Lift off

The Los Angeles Philharmonic prepares to launch into the stratosphere with this cosmic program featuring a new commission from Andrew Norman, inspired by Georges Melies' seminal silent movie, A Trip to the Moon in turn based on grandaddy of adventure fiction Jule Verne's novel From the Earth to the Moon.

Released in 1902, Melies's masterpiece set the bar for the sci-fi on film for many years to come. Surreal, stunning and the origin of the iconic 'Man in the Moon' image, it follows a group of astronomers as they launch themselves in a cannon to the moon, where they are met by a strange party of insectoid inhabitants.

The astral fun continues apace, ending the evening with perennial favourite The Planets by Holst.