{"id":8955,"date":"2016-05-22T07:54:34","date_gmt":"2016-05-22T07:54:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/?p=8955"},"modified":"2016-08-18T11:26:54","modified_gmt":"2016-08-18T11:26:54","slug":"john-williams-concerts-in-boston-reviews-photos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jwfan.com\/?p=8955","title":{"rendered":"John Williams&#8217; Concerts in Boston, May 12 &#038; 13"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.wgbh.org\/programs\/The-Boston-Symphony-Orchestra-in-Concert-1641\" target=\"_blank\">FULL CONCERT NOW AVAILABLE AT WGBH.ORG<\/a> &#8212; <a href=\"http:\/\/streams.wgbh.org\/online\/clas\/bso\/bso160521.mp3\" target=\"_blank\">Direct link to MP3 stream<\/a><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-8963\" src=\"http:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/JWBoston2016_7.jpg\" alt=\"JWBoston2016_7\" width=\"560\" height=\"385\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/JWBoston2016_7.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/JWBoston2016_7-300x207.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/JWBoston2016_7-560x385.jpg 560w, https:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/JWBoston2016_7-260x179.jpg 260w, https:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/JWBoston2016_7-160x110.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>\u201cJOHN WILLIAMS\u2019 FILM NIGHT\u201d<br \/>\nMay 12 &amp; 13, 2016, Boston, MA<br \/>\nThe Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra conducted by Keith Lockhart and JOHN WILLIAMS<\/p>\n<p><strong>CONCERT PROGRAM<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Keith Lockhart Conducting:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Prelude to <em>Ben-Hur<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Love Theme from <em>Out of Africa<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Main Title, Fountain Theme, and Chez Maxim Waltz from <em><em>Gigi<\/em><\/em><\/li>\n<li>Opening Sequence from <em>Star Trek Into Darkness<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Harry&#8217;s Wondrous World from <em>Harry Potter and the Sorcerer&#8217;s Stone<\/em><\/li>\n<li>The Raiders March from <em>Raiders of the Lost Ark<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>John Wiliams Conducting:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Star Wars Main Title from <em>Star Wars<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Rey&#8217;s Theme from <em>Star Wars: The Force Awakens<\/em><\/li>\n<li>March of the Resistance from <em>Star Wars: The Force Awakens<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Princess Leia&#8217;s Theme from <em>Star Wars<\/em><\/li>\n<li>The Asteroid Field from <em>The Empire Strikes Back<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Luke and Leia from <em>Return of the Jedi<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Scherzo for X-Wings from <em>Star Wars: The Force Awakens<\/em><\/li>\n<li>The Jedi Steps and Finale from <em>Star Wars: The Force Awakens <\/em>(with accompanying film montage)<br \/>\nENCORES<em><br \/>\n<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Yoda&#8217;s Theme from <em>The Empire Strikes Back<\/em><\/li>\n<li>The Imperial March from <em>The Empire Strikes Back<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Flying Theme from <em>E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><strong>JWFAN REVIEWS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Review by Jason LeBlanc <\/strong>(<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/forums\/index.php?\/topic\/26022-john-williams-film-night-boston-may-12-13-2016\/&amp;do=findComment&amp;comment=1245899\">original post<\/a>)<strong><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Despite having gone to Williams&#8217; Film Night concerts in May\/June every year since 2008, I didn&#8217;t think I&#8217;d be going this year at all until earlier in the week when a kind JWFanner sold me his ticket (both shows had originally sold out in a couple hours). I didn&#8217;t even ask or care where my seat would be, and when I got inside Symphony Hall I was directed to what ended up being one of the very front tables closest to the stage. As everyone else at my table was already sitting down when I arrived, the sole remaining chair was in front; I spent the entire evening with basically my feet touching the wall of the stage and being able to only really see about 4-5 members of the string section. If I looked to the left I could basically see the back of the conductor (had a decent view of their face when talking, though).<\/p>\n<p>I didn&#8217;t realize (actually, I probably just forgot) that John Williams was only conducting the second half; Keith Lockhart conducted the first. The program told me he&#8217;d be performing this:<\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;And The Oscar Goes To&#8230;&#8221;<\/em><br \/>\nMikl\u00f3s R\u00f3zsa &#8211; Prelude from Ben-Hur<br \/>\nJohn Barry &#8211; Love Theme from Out of Africa<br \/>\nAlan Jay Lerner &amp; Frederick Loewe &#8211; Main Title, Fountain Theme, and Chez Maxim Waltz from Gig<\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;A Tribute To Paramount Pictures&#8221;<\/em><br \/>\nAlan Silvestri &#8211; Suite from Forrest Gump<br \/>\nNino Rota &#8211; Selections from The Godfather<br \/>\nMichael Giacchino &#8211; Opening Sequence from Star Trek Into Darkness<\/p>\n<p>But that isn&#8217;t what ended up being played.