The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Symphony

The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Symphony is an orchestra which performed concerts in Tokyo, Los Angeles, and London as part of the 25th anniversary of the Zelda series. The Symphony made its first appearance during the E3 2011 show, where Shigeru Miyamoto asked the Orchestra Nova San Diego to play some of the classic songs from the series, such as the Fairy Fountain medley, the jingle when a puzzle is solved, as well as the music played when a Treasure Chest is opened.

The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Special Orchestra CD, with music from the concerts held in October of 2011, was released in conjunction with Skyward Sword. Despite much confusion, the Orchestra CD was packaged with all copies of Skyward Sword, limited edition or otherwise. The only difference in the limited edition being that it came with a gold Zelda-themed Wii MotionPlus controller.

Members
The Zelda 25th Anniversary Symphony was composed of three different orchestras. In Tokyo, the concert was performed by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, in Los Angeles by the Orchestra Nova San Diego, and in London by the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra.

Concerts
The three premier concerts were part of a preview which preceded the full 2012 world tour, The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses. The music was hand-picked by Nintendo composer Koji Kondo and his team, while the concerts were produced by Jason Michael Paul, Inc., the producers of PLAY! A Video Game Symphony.

In the Los Angeles and London concerts, the pieces were accompanied by synced videos featuring scenes taken from the Zelda games which were projected behind the orchestra. This feature was not included in the Tokyo concert.

Each of the three concerts featured the appearances of Eiji Aonuma and Koji Kondo on stage, with the latter performing a solo on piano. Shigeru Miyamoto was only present at the Tokyo concert, while Zelda Williams made a special appearance in the London concert.

The places where the concerts took place were fully decorated with Zelda-related images and banners. Skyward Sword hanged on the outside of the Pantages Theater, and the 25th Anniversary picture featuring all the Links from the series covered the building as well. Inside, the theater's lobby featured playable demos of Skyward Sword, Ocarina of Time 3D, and Four Swords Anniversary Edition. Moreover, hanging from the walls were golden drapes depicting the Royal Crest, while others illustrated characters and scenes from Skyward Sword. A merchandise booth was also set up, where attendees could buy t-shirts containing the 25th anniversary logo for $20 each, while posters, with three of each kind, were selling for $10 each. The outside of the hall where the Tokyo concert took place had pillars which were decorated with the official Zelda 25th Anniversary logo, as well as a history of all the Links up to Skyward Sword.



Tokyo
In Tokyo, there were two shows on October 10, one starting at 2:00 PM and the other one at 6:30 PM, local time. The concerts were performed by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra.

Los Angeles
Performed by the Orchestra Nova San Diego, the Los Angeles concert took place on October 21, 2011 at the Pantages Theater. The ticket prices started at $35 USD.

London
The London concert was performed by the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra on October 25, 2011 at the Hammersmith Apollo, with ticket prices starting at £33.75.

Setlist
The premier concerts included music that was not performed in the world tour, since the 25th anniversary symphony concerts were "intended to be unique, special, one-time commemorative events". However, they did feature two movements from a four-part symphony that is to be played during the Symphony of the Goddesses tour: "The Wind Waker Symphonic Movement" and the "Twilight Princess Symphonic Movement".

Part I 1. "Hyrule Castle Theme" 2. "Princess Zelda's Theme" 3. "The Wind Waker Symphonic Movement" 4. "Ocarina Melody Suite" 5. "Boss Battle Medley" 6. "Kakariko Village - Twilight Princess Theme" 7. "The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Medley"

Part II 8. "Ganondorf's Theme" 9. "The Legend of Zelda: Selected Shorts Suite" 10. "Gerudo Valley" 11. "Hyrule Field from Ocarina of Time" 12. "Great Fairy's Fountain Theme" 13. "Twilight Princess Symphonic Movement" 14. "The Legend of Zelda Main Theme Medley"

Koji Kondo played "Grandma's Theme" from The Wind Waker as part of an encore performance.

Reception
The reception to the 25th anniversary concerts was mostly positive; all four concerts were completely sold out, and it was highly praised by reviewers. Steve Hogarty of the Official Nintendo Magazine stated about the London concert that it was "...one of the most moving and beautiful live performances I've ever had the good fortune to put my ears near." Matt Allen from Nintendo Life believed "[it] was a night enjoyed by all and filled with affection for Zelda, its music and the talented developers, musicians and performers who have all shaped one of the most influential and well-regarded gaming series of our time." However, one minor criticism was when "individual instruments and sections played through all 19 ocarina melodies from Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask: while memorable in-game, in this setting they felt more like filler." Bob Mackley from 1up mentions that "while the 25th Anniversary Symphony isn't going to meet the needs of every Zelda fan, it's certainly a fitting celebration of all things Zelda."

Most reviewers noted The Wind Waker Symphony Movement to be one of the highlights of the show,   as Nintendo World Report comments that "[the] entire orchestra was at its best during this song, with a smattering of solos sprinkled throughout, but the cello and bass sections in particular impressed with their rich accompaniment in the lower registry." The surprise performance of Koji Kondo was also highly acclaimed. Although the music selection "was quite unexpected", Nintendo World Report states that "the crowd held onto Mr. Kondo's every note," with Hogarty also commenting that "Koji Kondo brought the entirety of the venue to the edge of its seat and the verge of having something-in-its-eye."

As for the videos being projected behind the orchestra, Allen from the London concert comments that "the video perfectly captured its sense of adventure." However, Andrea Campton from Nintendo Gal felt that, in the Los Angeles concert, "the screen and video felt implemented at the last minute and poorly planned" since "many times the video had issues with frame skipping" and that "other times it fell flat and stopped during the climax of a song."

One of the minor criticisms about the atmosphere of the Los Angeles concert was the audience's reactions while the orchestra was performing. Mackley from 1up states that although the crowd's "enthusiasm is appreciated, [...] the medleys suffered the most from audience outbursts, as the crowd would erupt whenever they recognized the snippet of the song that just started... which was every single time," while Alex Plant from Zelda Informer commented that "this was the worst audience I have ever had the displeasure of being part of" since the attendees "were laughing out loud at the most inappropriate times".