Way back in June 2022, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra celebrated the 90th Birthday of John Williams with an exceptional concert.
Now, two years later, the MSO are back with another look into Williams’ musical career, once again hosted by the Art of the Score’s Andrew Pogson and Prof. Dan Golding, with Nicholas Buc at the helm as conductor, with John Williams: Sounds of Cinema. However, instead of performing his most famous works, the MSO and Art of the Score take a bit of a deep dive into Williams’ works, performing scores that are not as often heard live, if at all.
It is safe to say that if you have watched any of the great films of the last 30 years, you have likely heard the works of John Williams. From epic cinematic classics like Indiana Jones or Star Wars to some lesser-known films such as Far and Away. His works are even heard on the small screen with Television Series’ Gilligan’s Island and Lost in Space. His career is so expansive and notable that Williams has been nominated no less than 50 times for Academy Awards. John Williams even broke his own record this year, becoming the oldest person to be nominated for an award in any category.
Opening the evening’s show at Melbourne’s Hamer Hall was a number from the Christopher Reeves Superman films with Planet Krypton and March. The March theme is unmistakable, and I couldn’t help but subtly move my fingers along as Nicholas Buch conducted the MSO.
Other scores in the first act consisted of Close Encounters of the Third Kind: Excerpts, and Schindler’s List: Remembrances with a stunning solo performance from MSO Concert Master, Anne-Marie Johnson. Fun fact from this number is that Johnson’s grandparents both performed with John Williams with her grandmother on violin, handing down the very same violin to Anne-Marie with her actually performing with it during the concert. Pogson joked that he had never been closer to John Williams before in his life. Johnson’s solo performance during this score was hauntingly beautiful.
Continuing on with some more ‘deep cuts’ of Williams’ career with two numbers from the Indiana Jones franchise. Whilst we all know that epic main theme, these two numbers are rarely played live: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom: Parade of the Slave Children and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: Scherzo for Motorcycle and Orchestra. Closing out the first half was a musical Suite from a film I had actually never even heard of starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, the 1992 film, Far and Away. The composition was stunning.
Act Two consisted of some more popular films, but with scores that are rarely played live. Opening with the Theme from Jurassic Park: The Lost World, it was wonderful to hear the transformation of that iconic Jurassic Park theme into the sequel film. From my favourite Harry Potter film, The Prisoner of Azkaban (a film I have seen performed live with the MSO once before) were two numbers: Witches, Wands and Wizards, and A Bridge to The Past. Two numbers that I was pleased to hear live again.
From the Star Wars franchise comes Anakin’s Theme and Transformation from The Phantom Menace. A wonderful composition that highlights the slow transformation from the light to the dark as Anakin becomes Darth Vader. Following directly after this performance was of course The Imperial March. Arguably the most famous of John William’s character themes. Rounding out the final performance of Act Two was Adventures on Earth from the classic 1982 film, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial.
What sets these MSO concerts apart from the Film Series Concerts that I have experienced many times before is the hosting from Pogson, Golding and Buc. Not only do we get some wonderful insights into the career of John Williams, but Nicholas Buc has even gone as far as arranging and orchestrating some incredible pieces to accompany the narration from Pogson and Golding.
This highlighted some fun moments in Williams’ compositions either where there is a subtle hint of another film in a completely different films score, or the demonstrations in the power of a single instrument. Even changing the key from minor to major and how it flips the deep dark evil theme from the Imperial March to an almost heroic one.
Pogson, Golding and Buc, with the help of the incredibly talented Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, have created a fun, exciting and informative program about the life and musical career of John Williams. And if I wasn’t already convinced that John Williams is the most important musical composer of our time, then I most certainly would be after experiencing this concert. I hope that the diverse range of ages in the crowd not only gained a new appreciation for the works of John Williams, but perhaps discovered a love of music in cinema that they didn’t know they needed.
With only two performances remaining at 1pm and 7.30pm on Saturday the 19th of October, there isn’t much time left for you to grab your tickets and head to Arts Centre Melbourne’s Hamer Hall for John Williams: Sounds of Cinema. This is one concert experience that you do not want to miss.
For more information and ticketing, visit:
https://www.mso.com.au/performance/2024-john-williams-sounds-of-cinema
http://www.artofthescore.com.au