Space Soundtracks at the Proms
Royal Albert Hall
I have decided to band together this year's broadcast of Strauss's Also Sprach Zarathustra, and the compilation show of Space Soundtracks that was presented by Nick Mohammed. What better evening to type this up than this evening - Wednesday 12th August 2026 - as we witness the first solar eclipse since 1999. Funnily enough, I remember the one back in '99 and, though only ten or eleven years old at the time, seem to recall there being much more hype about that one. By contrast, I only found out about this one when various notifications flashed up on my phone this afternoon. I usually get a fill of the nightly sun down at the rear of my property, and so I decided to see what I might see. Just is my luck, a big-fuck-off cloud drifted across the line of view, just at the moment of totality. I did, however, get a couple of amateur shots before this moment, and I *think* I captured something at around 'half time', so to speak, by using my sunglasses to filter the camera lens on my phone.
Of course, space soundtracks are an integral feature of the 'popular' Proms. With good reason, because they are pretty smashing. [stopped myself from typing 'out of this world' just here.] I myself made the journey to watch The Planets and Star Wars at last year's run, and it was nice to see excerpts of those 2025 performances again. This programme also journeyed back to 2024, with a performance of the score from Episode I: The Phantom Menance. Just like the solar eclipse in 1999, I remember the hype around the Phantom Menace film in... [checks the year]... 1999! So, it was the same year - no wonder we were all going space mad. I believe I had the game on Playstation - the only console I owned before largely losing interest in computer games. It is the game that this performance of Phantom Menace takes me back to, and it is a fond memory of more innocent times. Being John Williams, the score is naturally a corker. It might be worth mentioning that I happened to watch ET a few years back and could not get into it, yet Williams's score is perfectly at home with me.
Strauss's Also Sprach Zarathrusta at the Proms is featured in its own broadcast as well as the compilation, and I confess it is one I know of but not much about. It featured in Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Oddity, which I've never seen, but have now duly added it to 'the list.' The performance starts and, yes, of course I know this tune. It has been heard and rigorously parodied through the ages. Must watch that film when I get chance. And it's a fine piece by Strauss. But which Strauss, I wonder? There's that bloody many of them. I shall endeavor to find out.
Partial eclipse before being obscured by clouds. AKA, my life story.
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