Blade Runner and London

One good thing about the pandemic lock down is having the time to catch up on my outstanding entertainment list. Listening to the Art of the Score podcast on Vangelis' score to Blade Runner I am remembering my own connection to the movie's music.

Back in July 2009 I was on my first solo overseas trip, to London for a week to attend a workshop. My wife and baby son were at home while I stayed at a pokey London hotel in Earls Court without summer air-conditioning. I existed in an almost time free zone, attending the workshop or exploring London during the day, sleeping when I got back to the hotel, waking in the middle of the night to video chat with B and Alex before returning to bed.

Early in my stay I popped into the Virgin Megastore and purchased a couple of soundtracks: Jack Nitzsche's Starman and the three disc Blade Runner set.

London isn't really a city that you would associate with the imagery of the dark 2019 Los Angeles portrayed in Blade Runner, one of my favourite movies. Yet it worked very well as a soundtrack for this trip.

It's fortunate that I had purchased a DVD burner in Singapore during my stopover, as I was otherwise reliant on my Walkman phone and Samsung MP3 player for music. I hooked the burner, bought for backup purposes, and ripped the music to my very recently purchased and very slim Sony VAIO P laptop and plugged in the also slim TDK flat travel speakers, the VAIO P speakers being tiny and poor.

I love to fall asleep to music, but B doesn't share my tastes, so I took this opportunity to do so. So every night I would drift off to the hypnotic tones of Blade Runner and Starman. And this tiny room, warm with summer heat, would be transformed into an exotically dreamy Middle Eastern locale with Tales of the Future or Damask Rose.

My flight home was via Hong Kong, the city that apparently inspired Blade Runner's canyons of neon. I arrived in Hong Kong early in the morning, exhausted and needing a sleep. The hotel desk at the airport recommended the Novotel CityGate nearby.

The filtered golden brown light of Hong Kong's dusky air recalled the first meeting of Deckard and Rachel at the Tyrell Corporation. Too exhausted to do anything more, I opened my laptop on the table, lay down on the pristine bed, and fell into the most delicious of sleeps to the music of Blade Runner.

Later on, before I almost missed my final flight home, I walked the streets of Mong Kok under those neon lights of Los Angeles 2019.

Return of the Jedi in Concert with the MSO

Melbourne will always be the spiritual home of Star Wars for me. The last movie I saw here before moving away would have been Star Wars: The Return of the Jedi. There were queues around the city block as we lined up to watch the weekend screening. I remember it being loud and magnificent.

I have already shared many of my feelings about the movie with my review of The Return of the Jedi in Concert at the Sydney Opera House with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra from earlier in the year. But when the concert was advertised with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra I knew that I had to go.

I've already said that the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra is my favourite of the two, seemingly more passionate about playing modern film music. But I'm not going to compare the performances here. Both were absolutely brilliant.

What was great about the Melbourne performance is that they had a pre-concert talk with Andrew Pogson and Dan Golding from the Art of the Score podcast, along with conductor Benjamin Northey (the third member of Art of the Score, Nicholas Buc, conducted the Sydney performance). As always, I learned something new about the music and I look forward to them doing a full show about it in the future!

The Melbourne Convention Centre's Plenary is a great venue. Unlike the Opera House, there is no raised podium and those up the front can feel quite intimate with the orchestra, along with a great view of the screen.

The picture quality of the movie wasn't the best, with bad compression artifacts, though this may be the movie itself. That said, I found myself seeing elements in the movie that I'd never noticed before, despite countless viewings. A big screen does make a difference.

My eyes weren't entirely glued to the movie though. I had a fantastic view of the orchestra and it was a delight to watch them play. John Williams takes advantage of the full Orchestra and it showed. Their performance was brilliant. A couple of highlights: Yoda's Death was as beautiful as last time with the live orchestra and "Into the Death Star" sounded better here than in the film (it sounds like it is tracked from the original Star Wars soundtrack with its lower recording quality in the movie).

I actually prefer the concert versions of a couple of my favourites, the Sail Barge Assault and Into the Trap and the music was a bit overwhelmed in the live performance, but that was consistent across orchestras so can't be considered a criticism.

Knowing what to expect this time, I didn't mind the lack of the choir so much. I almost had tears in my eyes as the Victory Celebration played.

At the end of a gruelling final hour straight of constant action cues the conductor did a final bow, his head wet with perspiration from the performance. And I walked out happy, the long ride down completely worth it.

Bravo!

The Force Awakens in Concert with the SSO

I have a dark secret to reveal. I am of the First Order.

Last year I was the first to order a 2019 subscription with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Darkness fell over Hogwarts, I saw the Empire defeated in Return of the Jedi and a new Empire reborn in The Force Awakens.

Now that I've heard the three original Star Wars movies in live concert with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, how does the first of the reawakened movies fare?

Awesomely well!

As the conductor Nicholas Buc said in his introduction, with the release of The Rise of Skywalker, John Williams' contributions to the Star Wars universe will have spanned 42 years (the answer to life, the universe and everything). Though the movies retain some common musical themes across that time, Williams' style has also evolved.

For me, I guess his nineteen-eighties period is the one I identify most with, but it also means that his newer compositions have a freshness about them.

We start with the familiar with the famous Star Wars opening theme, taking us back to that galaxy far, far away. Then we are transported to a new world, Jakku, along with some new Stormtroopers.

The flashes of older themes, the Rebel Fanfare escaping in the Millenium Falcon, Han Solo and the Princess and most of all, The Force Theme, each evoke memories and feelings that Star Wars transcends mere movies to have become part of the fabric of life.

