ANYONE with an appetite for music and film had plenty to sink their teeth into this weekend as 1975 classic Jaws and 2017 Disney musical Beauty And The Beast were shown with a live orchestra at York Barbican.

Taking a film on tour with 60-plus musicians is big business now and movies as varied as Jurassic Park and La La Land have been on the road at venues across the world.

They are popular too, even with a premium ticket price, often in excess of £40. The Barbican was 90 per cent full for the Disney musical and three-quarters full for Jaws.

Not surprisingly, Disney’s Beauty And The Beast worked wonderfully with a full orchestra – in this case the Novello Orchestra, conducted by the youthful and charismatic David Mahoney. The film is a magical retelling of the classic fairy tale and stars Emma Watson as the spirited Belle.

The string section dominated the performance, recreating the romantic mood of the soundtrack and lending a mellowness to proceedings.

When Belle is being dressed for her date with the Beast, as the glitz settles on her outfit, the accompanying shimmering noise from the percussion section left me in goose bumps. Just magical!

Jaws, accompanied by the Czech Symphony Orchestra, was a different kettle of fish (and big ones at that!). More than 40 years old, this is still one of the best suspense films ever. And although I had seen it more times than I’ve had fish and chips, I still jumped out of my seat and had to cover my eyes at the gory bits.

We all know the key motif – from John Williams’ Oscar-winning score ¬– but the sense of jeopardy it brings when played by a live orchestra with eight double bassists takes the foreboding to a new level entirely. Utterly terrifying!

Both performances received standing ovations, and they were well deserved.