The Music of John Williams

Last night I went to my first Utah Symphony concert of the 2019-2020 season and I was so happy to be at Abravanel Hall after a long week!  This concert featured iconic film scores composed by John Williams and it was absolutely wonderful!  The orchestra began, rather appropriately, with Call of the Champions which was commissioned for the Opening Ceremonies for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.  John Williams actually conducted the Utah Symphony and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir for the recording that was used in the Opening Ceremonies and it was so fun to hear it again.  Then the orchestra played the "Superman Theme" from Superman which I really enjoyed because I will be seeing the movie on the big screen in a few weeks.  Next came "Flight to Neverland" from Hook which was very stirring.  The movie A.I.: Artificial Intelligence is not one that I enjoy but "David's Theme" is quite poignant and I especially loved the solo cello in this piece.  Next came the Overture from The Cowboys which is a movie that I have never seen before but I really liked the music from it.  The highlight from the first half was a series of excerpts from Close Encounters of the Third Kind because it is one of my favorite movies.  The music brilliantly portrays the feeling of amazement that the characters have over what they are seeing and I had goosebumps as the orchestra played it because I could see the UFOs landing in my mind!  Next came "The Devil's Dance" from The Witches of Eastwick and I especially liked the chimes!  The first half ended with "Raiders March" from Raiders of the Lost Ark and the rousing fanfare got the audience cheering!  After the intermission the orchestra played Liberty Fanfare which was commissioned to celebrate the Centennial of the Statue of Liberty in 1986.  It was also very stirring.  Next came the Suite from Far and Away which was very atmospheric.  Another highlight was the Theme from Schindler's List.  This piece is incredibly moving and Concertmaster Madeleine Adkins played the violin solo so beautifully that it brought a tear to my eye.  "Hedwig's Theme" and "Harry's Wondrous World" from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (another movie that I will see on the big screen in a few weeks) were a lot of fun.  I particularly liked the celesta used in these pieces.  Those two instantly recognizable notes played by the cellos in the Theme from Jaws are brilliant because they evoke a feeling of menace without actually showing the shark!  Another favorite from the evening was the Theme from Jurassic Park.  I love when scientists see the dinosaurs for the first time and I think the score really adds to that sense of wonder.  For the finale the orchestra played "Adventures on Earth" from E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial which guest conductor Jack Everly, who told amusing anecdotes about each of the scores, revealed was John Williams' favorite of all his compositions.  I was so excited when the orchestra played "Darth Vader's Theme" from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back as an encore because it is always simultaneously thrilling and terrifying to me (I was so scared of Darth Vader when I was a child).  Hearing these scores brought back so many memories of watching these movies for the first time and I highly recommend getting a ticket to this concert when the program is repeated tonight (go here).