But there is plenty of new music representing new characters, planets and the evolution of the two sides. Rey's theme, is simply beautiful, its components finding many forms throughout the movie. Kylo Ren's music is very effective performed live, despite its simplicity.

Where the music shines most of all is in the action sequences, with the TIE fighter escape and the March of the Resistance especially thrilling and well suited to the concert hall. It was difficult to watch the action on the screen with all the motion in the orchestra itself.

The music is often allowed to shine in the movie and not be overshadowed by dialogue and special effects. The orchestra was spot on tonight. It was astonishing to see how many elements of the orchestra were performing at any one time, but that is John Williams for you. I kept hearing new elements to each piece, different instruments shining through.

Unlike the original trilogy, no complete edition of the score has ever been released, with some pieces on the soundtrack concert arrangements. Even the final credits differs, from lacking Princess Leia's theme to the concluding bars. That gave another sense of freshness to tonight's performance and meant that I wasn't comparing it to the recordings.

I came out of the Sydney Opera House's concert hall entirely satisfied with the SSO's performance of The Force Awakens. That should conclude my attendance at this year's SSO's performances, though I've got one more booking for Return of the Jedi with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in a couple of months.

I have definitely felt an awakening in the Force and I can't wait to hear the Last Jedi and the Rise of Skywalker in future! Pity the SSO isn't offering subscription packages for next year.

If you want to get an appreciation of the music in the Force Awakens and other movies I really recommend the Art of the Score podcast, featuring tonight's conductor Nicholas Buc, along with Andrew Pogson of the MSO and Dr Dan Golding, a lecturer and composer himself. Not only do they explain each score in a highly accessible manner, there's a lot of fun to be had along the way!

Return of the Jedi in Concert with the SSO

It's October 1983 and third and final instalment of the Star Wars trilogy, The Return of the Jedi, has just been released in Melbourne. The queues for the cinema stretch around the corner of a city block. Will Han Solo be rescued? What will happen between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader now he's been revealed as his father. Can the Rebel Alliance defeat the might of the evil Empire?

I'm nine years old and unfortunately I already know the answers to those questions because I bought that darn picture book of the movie before its release. I really wanted to know who that cool Biker Scout figurine I bought is.

That taught me not to indulge in spoilers!

Anyway, we go into the cinema and am totally blown away by how loud the movie is. And I come out humming some of the Ewok music.

Three years later we have returned to Melbourne on a holiday and visit my favourite department store, Myer. I always liked film music, but from the library nearest my new home outside of Rockhampton I have discovered soundtracks. From Myer I select the soundtrack cassette of Return of the Jedi as my Christmas present. It is the first one I ever own.

I love it. Next to John Williams' score to ET: The Extraterrestrial it is my second favourite score of all time. But the release is missing a lot of music. When Return of the Jedi is released on video I record the audio on to a cassette and mentally remove the dialogue and special effects just to listen to the music.

Eventually a boxed set of the trilogy is released with more, but not all, music.

In 1997 the three Star Wars movies were rereleased as special editions. My girlfriend (now wife) and I would treat ourselves to the movies after university. When the Return of the Jedi Special Edition finally screened I felt the adventure was truly complete. It also meant that the complete music (minus a bit of background source music in Jabba's palace and barge) was finally released.

But what I wanted more than anything was to hear that music played live.

Finally, thirty-six years later, I had that chance.

I've already been to the Star Wars: A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back in concert, both held in the new Sydney International Convention Centres (plus one in Melbourne), but for reasons unknown to me Return of the Jedi was moved to the Sydney Opera House. Conducting duties for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra were again given to the wonderfully enthusiastic Nicholas Buc.

I was seated in smack bang in the middle of the Circle, sitting three rows back, a wonderful view of the screen and the orchestra. Despite my suggestion over Twitter to the conductor earlier in the week there were no stormtrooper helmets visible as percussion instruments!

Unfortunately, the other two in my family have given up on my concert obsession and so I went alone, though I did bump into my ex-colleague Daniel and his family in the foyer.

Finally the 20th Century Fox Fanfare sounded and the movie and concert began.

There are many reasons that I rate the music to Return of the Jedi so highly, but a major one is the incredible richness of the thematic material. Old favourites are reused and rearranged and so many new motifs are introduced. Right from the start with the grand entrance of Darth Vader into the Death Star.

The Sail Barge Assault (labelled The Return of the Jedi on the original soundtrack release) is the piece I'd use as a end piece to a concert of John Williams music, so thrilling with a triumphant finale. As is the drama of Into the Trap, as the rebels find themselves block on the ground and in space by Imperial forces who knew they were coming.

Unfortunately, some of the action pieces were marred by unclear sound and a growl on the brass sections, along with the loud sound effects on screen.

Some of the gentler passages fared much better, none more so than the Death of Yoda, with his theme and the Force theme coming together so very beautifully on the strings and wind. That alone was worth the price of admission.

The second half of the concert featured, according to the conductor, 62 minutes straight of complex mostly action music. I hadn't realised until the concert how intense it actually is and the orchestra did a phenomenal job of performing it, having to keep in perfect sync with the film the entire way.

What was missing was a choir. The deep wordless tones to accompany the Emperor were mostly carried by the strings, but some of the emotional impact of the final battle between Luke and Vader, that so brief but so powerful music, was lost. The final celebration music also sounded hollow without the singing, and that's a pity because I love that Special Edition sequence which conveys that the Rebel Victory resonates across the whole galaxy.

