John Williams

On Tuesday night I attended what was probably one of the best concerts of my life: Boston Pops in Symphony hall playing the music of John Williams, conducted by the man himself. I've been geeking out about it ever since a friend bought the tickets weeks ago. It was kind of expensive, even to sit in the upper balcony, but well worth the price. And the seats were actually very good. Last time I attended a concert in this hall, I was on the ground floor, off to the side and wasn't impressed by the acoustics. This time, though we were well above the stage, we were in the very center of the balcony, which gave us an incredible view, and provided a much more pleasant acoustic experience. While the last time I was there the music almost sounded far away, this time it flowed around us. I'm a fan of the balcony. Here's what our view was like:


(The lighting was colorful throughout the concert, and it changed for each piece to set the mood. The projection screen was only down before the concert and during intermission to advertise other Pops events this summer.)

I went to the concert with Adam, Vita and Kristen. Rather than risk being late, we walked to the hall early and made it to our seats a full half hour before the concert began. I passed the time reading the concert notes and taking random pictures of the hall and the musicians beginning to gather on the stage. As the time neared, an usher rather loudly reminded our section that photography was not allowed during the concert. But as she then disappeared, I took a chance and snapped a photo as John Williams began conducting the first piece. It's a bit crooked, but I love that my zoom could get this close of a picture at all. There he is, John Williams in all his conducting glory:


After snagging my one photo, I settled back to enjoy the performance. The opening piece was "Hooray for Hollywood," something I didn't recognize, but it set a good tone for the movie-themed concert. The second piece was March from The Adventures of Robin Hood (not a Williams piece, but good nonetheless), for which the lighting turned green to invoke Sherwood Forrest.

Next was Williams' own Suite from Jane Eyre. (I keep running into Jane. First, a facebook quiz told me that out of all the Classic female heroines I am Jane Eyre, then, at a friend's suggestion I began reading the Thursday Next series, the first of which is all about the novel, and now this. I think I'll have to reread that one this summer.) The music was touching, but I was astounded by and embarrassed for the audience when they began to applaud between movements. I got used to that happening at home occasionally, but I would have thought that Boston concert audiences would have been better trained. More embarrassing, however, was the fact that instead of catching on and not clapping after the second movement, more people joined in. I realize that the Pops concerts are supposed to be more informal--they have tables and serve food on the orchestra level, even--but it's a sign of courtesy and respect for the performers to not interrupt the piece and hold our wild applause until the end. Mr. Williams seemed to handle it well, but I still can't believe it happened.

Following was Flight to Neverland, from Hook. The playful piece restored my good mood, momentarily broken by the uncouth audience. Throughout this piece, and others, I found myself torn between watching the violins and watching the conductor. I always pay special attention to the violin section, watching their bows fly and their fingers dance up and down the neck of the violin at blinding speed and with breathtaking accuracy, feeling a connection with the masters of the instrument I love and merely play at in comparison. But Williams was the star of the night. he went through the full range of conducting movements, from tiny flicks of the baton to great surges in sound indicated by raising both arms to their fullest extent. But he never bothered with just keeping the beat. Instead, he focused on the swells, the changes, the cues, the abrupt stops and tempo changes, the flowing cantabile sections that defy strict rhythm. I wonder how it would feel to be under his direction. If I ever managed to get over my admiration and fear, would I feel the spark of connection the seemed to have with the orchestra? I get goosebumps just thinking about it!

After the first intermission (yes, there were two), we were treated to the world premier of Williams' new Concerto for Viola and Orchestra. He told us he had written it specifically for the principal viola of the Boston Pops, Cathy Basrak. Williams took time before the piece to describe to us how he had arranged it, explaining the melodic style of the first movement and telling us to pay attention to the cadenza that would show the range and skill of the violist. The second movement was quick and lively, and featured an unusual duet between viola and timpani, written because the violist is married to the timpanist. Williams' jokingly called it the family argument. The last movement is contemplative, almost restorative, and features a duet between viola and harp. The soloist was incredible, and the piece moving. Any world premiere is a treasure, this one especially so because of whose it was. (Too bad David couldn't be there--he has rented himself a viola and is learning to play it and would have especially enjoyed the quality of the soloist) The only downside to this premiere was the audience. Even though Williams took the time to explain the movements and features of each, the crowd still applauded between them. I was embarrassed for them--the applause was so enthusiastic, they clearly didn't even know better and thought they were encouraging the orchestra. What has the world come to, that even in one of the cultural centers of America audiences could be so ignorant?

After wild applause and several bows, they launched into The Adventures of Mutt, from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The quality of the story may have worsened in the fourth movie, but the music was as good as ever. After that we had another intermission. During the break some of the brass stayed on stage, and I found myself wondering why they were playing pep band music. Then I had a "duh!" moment as I realized that the first piece after the break was going to be the Superman March, which my high school had used frequently for pep band when our team ran out onto the field/court. When they played the piece, the lighting changed to a very patriotic red, white and blue.

Next was Selections from Far and Away. I've never seen that movie, but based on the Irish style and quality of the music, I now think I would like to. One movement was very quick and the cellos got to play a tricky, fast pattern, something low strings rarely get to do.

Finally it was time to the Raiders March. As Mr. Williams turned to address the audience, a large projection screen came down above the orchestra. While they played the classic theme, scenes from the first three movies were shown on the screen, eliciting "ooh!"s and laughs and cheers from the audience. Before they played, Mr. Williams commented on Harrison Ford's athleticism, informing us that he did 80% of his own stunts in the first films and still did 60% of them in the most recent one. After the piece he joked that it "begs the question of the fifth Indiana Jones film." Hearing this theme, one of my favorites, accompanies by images of the films was definitely the highlight of the night thus far.

The last piece in the program was Excerpts from Lawrence of Arabia, which Williams contends is the greatest film of all time because of the impressive filming with the tools of the time. They showed clips of this one as well, which meant less to me, having never seen the movie. (It's on my list of films to see before I die, but I probably won't get to it for a while.) It was an incredible finish, and it elicited the expected standing ovation.

Luckily, it was not the end. After returning to the stage for a second bow, Mr. Williams told us they would play another piece "for an 800-year-old: Yoda." Inaccuracy of the statement aside, Yoda's theme was a great encore. The lighting turned green again and I couldn't stop grinning. I also couldn't help but lean forward in my seat, straining to capture every note in my mind.

When they finished, I saw several orchestra turning pages and knew there was more to come. Mr. Williams bowed once, waved his hands to quiet us down and launched into the Star Wars Main Theme. It was pure sci-fi and music geek euphoria. Based on which themes were represented and how long each was, I decided it must have been the arrangement from the credits of the first movie. There could not have been a better ending to the night. When it finished I was one of the first to leap up and begin the standing ovation. As the applause went on (we were all secretly hoping they would keep playing all night) Mr. Williams put his hands together and closed his eyes, miming sleep, and we knew it was the end.

I have been to a great many concerts in my life, but this was certainly one of the best, and a night to remember.

-Kim