The surface of the Earth may be a blasted wasteland, its music shops and symphony halls reduced to smoldering ruins. But as long as humans survive, so too will music. It’s in that spirit that I enjoy the music of Metro 2033 and its equally post-apocalyptic sequel, Metro: Last Light. The games have a distinct musical sensibility, as the grim men and women surviving in the irradiated Moscow Metro carry on the musical traditions ofā¦ well, mostly of folk guitar and heavy metal. Cool by me.
Earlier today, Chris observed how many of the everyday-life details in Metro: Last Light can make the game’s cities feel uniquely lived-in. I agree, and the music plays a big part in that. In Last Light‘s early goings, you’ll make a tour through a well-known entertainment city, sort of the last bastion of the theatre for post-apocalyptic Russia.
https://kotaku.com/the-quiet-moments-in-metro-last-lights-apocalypse-505640896
Before you get back on the road, you’ll have a chance to watch an onstage musical revue. The performances are awkward in the way video game performances usually are (tiny audiences, stilted dancing, awkward looping applause animations), but there are a few musical gems, if you stay for the whole show.
My favorite performance was the one in the video above, in which a guitarist performs a famous theme by Italian violinist and composer NicholĆ² Paganini. It’s called Caprice No. 24; here’s a video of the great Jascha Heifetz performing it:
I love this theme, partly because it’s very nice on its own, but mostly because when I was in high school, our symphonic band played an arrangement based on it. That piece was called Symphony Fantasy Variations of a Theme by Nicholo Paganini, composed by James Barnes. Check out the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra’s performance:
Looking through the YouTube comments, it seems it’s popular among all-state high school wind ensembles. That’s at least partly because it’s arranged to highlight each individual section in the band. I was always bummed that the saxophone variation was so calm, but listening to it now, it’s actually quite lovely. Nothing can top the solo bass clarinet movement, though.
There’s a lot of great music in the world of Metro: Last Light, but that performance stood out amidst the guitar strumming and heavy metal drumming. Paganini would probably be happy to know that even in fictional post-apocalyptic Russia, his music lives on.
