The most effective movie music draws the observer deeply into the cinematic experience. And there's no doubt that the music John Williams has written for dozens and dozens of films has been a major player in evoking the atmospheres and emotions that the story demands.
Williams is such a success in part because he taps into the listener's aural memory of other composers with superb descriptive skills. So it is perhaps no wonder that an entire program devoted to Williams' music, and largely from the movies, is actually a celebration of many composers, including Elgar, Walton, Orff, Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Bernstein and jazz figures. The list could go on and on.
The Cleveland Pops Orchestra's Williams concert on Friday at Severance Hall confirmed how skillfully this Hollywood composer turns recognizable patterns into new musical cloths. It also inadvertently pointed out why his concert music, while solidly constructed, is rarely as diverting or lasting as his movie concoctions. Reconstruction, rather than originality, is Williams' strong suit.
An air of familiarity hovered over most of the evening, during which conductor Carl Topilow and the orchestra lavished sonic splendor, vitality and poetry on a host of Williams pieces. How nice to hear the exuberant "Superman" march ring out with such brilliance and the "Summon the Heroes" fanfare, with Gary Davis' trumpet solo sounding splendidly regal, emerge as an apt reflection of Olympic pride.
The soaring adventures of "E.T." received plenty of glistening propulsion. In a striking display of expressive contrast, the poignant and harrowing lines of music from "Schindler's List" revealed Williams' gift for simplicity, and Ellen dePasquale, the Cleveland Orchestra's associate concertmaster, played these utterances with touching directness and tonal beauty.
The evening's news came in the form of the first concert performance of a suite from Steven Spielberg's most recent film, "Catch Me If You Can." Topilow read a letter from Williams expressing his delight that the piece would have its premiere in Cleveland, where he has conducted the Cleveland Orchestra.
Here is music of real spunk, with feet planted firmly in the ground of 1950s progressive jazz. Williams creates an almost improvisatory quality in the sprinting, scampering phrases he gives to alto saxophone and vibraphone, which were played with utmost pizzazz by, respectively, Howie Smith and Mel Csicsila. Their unison riffs had remarkable precision and dexterity, and they were boldly complemented by bassist Ann Gilbert.
No Williams concert with head on shoulders could possibly leave out music from "Star Wars," and Topilow and company went expansive by offering a 28-minute suite of excerpts from the episodes so far. The performance was engaging, if begging wide-screen images, and yet another reminder that Williams knows his classical composers.
And then came a treat: the "Cantina Band" from the first "Star Wars" movie, featuring Topilow playing his red clarinet with out-of-this-world glee. It had just the right touch of cheekiness that this somewhat reverent night needed.
