Britain's National Youth Orchestra Hits Stratospheric Heights With Space Symphony

Great Britain's National Youth Orchestra is making a strong case for young musicians with their recent performance of Richard Strauss' Also sprach Zarathustra, the defining piece of music from Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film, 2001: A Space Odyssey.

The NYO performed a "reimagined" version of the orchestral movement at The BBC Proms, an eight-week gala of daily classical concerts and symphonic affairs in celebration of the summer season. NYO's performance at Prom 29 last weekend certainly did much to heighten their visibility.

The particular concert was reportedly space-themed and, by all accounts, the NYO knocked it out of the park with their Strauss interpretation.

In a report at the Telegraph, reviewer John Allison highlighted the contributions of conductor Edward Gardner in leading the effervescent performance:

"Conducting with a suspenseful baton, Gardner got his young players to deliver the musical sunrise thrillingly, helped in particular by the steel-nerved organist Joseph Beadle. The NYO may not have the punch of a grown-up orchestra, but they lack nothing else and the strings caught the yearning quality of this music."

Over at website musicOMH, reporter Barry Creasy shared his enjoyment of the National Youth Orchestra's performance of the sublime Strauss symphony:

"One of the delights of NYO performances is that, because the players are not salaried, the orchestra can field as many as will fit on the stage, and nine trumpets punching out the opening arpeggio of surely the most famous 21 bars of space-associated music (the beginning of Richard Strauss's Also sprach Zarathustra) was an electrifying moment."

As we previously reported at our sister site Classicalite, the soundtrack to 2001: A Space Odyssey is an experimental music classic featuring the work of revered composers György Ligeti and Johann Strauss II alongside Richard Strauss' forenamed signature orchestration.

Below, check out the NYO's orchestral "remix" of Also sprach Zarathustra.

We want to hear from you. Do you have a favorite composition from 2001: A Space Odyssey? What do you think of the above NYO version of Also sprach Zarathustra? Let us know your take in the below.

TagsNational Youth Orchestra, Richard Strauss, Also sprach Zarathustra, György Ligeti, Johann Strauss II, Edward Garner, Joseph Beadle, John Allison