Concerto for Group and Orchestra


The Concerto for Group and Orchestra is a concerto composed by Jon Lord, with lyrics written by Ian Gillan. It was first performed by Deep Purple and The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Malcolm Arnold on 24 September 1969 and released on vinyl in December 1969. After the score was lost in 1970, it was performed again in 1999 with a recreated score.
The 1969 performance was among the first combinations of rock music with a full orchestra, and paved the way for other rock/orchestra performances such as , Rick Wakeman's Journey to the Centre of the Earth, Roger Waters' The Wall – Live in Berlin performance, and Metallica's S&M concert.

Musical form

The Concerto for Group and Orchestra is split into three movements.
; First movement : After an extended orchestral introduction, the group and orchestra work as separate blocks, trying to get dominance over the main theme and working as antagonists to each other. There are cadenzas for electric guitar and clarinet.
; Second movement , with lyrics sung by Ian Gillan: This movement is based around two tunes that are played in various different arrangements by the orchestra and the group, individually and together. After a combined pop / blues version of the second tune, there is an organ cadenza followed by a quiet ending by the orchestra.
; Third movement : Apart from Ian Paice's drum solo, the music combines the orchestra and group together in a "free for all". The movement alternates between 6/8 and 2/4 time signatures.

Original 1969 Royal Albert Hall performance

Performance

The piece was first performed and recorded on 24 September 1969 in the Royal Albert Hall, London, by:
The programme consisted of:

Releases

1970 Los Angeles performance

The Concerto was performed one more time, with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Lawrence Foster at the Hollywood Bowl on 25 August 1970, after which the score was lost.

Malcolm Arnold's views

In an interview for hospital radio in Huddersfield in 1970, shortly after the Royal Albert Hall performance, Arnold provided a positive take on the experience:

Ritchie Blackmore's views

In a 1979 interview with Sounds magazine, Blackmore said:

1999 Royal Albert Hall performances

Performance

On 25 and 26 September 1999, thirty years after its initial performance, the Concerto was again performed in front of a live audience in the Royal Albert Hall. To make this performance possible, a new score was created by Marco de Goeij by listening to the recording and watching the video of the 1969 performance.
Performers were:
The programme consisted of:
  1. Four Scottish Dances, performed by the London Symphony Orchestra
  2. "Pictured Within", performed by Jon Lord and Miller Anderson
  3. "Wait A While", performed by Jon Lord and Sam Brown
  4. "Sitting in a Dream", performed by Roger Glover and Ronnie James Dio
  5. "Love Is All", performed by Roger Glover and Ronnie James Dio
  6. "Via Miami", performed by Ian Gillan
  7. "That's Why God Is Singing the Blues", performed by Ian Gillan
  8. "Night Meets Light", performed by The Steve Morse Band
  9. "Take It off the Top", performed by The Steve Morse Band
  10. "Wring That Neck", performed by Ian Paice & The Kick Horns
  11. Concerto for Group and Orchestra, performed by Deep Purple and The London Symphony Orchestra
  12. #"First Movement: Moderato-Allegro"
  13. #"Second Movement: Andante"
  14. #"Third Movement: Vivace-Presto"
  15. "Ted the Mechanic", performed by Deep Purple and The London Symphony Orchestra
  16. "Watching the Sky", performed by Deep Purple and The London Symphony Orchestra
  17. "Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming", performed by Deep Purple and The London Symphony Orchestra
  18. "Pictures Of Home", performed by Deep Purple and The London Symphony Orchestra
  19. "Smoke on the Water", performed by the evening's entire ensemble

    Releases

The recording of the concert was released on a double CD as Live at the Royal Albert Hall. A cut recording of the performance was also released on DVD, entitled In Concert with the London Symphony Orchestra.

2000–2001 tour

Encouraged by the success of the 1999 performances, Deep Purple took the Concerto on tour, first performing it in South America with local orchestras, then in Europe with the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra, in Japan with the New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, all conducted by Paul Mann.

40th anniversary performance

On 24 September 2009 Jon Lord joined the RTÉ Concerto Orchestra in the National Concert Hall, Dublin, Ireland to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the first performance of Concerto for Group and Orchestra. Also performed, were pieces from Jon Lord's solo career and a number of Deep Purple songs including an orchestral version of Child In Time.

Further Performances

The score of the concerto having been recreated, groups and orchestras across the world were free to perform it:

2012 studio version

In October 2012, a studio version of the Concerto for Group and Orchestra was released. The recording features the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Paul Mann. The soloists are Jon Lord, Darin Vasilev, Joe Bonamassa, Steve Morse, Steve Balsamo, Kasia Łaska, and Bruce Dickinson, Brett Morgan, and Guy Pratt. The orchestral parts were recorded at the Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool on 1 and 2 June 2011. The band parts were recorded in August and October 2011 and also in May 2012. The album was mixed at Abbey Road Studios in late May 2012. According to Paul Mann, Jon Lord heard the final master of the recording a few days before his death on 16 July 2012.

Charts

;Original album
YearChartPosition
1970Germany22
1970United Kingdom26

;Reunion performance
YearChartPosition
1999Germany32
1999Switzerland65
1999Netherlands86

;Jon Lord's studio version
YearChartPosition
2012Germany37