Putting these quibbles aside, I am so happy that my dream finally came true. What excites me even more is that I'm booked to see it again in November in my spiritual home for Star Wars with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

But before that it's the start of the new trilogy with Star Wars: The Force Awakens in Concert with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra next month.

Until then, my the Force be with you!

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in Concert

Have you ever heard of a bloogle resonator before? Me neither, but I counted at least six of the whirly tubes in action tonight as the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Sydney Philharmonic Choir performed Nicholas Hooper's score to Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

We are now in the territory of Harry Potter movies I've seen only once before. They are dark now, more difficult to watch as people you care about die. Likewise, this score is one I am less familiar with. I recently discovered it languishing in an obscure folder on my music repository, not having it made it on to my phone.

That wasn't always the case, as I do remember listening to it a decade ago last month, sitting in London's Heathrow Airport on my first international trip by myself. But that is another story.

Being less familiar with the story meant it was often difficult to focus on the music over the movie. Hooper's score still shone through, especially the choral In Noctem, the gentle harps of romance, the festive Fireworks music and, of course, the thrill of Quidditch.

You can spot the bloogle resonators as the Death Eaters converge on the Wesley's home.

Nicholas Buc's conducting was, as ever, superlative and fun to watch in itself. I'm also enjoying his contributions, along with Andrew Pogson and Dan Golding, in the Art of the Score podcasts.

That concludes the Harry Potter performances for 2019 with only Alexandre Desplat's scores to the two Deathly Hallows movies remaining. Next time it's back to the Star Wars universe!

A John Williams Journey

Inspired by Dan Golding's John Williams presentation on ABC Classic I've put together a selection of ten tracks to take you on a musical journey through the world of John Williams.

These aren't necessarily his greatest his greatest hits or his most familiar themes. Instead I've pulled together ten of his lesser known pieces to illustrate the diversity and emotional power of Williams' music.

1. Journey to the Island (Jurassic Park)

We begin our journey in prehistoric times, or at least a recreation of them, as we fly to Isla Nublar and Jurassic Park. That first sight of the dinosaurs on the island has to rank as one of the greatest moments in cinema and John Williams' noble theme never fails to bring a tear to the eye.

2. The Olympic Spirit (1988 Olympics)

A long journey requires endurance and spirit. Williams has composed music for four Olympic games, but this is my favourite. I remember camping in outback Central Queensland with only a radio to keep abreast of the Seoul Olympics and each broadcast would be introduced with The Olympic Spirit. I didn't know that John Williams composed it at the time, but it's little wonder I fell in love with its rousing theme.

3. A Window to the Past (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban)

Our journey now takes us to a magical place, but one with a dark history. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was my favourite movie of the series, no doubt in part due to John Williams' wondrous score. This haunting theme is one of many in this episode, as Harry and his teachers recall Harry's murdered parents. The Prisoner of Azkaban was the only movie shown on our first flight to Europe and the soundtrack represented the magic as we travelled through countries with their own dark pasts.

4. The Book Thief (The Book Thief)

Staying in Europe's past here, The Book Thief conveys both the horror and the humanity and hope of a young adoptee in Germany during the Second World War. Though famous for his big scores and grand marches, John Williams has composed many delicate scores for much smaller movies, and The Book Thief is a fine example of this. I first watched the movie on another flight, this time to Japan, with the score now reminding me of flying 40,000 feet above the ocean on a sunny day, so far away from the cold grey Germany portrayed in the movie.

5. Becoming a Geisha (Memories of a Geisha)

We've now landed in Japan, my favourite country other than my own! I believe that Memories of a Geisha was one of John Williams' finest scores in recent memory, combining Western melodic sensibilities with a genuine Japanese sound. Becoming a Geisha propels me along the incredibly scenic railway line through the mountains to historic Takayama, the whole soundtrack capturing the beauty of the country in spring.

6. Midway March (Midway)

John Williams is the master of the march. This is one of his lesser known ones, but one I have a lot of fondness for as the US Navy goes into battle with the Japanese aircraft carriers in a pivotal battle of World War Two.

7. Toy Planes, Home and Hearth (Empire of the Sun)

Staying in the Pacific Conflict of World War Two, this time we follow the story of a young English lad growing up as a prisoner of war when the Japanese invade China. This particular piece interpolates Chopin's Mazurka Opus 17 No 4, but is beautiful on its own if you can get your hands on the special edition release of the soundtrack. 

I first heard this music as a new release on ABC Classic FM and it immediately evoked strong imagery. I then borrowed J.G. Ballard's book from the library and it too was powerfully visual. It was with great surprise that I saw those same pictures in Steven Spielberg's screen adaptation

8. Parade of the Slave Children (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom)

The journey moves to India with the rousing struggle of child slaves freeing themselves from an evil cult. Musically I always thought that the first three Indiana Jones movies followed those of the Star Wars movies, with the second introducing a number of memorably great themes.

9. ET and Me (E.T. The Extraterrestrial)

After a long journey one can get rather homesick. This time we are not the travellers, but the ones meeting a traveller from very, very far away. This particular piece captures the wistful sadness I felt at living so far away from my previous home in Melbourne. Everyone knows the Flying Theme from ET, but the movie has so much great music, this being a concert arrangement of the relationship between ET and Elliot. Just to listen to this soundtrack is an amazing emotional journey in itself. 

10. The Return of the Jedi (Star Wars: Return of the Jedi)

Finally our journey comes to a close in the most triumphant way possible. No John Williams journey would be complete without Star Wars, the movie that introduced me to film music a long time ago, in a city far, far away.

