A couple of birthdays ago, Cori gifted me with mini season tickets to the Phoenix Symphony. We attended some incredible concerts and Cori did a pretty great job picking seats. We sat in the 2nd row to watch a performance of Tchaikovsky's violin concerto in D major (a superstar work in the cannon of violin concertos). Cori still waxes rhapsodic about this performance, never to be forgotten. We sat in the balcony for the performance of Holst's The Planets. Each piece of the suite corresponds to a planet in our universe and they had a big screen suspended over the orchestra on which they played choreographed satellite footage from NASA. We got to hear live performances of several orchestral pieces that have been favorites of mine for years. My brain lit up like a Christmas tree every single time. I loved watching how the songs were conducted and comparing them to the well-loved versions stamped in my mind. The Phoenix Symphony is a very polished group capable of tackling really challenging music.
Nearly a year ago, we saw the publicity start for a benefit concert conducted by John Williams. Our interest was as immediate as it was intense. The tickets were pricey (euphemistically speaking) and we initially decided to forgo. Then we received a card in the mail detailing the evening-to-be and could not pass it up. We went for the gusto and bought tickets on the third row. What a night!
The first half of the program included music from War Horse, Far and Away, Harry Potter, and Star Wars. The big screen was hanging above the orchestra and there was a video montage set to Hooray for Hollywood. We loved watching John Williams conduct. His movements on the conductor's podium are like his demeanor on stage- understated, personal, and purposeful. His hands and his face do all the work. One moment, his hands were like those of a ballerina, and the next they could have been silently lifting a grown man from a roaring river. More energy was expended conducting silences in the music than the sfarzandos. He looks into the eyes of the musicians he is conducting and gives an incredible amount of space and freedom to his soloists. And he is so so gracious. And the music... sheesh. You've never seen a group of musicians work so hard. The principal cellist's bow was in shreds by intermission and he was not alone. Cori and I agree that there is nothing like hearing this stuff live. The celeste at the beginning of Harry Potter, or the big brass exclamation point that opens the Star Wars theme. Magic.
After intermission, Williams opened with a song not on the program. He didn't announce it, and he didn't need to. Anyone would know it in the first two notes. (imagine a shark's fin cutting the water) The audience caught on instantly and the entire cello section (who were busy bowing the famous daaaaaaaa-dum, daaaaaaaaaa-dum, da-dum, da-dum, da-dum of the theme from
Jaws) worked unsuccessfully at containing themselves. After this, Steven Spielberg joined the party. He was a lot more talkative than Williams had been. These two great artists have been collaborating for over 40 years. Their camaraderie is sweet. The second half had excerpts from
Close Encounters of the Third Kind,
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and
The Adventures of Tintin - all with film. Spielberg spoke about how music, and in particular how John Williams' music, brings a film to life. He showed a 3 minute clip from the beginning of
Last Crusade without music (just dialogue and effects etc.) and then showed it again with the orchestra playing the score.
Then he gave a very heartfelt introduction to the theme from
Schindler's List. This song was played without any film and was the emotional highpoint of the whole night. It is such moving music. Spielberg described this song as being Williams' greatest gift to the world. The violin solo was performed by Steven Moeckel. Moeckel has been the symphony's concertmaster these last two seasons and is the soloist we saw perform the Tchaikovsky concerto last year (Cori was floating out of his seat- it was so beautiful). The program wrapped up with music from
E.T.. Spielberg set it up by saying that he can put a bike in the sky with film, but that it was the music that gave it flight. So true. I spent the whole night marveling at how Williams could take experiences and feelings like flight, magic, terror, triumph, the Holocaust, and adventure, and turn them into sound.
We didn't want it to end. The audience stood and clapped for dozens of minutes. We earned two encores- selections from
Lincoln and
Indiana Jones. Then we all stayed on our feet clapping until Williams came out and told us to go to bed, dear man.
We have been listening to albums of Williams' music on repeat ever since. Can't get enough.