<\/p>\n<p>The night began with Keith Lockhart taking the stage, saying &#8220;Thank You&#8221;, and launching right into the first piece:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mikl\u00f3s R\u00f3zsa &#8211; Prelude from <em>Ben-Hur<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This is a score I&#8217;m unfamiliar with, but I understand its importance in the golden age of film scores. It was nice, and a nice way to settle into the evening.<\/p>\n<p>Keith Lockhart then spoke for the first of several occasions:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;Good evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to the 131st season of the Boston Pops. And welcome to &#8220;Film Night&#8221;, this annual tradition here at Symphony Hall where we celebrate 90 years of great music performing the soundtracks of our lives and our culture. I have the great honor of being a warm-up act to the best person to be a warm-up act to today &#8211; perhaps the greatest film composer of all time, and the best known composer in the world, maestro John Williams.&#8221; *applause* &#8220;I love saying that because then I get this incredible applause&#8221; *laughter* &#8220;Let me try that again: John Williams&#8221; *applause* &#8220;And as it befits sharing a stage with such an august personage in Hollywood history, we&#8217;re starting off with some history-making music of its own. This is entirely all gold, the creme-de-la-creme, all the music you&#8217;re going to hear is from films that have won Best Picture in the Academy Awards &#8211; these first three selections at any rate. In a little while we&#8217;re going to go to one of the only 3 musicals to win both Best Picture and Best Score, Lerner and Loewe&#8217;s classic 1958 Gigi.&#8221; *several audience members murmur* &#8220;Oooh.&#8221; *laughter* *sings* &#8220;&#8216;Thank heaven for little girls&#8217; &#8211; yea. But before that, I&#8217;d like to play the very, very beautiful and expansive John Barry overture and theme to the movie Out Of Africa from 1985. Meryl Streep, Robert Redford, and the African landscape &#8211; who could ask for anything more?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>And with that, the two pieces he described got played<\/p>\n<p><strong>John Barry &#8211; Love Theme from <em>Out of Africa<\/em><br \/>\nAlan Jay Lerner &amp; Frederick Loewe &#8211;\u00a0Main Title, Fountain Theme, and Chez Maxim Waltz from <em>Gigi<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I liked the Out of Africa music quite a bit; It&#8217;s a score I&#8217;ve been meaning to listen to for years and now I have another excuse to do so. \u00a0Looking forward to finally hearing it. \u00a0The Gigi music didn&#8217;t make much of an impression on me. \u00a0When it was over, I expected him to grab the microphone and saying something about Paramount Pictures, but instead the screen came down from the ceiling, the opening logos of Star Trek Into Darkness started playing, and he launched the orchestra right into a 10 minute tour-de-force<\/p>\n<p><strong>Michael Giacchino &#8211; Opening Sequence from <em>Star Trek Into Darkness<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I have mixed feelings about this being a part of the program; \u00a0On the one hand, its a great score and a great part of the score, and really fun to watch and hear performed live, and nice to watch this part of the film with an audience. \u00a0But on the other hand, I&#8217;d seen it twice before in recent memory! \u00a0Two years ago we went to Philadelphia and saw the entire film scored live to projection, and last summer at Tanglewood, at a simliar concert where David Newman conducted the first half and John Williams the second, these same ten minutes of STID were performed as part of a Paramount tribute. \u00a0So I don&#8217;t have much to say here; In all three cases the music was performed well and the audience launched into loud applause as the piece ended and the Star Trek logo appeared on the screen to end the piece. \u00a0Good stuff!<\/p>\n<p>Lockhart, now sweating quite a bit, took the microphone to address us again.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;Medic!&#8221; \u00a0*laughter* \u00a0&#8220;Appreciate the thought. \u00a0John Towner Williams, um, I&#8217;ve been privileged to have as my predecessor and as my mentor for more than two decades now. \u00a0I&#8217;ve had the opportunity to perform some of the world&#8217;s not only greatest but most popular symphonic music written in this last half-century. \u00a0Think of this, if you will; The talkie was invented in 1929, so therefore we have basically nine decades of soundtracks to deal with. \u00a0Of those nine decades, John has written movie scores &#8211; great movie scores &#8211; in seven of them.&#8221; \u00a0*applause* \u00a0&#8220;And now, 5 Academy Awards later, 50 nominations for an Academy Award\u00a0(the most of any living human), he&#8217;s about to be recognized with the Director&#8217;s Guild Lifetime Achievement Award, the first composer in history to (inaudible)&#8221; \u00a0*applause* \u00a0&#8220;So I thought &#8216;Well why should John have all the fun of performing his music?