John Williams made his first public appearance in over a year on April 3, 2025, during a performance of his music by the LA Philharmonic at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. The concert, led by Gustavo Dudamel, included Williams’ Cello Concerto, Schindler’s List, Close Encounters, Indiana Jones, E.T. and Star Wars.
VIDEO: John Williams on stage during the performance of The Imperial March on April 3
‘YO-YO MA, JOHN WILLIAMS AND DUDAMEL’
April 3 & 4, 2025.Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Gustavo Dudamel. John Williams, curator
Yo-Yo Ma, cello
CONCERT PROGRAM
(April 3, 2025)
- Sound the Bells
- Concerto for Cello and Orchestra
ENCORE - Theme from Schindler’s List for Cello
INTERMISSION - Olympic Fanfare and Theme
- Excerpts from Close Encounters of the Third Kind
- 3 Piece from Indiana Jones
Scherzo for Motorcycle
Marion’ Theme
The Raiders March - Princess Leia’s Theme from Star Wars
- Adventures on Earth from E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
ENCORES - Main Theme and Finale from Star Wars
- The Imperial March from The Empire Strikes Back
REVIEWS AND PHOTOS
Concert Review by ‘lairdo’ (original forum post)
Background and setting aside, let’s dive into how the whole concert on Thursday and how it sounded. In short, it was an amazing experience. My wife and I had never seen Yo-Yo Ma in person. Following the rousing but short Sound the Bells, the stage was reset to add a small riser for Mr. Ma to sit upon. We were sitting about 10 rows back, slight off center, and the seats in front of us were empty. So, we had a great view of his performance.
Ma came out with Dudamel (who had retreated after the opening piece) with arms over each others’ shoulders. They paused around the first violin trying to urge the other to go first to center stage. Ultimately, unable to negotiate this awkward but charming moment, they walked the remaining 15 feet together. The audience was enthusiastic in its reception of these great artists. Both were full of smiles.
As the orchestra, soloists and maestro settled in for 30 mins of continuous music, Yo-Yo Ma turned serious. He closed his eyes and seemed to inwardly focus. He then gave a small visual indication to Dudamel that he was ready.
The Cello Concerto features a wide range of styles from across Williams’ works across his many decades. The first movement features a hummable theme that bounces around the orchestra and is played with and manipulated by the cello. There are lyrical moments, but the piece quickly moves to much more modern territory, particularly in the solos. It is angular at times and not always in an ear pleasing manner. The cello can sing but can also sting, and Ma attacked certain moments with urgent energy. Sharp bowing and aggressive fingering. Even in the sonorous Disney Hall, some of the most quiet moments were almost inaudible. I assume this is how the score notates the work. I felt like the music was being broken down from the jubilant opening to the quietist and sparsest of notes before emerging from this darkness back into the light. The joy of watching and hearing this live is focusing on each instrument as it plays. While I’ve heard this work many times, I’ve never had the same experience with it. The hall was so still during the dark moments as if the audience was holding its collective breathes. Yo-Yo Ma’s intensity added to this experience. No smiles or relaxation were in evidence during the piece. Other great moments featured the cello and the timpani – no one like Williams combines instrumental colors in such unusual but interesting ways. At least not since someone like Bartók. It was all a kind of magic to my ear and eyes.
The piece finishes with the opening theme returning but not exactly the same. The music has been changed by its journey to nothingness. Ma seemed impacted too. Even after releasing the very last note, he was still, eyes closed, bow frozen above his instrument for what seemed like 30 seconds. The audience politely held its appreciative standing ovation until he opened his eyes and told us all he was out of the work. His smile reemerged.
At that point we were collectively made aware of John Williams being in the audience. The place went wild again, only exceeded when the Maestro joined Dudamel on the stage at the very end of the concert. However, between the Cello Concerto and that moment, we were treated to a lovely rendition of the Schindler’s List theme arranged for Cello (and previously recorded by Ma on “A Gathering of Friends”), intermission, and 45 mins of more music.
While the music in the 2nd half was comprised of well worn areas of the Williams’ canon, the performances were first rate. The stand out two tracks for me were the Olympic Fanfare and the Raiders March. In particular, the Raiders March sounded amazing. I remarked to my wife that it felt like Disney Hall was constructed for that piece. At the end of the piece, every instrument is playing. Thats’ a big tutti! Yet you could hear the instruments within this wall of sound, the brass remaining distinct (I have heard the Raiders March end up sounding muddled) and the strings, percussion, and woodwinds all lovely and distinct. Rousing beyond belief.
That’s not to say any of the pieces were really of lower quality than others. The principal flautist, oboist and harpist all had workouts in various pieces. Good horn playing was evident for Princess Leia. Trumpets led by Tom Hooten drove the brass.
Every now and then, I felt a person came in a bit soft or perhaps not facing exactly the right way to the front to get enough sound forward. Just a few of those, and it will be interesting to see if there are similar moments on the subsequent concerts. So, it was not perfect but it was energetically performed and seemed enjoyable to conductor and orchestra to present to the crowd.
Following the last listed piece (ET), the Star Wars Theme and Finale was presented after a long applause for Duadmel and Williams (still in his seat). Williams at this point made is his way out of the hall. As documented earlier in this post, he then reappeared on the stage to enjoy the best seat in the house for the robust Imperial March. For about half of this piece, Dudamel basically stood aside, I think hoping Williams would conduct from his wheelchair. And Williams did indeed make a few hand gestures from time to time. I felt Gustavo and John were sharing the moment tougher, us fortunate to be witness to it.
Overall, a night of John Williams, led by Gustavo Dudamel and played by the Los Angeles Philharmonic is not going to disappoint. Quite more so, it is exhilarates and expresses joy in the energy and music.
PHOTOS
More photos and reports a available at our forums
