The Star Trek theme played in the style of a Chopin polonaise is fascinating
6 September 2016, 13:42 | Updated: 11 January 2017, 13:37
It’s 50 years since Captain Kirk and Mr Spock was first broadcast on TV. Gabriela Montero performed this amazing tribute for Classic FM to mark the occasion.
On September 8th 1966 a new sci-fi series premiered on the US TV network NBC. Star Trek introduced a cast of memorable characters led by ladies’ man Captain Kirk, logical Mr Spock, and emotional Dr Bones. But equally memorable was the very odd (for American TV) theme tune.
The music, composed by Jerry Goldsmith, is strangely chromatic, with unconventional intervals, and it sounds like it should be played on a theremin to give it the suitably eerie 1960s alien vibe.
Gabriela Montero improvises on the Harry Potter theme >
We asked Venezuelan star pianist - and improviser extraordinaire - Gabriela Montero to take that alien-sounding theme and bring it back to Earth. As it turns out, the theme tune was just ripe for turning into a Chopin-style polonaise. And made us go like this:
Take it away, Gabriela!
The Star Trek theme as a Chopin polonaise