&#8217; so I&#8217;m going to do a little of it too on this act of the program. \u00a0Some first of insights into the magical world both of childhood and the magical world of Harry Potter with music from John&#8217;s score to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer&#8217;s Stone set to scenes of the first 3 movies. \u00a0And then, a little bit from a little film called Raiders of the Lost Ark&#8221; \u00a0*applause* \u00a0&#8220;By the way, don&#8217;t let\u00a0this make you feel old: That film turns 35 years old this year. \u00a0And we are celebrating that by showing the entire film on this gorgeous big screen with live accompaniment by The Boston Pops, the entire score, on June 3rd and 4th so please come back and enjoy us then. \u00a0But first, Harry&#8217;s Wondrous World&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p><strong>John Williams &#8211; Harry&#8217;s Wondrous World from <em>Harry Potter and the Sorcerer&#8217;s Stone<\/em><br \/>\nJohn Williams &#8211; The Raiders March from <em>Raiders of the Lost Ark<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Not much to say about these two pieces either; They&#8217;ve been a staple of Pops shows for 35 and 15 years respectively, and I&#8217;m sure most everyone on stage had a lot of experience with them. \u00a0So they were performed quite well, with no interesting alterations made at all. \u00a0The video footage for the first piece was actually a montage of the first 4 Harry Potter films (not 3 as Lockhart said), and for the second was footage of the original trilogy of Indy films, edited quite nicely to the pace of the March. \u00a0You know, despite the fact I&#8217;ve heard The Raiders March live so many times now, its still always fun because its such a timeless piece of music!<\/p>\n<p>Lockhart said a few words before him and the orchestra left the stage:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;Thank you ladies and gentlemen! \u00a0I&#8217;m going to go get out of my jogging uniform and uh, enjoy the rest of the show. \u00a0I just wanted to tell you &#8216;Thank You&#8217; for being here and please join me in thanking out very generous sponsors who make it possible for us to play great music for you night in and night out here during the Symphony Hall Pops season. \u00a0The Boston Pops 2016 Season is sponsored in whole by Fidelity Investments, bravo and thank you Fidelity. \u00a0And the John Williams Film Night series is sponsored by Arbella Insurance Foundation, thank you Arbella. \u00a0We&#8217;ll be back in 20 minutes with John Williams and the Boston Pops!<\/p>\n<p>And intermission began.<\/p>\n<p>For the second half, the program listed the following:<\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;May The Force Be With You: The Music of Star Wars&#8221;<br \/>\n<\/em>Star Wars Main Title<br \/>\nRey&#8217;s Theme<br \/>\nMarch of the Resistance<br \/>\nPrincess Leia&#8217;s Theme<br \/>\nThe Asteroid Field<br \/>\nLuke and Leia<br \/>\nScherzo for X-Wings<br \/>\nThe Jedi Steps and Finale<\/p>\n<p>And that ended up being exactly what was played! \u00a0I wasn&#8217;t entire sure how to feel about an entirely Star Wars program at first, but by the end of the night I loved it! \u00a0The only thing that could have made the night better was a preview of BFG music, but in regards to what was played, I loved every minute of it!<\/p>\n<p>So John Williams took the stage to a standing ovation to start the second half of the program, and launched right into the first piece:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Star Wars Main Title<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This was of course actually the famous LP edit that combines the main title with the end credits. \u00a0I have heard this performed countless times, but like The Raiders March, it never really gets old. \u00a0It was performed with gusto and I think was a great way to start the second half and get the crowd excited for the rest of the show.<\/p>\n<p>Then John Williams took a microphone to speak to the audience, and had the audience captivated and laughing for what wouldn&#8217;t be the last time of the evening:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;Thank you so much, thank you ladies and gentlemen, firstly thank you for being with us tonight here at Symphony Hall, thank you for joining us. \u00a0I of course at the top of the list want to thank Keith Lockhart for being so generous and sharing the program tonight with me and allowing me to be here with you and our great orchestra which I love so much and miss when I&#8217;m in California.&#8221; \u00a0*laughter and applause* \u00a0&#8220;I&#8217;m truly, truly happy to be here. \u00a0This past year I&#8217;ve been working on The Force Awakens, which is I think the seventh Star Wars film. \u00a0And they&#8217;re making more of these films!&#8221; \u00a0*laughter* \u00a0&#8220;Kathy\u00a0Kennedy and our producers at Disney have said to me &#8216;Well, would you like to do the next one, the eight one next year?&#8217; \u00a0And I said &#8216;Well, I don&#8217;t know, I&#8217;m not sure if I can do that&#8217;, but &#8211; to be perfectly honest, you remember Rey in the film, played by Daisy Ridley &#8211; I said to them &#8216;I don&#8217;t want anyone else to write music for Rey'&#8221; \u00a0*laughter* \u00a0&#8220;I would be very jealous, because if you&#8217;ve seen the film, Daisy Ridley captured, she absolutely commanded the screen with Harrison Ford for two hours &#8211; an incredible performance with comedy and athleticism, and serious drama&#8230; so a very very gifted, extremely gifted girl, who I became crazy about&#8221; \u00a0*more laughter* \u00a0&#8220;from the first frame of the film. \u00a0And she came to our recording, I didn&#8217;t know who it was, here was this sweet girl, she was so young. \u00a0So I&#8217;ve written this theme for her, which is Rey&#8217;s Theme, we&#8217;ll played it for you now followed by The Resistance March from The Force Awakens. \u00a0Rey&#8217;s Theme: &#8220;<\/p>\n<p>I was laughing out loud at his story! \u00a0He&#8217;s never been shy about talking about his love of certain on-screen women he&#8217;s written music for (I remember him saying that Irina was his &#8220;type of girl&#8221; when introducing her