Concert Reviews, Interviews, Videos

John Williams and Gustavo Dudamel at the Hollywood Bowl, July 7-9, 2023 – Reviews, Photos and Videos

“MAESTRO OF THE MOVIES: JOHN WILLIAMS WITH THE L.A. PHIL”
July 7, 2023, Hollywood Bowl, CA
Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by JOHN WILLIAMS and Gustavo Dudamel
Bing Wang, violin – Cal State Fullerton University Singers – Los Angeles Children’s Chorus

CONCERT PROGRAM

Conducted by Gustavo Dudamel

  • Hooray for Hollywood (Whiting, arr. Williams)
  • The Cowboys Overture
  • Scene d’Amour from Vertigo (Herrmann)
  • Call of the Champions
  • Dry Your Tears, Africa from Amistad
  • Duel of the Fates from The Phantom Menace
  • Love theme from Superman
  • Superman March

INTERMISSION

Conducted by John Williams

  • The Adventures of Mutt from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
  • Helena’s Theme from Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
  • The Raiders March from Raiders of the Lost Ark
  • Theme from Jurassic Park
  • Theme from Schindler’s List
  • The Asteroid Field from The Empire Strikes Back
  • Princess Leia’s Theme from Star Wars
  • The Throne Room and Finale from Star Wars

ENCORES

Conducted by John Williams

  • Yoda’s Theme from The Empire Strikes Back
  • Flying Theme from E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial

Conducted by John Williams and Gustavo Dudamel

  • The Imperial March from The Empire Strikes Back

REVIEWS

EXTERNAL REVIEWS

  • We Live Entertainment – Everyone there has a special memory of John Williams’ scores. They have a nostalgia for the days when films actually had recognizable themes and movies were just starting to be so especially wondrous. Visual spectaculars are a dime a dozen these days, but back then? When the most innovative filmmakers of the day were creating emotionally and visually compelling blockbusters with rousing scores that we played on repeat. That was magic. And John Williams reminded us of that this past weekend. – Full review
  • Attractions Magazine – 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. – Full review
  • We Are Movie Geeks – The second half of the show was clearly what the crowd was waiting for, and with light sabers in hand, they were ready! Amazingly, but not surprisingly, Williams walks out on stage with little fanfare. No announcement, no introduction (as if one were needed… lol). He simply does what he does, and clearly loves. He walks to the podium, and after a short bow, taps the baton, acknowledges the orchestra, and away we go! – Full review

JWFAN REVIEWS

Review by ‘artguy360’

Tonight, entirely thanks to my girlfriend, we saw John Williams for the first time live in concert with the LA Philharmonic conducting some of his best music. The experience was incredible and better than I could have dreamed. What a show and what a set!

One highlight: during The Imperial March, Gustavo Dudamel came back out with a red lightsaber and JW invited him onto the podium. Then JW stepped down, picked up a blue lightsaber and pretended to have a duel with Gustavo! They finished by co-conducting with red and blue lightsabers in hand. It was hilarious. JW had great energy all night.

I feel like the program really hit its stride with Call of the Champions. The footage from the Olympics was synced really well to the music. Some great editing by someone. The live choir made quite an impact. There was a children’s choir and an adult choir from a local university. The fullness of the choir was especially impressive during Dry Your Tears, Afrika. I thought the choir sounded better during Dry Your Tears, Afrika than during Duel of the Fates where their voices got drowned out a bit by the orchestra. I have really grown to love the former piece since JW re-recorded it for the latest Spielberg collaboration album. Hearing Scene D’amour from Vertigo was an unexpected treat. I love that score and the music played live really captured the cyclical, hypnotic nature of the piece.

The Superman March was performed to footage and stills of JW including childhood photos and footage from his recent European concerts. Again, well edited and very fun.

Throughout the night the strings were lush and beautiful, the horns had a fullness to them, and the woodwinds shined every opportunity they got. The principal oboe, clarinet, and flute came through with beautiful clarity and tenderness. The trumpets and trombones, unfortunately, sounded distant and thin. During the big moments of the Jurassic Park theme, Raider’s March, and Asteroid Field, they lacked the punchiness and strength you’d expect.

The Golden Age quality of Helena’s theme was wonderful, and the soloist for Schindler’s List left me feeling emotional. Despite the brass section lacking in general, Throne Room and Finale was still a ton of fun. I was glad to hear the Force theme tonight. The ending fanfare of E.T. was probably the best the brass sounded all night.

There were a couple obvious flubs. Once the woodwinds entered really harshly during I think the Jurassic Park theme and it was momentarily grating on the ears. The principal horn player flubbed near the start of Princess Leia’s theme and I think in the middle of the Raiders March someone knocked something over near a mic. I heard a sharp metallic sound of something hitting the floor.

Minor quibbles aside, it was an incredible experience. There were so many moments, like the end of Dry Your Tears, Afrika, the big crescendo in Princess Leia’s theme, and others where the sound of the orchestra filled my entire body and gave me chills. At the same time, the solo passages for violin, clarinet, oboe, and flute were achingly beautiful. The guy sitting next to us who sees JW annually at the Hollywood Bowl said he thought this was one of JW’s best concerts at the Bowl.

The most memorable thing JW said was right before the 2nd encore, after he had already returned to the podium, picked up his baton, and the orchestra was about to start, he suddenly remembered to pick up the mic and quickly said, “E.T.!” to introduce the piece. It made me and many others laugh out loud.

PHOTOS

Photos from Nation World:

Photos by BrotherSound:

 

 

VIDEOS

Videos by Wael Binali (original forum post)

YOUTUBE VIDEOS:

Interview: John Williams and Gustavo Dudamel reflect on journey to success (Good Morning America)

FRIDAY, JULY 7

Full show, part I (Conducted by Gustavo Dudamel)

Full show, part II (Conducted by John Williams)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0cWaUm8FLo

Duel of the Fates from The Phantom Menace (conducted by Gustavo Dudamel)

Theme from Jurassic Park

Theme from Jurassic Park (different angle)

Theme from Schindler’s List

Throne Room and Finale from Star Wars

Flying Theme from E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (excerpt)

The Imperial March from The Empire Strikes Back

 

SATURDAY, JULY 8

Duel of the Fates from The Phantom Menace (conducted by Gustavo Dudamel)

Duel of the Fates from The Phantom Menace (conducted by Gustavo Dudamel) – different angle

Superman March (conducted by Gustavo Dudamel)

The Asteroid Field from The Empire Strikes Back

Princess Leia’s Theme from Star Wars

The Throne Room and Finale from Star Wars

Yoda’s Theme from The Empire Strikes Back

Flying Theme from E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial

The Imperial March from The Empire Strikes Back / Williams and Dudamel lightsaber duel and co-conducting

The Imperial March from The Empire Strikes Back / Williams and Dudamel lightsaber duel and co-conducting (different angle)

SUNDAY, JULY 9

Duel of the Fates from The Phantom Menace (conducted by Gustavo Dudamel)

Love Theme from Superman (conducted by Gustavo Dudamel)

Superman March (conducted by Gustavo Dudamel)