I could easily have chosen a hundred more songs to include in my list, but each of these pieces is a soundtrack to my own emotional and musical journey through life. I hope that you have enjoyed the list and find your own joy in the music of John Williams.

Spotify playlist (Hopefully this works, as it's my first time using Spotify!)

The Empire Strikes Back in concert with the MSO

A long time ago in a city far, far away a young boy went to his very first movie at the cinema, an epic of duelling starships, aliens and a mysterious power called "The Force".

The year was 1980, the movie, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, the city, Melbourne and the young boy was me aged six.

My best friend Dishan and his father picked me up from home and together we drove into the city for a night time viewing of the second Star Wars movie. I recall loving it, but being rather confused at some points. Why was (force ghost) Obi-Wan Kenobi good at the beginning and evil (hologram Emperor) later on? What should I call the dog walker vehicles (AT-ATs)? And... Well, I can't remember because it was such a long time ago.

Afterwards I used the small amount of pocket money given to me by my parents to buy a Kit-Kat.

And so began my long love affair with Star Wars and its music.

I saw the Empire Strikes Back at least twice more in Melbourne, saw Star Wars on video and then at the cinema, queued up for Return of the Jedi. Even though we then moved away from Melbourne I managed to return to view Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith and The Force Awakens at cinemas there.

In my mind the movies, the music and Melbourne are inextricably linked. When I hear Yoda's Theme I am always taken back to the elegant southern city of my birth, recalling the yearning to return from my many years of exile elsewhere in Australia.

So despite watching The Empire Strikes Back in Concert with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra back in July I knew I had to go down to Melbourne to see it there as well.

When it comes to performing film music I have always sensed a resistance and lack of respect from the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, whereas the opposite is true from the Melbourne Symphony and that was another incentive to head south.

Prior to the Sunday matinee concert the three members of The Art of the Score, comprising the conductor Nicholas Buc, Andrew Pogson of the MSO and Dr Dan Golding, held a highly informative pre-concert talk. I admit that, despite my passion for film music, I rarely analyse it, so I learned a lot from the talk and will be downloading their podcasts in future!

The Dad Joke level humour was also much appreciated and it was great to have a chance to talk to the team.

Meanwhile, in the lobby there were Stormtroopers and Imperial Officers, along with a jazz band doing a fine rendition of the cantina music from the first Star Wars movie.

The performance was held in The Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre's Plenary, a huge venue that I'd previously sat in for a couple of Doctor Who concerts. Unlike in Sydney, this time I was seated in a premium row close to the stage with a perfect view of both the movie and the orchestra. The acoustics sounded fine to me with great definition of the individual instruments.

Seated next to me was Dr Golding of The Art of the Score, a nice surprise. I'll apologise for any incoherence in my conversation, coming off an overnight trip on a train.

Armed with the knowledge from the talk I had fun identifying elements within the score, keeping a closer eye on the orchestra than on the film itself. One surprise was how often the piccolo features in the score, from that very first rendition of the Imperial March soon after the opening credits (which I never realised until it was pointed out) onwards.

I don't know what to say about the performance itself except to say that it was as close to perfection as you can get, an incredible feat considering that the music is performed in real time. Studio recordings are done over days and weeks with the best performances edited together.

I left the concert feeling like the effort and expense of getting there was fully justified. It may be 38 years since I first saw the film, but today I was a young boy feeling the thrill of seeing and hearing one of the best movies and scores of all time all over again.

Onwards to Return of the Jedi!

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in Concert

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire marks the halfway point in the series and the first of the movies where John Williams was not responsible for the music. Instead Scottish composer Patrick Doyle takes the up the reins for his sole outing in the series.

I'm not particularly familiar with Doyle's body of work, Harry Potter and Thor being the only two soundtracks I have listened to. Both they and today's concert make me want to add to that collection.

Hamish McKeich continued on from the recent Empire Strikes Back concert conducting the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, this time as the Sydney Opera House. The performance was again fantastic with the only a tiny slip up by the brass at the very end of the titles, forgivable after the effort of the past couple of hours. The Durmstrang/Viktor Krum entrance theme was also lacking in power compared to the movie, though perhaps that was due to the lack of a choir and post recording processing.

I was seated seven rows back from the front of the stage which gave an exciting view of the amazing string performance and the conductor, though it did mean that I could see little of the rest of the orchestra. Most importantly, the sound there was great, both for the thrilling action and the haunting Harry in Winter theme.

I've already got my tickets for the rest of the series next year and I'm very much looking forward to them. What I hope won't be repeated is Sydney Trains' awful performance with long delays due to a system failure. Maybe it's better to ride a Nimbus 2000 instead.

The Empire Strikes Back in Concert

The latest in the film with live orchestra concerts series was Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. I have a story to tell about The Empire Strikes Back, but I think I shall keep it for next time. I have tickets for Melbourne, where the story resides. For now let me tell you about the Sydney concert.

Like Star Wars: A New Hope, tonight's concert was held at new Sydney's International  Conference and Convention Centre in Darling Harbour. The theatre is huge and I was seated quite far from the orchestra, though in the middle. The distance detracted from the excitement of watching the orchestra up close, their movement adding to experience. At least I could see the entire orchestra.

Nicholas Buc, who seems to be in Japan, was replaced in conducting duties by Hamish McKeich from New Zealand. Unlike Buc and some of the other previous conductors, McKeich gave no introduction to the audience, no encouragement to cheer at opportune moment. Indeed the audience was rather passive tonight, applause fairly scattered until the end.