theme at a concert in 2008) &#8211; And then I was thrilled that he\u00a0more or less confirmed he&#8217;s doing Episode 8! \u00a0I was in such a great mood now as the next two pieces were played<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rey&#8217;s Theme<br \/>\nMarch of the Resistance<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Well, these were fantastic!!! \u00a0Rey&#8217;s Theme is not only a highlight of The Force Awakens&#8217; score, but his 2010s output altogether, and this arrangement was lovely &#8211; It was mostly the same as the OST version, but seemed a little different in the middle and at the end. \u00a0Since I was sitting so close to the stage, the string section was the only players I could really see, and I noticed and was surprised by how often plucked strings were used for the piece. \u00a0The March of the Resistance was fantastic, totally rousing and full of energy, another great performance. \u00a0In fact, I&#8217;d say both of\u00a0these two pieces life had an energy to them that the studio recordings on the CD didn&#8217;t capture. \u00a0After the Resistance March, he took the microphone again to say:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;Thank you so much. \u00a0Here is Princess Leia&#8217;s Theme, from actually the first film. \u00a0I thought at the time that I wrote this film\u00a0that it was a love theme between Leia and Luke&#8230;&#8221; \u00a0*laughter* \u00a0&#8220;George Lucas, he didn&#8217;t tell us that &#8211; or he didn&#8217;t know it &#8211; so it was, in a way, a kind of a mistake.&#8221; \u00a0*laughter* \u00a0&#8220;But whenever I see Carrie Fisher, she says &#8216;it&#8217;s really OK'&#8221; \u00a0*more laughter* \u00a0&#8220;So I am wondering like the rest of you, maybe if you&#8217;re Star Wars fans at all, who Rey&#8217;s father can be. \u00a0Nobody seems to be willing to tell us, I haven&#8217;t asked JJ Abrams&#8230; I think it must be Luke.&#8221; \u00a0*more applause* \u00a0&#8220;You think so? \u00a0Your guess is every bit as good as mine. \u00a0Here is Princess Leia&#8217;s Theme from the first film, when I thought her lover was Luke.&#8221; \u00a0*laughter*<\/p>\n<p>SO funny! \u00a0I had never heard the story about Princess Leia&#8217;s Theme before, which was great! \u00a0He used it so nicely as a personal theme for Leia in the sequel scores, the fact that it started as a love theme for Luke and Leia is pretty funny. \u00a0And then for him to jump to random Rey speculation like he&#8217;s one of us was one of the most surprising things I&#8217;ve heard him say. \u00a0I think he really is captivated by Rey \/ Daisy! \u00a0His final commentary as he was turning back around had me unable to contain my laughter.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Princess Leia&#8217;s Theme<br \/>\nThe Asteroid Field<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Both were played very well! \u00a0Delicate passages can really be where you notice the difference of a live performance vs a studio recording that had multiple takes to perfect, and all the delicate passages in Princess Leia&#8217;s Theme were nailed. \u00a0The Asteroid Field was not the OST version but the great concert arrangement (like on the Gerhard CD), which was REALLY fun! \u00a0Another wonderful performance and highlight.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;Continuing this confusing romantic situation,&#8221; \u00a0*laughter* \u00a0&#8220;here is Luke and Leia&#8217;s Theme. \u00a0I think &#8211; I&#8217;m not sure if this was the second or third film, I can&#8217;t remember their status at the time &#8211; but this seemed suitable to them. \u00a0I&#8217;m still concerned\u00a0about Rey and her future, &#8221; \u00a0*huge laughter* \u00a0&#8220;not sure what to write next for her. \u00a0Here&#8217;s Luke and Leia, back a few years&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>If this isn&#8217;t confirmation that Williams is intending to score Episode 8, I don&#8217;t know what is. \u00a0Hooray!! \u00a0The fact that he brought up Rey AND writing for her again seems to me he&#8217;s not only intending to do it, but its been on his mind as of late too. \u00a0Excellent! \u00a0And while I suppose it could be mildly concerning that he doesn&#8217;t remember which Star Wars film Luke and Leia was written for, it was what, 60 films ago, not to mention 33 years, so I am not concerned.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Luke and Leia<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ve heard this one performed multiple times in concert now as well, so don&#8217;t have much to say about it except that its always lovely.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;Here&#8217;s a little piece: Scherzo for X-Wings. \u00a0I wanted to play this because when you see the movie at the end, and the X-Wing fighters are flying through that, what we call a trench, and they&#8217;re being pursued and trying to get to their targets, and its\u00a0very loud, this is the music we play as the X-Wings go through the trench. \u00a0But you can&#8217;t hear too much of it, because the\u00a0sound effects are a little bit loud. \u00a0So I always think its fun to&#8230; I guess really to brag a little bit in a funny way&#8230;. but, when we go to the movies, and we hear an orchestra like this, an\u00a0absolute\u00a0virtuoso orchestra &#8211; again what they do is quite incredible. \u00a0&#8221; \u00a0*applause cuts him off* \u00a0&#8220;So we go to the movies and all this virtuosity happens and we really don&#8217;t hear it most of the time. \u00a0But if we take it away from the film, [the film] loses so much energy. \u00a0In any case, here&#8217;s what you might have heard as the X-Wings flies through the trenches, this was the scherzo that accompanied it&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The whole audience enjoyed his comments a lot once again! \u00a0I don&#8217;t know if we&#8217;ve ever heard Williams actually discuss the balance of music and sound effects in films, let alone his films, let alone a Star Wars film! \u00a0So funny.