It isn’t often you get to see the London Symphony Orchestra perform in their home, St Luke's, a historic Anglican church located on Old Street, London. So when Diva was invited by our friends at Bethesda to attend a special musical celebration of the music of Starfield, we set a course for the capital immediately.
With nods to the likes of composers John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith and Vangelis - each of whom have left their own indelible mark on the world of science fiction - Starfield’s soundtrack is a sprawling work.
Composed by Inon Zur, the talent behind the scores of the Fallout and Dragon Age franchises, Starfield’s soundtrack clocks in at over five hours - hardly surprising given the hundreds of hours players can expect to plough into Starfield’s campaign.
Zur previously performed a piano rendition of the game’s main theme at Gamescom’s Opening Night Live 2023 event in August. This live snapshot of the score, partly conducted by Zur himself, still barely scratches the surface of what players can expect.
The oldest of London's symphony orchestras and widely regarded as one of the world's best, LSO has a reputation like no other. Since its inception in 1904, the orchestra has played on more than 200 soundtrack recordings, including the likes of Star Wars, Indiana Jones and the Harry Potter series. To say it has pedigree for this sort of thing is an understatement.
The relationship between orchestras and video games is nothing new, of course. Composer Richard Jacques’ score for 2001's Headhunter was the first to be recorded with A-list musicians at Abbey Road Studios' Studio One.
The practice has since become the norm, with players from LSO and other major orchestras regularly being recruited for scoring sessions for video game soundtracks. And while their origins are still very much steeped in the early 8-bit joys of programmable sound chips, it’s impossible to imagine the likes of The Legend of Zelda, Halo and God of War without the incredible impact of a sweeping orchestral score.
All of this has gotten us in a reflective mood, so stay tuned for more on Diva’s video game soundtrack favourites in the coming weeks.
In the meantime, you can watch the LSO’s performance here:
