John Williams (!)

Tonight, I saw the legendary John Williams conduct the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. I can die happy now.

Let's take a moment to consider the span of Williams' career. As a conductor, he helmed the Boston Pops for 14 years, and still frequently conducts in Boston and at Tanglewood. And as a composer, he has been a prolific scorer for decades in Hollywood and written lots of orchestral pieces to boot. Jaws, Star Wars, Superman, Indiana Jones, Harry Potter, Schindler's List, Jurassic Park, actually every feature film by Spielberg except one, plus music for four Olympic games...little wonder he's received 45 Academy Award nominations, second only to Walt Disney. In 1977, when music for Star Wars beat out Close Encounters of the Third Kind, he lost to himself. The man is a titan.

There were two programs being presented, and I decided on the one with less popular fare. The other concert featured entirely movie music, which would've been fun too, but I was interested in hearing some of Williams' concert pieces. Also, I figured I had a better chance at getting good seats on a Tuesday night, and lo and behold, I ended up in row E on the main floor.

The first half of the concert featured a fanfare, a tribute piece for BSO's Seiji Ozawa, and a bassoon concerto. After intermission, the orchestra launched into music from Memoirs of a Geisha (with a great cello solo), Witches of Eastwick, and E.T. Stylistically, the concert pieces were quite similar to his cinematic works. I was trying to put my finger on what makes a piece sound like film music. Williams makes heavy use of repeated themes and leitmotifs, particularly in Star Wars, and these tend to be memorable sound bites that you can take away after the movie. He also makes sure the brass section stays busy, often using them, rather than strings, to introduce themes. Endings often employ stingers which adds to the theatrical flair.

Normally, I'm anti-standing ovations. I think they're used too widely, which waters down the significance. In fact, I can't remember the last concert I attended which did not have a standing-O. Sure, you should stand for extra emphasis if a concert was phenomenal, but not every time. What happened to the good ol' days when the audience threw tomatoes? Kidding...At any rate, the standing ovation was well-warranted tonight, and we stood and applauded non-stop when the concert was over. This served to encourage two encores, and I was all too happy to keep listening as the orchestra launched into music from Star Wars.