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Scherzo for X-Wings<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Brilliant, another highlight of the night! \u00a0It was performed faster than the CD version and sounded great! \u00a0The applause after this piece was probably the longest so far.<\/p>\n<p>At this point the screen was lowered from the ceiling for the first time of the second half, and John Williams grabbed the mic to introduce the final piece of the main program:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;Here is something called The Jedi Steps and Finale. \u00a0It&#8217;s a composite of some of the scenes from The Force Awakens which I thought you might enjoy, seeing in this form and hearing this assemblage of music. \u00a0So here is &#8211; it&#8217;s actually the end credits of the film, musically, what you&#8217;re about to hear, and its accompanied by a very\u00a0cleverly done film clip that generally follows the narrative of the film which you will see if you remember. \u00a0Here is Jedi Steps and Finale&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>I loved the way Williams emphasized &#8220;might&#8221; in &#8220;which I thought you <em>might<\/em> enjoy&#8221; &#8211; he&#8217;s so humble!<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Jedi Steps and Finale<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Wow! \u00a0Probably the absolute true highlight of the night. An almost\u00a010 minute tour de force that one-upped the 10-minute performance from Lockhart&#8217;s half. \u00a0This is not only a brilliant suite of all the new themes (plus the one-off Steps melody, plus the classic End Credits intro and new Force and Luke theme arrangements) for the CD and film itself, but its such a great concert piece too! \u00a0I had chills as soon as it began and the &#8220;Jedi Steps&#8221; melody was played perfectly, and the chills continued as the Force Theme came in. \u00a0That&#8217;s the interesting thing about The Force Theme &#8211; though its a huge part of all the scores, its actually not a part of most of the concert selections Williams ever plays. \u00a0So it was REALLY great to hear it live, in this great arrangement from the end of the film.<\/p>\n<p>And the greatness continued through the amazing end credits arrangement, of course including the Rey&#8217;s Theme arrangement (that I like more than the separate arrangement that got its own track), Kylo&#8217;s theme (very nice to hear bad guy music live that isn&#8217;t Darth Vader!), Finn, Poe, Rey again and the brilliant ending. \u00a0The Finn&#8217;s Theme part was extended &#8211; I was expecting the &#8220;headline news!&#8221; breakdown to come in at one point, but there was a few more bars of Finn&#8217;s Theme first before it did. \u00a0The ending with Luke&#8217;s theme was a perfect way to end the main program.<\/p>\n<p>I should mention the video, which was extremely well done! \u00a0It was a mostly chronological arrangement of scenes from the film, perfectly set to the music. \u00a0That doesn&#8217;t mean it was necessarily always showing the same character as the theme being played, but it always fit in tone. \u00a0I&#8217;d love to have this video arrangement available somehow, or at least re-created by a fan so we could sync it to the album track, cause it was seriously well done! \u00a0The very ending with Rey holding out to the lightsaber to Luke as the cool quiet new version of his theme played was really cool (and thankfully avoided that awful final helicopter shot!)<\/p>\n<p>The applause after this piece was again the longest yet, and quickly turned into a standing ovation as Williams walked off the stage &#8211; but he came back in almost right away to more and more raucous applause.<\/p>\n<p>Before starting the first encore, he quickly grabbed the mic to say:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;Thank you so much, its so nice of you. \u00a0This is Yoda&#8217;s Theme&#8221; \u00a0*applause* \u00a0&#8220;Also,\u00a0I don&#8217;t know if he will reappear or not!&#8230; It&#8217;s possible. \u00a0Here is Yoda&#8217;s Theme&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Yoda&#8217;s Theme<br \/>\nThe Imperial March<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ve heard both of these live before too, and there was nothing new done to them here, but its always nice to hear them. \u00a0I think the Boston Pops have probably played the Imperial March at least once a year for 36 years, and most of the guys on stage could do it without any sheet music in front of them. \u00a0After Imperial March, he walked off the stage again during another standing ovation, and when he came back I wasn&#8217;t sure if he&#8217;s play another piece or just do his classic &#8220;sleepy time&#8221; indication, but he came back and thanked us again before performing another classic:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Flying (from E.T.)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It was the OST arrangement, not the later concert arrangement (with the new ending), which was fine by me! \u00a0I have loved this music forever, and I love that whenever the Pops do it they have the lights in the Hall coordinated for it, and it was as great as always this time. \u00a0After this, Williams left, came back to do his &#8220;sleepy time&#8221; indicator, then left for the final time to the final standing ovation and the concert came to an end. \u00a0A wonderful, wonderful night all around!