London Soundtrack Festival: Tippett Quartet play Herrmann & Gunning

London Soundtrack Festival: Tippett Quartet play Herrmann & Gunning – An intimate, daytime showcase of film music beyond the screen. Six close friends – the Tippett Quartet and clarinet virtuoso Robert Plane – bring the rich tapestry of Bernard Herrmann’s cerebral cinema scores into a chamber‑music setting. The concert opens with Herrmann’s elegantly haunting Clarinet Quintet, “Souvenirs de Voyage,” composed in 1965 and dedicated to Norma Shepherd, the composer’s third wife. Graced by Berlin‑born composer Peter Tippett’s fluency, the quintet unfolds with the same dramatic flair that made Herrmann a legend in the realms of Citizen Kane, Taxi Driver, Psycho, and Jason and the Argonauts. The audience is given a glimpse of the very place where Herrmann recorded his Oscar‑nominated score for Brian de Palma’s *Obsession* at St Giles’ Cripplegate in London—making this performance both personal and historic. The finale juxtaposes Herrmann’s legacy with that of his contemporary, Christopher Gunning, whose music has delighted screens from *Poirot* to *La Vie En Rose*. Gunning’s two‑decade‑old, revised String Quartet (1997/2005) is revealed as a gem rarely heard in concert halls, echoing the composer's influential presence in both film and classical realms. This front‑to‑back recital is a special homage to the creative spirit that bridges the auditory world of cinema and the concert stage – a must‑watch for any fan of film music and chamber repertoire alike.