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| John Williams conducts the ASO in last night's concert. |
In fact, it was "An Evening with John Williams & Steven Spielberg". Yes, the legendary film composer known for the music of the Star Wars movies, Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T., Jurassic Park, Jaws, Schindler's List and so many more of the movies we've all grown up on and love -- along with the director of many of those same hits (as well as many others) -- were both in attendance.
Turns out that the ASO brought in Mr. Williams to conduct the orchestra for a night of celebration of his movie music. That, in itself, is a special treat. John Williams has been my favorite movie composer for as long as I can remember, and there was no way I was going to pass up the chance to see him in person.
I actually got to see him once before, years ago, at the Hollywood Bowl in L.A., and that was a lot of fun. He conducted the orchestra there, too, for an amazing evening of movie music. For me and a few thousand other fans in attendance that night, it was a special time where we all got to geek out to music that's so important to some of the most memorable movies ever made.
That's why I wanted to relive that experience here in Atlanta, and arguably a lot closer to the action than I was at the Hollywood Bowl.
And I wasn't disappointed.
Williams served up many of the classics for which he's known: Raiders, E.T., Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and of course, Star Wars. He gave some wonderful insights into the music behind these films before he conducted selections from them. Of particular interest was how he demonstrated the impact of music on movies through the example of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
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| The opening train sequence from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. |
First, he played a scene from the film on a big screen above the orchestra, with the music track removed. It was the opening action set piece that stars River Phoenix as the young Indy, as he makes his escape during a chase sequence that takes place, in part, on a moving train.
For those of us in the audience, many of us very familiar with this scene from the third film in the Indiana Jones series, the effect was immediate. With nothing but the dialogue and sound effects tracks to accompany the visuals, this scene felt in a way, oddly wrong.
There was something nagging me in the back of my head that said that this scene was somehow off. It felt slower and lacked a lot of the energy that I remembered from previous viewings. And it tied into Williams' observations that evening about how music adds an energy or rhythm to a movie that it wouldn't otherwise have. He was so right about that!
After watching the sequence without the music, he played it for us again with the music track intact, and the same scene just came alive in a way that it hadn't in the first viewing. What an incredible, entertaining teaching moment from one of the premiere masters of modern music! More, please!
To be honest, when I saw that the show was called an evening with John Williams and Steven Spielberg, I just didn't believe that a filmmaker of Steven Spielberg's stature would actually have the time to fly to Atlanta for one night to gush about Williams and how his music has impacted his films.
Boy was I wrong!
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| Spielberg (l) speaks at last night's ASO concert, while Williams (r) looks on. |
[Quick bit of trivia: to date, John Williams has scored all of Spielberg's movies, with the exception of one. Do you know which one that is? The answer at the end of this article.]
As a fan of both of these men, I've read a lot of the stories that have been written about them and the movies on which they've collaborated.
Still, there's no substitute for hearing them from the horse's mouth, so to speak, right in front of you!
My friends and I had such a great time at this concert, and I hope to see these two men in person again one of these days. If you ever get the chance to see Williams in concert, I strongly recommend it. You'll have a great time listening to incredible music and reliving some of your favorite moments from the movies.
One interesting thing to note is that Williams said there are rumblings that the long-rumored Star Wars sequels may, in fact, be happening, and that he'll be called on to write the music for them. I've never really believed that George Lucas would make the movies that would follow up on the adventures of Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and Han Solo, but if they do make them, I can't wait to sit in a darkened theater a few years from now to hear those familiar opening notes to the Star Wars theme, along with a brand new score from Mr. Williams to take us once again to a galaxy far, far away.
It'll be worth the wait.
(BTW - the only Spielberg film that Williams didn't score was The Color Purple. That movie was written by the great Quincy Jones)
