Top conductor Michael Seal returns to the UAE to perform spy movie classics and hopes to win new classical music converts

Abu Dhabi Classics is about to hit a high note when the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra will perform a medley of iconic James Bond movie themes in the atmospheric surroundings of an Al Ain fort, followed by a night of Beethoven in Abu Dhabi.

Leading the charge is conductor Michael Seal, whose extensive body of work has included wielding the baton for the BBC Philharmonic, London Philharmonic and RTE Concert Orchestra. The amiable conductor spoke to Abu Dhabi Week about the upcoming shows, challenges of being front and centre in every performance and about being scared of Anthony Hopkins…

First off, why James Bond themes?

It’s a very popular concept especially now because of Spectre. Obviously, some of the music had to be rearranged but there are lots of pieces in the James Bond back catalogue which are orchestral by nature anyway. And that’s probably because the majority of the songs were written for female singers. I think we’ll play every song from the franchise except the last movie.

Does taking on something with pop culture appeal like James Bond help introduce orchestral music to a wider audience?

I think it reaffirms the ability of a classical orchestra to play any genre. It also intrigues the audience enough to perhaps hear us play the kind of music we are known for. For this one, I imagine that most people would have heard James Bond music at some stage of their life, so there’s that accessibility that helps broaden our audience… Music should be available to all and there is so much out there that just concentrating on one genre would be crazy. An orchestra’s job is to play as much music as it can and to take it to as many people as possible. Nothing beats hearing an orchestra live! You cannot replicate the live experience of hearing 85 people playing live instruments for you.

It must also be a serious challenge to ensure that all of your talented musicians pull together in the same direction?

The art of being a conductor is to convince people that your way is the good way. You cannot please everybody all the time but what you can do is to at least make the orchestra feel that they’re part of the process and you’re not being dictatorial. You have to encourage, cajole and make sure that they want to play and have fun at the same time.

You worked with Anthony Hopkins for a musical project of his own compositions in 2011. What was that like?

He was a joy to work with. I was frightened to meet him because he’s such a big star on the big screen and theatre. But within five minutes he put me at ease and we just became two friends working together.

I do remember conducting some of the music for Silence of the Lambs and not turning around to see what his reaction was. And it was very bizarre conducting the music for the film and seeing Hannibal Lecter in the room. But he was very lovely and humble. One amazing thing that he did was memorising the names of the orchestra members and the instruments that they play. ‘How did you do that?’ I asked him. He answered, ‘I do that all the time – I memorise lines all the time.’”

Need to know:

The CBSO performs the Music of James Bond on 9th December (Al Jahili Fort,
Al Ain) followed by Beethoven on 10th December (Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi).
Contact: 800 86823, abudhabiclassics.ae