I wasn't fussed by this as I was there for the music and indeed it was good to clearly hear the orchestra over the movie. I did wonder if the sound was rather enhanced by the speakers, at that distance it was a little difficult to tell.

The Empire Strikes Back is one of those soundtracks and movies I know back to front. Before the full score was available I used to listen to an audio recording of the movie, mentally filtering out the dialogue and effects. The Sydney Symphony Orchestra performed to my satisfaction, the live experience allowing me to pick out sounds somewhat lost in the recordings. A few little niggles with the pacing of the opening and closing bars, but that was it for any criticism of the performance.

The movie was naturally the post-prequels special edition which meant that some parts of the score sat uncomfortably with the spliced in scenes. The addition of sequences of Darth Vader returning to his Star Destroyer from Cloud City were particularly unnecessary and only served to disrupt the thrilling score for Luke's rescue. But there is no point screaming "Nooooooo!" anymore.

I'm looking forward to seeing the concert again with the superb Melbourne Symphony Orchestra at the end of the year. In great news you can also include these film music concerts as a package in the Sydney Symphony Orchestra's 2019 season. I was apparently their very first online subscriber for 2019 so I have Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens to look forward to next year as well!

May the Force be with you.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in Concert

Of all the Harry Potter movies this was both my favourite to watch and to listen to. And tonight watching it performed live by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the Opera House all I can say is "Wow!"

After a swathe of these concerts over the past few years, including the first two Harry Potters episodes last year, you know the drill. Tonight they got the balance just right and allowed John Williams' complex score shine through.

It had so many wonderful moments, from the cartoonish jazz of the Knight Bus to the drama of quidditch, the soaring Buckbeak's flight and choral mystique of the patronus charm. The most beautiful of the gentle Window to the Past as Harry remembers his parents.

If you've only ever heard the recorder played badly at primary school then you will be surprised just how lovely it sounds here.

Williams' orchestration is sophisticated and apart from the recorder many other instruments and sounds drew my attention away from the action on the screen. Subtitles meant that the dialogue didn't overshadow the score.

A fair amount of the score, including many beautiful fleeting themes, is lacking from the soundtrack release so there is much to listen for during the performance.

Unlike the previous Star Wars performance I couldn't fault the Sydney Symphony Orchestra or its conductor Nicholas Buckbeak's here. I simply enjoyed it all.

I had kind of hoped that they would stop at this point, when John Williams left the scoring duties, so I wouldn't be "forced" to pay for more performances (I've got the Empire Strikes Back later this year) but tickets to Patrick Doyle's Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire go on sale Monday and the other scores are pretty good...

Star Wars in Concert with the SSO

For so long have I waited for this concert series. The original Star Wars trilogy played by a live orchestra.

I grew up with Star Wars. Yes there are lots of people that can say that these days. I have it, my son has it, his sister has... Well no, she doesn't because he doesn't have a sister. But you know what I mean. Star Wars was what introduced me to the music of John Williams, was what opened my mind to the world of film music.

Unfortunately, it seems like the Sydney Symphony Orchestra (and many others in Australia) has decided that the only time they'll now perform film music is in front of the source film, complete with dialogue. I'd rather just focus on the music without the dialogue and the visual distraction, but beggars can't be choosers.

So I payed far more money than normal for a movie ticket and bought premium seats at the first of the concert series, Star Wars A New Hope in Concert.

This was my first visit to the venue for the performance, the new International Convention Centre in Darling Harbour rather than the Sydney Opera House. The entrance displayed the concert name on the big screen, giant lightsabers were setup for a photo op with characters in costume and an area set aside for Jedi lightsaber training.

Inside were other characters in costume. We had our photo taken with a huge Chewbacca. There was a Darth Vader and stormtroopers and even a George Lucas lookalike with an R2D2 unit.

Then we filed into the cavernous hall and took our seats. The orchestra gradually took their places, eventually joined by young conductor Nicholas Buc, who introduced the concert with the help of a couple of stormtroopers.

The Twentieth Century Fox prelude sounded and the concert began.

When comparing the soundtracks to the three original Star Wars movies the first of them always sounds a bit "thinner" than the others, as if the orchestrations weren't quite so full. That was true here as well, so perhaps it is not just the sound quality of the original recordings. There were times to that I wondered if the sound was coming direct from the orchestra or via the big overhead speaker installations.

I know the music intimately after four decades of listening to it, but I didn't mind that sound levels from the different sections of the orchestra didn't quite match the original recordings. It offered an element of novelty and highlighted hitherto unrealised contributions, especially from the piano.

The music itself is rich and complex, tearing my eyes from the screen to watch the strings racing or the brass and woodwind in unison was fascinating.

Yet there was something missing in the performance. Maybe it was the acoustics, but I felt like the orchestra just wasn't contributing as much as it should. The real letdown was in the performance of the final credits, which was messy and lacking in love and energy. I've heard it performed so many times by this orchestra and others, but I've heard it better. It was a disappointing end to a much anticipated night.

Maybe I should look to go down to Melbourne for the subsequent performances. The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra hasn't failed me yet and it is my spiritual home for Star Wars...

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in Concert

I wonder if they intend performing concerts for all the Harry Potter movies. In April we attended the Philosopher's Stone, tonight it was The Chamber of Secrets. Next April, Prisoner of Azkaban, assuming that I can get tickets.

What do all three have in common? Well, apart from being Harry Potter movies, of course.

These were the three movies where the legendary John Williams composed the score.

Williams was rather busy during the production so his music was ably adapted and conducted by William Ross.