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">____________<\/p>\n<p><strong>EXTERNAL REVIEWS<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.billboard.com\/articles\/news\/7370500\/john-williams-boston-pops-orchestra-star-wars-film-night\" target=\"_blank\">Billboard<\/a> &#8211; Even while\u00a0performing in front of a rapt crowd (not to mention his staggering 50 Oscar nominations), Williams didn&#8217;t treat the experience as a loose victory lap. With the exception of a few moments, the orchestra executed his material (particularly from the original trilogy) with an astonishing exactitude. If you hadn&#8217;t been watching him deftly conduct the assortment of brass, strings and everything else in front of your eyes, you could almost be convinced you were listening to the original soundtrack recordings &#8212; the performances were\u00a0that precise. &#8211; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aintitcool.com\/node\/75180\" target=\"_blank\">Full review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aintitcool.com\/node\/75180\" target=\"_blank\">Aint It Cool<\/a> &#8211; I didn\u2019t take an exact count, but Maestro Williams received at least six standing ovations from the enthusiastic and knowledgable crowd. Mozart himself could have walked out and I don\u2019t think the audience would have been as excited as they were to welcome John Williams back to Symphony Hall. &#8211; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aintitcool.com\/node\/75180\" target=\"_blank\">Full review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Reports<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">For over 90 minutes, the composer who has scored all seven Star Wars movies to date performed the heroic, soaring \u201cStar Wars Main Title\u201d, knocked it out of the park with fan favorites such as \u201cThe Imperial March,\u201d and went on to conduct material from the recent Star Wars: The Force Awakens film. In between sets, he joked that his \u201cScherzo for X-Wings\u201d in Star Wars: Force Awakens was drowned out by the special effects in the film. Williams delivered the highlight of evening as scenes from \u2018The Force Awakens\u2019 film were projected on a large screen along with the amazing musical composition he wrote for the film\u2019s finale. He finally ended the evenings performance with encores of two additional \u201cStar Wars\u201d pieces as well. &#8211; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.starwarsnewsnet.com\/2016\/05\/john-williams-shares-his-best-guess-on-reys-family-tree.html\" target=\"_blank\">Full article<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">In between the music the soft spoken Williams addressed the enthusiastic audience, playfully recalling writing his Luke and Leia piece as a love theme before knowing any better. It was within one of these breaks in the performance that Williams discussed being asked by Kathleen Kennedy to score Rian Johnson\u2019s currently in production, Episode VIII. Williams confided that he wasn\u2019t sure he was up to it, but left the door open by saying that he doesn\u2019t want anyone else to write music for Rey because he\u2019d be jealous. &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/indierevolver.com\/2016\/05\/13\/john-williams-talks-star-wars-episode-viii-and-reys-father\/\" target=\"_blank\">Full article<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The program was excellent, loved hearing four huge new Star Wars pieces live. \u00a0I&#8217;m pretty sure they were all a little different from their CD counterparts. But what made it extra\u00a0special was Williams&#8217; banter in between pieces; it really was the best and funniest I&#8217;ve\u00a0seen him! His comments were all Star Wars related; he talked about how much he loved writing for Rey and how smitten he is by Daisy Ridley, how he wrote Leia&#8217;s theme as a love theme (I&#8217;d never heard that before!), speculated about Rey&#8217;s parentage, and more or less confirmed he&#8217;s doing Episode 8! All his stories were ones I hadn&#8217;t heard before, it was great! &#8211; (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/forums\/index.php?\/topic\/26022-john-williams-film-night-boston-may-12-13-2016\/&amp;do=findComment&amp;comment=1245463\">original post<\/a>)<\/p>\n<div class=\"ipsType_normal ipsType_richText ipsContained\" data-role=\"commentContent\" data-controller=\"core.front.core.lightboxedImages\">\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">I went to the Thursday night show and it was great.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">That being said, it&#8217;s always hard to come up with disappointments from these shows, I mean they are magical evenings that I wish everyone could take the chance to experience.\u00a0\u00a0 And I didn&#8217;t even mind that John Williams only conducted half of the night.\u00a0 I understand with his age and everything.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">But I was just disappointed in the fact that it turned into a Star Wars night, not a Film Night.\u00a0 I was honestly shocked that JW&#8217;s whole set (excluding one piece) was ALL Star Wars.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Don&#8217;t get me wrong, it was amazing to hear The Asteroid Field and Jedi Steps, and Rey&#8217;s Theme (which was fucking incredible).