The first thing to say about this touring arena production is that it was nothing like ‘The Music of Hans Zimmer’ put on by the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra two years ago. Some music was the same – namely from Gladiator, Interstellar, Pirates of the Caribbean and The Lion King – but rather than an orchestra, The Next Level uses a 19-piece band and vocalists. But the one supreme difference was the presence of Zimmer himself: the great man rocked into Adelaide for this show, along with a touring party numbering roughly 150 personnel.

Handpicked by Zimmer himself, his collaborating musicians seemingly hailed from all corners of the Earth and included the Nairobi Chamber Choir and a horn sextet comprising Ukrainian and wider European members. In addition, there a massive French-built modular synthesiser called Giorgio III. Reputedly one of the largest modular synths ever built for a live stadium tour, it looks like the helm of a spaceship and serves as the concert’s visual centrepiece.

It is so interesting to witness Zimmer, and Next Level is an extremely well-designed show that allows one to assemble a good picture of him. Initially, it has the feel of a techno club with the Maestro is seriously head-down at a keyboard. Bursts of thunder and lightning herald the start of the show, and waves of heavy analogue synth flood the Adelaide Entertainment Centre. We are immediately reminded of Zimmer’s background in 70s synth-pop bands. The pulsing of drums is so strong that they thump inside one’s chest.

He smiles gleefully as he saunters down one set of stairs and picks up an electric bass. Then we hear the furious Batman motif in ‘Like a Dog Chasing Cars’ from The Dark Knight, and it is immense. Basslines in his scores are always his overwhelming strength, and this is one of his best. Other musicians have joined him by now: two additional keyboardists, three percussionists, and Andy Pask on upright electric bass – he being a five decades-long collaborator of Zimmer’s who has also performed alongside Freddie Mercury, Stevie Wonder, the Pet Shop Boys and Madonna. Beside him on stage is the revered British guitarist Guthrie Govan, whose versatility and technical mastery are a privilege to hear.

You might like

Music

Music review: Benjamin Clementine

Music

What’s My Scene: Making music has driven Ross McHenry’s life

“Evening all”, Zimmer mutters. He greets the audience with self-deprecating words about how performing on stage is not his thing as he’s normally used to hiding away inside his studio. But his chat is so candid and endearingly honest, that it looks like he’s genuinely enjoying the night.

Then come further excerpts from The Dark Knight Suite, and ‘What Are You Going to Do When You Are Not Saving the World?’ from Zack Snyder’s 2013 superhero film Man of Steel. Three violinists have simultaneously joined the stage, and the music surges with basslines of monumental force. So German in his DNA is Zimmer that his music builds from the ground up just like that of a Baroque composer.

The concert’s first genuinely quiet moment – and there are not a lot of these – comes when Japanese cellist Mariko Muranaka plays ‘To Every Captive Soul’ from Ridley Scott’s Hannibal, backed by wordless choir. Bearing candles, Nairobi Chamber Choir’s female singers are ethereal in this. Melodically it is as tuneful as Gariel Fauré. Zimmer excels in the menacing, but his music can also be beautiful.

Then we hear the propulsive ‘160 BPM’ from Ron Howard’s Angels & Demons, likewise backed by choir. Written in complex septuple meter, it is hypnotic and deep in mystery. On its back from Sherlock Holmes comes ‘Tick Tock’. With virtuosic violin, cello, banjo and accordion, this gets loud, but it’s fun.

Roars of approval erupt when Zimmer announces that the next bracket will be from Gladiator. When describing how he attempted to recreate the music of Ancient Rome, he disarmingly says, “I made it up”. First, we hear magnificent performances by classical violinist Alexandra Tirsu and flautist Veronika Vitazkova (on shawm), but the special moment comes when Lisa Gerrard sings ‘Now We are Free’. The Melbourne-based singer from Dead Can Dance who sings in the movie soundtrack has been invited in especially for this concert tour, and she was its uncontested highlight. Flexing with every sensual nuance of emotion and using her hands to merge expressively with her voice, hers was the most rewarding solo performance of the night.

The second half was more physical and party-like. It began with the relentless rhythmic tension of ‘Dream is Collapsing from Inception, reminiscent of Philip Glass’s minimalism but injected with a kind of numbing, doom-laden angst. The drumming was once again chest-pounding. After the wistful Time’, serious full-on electronica took over the Entertainment Centre with EDM-inspired tracks from Joseph Kosinski’s 2025 film F1. It could have used dancers, but that deficit was made up for by a wonderful trapeze act during the Interstellar suite. Dangling from high and spotlit by a brilliant white beam, aerial performance artist Nina Treiber slowly twirled in this. It felt like one was lifted into outer space.

Pure joyous celebration took over in an extended song-and-dance sequence from Lion King, featuring the incomparable vocals of Lebo M. Here was another special moment, as this famed South African singer was the very same artist who helped inspire Zimmer’s film score.

With the composer at its centre, and relying on first-class instrumentalists and singers who helped generate this music, The Next Level is to be viewed as one of Zimmer’s stand-out creative achievements. It might never be repeated, but one hopes something like this will happen again.

Hans Zimmer Live: The Next Level performed at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre on October 15