{"id":995,"date":"2026-01-23T15:31:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T15:31:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/frownedupon.net\/?p=995"},"modified":"2026-01-24T15:41:59","modified_gmt":"2026-01-24T15:41:59","slug":"beyond-the-console-when-video-game-music-takes-centre-stage-in-liverpool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/frownedupon.net\/index.php\/2026\/01\/23\/beyond-the-console-when-video-game-music-takes-centre-stage-in-liverpool\/","title":{"rendered":"Beyond the Console: When Video Game Music Takes Centre Stage in Liverpool"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For decades, video game music has existed in a strange cultural in-between. Universally recognisable yet rarely afforded the same reverence as film scores or classical compositions, its emotional power has often been felt privately, through headphones, late-night play sessions and pixelated worlds. On\u00a0January 24<\/strong>, that changes in Liverpool by going beyond the console.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\u00a0Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra<\/strong>\u00a0will present\u00a0Beyond the Console: The Music of Video Games<\/a><\/strong>, a concert dedicated to some of the most iconic scores in gaming history. Far from novelty nostalgia, the event positions game music exactly where it belongs: on a concert hall stage, performed by one of the UK\u2019s most respected orchestras.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Beyond
Screenshot<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

From Hyrule to the Wasteland<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Conducted by\u00a0Robert Ames<\/strong>\u00a0and presented by the fantastic\u00a0Elle Osili Wood<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 BAFTA Games Awards host and voice of\u00a0BBC Radio 3\u2019s Sound of Gaming<\/em>\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Beyond the Console<\/em>\u00a0brings together a programme that spans genres, generations, and emotional registers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Audiences can expect music from The Legend of Zelda<\/strong>, Final Fantasy<\/strong>, Baldur\u2019s Gate 3<\/strong>, Skyrim<\/strong>, The Last of Us<\/strong>, Fallout 4<\/strong>, and Uncharted<\/strong>, showcasing how video game scores have evolved from catchy motifs into fully realised orchestral storytelling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The composers represented read like a canon in their own right.\u00a0Nobuo Uematsu\u2019s<\/strong>\u00a0melodic mastery helped define role-playing games for millions, while\u00a0Jessica Curry\u2019s<\/strong>\u00a0intimate, atmospheric compositions proved that restraint can be just as powerful as bombast.\u00a0Jeremy Soule\u2019s<\/strong>\u00a0sweeping fantasy themes continue to echo far beyond the worlds they were written for. Together, these works underline a simple truth: game music is no longer borrowing legitimacy from classical traditions it has earned it more than any other medium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Liverpool, Games, and Creative Legacy<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Hosting\u00a0Beyond the Console<\/em>\u00a0in Liverpool feels particularly fitting. The city has quietly become a significant UK hub for video games and creative innovation, supported by a strong independent development scene, active game-dev networks and a growing talent pipeline through its universities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Liverpool also occupies a notable place in the history of game music. In the 1990s, the city-based studio\u00a0Psygnosis<\/strong>, later acquired by Sony, played a key role in shaping the early identity of the PlayStation era. The studio\u2019s influence extended beyond gameplay, helping to establish a more ambitious, stylised, and musically driven approach to console games at a formative moment in the medium\u2019s history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond the Console<\/em>\u00a0doesn\u2019t just celebrate game music, it acknowledges Liverpool\u2019s ongoing relationship with the industry and its cultural impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More Than a Concert<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Ahead of the performance, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra will also host a pre-concert networking event<\/strong>, bringing together professionals from the gaming and music sectors. The aim is to encourage conversation, collaboration, and cross-pollination between two creative industries that increasingly overlap but rarely share physical space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a reminder that video game music doesn\u2019t exist in isolation. It\u2019s composed, recorded, performed and lived \u2014 shaped by real people working across disciplines, technologies, and traditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Cultural Shift, Played Live<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Beyond the Console: The Music of Video Games<\/em>\u00a0isn\u2019t about proving that game music is \u201cserious\u201d or \u201cvalid.\u201d That argument has already been won by the composers, players, and performances that continue to move audiences worldwide. Instead, this concert feels like a celebration of arrival, a moment where an art form steps confidently into the spotlight, unapologetic and fully formed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On January 24, in Liverpool, the controller is put down, the orchestra tunes up and the worlds we\u2019ve explored digitally are finally allowed to resonate in the open air.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click here<\/a> for my thoughts on the previous years show.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For decades, video game music has existed in a strange cultural in-between. Universally recognisable yet…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":893,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,8],"tags":[92,102,16,14],"class_list":["post-995","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gaming","category-music","tag-bbc","tag-beyond-the-console","tag-gaming","tag-music"],"aioseo_notices":[],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/frownedupon.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/My-project-copy-copy-2.png",1080,1080,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/frownedupon.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/My-project-copy-copy-2-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/frownedupon.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/My-project-copy-copy-2-300x300.png",300,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/frownedupon.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/My-project-copy-copy-2-768x768.png",640,640,true],"large":["https:\/\/frownedupon.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/My-project-copy-copy-2-1024x1024.png",640,640,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/frownedupon.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/My-project-copy-copy-2.png",1080,1080,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/frownedupon.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/My-project-copy-copy-2.png",1080,1080,false],"covernews-slider-full":["https:\/\/frownedupon.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/My-project-copy-copy-2-1080x715.png",1080,715,true],"covernews-slider-center":["https:\/\/frownedupon.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/My-project-copy-copy-2-800x500.png",800,500,true],"covernews-featured":["https:\/\/frownedupon.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/My-project-copy-copy-2-1024x1024.png",1024,1024,true],"covernews-medium":["https:\/\/frownedupon.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/My-project-copy-copy-2-540x340.png",540,340,true],"covernews-medium-square":["https:\/\/frownedupon.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/My-project-copy-copy-2-400x250.png",400,250,true]},"author_info":{"display_name":"Matt Evans","author_link":"https:\/\/frownedupon.net\/index.php\/author\/frownedupon-net\/"},"category_info":"Gaming<\/a> Music<\/a>","tag_info":"Music","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/frownedupon.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/995"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/frownedupon.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/frownedupon.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frownedupon.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frownedupon.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=995"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/frownedupon.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/995\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":998,"href":"https:\/\/frownedupon.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/995\/revisions\/998"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frownedupon.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/893"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/frownedupon.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=995"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frownedupon.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=995"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frownedupon.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=995"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}