For this performance at the Sydney Opera House the Sydney Symphony Orchestra was conducted by the effervescent American Jeffrey Schindler. As with the previous concert he exhorted the audience to cheer at their favourite moments and actors, which they duly did.

The performance was great, though it was sometimes hard to concentrate on the music at times due to the distraction of the movie. Williams' action score really shines through during the live performances and this was no exception, though there was one point I wasn't sure if it was Quiddich or chasing Jango Fett on screen. Williams was busy at the time...

The Chamber of Secrets is Alex's favourite Harry Potter movie out of the first three (all he's seen) and he was rapt the entire time, despite the late hour.

Earlier he and I had caught the expensive lift up Sydney Tower. Though the views were good I've seen them a lot lately out the windows of planes and the large groups of tourists reminded me how much I hate being surrounded by tourists, even when I'm one myself.

I'm looking forward now to John Williams' best Harry Potter score in the Prisoner of Azkaban. Hope I can get good tickets!

School dances and a cushion concert

Last night we finally had our first taste as parents of a combined schools performance when we attended the Sutherland Shire Schools Music Festival. Alex had joined the boy's hip hop group at school and they, along with a number of other schools, were performing dances at the festival.

Having seen the boys and senior girls performing the past few days at the local shopping centre and school open day I must say my expectations were low. Right from the start I was blown away by the talent and energy of many of the student dancers in a real performing environment.

It helps that they started with some John Williams music from Harry Potter. Though what was the idea playing the opening to Star Wars for a dance named "Borg" (and yes there were sound grabs of Locutus)? Obviously a proper education in scifi is lacking in our public schools!

Speaking of John Williams, I woke up this morning and spotted an Instagram advertisement for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra playing Star Wars live in concert early next year. A dream come true! I immediately snapped up some tickets.

The music continued with an afternoon concert today in Petersham Town Hall listening to The Metropolitan Orchestra performing music from movies and a couple of original compositions. This was a cushion concert for families, with patrons encouraged to bring rugs and cushions and sit on the floor up close to the orchestra. One of Alex's school friends joined us.

I'd heard the Metropolitan Orchestra perform the Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular at the Sydney Opera House back in 2012 and was impressed with their professionalism. Being so familiar with film music as I am it is difficult for me to listen to it being played poorly.

No such problem here. The Metropolitan Orchestra were magnificent with a fantastic sound. Sitting up close we could feel every note, every percussion. More than that, they looked like they were having fun.

Every orchestra member was dressed up in some superhero or movie costume. There were Minions on Double Bass, Dorothy Vader on violin and Indiana Jones on the drums, to name just a few. All lead by their conductor, Princess Else, aka Sarah-Grace Williams.

They played Superman, the Raiders March, the Flying Theme from ET, Batman, Star Trek: The Motion Picture and a medley from Frozen. Of special note was the soloist in Gabriel's Oboe from The Mission. He played with exquisite precision, beautiful.

There were also premieres of two original compositions. The Vikings, composed and performed by one of the orchestra's French horn players was very easy to listen to and I could easily imagine it accompanying a television documentary on the warriors. Bedtime Stories was more classical in nature, with hints of Holst.

The concert ended with the Star Wars main theme, reminding me just how exciting next year will be.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in Concert

I think we just witnessed some real life Harry Potter magic in action with a flawless performance of the score by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the Opera House.

Wow!

Much as I enjoyed both the book and the movie, John Williams' score to Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is not one that I frequently listen to. I suspect it is because it fits the movie so well and my life, unlike that of my eight year old son, is far from that of an 11 year old student wizard.

That should taken as a complement and not a criticism of the score and my favourite composer.

The magic of the score was unleashed from the moment that the film began and the orchestra played their first notes. Williams' music danced between delicate melodies to rich orchestral textures utilising the full orchestra. His score is such an important element of the movie that it was rarely overshadowed by the on-screen dialogue and action.

If there was one tiny criticism it's that it was almost impossible to hear the 15 minutes pre-concert featurette with composer interviews over the noise of entering patrons. The folk at the sound desk were too busy chatting and reading to notice until half way through.

American conductor Jeffrey Schindler engaged the audience and encouraged them to feel free to loudly celebrate the on-screen action and heroes. I don't know whether it was him or a shared love of Harry Potter but the orchestra were also at their very best performance wise. I heard no mistakes, especially from the brass section. Haven't heard the SSO play film music this well since their artistic director David Robertson conducted John Williams music back in 2014.

It was magic. Pure magic.

The Chamber of Secrets is coming out later this year. I hope Williams' score, his last of the series, to the Prisoner of Azkhaban will also be performed as it is by far my favourite (and favourite movie of the series too, if you must know).

Perhaps if I wave that wand we took to the concert...

Best not, it did belong to He-who-must-not-be-named...

Jurassic Park in Concert with the MSO

I had no real intention of watching Jurassic Park at the cinema. I was a second year maths and physics student at the ANU and was busy trying to organise my presentation to the CSIRO Double Helix Science Club about fractals and chaos. I got a call from the Canberra Times to interview me about the presentation and the journalist asked me what I thought about Jeff Goldblum's character, a "chaotican".

Not having seen the movie I couldn't answer, so I resolved to see the Steven Spielberg film before my presentation.

I don't think I'll ever forget that moment in Jurassic Park where Alan Grant and Ellie Sattler see their first dinosaur. Like the characters on the screen my jaw dropped in amazement at the sight of these extinct giants brought to life on the big screen.

