APO X
THE BEATLES
20/07/2025
On 19 July 2025, the Antwerp Philharmonic Orchestra travelled to a city where music history can be felt around every corner. In Liverpool, the birthplace of The Beatles, the orchestra presented the world premiere of Another Seven Symphonies: A Symphonic Tribute to The Beatles’ Music at The Tung Auditorium.
The Beatles, but not as you know them
Under the baton of Alexandra Arrieche, 65 musicians took to the stage for a completely orchestral interpretation of one of the most influential catalogues in popular music history. The performance received a standing ovation from the Liverpool audience, making the evening an especially memorable moment for the orchestra.
Another Seven Symphonies approaches the music of The Beatles from a different perspective. Rather than performing traditional covers of their greatest hits, 39 Beatles songs were transformed and combined into seven new symphonic works.
There were no vocalists and no rhythm section. Instead, the music was entrusted entirely to the symphony orchestra, allowing familiar melodies to emerge in unexpected ways.
The programme included works such as Symphony for George, featuring music from Here Comes The Sun, Symphony Of The Walrus, incorporating Strawberry Fields Forever, and All Our Loving, which draws on Yesterday.
The project was created by Rob van Weelde, responsible for the concept and musical design, together with Dutch arranger Roeland Jacobs. Their goal was not simply to recreate Beatles songs with classical instruments, but to explore the symphonic possibilities hidden within the original compositions.
There could hardly have been a more fitting place for the first live performance.
The world premiere took place at The Tung Auditorium, located inside the Yoko Ono Lennon Centre at the University of Liverpool. Performing a new interpretation of The Beatles’ music in their hometown gave the concert an additional significance.
And Liverpool responded enthusiastically. The Antwerp Philharmonic Orchestra received a standing ovation following the performance — recognition that carried particular meaning given the city’s connection to the music being celebrated.
Taking familiar music somewhere new
The Liverpool performance once again demonstrated the versatility at the heart of the Antwerp Philharmonic Orchestra.
For more than three decades, the orchestra has built its identity around moving between musical worlds, from classical repertoire to collaborations with major international artists and contemporary music.
With Another Seven Symphonies, that philosophy took the orchestra to the birthplace of The Beatles and gave some of the world’s most recognisable songs an entirely new orchestral life.