Angry Birds music to feature in classical concert

Music featured in video games ranging from Angry Birds to Mario Bros is set to feature in a classical concert.

The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is playing more than 20 songs as part of a music festival in the city.

Two of this year's most hotly-anticipated games series, Battlefield and Call of Duty, will also be among the play list.

By going as far back as titles like Tetris the concert is tracing the history of music in gaming.

The festival's director Andrew Missingham says music plays an essential role in the gaming experience.

He said: "Video games from Heavenly Sword to Little Big Planet are taken to the next level by music."

Tongue-in-cheek

Having recorded music in the past for blockbuster films like The Lord of the Rings trilogy the orchestra might be more suited to Final Fantasy and Legend of Zelda.

Andrew Skeet was asked to compose the concert for the LPO.

"I was recording, by coincidence, a score for a film based on a video game called Ghost Recon when I got a call from the London Philharmonic," he revealed.

"I thought, 'We've got to go a little bit on the nostalgia front but also find the best bits of music.'

"The slightly darker ones like Advent Rising, it's quite romantic but dark romantic, so I like that.

"I love the ones to work on that are a bit different to the originals because they're a bit more fun.

"But then I loved doing Tetris and Angry Birds because they're completely new versions and a little bit tongue-in-cheek."

The full list of video games included in the concert is:

• Advent Rising

• Elder Scrolls

• CoD Main Menu Theme

• CoD Modern War 2: Theme

• Legend of Zelda

• Mario Bros Theme

• Little Big Planet

• Splinter Cell

• Battlefield 3

• Final Fantasy

• Metal Gear Solid

• Dead Space

• Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

• World of Warcraft

• Halo 3

• Blood Stone 007

• Grand Theft Auto

• Bioshock

• Mass Effect

• Fallout 3

• Tetris

• Super Mario

• Angry Birds

• Enemy Zero

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