There’s nothing quite like seeing a Harry Potter film with live music, and the third installment of this series at the Mann was a high point.
On Thursday night the Philadelphia Orchestra led by Steven Reineke (along with a chorus from the Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia), performed the entirety of the nearly two and a half hour score of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban while the film was shown on a big screen above the stage. Reineke is a conductor, composer and arranger from Cincinnati who is the music director of The New York Pops.
This was the last Harry Potter movie to have a score by John Williams. His music brings back some of the classic motifs from the original while delivering heart-pumping suspense when necessary. Combining what I believe to be the far-and-away best Potter film in the series with the impeccable talent of the Philadelphia Orchestra made for a brilliant evening.