RSNO: How To Train Your Dragon In Concert Usher Hall Edinburgh 30th January 2026 Review
How To Train Your Dragon (c) DreamWorks Animation 2010
RSNO: How To Train Your Dragon in Concert at the Usher Hall Edinburgh tonight was proof once again as to just how popular this "At The Movies" series of concerts has become over the years, as this was another sold out performance.
On paper, the format is a simple one - take a popular film and screen it behind the orchestra on a giant screen (and smaller screens left and right off stage), whilst at the same time performing the film score live. It all sounds so simple, but getting that perfect timing and film to music synchronisation is where the skill of the musicians of the RSNO and the conductor for the event come into their own.
How To Train Your Dragon is a 2010 film by DreamWorks Animation based on the book series of the same name by British author Cressida Cowell and since this first film, which was hugely successful and grossed over $500 million at the box office, a whole franchise has been developed around the world of a young Viking named Hiccup, his friend a dragon whom he calls Toothless and the fantasy Viking island world that they live in. Over the years, two more animated cinema films, short films, an animated for television series and a live action film in 2025, plus numerous video games have been released.
Tonight, as always the audience for an "At The Movies" concert was a slightly different one than you usually find at an RSNO classical concert. This was for the most part a far younger audience that reflected the film choice being screened. It was though still a diverse age group in this audience and, for many, tonight was a real family at the RSNO/cinema event.
The films selected for this series of concerts are obviously ones chosen to have as wide an appeal as possible to potential audiences, but there also has to be a musical reason there too. In this case, composer John Powell's score was nominated for an Academy Award.
The RSNO have a long association with film scores and, as well as these concerts, they have performed and recorded many classics over the years. Conducting a live in concert film score also requires a conductor with a lot of experience in that area, and tonight, that was Ben Palmer, one of the most experienced people around for a concert like this. Ben Palmer is also personally authorised by one of the greatest of all film score composers, John Williams, to perform his work live.
The attention to detail in recreating that "At The Movies" experience is always impressive on these concerts, and tonight, as always, that started right at the beginning with the opening titles for the film production company before leading everyone into the music of the film itself.
There is always, for me, this odd moment at these concerts where your attention is so fixed on the film being screened that the RSNO become part of that and it is so easy to forget that this music is actually being performed live on stage. Then you sort of step back a little and see the RSNO there and realise just how complex the music for a film soundtrack can be. I always like to imagine that if they had been alive in modern times, so many, if not all, of the revered names in classical music would have taken commissions for film soundtracks (and television) too.
How To Train Your Dragon was a film that up until tonight I was not familiar with, and Ben Palmer and the RSNO brought out every detail of John Powell’s original film score, and I realise now why it was nominated for that Academy Award.
Review by Tom King (c) 2025
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com
On paper, the format is a simple one - take a popular film and screen it behind the orchestra on a giant screen (and smaller screens left and right off stage), whilst at the same time performing the film score live. It all sounds so simple, but getting that perfect timing and film to music synchronisation is where the skill of the musicians of the RSNO and the conductor for the event come into their own.
How To Train Your Dragon is a 2010 film by DreamWorks Animation based on the book series of the same name by British author Cressida Cowell and since this first film, which was hugely successful and grossed over $500 million at the box office, a whole franchise has been developed around the world of a young Viking named Hiccup, his friend a dragon whom he calls Toothless and the fantasy Viking island world that they live in. Over the years, two more animated cinema films, short films, an animated for television series and a live action film in 2025, plus numerous video games have been released.
Tonight, as always the audience for an "At The Movies" concert was a slightly different one than you usually find at an RSNO classical concert. This was for the most part a far younger audience that reflected the film choice being screened. It was though still a diverse age group in this audience and, for many, tonight was a real family at the RSNO/cinema event.
The films selected for this series of concerts are obviously ones chosen to have as wide an appeal as possible to potential audiences, but there also has to be a musical reason there too. In this case, composer John Powell's score was nominated for an Academy Award.
The RSNO have a long association with film scores and, as well as these concerts, they have performed and recorded many classics over the years. Conducting a live in concert film score also requires a conductor with a lot of experience in that area, and tonight, that was Ben Palmer, one of the most experienced people around for a concert like this. Ben Palmer is also personally authorised by one of the greatest of all film score composers, John Williams, to perform his work live.
The attention to detail in recreating that "At The Movies" experience is always impressive on these concerts, and tonight, as always, that started right at the beginning with the opening titles for the film production company before leading everyone into the music of the film itself.
There is always, for me, this odd moment at these concerts where your attention is so fixed on the film being screened that the RSNO become part of that and it is so easy to forget that this music is actually being performed live on stage. Then you sort of step back a little and see the RSNO there and realise just how complex the music for a film soundtrack can be. I always like to imagine that if they had been alive in modern times, so many, if not all, of the revered names in classical music would have taken commissions for film soundtracks (and television) too.
How To Train Your Dragon was a film that up until tonight I was not familiar with, and Ben Palmer and the RSNO brought out every detail of John Powell’s original film score, and I realise now why it was nominated for that Academy Award.
Review by Tom King (c) 2025
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com
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