The scene was made even more special by John Williams' elegant background score, so I could not pass up the opportunity to relive that moment with a live orchestra. That meant a lightning trip down to Melbourne to hear the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra perform live in front of the movie at Hamer Hall.

The MSO is my favourite Australian orchestra and has always, in my experience, performed film music with enthusiasm and the utmost respect (unlike a certain other orchestra more local to me).

I have been to a number of these concerts now at the Sydney Opera House with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra playing to a screened movie. This was my first in Melbourne with the MSO, in fact my first visit to Hamer Hall. The venue was certainly more modern than its internationally famous northern cousin.

Media personality Myf Warhurst introduced the show, exhorting the audience to whoop and holler along to the movie. Then conductor Ben Northey took to the podium and the concert screening began.

If I was ever to create my own John Williams concert I would start with "Journey to the Island," beginning with a playful and adventurous music as they approach Isla Nublar by helicopter and then moving on to the elegant Jurassic Park theme as they catch their first sight of the dinosaurs.

I'm not a huge fan of screening the movie and dialogue at the same time as performing the music as I'm there for the latter. I can always watch the movie at home. But something I liked about this performance was that the music took priority over the dialogue, making it much easier to focus on.

There were some surprisingly long passages without any music and others where it consisted of frenetic action. These are often less enjoyable pieces to listen to at home, but it was thrilling to watch the percussion and strings go at it live.

I noticed the brass section made a few mistakes and it was a pity that a live choir wasn’t used, but overall the performances were very impressive.

Alex the eight year old complained that he was tired and wanted to go back to the hotel for much of the movie, but by the end of it he was transfixed. When they finished playing the final credits he was clapping as hard as anyone in the hall.

We had been warned there would be an encore and I was delighted (though not surprised) that it was the Flying theme from another Spielberg/Williams collaboration ET. When I was stuck living in Central Queensland the soundtrack, my favourite, always made me think of my home in Melbourne. To hear it played there was very special.

All in all I was very glad we made the long trip down from Sydney to this performance of Jurassic Park. Next up is Harry Potter with the SSO - should be no complaints from Alex about that one!

Back to the Future with orchestra

It was a late 80's summer's Sunday and we were at a Christmas party at our neighbour's place across the road. That meant a kilometre away in this rural Queensland locality. I wasn't really interested in talking to any of the adults and was sitting in our van listening to ABC Classic FM radio. My favourite show was on, an hour or so devoted to film music.

I'd recently seen Back to the Future on the television for the first time and enjoyed the main theme. So when the radio announced that the next piece would be from Back to the Future I was excited.

Then it played and I recall being a little disappointed at the lack of the main theme. But something strange happened as the only other then available orchestral piece from the soundtrack album played ("Back to the Future").

I felt energised, driven. I had a mission. I had to run. I ran away from the party. Down the gravel path and back up the other hill to home.

That's the power of Alan Silvestri's score.

So naturally I was excited that the Sydney Symphony was performing a live accompaniment to a screening of Back to the Future at the Sydney Opera House.

Nicholas Buc and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra did a fine job of performing the energetic score. Silvestri had to compose additional music for these live performances as his score doesn't begin until 20 minutes into the original screening. It also features a couple of pieces from the third movie during the return from the intermission and the end credits.

Unfortunately it was another case of the movie being rather too distracting from the orchestra. It's a great movie, though Alex was rather restless. Turns out he was quite sick, which rather detracted from the day. Still, B and I certainly enjoyed the eighties references, even if we don't have hoverboards and flying cars yet.

And that performance likely brings our orchestral concert attendance for 2016 to a close.

Unless there's an encore I don't know about yet.

Raiders of the Lost Ark with the SSO

Of all the concerts this year the Sydney Symphony Orchestra's live performance of Raiders of the Lost Ark to the movie was the one I was most looking forward to. And we almost missed it!

Kids have a different sense of time and urgency to adults and just getting out of the house was a enough of a struggle. The Thai restaurant was just opposite the station, but it is never safe to assume a frequent and fast service when it comes to Sydney trains.

Google Maps said we would be a few minutes late. Okay, let's challenge the last bit, the walk.

Trackwork on the City Circle Line meant that we couldn't ride the Airport Line train direct to Circular Quay. Change at Wolli Creek, get out at Martin Place and run down Macquarie Street.

Only problem was that B doesn't do karate like Alex and I and doesn’t have quite the same fitness levels. So Google Maps was pretty accurate in the end.

Puffing, we showed the doorman our tickets and were ushered to our seats. Fortunately the conductor, Nicholas Buc, was giving an introductory talk. We'd made it just in time!

Our not cheap seats in the box had views of the orchestra, but the screen was a little bit obscured, a disappointment. Though I was here for the orchestra and the music, not the movie.

In my opinion the movie is a distraction, but it does serve to entertain the rest of the family and to force the orchestra to do its best. No room for lazy interpretation, they must be on the ball to synchronise with the screen.

And they were! This was the fifth live score performance I have attended, all with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the Opera House and it was by far my favourite. Raiders of the Lost Ark is one of the great adventure movies and the score is by the greatest film composer of all time: John Williams.

Though I love almost all of his scores, the eighties were my favourite period of his composition; the second and third Star Wars movies, ET and the first three Indiana Jones films, all from Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. Watching the orchestra below it became obvious how Williams created his lush sound: He utilises the full orchestra.

Strings, woodwind, brass and percussion, all playing at once, but playing counterpoint, multiple melodies and rhythms. There is so much the listen to, to listen for. The lietmotifs tell the story, the hint of exotic sounds from conventional instruments setting the scene. This is mastery of the orchestra.

