Radiohead reimagined at Oxford's Christ Church Cathedral

BBC News

28-04-2025

A classical music ensemble's concert of Radiohead songs in the band's hometown of Oxford will feel extra special, its artistic director says.London Concertante's Radiohead Reimagined show is touring cathedrals and abbeys across the UK, and arrives at Christ Church Cathedral on Sunday.The ensemble, used to performing the works of Bach, Vivaldi, and Vaughan Williams, will reinterpret songs from the band's entire catalogue.Chris Grist, who is also founder of the orchestra, tells the BBC: "The fact that Radiohead are from Oxford, for us to bring the show there feels like a real homecoming."
It means reimagining both the guitar anthems and alternative rock from their breakthrough albums The Bends and OK Computer, through to their more experimental later releases, such as Kid A and In Rainbows.
Grist says he spent an "awful lot of time listening to every single Radiohead album", and that whittling down the songs was difficult."It has been a really fun challenge and we've tried not to shy away from really musically-challenging situations," he says.Radiohead's cultural legacy has been expanding in recent years. Upcoming productions include an art exhibition at the prestigious Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, and a stage show at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford Upon Avon that will combine the Bard's Hamlet with their Hail to the Thief album.
Grist believes that a former "perceived snobbery" in the art and classical world is "evaporating", as the opportunities rock music can bring become evident."[This] can be a starting point for the listener to then explore further the world of classical music, and that's certainly our aim whilst we're creating this show," he says."There is such a line that goes through from the great masters to great rock music, and the way that we've approached it is to not dumb down anything about the music that we're presenting. "So for a Radiohead fan, they'll hear their favourite tunes in a slightly different way, but for a classical music audience who perhaps aren't familiar with the Radiohead repertoire, they'll hear a symphonic concert that happens to be music by Radiohead."It's our way of trying to bridge that gap."
Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood is classically-trained and has written extensively for orchestras before, and both he and Thom Yorke have separately worked on soundtracks for filmmakers such as Paul Thomas Anderson, Jane Campion, Lynne Ramsay, and Luca Guadagnino.Grist says both are "immersed in that world" which makes their compositions so ideal to work on."You can tell from their writing and music that their musical brains are thoroughly engaged," he says."When you delve deep into what they've created, there is harmonic and rhythmic complexity, and even simple melodic lines are used so effectively."
He adds: "There's an ethereal quality to their music, which is going to lend itself so well to the venues we're going to play, particularly Christ Church."It's such an iconic and beautiful venue to be in, and hopefully we'll convey that through the music."For an audience it's all about the partnership between the venue, the music, and the ambience of what they're seeing, and I think that's why live music is still so alive today because it's the only opportunity where listeners get to experience that full immersive element."Radiohead Reimagined tours throughout 2025.
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