\u00a0 But it was just too much Star Wars.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The Yoda&#8217;s Theme\/Imperial March\/ Flying Theme from E.T. ENCORE was nice.\u00a0 But I&#8217;ve heard that same encore before.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Highlight of the night for me was Rey&#8217;s Theme, The Asteroid Field, and the opening to Star Trek Into Darkness.\u00a0 That was awesome.\u00a0 I was hoping we would get the Forest Gump suite that was on the program, but I&#8217;m guessing the Friday Night show got that.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">All in all, it was still amazing as usual. &#8211; (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/forums\/index.php?\/topic\/26022-john-williams-film-night-boston-may-12-13-2016\/&amp;do=findComment&amp;comment=1246091\">original post<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px; text-align: center;\">____________<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>RELATED TWEETS<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><div class=\"ose- ose-uid-d6bbc49b8a9a898f0875daa28b25ed05 ose-embedpress-responsive\" style=\"width:600px; height:550px; max-height:550px; max-width:100%; display:inline-block;\">https:\/\/twitter.com\/Loriann_Q\/status\/730928758866255873<\/div><\/p>\n<p><div class=\"ose-twitter ose-uid-279f6902f2921e7443ba36ed927e72f8 ose-embedpress-responsive\" style=\"width:600px; height:550px; max-height:550px; max-width:100%; display:inline-block;\"><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"600\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Don&#39;t mind me when John Williams comes on stage and blows my mind tonight... <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/wXdhg39ltF\">pic.twitter.com\/wXdhg39ltF<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Indie Revolver (@IndieRevolver) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/IndieRevolver\/status\/730910707512967168?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 13, 2016<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/div><\/p>\n<p><div class=\"ose-twitter ose-uid-b0d4c99a30a0d6b8598aca637b0ef910 ose-embedpress-responsive\" style=\"width:600px; height:550px; max-height:550px; max-width:100%; display:inline-block;\"><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"600\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/JohnWilliams?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#JohnWilliams<\/a> just gushed over <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/DaisyRidley?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#DaisyRidley<\/a>. &quot;I&#39;m crazy about her... I don&#39;t want anyone else writing music for Rey. I&#39;d be very jealous.&quot;<\/p>&mdash; John Orquiola \ud83d\udd96 (@BackoftheHead) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BackoftheHead\/status\/730930528182996996?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 13, 2016<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/div><\/p>\n<p><div class=\"ose- ose-uid-0d536cb1bc23cc4b2a06578f0699026e ose-embedpress-responsive\" style=\"width:600px; height:550px; max-height:550px; max-width:100%; display:inline-block;\">https:\/\/twitter.com\/theshmaylor\/status\/730910364611809280<\/div><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>____________<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>CONCERT PHOTOS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheBostonPops\/photos\/a.288890774563811.70695.288487707937451\/976646399121575\/?type=3&amp;theater\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-8958\" src=\"http:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/JWBoston2016_1.jpg\" alt=\"JWBoston2016_1\" width=\"600\" height=\"397\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/JWBoston2016_1.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/JWBoston2016_1-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/JWBoston2016_1-560x371.jpg 560w, https:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/JWBoston2016_1-260x172.jpg 260w, https:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/JWBoston2016_1-160x106.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheBostonPops\/photos\/pb.288487707937451.-2207520000.1463247456.\/976189449167270\/?type=3&amp;theater\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-8961\" src=\"http:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/JWBoston2016_5.jpg\" alt=\"JWBoston2016_5\" width=\"560\" height=\"407\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/JWBoston2016_5.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/JWBoston2016_5-300x218.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/JWBoston2016_5-560x407.jpg 560w, https:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/JWBoston2016_5-260x189.jpg 260w, https:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/JWBoston2016_5-160x116.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheBostonPops\/photos\/pb.288487707937451.-2207520000.1463247456.\/976180205834861\/?type=3&amp;theater\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-8962\" src=\"http:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/JWBoston2016_6.jpg\" alt=\"JWBoston2016_6\" width=\"560\" height=\"404\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/JWBoston2016_6.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/JWBoston2016_6-300x217.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/JWBoston2016_6-560x404.jpg 560w, https:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/JWBoston2016_6-260x188.jpg 260w, https:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/JWBoston2016_6-160x115.