The word “planetarium” usually calls to mind images of sitting in a high school gymnasium and watching Saturn hover the scoreboard. But Planetarium, part of the L.A. Philharmonic’s Brooklyn Festival series, turned Walt Disney Concert Hall into no ordinary planetarium.
Planetarium, in its west coast premiere, was conceived by the talented: The National’s Bryce Dessner, singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens and composer Nico Muhly. The show infused a full orchestra, synths and vocals, playing craftily orchestrated songs about each planet.
To accompany the music, beautiful images of planets with an array of lights and lasers encompassed the concert hall. These breathtaking visuals were displayed on what could have been considered the concert’s very own planet, a circular 360-degree orb.
Each planet was represented in lights and sounds, including the once-planet-now-dwarf-but-still-a-planet-in-our-hearts, Pluto.