Page 694 - Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Coverage Book 2023-24

McCartney’s … Show more MARY MCCARTNEY/PROVIDED BY CINCINNATI
OPERA

Even though McCartney had never written for a full orchestra before, there
was some logic to the idea. After all, McCartney had been part of the most
popular group of musicians to ever come from Liverpool – The Beatles.

Working alongside classical composer Carl Davis, McCartney crafted a
semi-autobiographical piece of music about a kid born in Liverpool during
World War II – like McCartney himself. “Reminiscences,” is how
McCartney described it during his work with Davis.

“They only asked us for something for their 150th anniversary,” McCartney
recalled in a documentary about the creation of the work. “We could have
given them a little string quartet – three minutes, soft work, thank you very
much and happy birthday.”

But as the work grew in scope, McCartney’s passion for the project grew,
too.

To reflect the devastation of German bombs on Liverpool during World War II,
designer Leslie Travers has an enormous piece of the map-like set
wrenched … Show more
PROVIDED BY CINCINNATI OPERA

“It’s only just beginning to dawn on me that we’ve bitten off something
fairly big here,” he said. “You know, one-and-a-half hours, eight
movements – the full kitchen sink.” (You can watch the full documentary
at bit.ly/liverpooldoc.)

Predictably, the work garnered an immense amount of attention. After all,
this was a new work by one of The Beatles. Despite breaking up more than