Sydney Symphony Orchestra | Symphonic Cinema: The Planets

3 May 2026, Sydney Opera House, NSW

Days after the concert, I still have an ear worm. Fragments of the Planets’ music float in and out of my consciousness as I live my life, and I am loving it.

The Planets used to be (still is) one of my favourite pieces of music. And at various stages, each of the seven planets were my ‘favourite’ Planet piece as I grew up. I loved the romanticisation of the program; instead of lifeless spheres floating in space, Holst embodied the spirit of the Roman Gods and or astrology.

This concert surprised me; a film by Symphonic Cinema was running at the same time that Ben Northey was conducting the SSO, but instead of Benjamin Northey conducting to a soundtrack meter, Lucas Van Woerkum – the founder of Symphonic Cinema and director of the film LOSS – was following the cues of the SSO’s performance. Truly a magical process, and one that Ben proclaimed that he enjoyed much more.

LOSS is a silent film set to the music of Holst’s Planets, and stars English power couple Emma Thompson and Greg Wise. It can be viewed as the third film of a triptych concerning death, or to be less brutal, the afterlife.

I never have images in my mind’s eye when I have my ear worm, but the images that LOSS imposed on the music were absolutely stunning, and very very poetic. Mars, the bringer of war, was reinterpreted to be the opening credits of the movie, with the Arts Umbrella Dance Academy gyrating around Emma Thompson in a kind of Rite of Spring ballet. How the jerkiness of their limbs coincided with the jerkiness of the music was absolutely uncanny, and was a stratospheric level of perfection.

Venus, the bringer of peace, was the setting for Emma Thompson to wander the empty apartment, and to emote her feeling of not having her husband anymore. She shed a tear, and so did I, for she is such a powerful actress that can project emotion to her audience. I am a huge fan of hers.

Mercury, the winged messenger, was the setting for the film to show us the couple’s shared moments from the past – their tender moments as a couple. Likewise for Jupiter, the bringer of jollity, we saw the couple more in their community moments; where their place was in other people’s hearts. But there was an absolutely surprising dagger in these images, for it was Emma’s coffin that was on display during the ‘big tune’ of Jupiter – in a kind of Sixth Sense plot twist. Which meant that I had to reinterpret the beginning of the movie again in my mind.

Saturn, the bringer of old age, focussed on Greg Wise bearing his wife’s death stoically. There were lots of close ups of his face ‘manning up’ with the burden of missing his beloved wife. The loud brassy parts of Saturn coincided with the bubbles that form inside the paint when Greg was brushing his paintbrush into the paint for his canvas. Truly they were spectacular, unforgettable images, and not unsuitable for the music as well.

Uranus the magician brought back Emma Thompson surrounded by the Arts Umbrella Dance Academy. This time, she was trying to escape but they were circling her and barring her return. She was in Hades, and there was no escape for her soul.

Neptune, the mystic, was suitable music for Greg to be resigned to his LOSS, and to contemplate life without his wife. The ineffable beauty of the offstage female choir’s sound wafted through the open door at the back of the concert hall, and brought the whole piece, and the concert experience to silence. No-one wanted to break the silence, but when we started to applaud, it was thunderous.

The SSO played with more adrenaline, energy and excitement compared to the rehearsals that I attended on Tuesday (see previous review). Of course this happens because we are human, and we rise to the big occasion. But what was surprising to me was that the SSO lost some of its balance, with the brass blanketing the orchestra during its fortissimo passages. Ah well, Ben conducted with more verve and energy, and the orchestra responded accordingly. It was a magnificent performance, but I could not tear my eyes away from the mesmerising images of LOSS to watch his conducting, even when I wanted to.

Just a proposition to Lucas; we should start work on setting Sibelius’ music to film, for Sibelius – one of my favourites – his music is perfect as film music. Let’s begin!

The concert, in reverse order, had Nigel Westlake’s world premiere performance of When the Clock Strikes Me. It is a percussion concerto, and featured the SSO’s very own Rebecca Lagos as soloist. That was why there were so many percussion instruments at the front of the stage for the first half of the performance! It was utterly fantastic to watch Rebecca – floating like a butterfly, stinging like a bee – jiving to the music and flitting from instrument to instrument, banging, jabbing, and pounding her notes at the appropriate time. It is still, to me, the best thing to see a musician enjoying the music-making process. And the orchestra was marvellous. At the end of this round, Nigel, Rebecca and Ben all held hands, got their applause, and were declared the ‘winners’.

The concert opened with Ives’ The Unanswered Question. Ben conducted it without a baton. The program notes are excellent. I was vastly amused by all the questions that I heard from audience members.

“What’s going on?”
ANSWER: “This is the first piece, Charles Ives’ Unanswered Question.”
“Where’s the trumpeter?”
ANSWER: “Offstage”
“What are those instruments at the front?”
ANSWER: “4 flutes”.
COMMENT: “I didn’t recognise them because they are so close to the audience.”
“Why do the flutes sound so awful?”
ANSWER: “They are the answer to the trumpet’s question.”
“What’s the question?”
ANSWER: “That’s a great question!”

Photo credit: Jay Patel

See Richard’s review of this concert’s Open Rehearsal with Benjamin Northey HERE >>