun, and although it's quite the spectacle for the audience (there are gunshots, howling wind, etc.), it's definitely not an overblown show-off. It's still that great music that really sounds like the original, except perhaps in the mix of Once Upon a Time in the West, where mezzo-soprano Tuva Semmingsen just doesn't live up to the original Edda Dell'Orso. Then again, no one does. The song selection is fine, apart from the ones you might expect, I was pleased with The Untouchables and especially The Sicilian Clan, and the interspersing of Morricone with the works of other composers is also successful – Bernard Herrmann's Taxi Driver, Nino Rota's The Godfather, and, somewhat surprisingly, the song Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) are heard. I enjoyed the concert. (29.05.2020)