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-8959\" src=\"http:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/JWBoston2016_2.jpeg\" alt=\"JWBoston2016_2\" width=\"560\" height=\"746\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/JWBoston2016_2.jpeg 563w, https:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/JWBoston2016_2-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/JWBoston2016_2-560x746.jpeg 560w, https:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/JWBoston2016_2-260x346.jpeg 260w, https:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/JWBoston2016_2-160x213.jpeg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>NEW PHOTOS<\/strong><\/span> (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/forums\/index.php?\/topic\/26022-john-williams-film-night-boston-may-12-13-2016\/&amp;do=findComment&amp;comment=1245863\">Original forum post<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-8976\" src=\"http:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/JWBoston2016_8.png\" alt=\"JWBoston2016_8\" width=\"1000\" height=\"619\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/JWBoston2016_8.png 1000w, https:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/JWBoston2016_8-300x186.png 300w, https:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/JWBoston2016_8-768x475.png 768w, https:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/JWBoston2016_8-560x347.png 560w, https:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/JWBoston2016_8-260x161.png 260w, https:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/JWBoston2016_8-160x99.png 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-8977\" src=\"http:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/JWBoston2016_9.jpg\" alt=\"JWBoston2016_9\" width=\"560\" height=\"746\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/JWBoston2016_9.jpg 563w, https:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/JWBoston2016_9-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/JWBoston2016_9-560x746.jpg 560w, https:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/JWBoston2016_9-260x346.jpg 260w, https:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/JWBoston2016_9-160x213.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\" \/><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-8978\" src=\"http:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/JWBoston2016_10.jpg\" alt=\"JWBoston2016_10\" width=\"560\" height=\"746\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/JWBoston2016_10.jpg 563w, https:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/JWBoston2016_10-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/JWBoston2016_10-560x746.jpg 560w, https:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/JWBoston2016_10-260x346.jpg 260w, https:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/JWBoston2016_10-160x213.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\" \/><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-8979\" src=\"http:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/JWBoston2016_11.jpg\" alt=\"JWBoston2016_11\" width=\"560\" height=\"746\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/JWBoston2016_11.jpg 563w, https:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/JWBoston2016_11-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/JWBoston2016_11-560x746.jpg 560w, https:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/JWBoston2016_11-260x346.jpg 260w, https:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/JWBoston2016_11-160x213.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jwfan.com\/forums\/index.php?\/topic\/26022-john-williams-film-night-boston-may-12-13-2016\/&amp;do=findComment&amp;comment=1245453\">Discuss this topic in our forums<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>FULL CONCERT NOW AVAILABLE AT WGBH.ORG &#8212; Direct link to MP3 stream \u201cJOHN WILLIAMS\u2019 FILM NIGHT\u201d May 12 &amp; 13, 2016, Boston, MA The Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra conducted by Keith Lockhart and JOHN WILLIAMS CONCERT PROGRAM Keith Lockhart Conducting:&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"more-link-p\"><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/jwfan.com\/?p=8955\">Read more &rarr;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,44,51],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8955","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-concert-reviews","category-star-wars-episode-vii","category-star-wars-episode-viii"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jwfan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8955","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jwfan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jwfan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jwfan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jwfan.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8955"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/jwfan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8955\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9144,"href":"https:\/\/jwfan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8955\/revisions\/9144"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jwfan.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8955"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jwfan.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8955"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jwfan.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8955"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}