The orchestra were mostly up to it, though the tuba sounded a little ragged at times. John Williams actually wrote a concerto for this frequently ignored instrument. I heard the Melbourne Symphony perform it a few years ago and Williams' certainly demands much from his tuba players.

The strength of Williams' score is evident in the the most exciting sequence of the movie, the desert chase. Both B and I were too busy observing the energy of the orchestra to watch the thrills on screen.

Alex was awake throughout the whole performance, despite its lateness after a busy Saturday, and, unlike Babe, there were only a couple of complaints from him. He is quite familiar with Indy's theme!

Harking back to the old days of cinema, there was even an intermission, after which the orchestra played Mutt's theme from the fourth Indiana Jones movie: Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls.

Forget the so called Golden Days of cinema, the subject of the previous concert, this was Hollywood at its best. I'm so glad we made it!

Hollywood Rhapsody and Vivid 2016

I had quite a surprise when I opened an email from the Sydney Symphony Orchestra a few days ago. They warned me that the area around the Sydney Opera House would be crowded for the last night of Vivid and I should leave early for my concert.

What concert?

Was it Raiders of the Lost Ark or Back to the Future?

I quickly checked my calendar.

Phew, no, it was Hollywood Rhapsody, the bonus concert in the Orchestra Package that I had exchanged for the Raiders concert I already had tickets for. I had prevaricated whether to see this one or a classical concert.

I'm not a huge fan of "The Golden Age of Hollywood."

It was rather a bit before my time.

There was no way that B or Alex would want to join me for this one. So I headed off alone into the city, rather exhausted after a tough week, a morning of karate and a stint running the library at Alex's Chinese school.

Another thing I hadn't planned on doing was seeing Vivid, Sydney's festival of light and other stuff this year. We were told that Circular Quay station was closed, so after jumping off at Town Hall to buy B a bottle of Japanese tonkatsu sauce, I alighted at Wynyard and walked the closed off streets to Circular Quay along with the rest of the crowd.

The crowding itself wasn't too bad and the lights were fantastic. The sides of buildings and the Harbour Bridge were colourfully lit, coloured searchlights illuminated the clouds and there were stunning projections against Customs House, the MCA and the Opera House.

At the Opera House box office they suggested that I might like to sell my two unused tickets to the young tourist attempting to get cheap seats to a performance. I gave them away to him. Hopefully he'll be nice to someone else one day.

Then I squeezed into my seat. A few rows closer than the nosebleed section of the last concert and quite a good view of the orchestra.

Having checked the program I knew the night wouldn't be a complete disaster as John Williams' Star Wars Main Title was the first piece after the 20th Century Fox Fanfare.

The pace was a bit fast and the brass began a little ragged, but it was a decent performance of the piece that I've heard live more than any other.

The rest of the music I was largely unfamiliar with except in passing. David Raksin's theme from Laura was quite pleasant, the string section was faultless tonight. They had a real workout with a suite from Bernard Herrmann's Psycho score, the famous shower sequence eliciting a few laughs from the audience.

Herrmann's music continued with Salammbo's Aria from Citizen Kane, performed by the soprano Lorina Gore. Having developed an ability to ignore the sound of opera thanks to my parents' musical tastes the best that I can say is that she could certainly hit all the notes.

I recall hearing some of Erich Korngold's The Adventures of Robin Hood played my the Melbourne Symphony and enjoying it. But not so much this time. As conductor John Wilson said, Korngold became the sound of Hollywood and in my opinion the music sounded cheesy. Except for the first part of the final fight, which could have come from a contemporary battle sequence.

After the interval we heard the Americana of Jerome Moss' score to The Big Country, which enjoyed, though the style has been reused many times.

Fifteen minutes of Max Steiner's 3 hour 10 minute score to Gone With The Wind was as much as I could stand. It had some familiar highlights before sinking into bland romantacism.

In contrast, Franz Waxman's suite from A Place in the Sun contained a number of interesting themes, including some passionately played saxophone solos, enough to keep me listening.

The most fun of the night was John Wilson's arrangement of Scott Bradley's music from the Tom & Jerry cartoons. Unlike most film scores, this kind of cartoon music is not the kind of thing you'd listen to in isolation from the screen. Except in this case, it was almost a live action cartoon performed by the percussionists as they used slide whistles, bowls of water and even smashing plates to achieve the zany musical effects.

The final piece in the program was the Parade of the Charioteers from Miklos Rozsa's score to Ben Hur. Loud, brassy, but I didn't really like it.

It would have been a pity to end on that note, but of course there was an encore. And what an encore it was! Franz Waxman again, this time the Ride of the Cossacks from Taras Bulba.  A frenetic piece that gave the orchestra a true workout.

The concert didn't convince to start listening to film music from the fifties and before, but I could sense some of the musical heritage that has contributed to more modern scores. I actually feel that John Williams' latest Star Wars outing has an even greater nod to the older romantic scores than his original work.

But you shouldn't need to know all the antecedents of a piece of music to enjoy it. Once again the program, and what I caught of the pre-concert talk, portrayed each composer as being genuine only because they had a classical background or composed concert pieces in addition to films. The elitist snobbery of the SSO grates. At least the conductor didn't let them get away with lazy performances this time.

After the concert I ran into an ex-work colleague and joined the crowds walking back past the ranbow lights. Fortunately, Circular Quay station was open again. It felt a bit strange to see a number of people clutching concert programs like me get off at Padstow. I didn't get home until almost midnight, but in the end I'm glad I decided to go.