Concert Review: Maestro John Williams returned to the Hollywood Bowl for a weekend of unforgettable movie scores!
Film composer and conductor John Williams made his Hollywood Bowl debut in 1978 and has been returning regularly since. At 91 years of age, the maestro took to the iconic stage again this past weekend for nights of unforgettable music and memories.
The LA Phil performed throughout the night, with the California State University Fullerton Singers and Los Angeles Children’s Chorus joining them for the first half. This first act of the evening was conducted by Music & Artistic Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Gustavo Dudamel.
The evening began with the classic tune “Hooray for Hollywood,” arranged by John Williams, with some other classic showbiz tunes mixed in. Accompanying the live orchestra was a video montage, shown on the Hollywood Bowl big screens, showing movie clips from the golden age of Hollywood.
Following that was “The Cowboys Overture.” Disney fans surely would have recognized some familiar melodies heard around Frontierland. Fans of the Alfred Hitchcock movie “Vertigo” were in for a treat with heavy string melodies from the film floating from the stage.
Then it was time to feature music originally composed by the man we were all there to celebrate, John Williams. Dudamel conducted some of Williams’ famous melodies including the Call of Champions, known by Olympics fans, as well as music from “Amistad.”
Next up came the iconic moment that all John Williams fans wait for, the chance to ignite their light sabers. The previously mentioned choirs joined the orchestra to perform the choral tune “Duel of Fates” from “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.” The moment those iconic first notes were heard, light sabers began to glow all over the 17,000+ seat venue for the first time that evening. Act one wrapped up with music from “Superman” along with images projected of John Williams through the years.
After intermission, John Williams took the stage to conduct the second half of the evening. He began with music from the two newest Indiana Jones films, “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” along with the recently released “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.” This section was wrapped up with the unforgettable “Raiders March” made famous in the original Indian Jones film, “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”
Then came one of my personal favorite John Williams music themes from “Jurassic Park.” Bing Wang shined as the violin soloist performing themes from “Schindler’s List.” Then it was time for more Star Wars (and light sabers) with “The Asteroid Field,” “Princess Leia’s Theme” and “Throne Room & Finale.”
To say the crowd was electrified throughout the entire concert would be an understatement. The music of John Williams has shaped multiple generations. The first cassette I remember purchasing with my own money was of a John Williams “Star Wars” score. It’s hard to state just how much of an impact John Williams has had on the film industry. Few people have touched as many films in as major a way as he has while working for so many different studios. He is a power house and everyone in attendance was well aware. So much so, that the thunderous applause wouldn’t stop.
To everyone’s delight, the Maestro took to the stage again with several encores including “Yoda’s Theme” (cue the light sabers once again) and themes from “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.” The night concluded with a comedic moment between conductors Williams and Dudamel. As John Williams began waving his baton to the “Imperial March” from “The Empire Strikes Back,” Gustavo Dudamel returned to the stage with his own light saber with which he began conducting the orchestra. As a little composer “battle” ensued, John Williams grabbed a light saber of his own for a bit of playful fun.
Overall, the chance to hear a John Williams score live is always a treat. The chance to see it live with Williams himself conducting is a double treat. I believe John Williams will go down in the history books as this generations Beethoven.
If you didn’t make it out to this particular concert, there are still plenty of excellent events happening at the Hollywood Bowl this summer, including “Return of the Jedi” being shown on their big screen with a live orchestra accompanying. Click here for the full Hollywood Bowl schedule.
Jeff DePaoli is a producer and voiceover artist living in Los Angeles. He can be heard as the voice of Disney Trivia on Alexa as well as the host of “Dizney Coast to Coast,” the ultimate, unofficial Disney fan podcast. Get your FREE gifts of “America’s Hidden Mickeys,” “On the Rohde Again,” “Theme Park Comfort Kit” and more at DizneyCoastToCoast.com. DePaoli’s opinions are his own and do not necessarily represent Attractions Magazine.
