A Night with John Williams at the Hollywood Bowl

by: bamf 1 year, 2 months, 3 weeks, 6 days, 15 hours, 36 minutes ago 1

Email Article  Print Article

Bamf here rematerializing from the void..

It was two hours before showtime when my date, the beautiful Phyllis (Bamf’s Grandma)and I stepped on to the shuttle bus that would take us downtown to see John Williams compose the L.A. Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl in Hollywood California.  I had packed a light French picnic for us, cracker, cheese and a bottle of wine to enjoy through out the evening.  We had done this together last year, and were a bit savvier this time.  Last time I had attempted to remove the cork after arriving, and in the dark managed to push the stopper through the bottle which had me removing odds and ends from each glass poured—this time I removed it prior to leaving.  We also were far closer to the stage, and Grandma was able to score some tickets that are reserved for seniors and their guests so that made me the youngest gentlemen in a line of the old and seasoned.

I regretfully forgot my camera—but was able to snap some pictures with my 1.3 megapix camera phone which I will share through out this post as I take you through the nights concert experience.
On the ride to the Bowl the bus was packed with all walks of life. On our right side, we were seated next to a family in comic themed shirts and Light Sabers in hand; on our left were elderly couples with prestigious looking wicker baskets and wing tip shoes.  During conversation, one of the comic book guys was razzing his fellow traveler for wearing sweatpants and a tee-shirt.  He spoke on how this is the sort of event you dress up for…

“Look at me, I put on my dress shoes, dress slacks and took out my best Green Lantern shirt!  I’m dressed up—for a geek.”

After making our way to our seats situated right in the middle of the Bowl, half way between the highest point and the stage, I took out the bottle and poured our drinks after making a quick cheese and cracker cue.  The night began to overtake the sun, and the L.A. Phil had taken their places ready for the maestro of the evening to come out and start the show.
John Williams comes out to wild applause after First Violin Bing Wang had finished her duties as Concert Master by warming the orchestra up.  Williams had only one foot on his pedestal before he thrust his baton into the air and began the National Anthem. Perhaps because we are just coming off our Independence Day, or maybe for some other reason, the audience in their entirety began singing the words with gusto, far louder then the year prior.  I was moved, but then, I still stand with my hand across my heart, a relic of endless pledges in public school.
After the Star Spangled banner, the first piece from film was from Ben-Hur by Hungarian native Miklos Rozsa.  A powerful march of instruments that led directly into music from The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) by Erich Wolfgang Korngold who in Williams’s later comments said was a man who showed what a composer could do with music in film.
John Williams has a special relationship with the works of Bernard Herrman.  Last year he chose the music from Psycho where he played the iconic shower sequence on screen synced with the live performance of the orchestra.  This year he shared a story of collaborating with Herrman in 1958 for a Twilight Zone episode—at age 12.  He chose his favorite piece from Herrman, the love scene from Vertigo.  The whimsical violins start and build to a crescendo of large sweeping changes all put to the images of the lovers.  It was magnificent.
Music from David Lean’s Dr. Zhivago and Laurence of Arabia were to follow.  Laurence of Arabia had a particular grand reaction from the audience after Williams commented that all the sand dunes in the movie were quite real, no CGI to be found.

The song to follow after that was the theme from Now, Voyager.  This is a film I am not familiar with, but somehow I knew all of the movements.  In fact, I had to ask on of our neighbors what the piece was from, and was a bit dismayed to find out the answer.  Then it hit me.  If memory serves, the music played can be heard in Tim Burtons Batman, when Joker is dancing away from Vicky Vale in the art gallery.  After this piece Williams’s quickly exited stage right and intermission commenced.

Upon return after a 15 minute break, the color scheme of the stage instantly changed to Red and Blue alternating bands, and the Superman theme began to thunderous applause.  Film scores are such an often overlooked character.  Half way through the piece I felt like I was going to see a man flying over the open air venue, winking as he continues on to the stars.  Such a piece lifts the imagination to places only found in the most fleeting compulsions of dreams.

The next piece chosen for the evening by Williams was the big surprise of the night.  He introduced the three musicians, a Jazz trio, to lead the L.A. Phil in their performance of music from Catch Me If You Can.  It was a perfect rendition of that sleuthy score.  The jazz Saxophone leading the entire orchestra into an eclectic mix of strings and horns sounded brilliant. By far, my favorite moment of the night.

After another rousing recieval from the audience, Williams began to speak about the music of Harry Potter.  Put to scenes from the films, in no particular narrative order, he chose, as he put it, “Aunt Marge’s Imperial March from Prisoner Of Azkaban,” pieces from Chamber of Secrets, and the Harry Potter theme music to finish the trip to Hogwarts.
Immediately to follow was the Star Wars theme that then leads into a mixture of the Finale music, Princess Leia’s theme, Yoda’s Theme, then ending with a slight change in the Finale piece. As it was last year, breathtaking, then Williams exited and it was time for the encores to begin.

As soon as he stepped foot onto the podium, the color’s surrounding the strings and horns changed to crimson red—and the fan favorite Imperial Death March began.




Master Replica’s light sabers illuminated all around the gallery.  A large cluster directly behind where we were seated began rhythmically moving with the beat of the music.  It was grand fun.  After the euphoria of the moment, Williams turned around and made a gesture to the audience, acknowledging the large group who had brought their swords for his honor.


He then began Sayari’s theme from Memoirs of a Geisha, a very slow piece that makes me think of a fragile flower in a garden.  E.T. followed, and Williams exited to a standing ovation that lasted about 5 minutes before returning for his performance of the night.  Music he made for Indiana Jones.  He commented earlier about his 30 year relationship with Spielberg, one where they never have had a fight, and was both sad and happy that he (Spielberg) could not be in attendance tonight because he was “Somewhere off shooting Indiana 4!” Since that was put out there earlier, it was quite fitting to end the night on this note. 

It was another spectacular night at the Hollywood Bowl.  The weather was fair, a gentle wind coming up from the stage cooled our faces and the acoustics were top notch as always.  I look forward to next year, where maybe Ill get to hear music from Close Encounters of the Third Kind, or if I see a platform staged on the side, that powerful “Duel of the Fates” which as I understand has not been performed in several years.  Good show John, you are the master.

{about}