In what has been a year-long tribute to one of the greatest film composers of all time – if not THE greatest film composer of all time – the Los Angeles Philharmonic celebrated the work of a master of cinema – John Williams.
Curated for the LA Philharmonic’s season at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, LA’s favorite conductor, Gustavo Dudamel, led the orchestra in 15 selections from Williams’ oeuvre.
The night began with William’s “Olympic Fanfare,” composed for the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. The performance was accompanied by a montage of Olympic moments from years past, not only celebrating the achievements of the U.S. teams but the entire world’s spectacular athletes. (A wonderful reminder that we, as the human race, are all in this together.)
At the end of the piece, Dudamel turned to the audience and pressed his hands together in reverence to Mr. John Williams, who was in attendance, enjoying the deafening applause of a concert hall full of fans.
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Later in the program, the audience was treated to the Academy Award-winning animated short Dear Basketball, about Kobe Bryant’s childhood love of the game. The LA Phil accompanied the film by playing William’s composed score as the short played above the orchestra. It is a thrilling and moving piece.
The rest of the evening’s selections were all about the movies!
From classics to modern soon-to-be classics, William’s touch on some of the most iconic films in cinema history also reflects how much those films were enhanced because of his moving and distinctive scores.
From Excerpts from Close Encounters of the Third Kind to selections from the Harry Potter films, the final 10 minutes of E.T. the Extraterrestrial, and a more obscure piece from Jaws, the pieces were so distinct and moving you could see the films playing in your head as the score’s passages swirled around you.
Montages of films were also highlighted during selections from Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones, and Star Wars. All to delighted applause and hollers of joy!
When the program was completed, John Williams was brought onstage to greet his adoring fans. In a wheelchair (more for ease of mobility), Williams thanked the LA Phil for their beautiful performance, Gustavo Dudamel for his energetic conducting and years-long friendship, and, of course, to the audience who would have stayed on their feet applauding for hours if Williams hadn’t indicated it was time for him to go to bed. A true delight of a man!
Living in LA, it is more often than expected that we are treated to nights like these, honoring the “maestro of the movies.” And it never gets old. For many of us, the strains of music that refer to a particular character or scene in our favorite films brings us back to a magical time when movies gave us stories and worlds we could never imagine – and hope we never have to leave.
For some of us, Williams is the sound of our childhood. He was our hopes and dreams as we navigated the complicated maze of growing up. Now, his music is a way to be transported back to a simpler time when boys were friends with beings from another world, farmers and princesses saved the universe, and dinosaurs proved why they are the most powerful beasts ever to have roamed the planet.
And for that, we thank him.
For information on upcoming concerts and shows at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, visit www.laphil.com.
