An Experience of a Lifetime!

Wow... The concert was amazing... That's all I can think to describe it... AMAZING! It was such an experience to be there, to see John Williams live, and actually feel the music, and watch him conduct... To sit in Symphony Hall in Chicago, amid young and old, seeing the lights, listening to a professional orchestra... Just recalling the memory sends shivers up my spine... *happy sigh* I went with Melanie, Megan, Scott, Mihori, Chelsea, and Melanie's friend Trina.

14 CURTAIN CALLS! THAT'S HOW AMAZING IT WAS!!!!! FOURTEEN!!!!! AND NOT JUST THAT... *THREE* ENCORES!!!!!!!!! THREE!!!!!!!! THE GREATNESS THAT IS JOHN WILLIAMS AND HIS MUSIC IS WONDER BEYOND THAT WHICH WORDS CAN EXPRESS!!! HE HAD TO PHYSICALLY REMOVE THE CONCERTMASTER FROM THE STAGE TO INDICATE THAT THE CONCERT WAS OVER!!!!! :-D

Here is a low down on the concert, with a link to a midi recording of each piece, so maybe you can get some idea of the music... I regret that a midi recording is all I have to offer... >:-( It does the music of John Williams a very great injustice...

Chicago Symphony Orchestra John Williams, conductor

Program

Williams
The Cowboys Overture
This piece just blew me away... The Wartburg Wind Ensemble played it last year, so I had heard a small part of it when I had sat in on rehearsal... I love how his music can convey such a strong feeling of power. When it started, it brought tears to my eyes and I could not stop grinning! The trombones and upper voices were the big feature in this piece, and the syncopation was catchy! :-) It sounds dorky, (and it is) but while listening to this piece, my mind, on total over-excited mode was like: "Wow!!! COWBOYS ARE COOL! I want to be a cowboy!!! Then I could ride around on a horse all day, listening to cool music like this!!!! Where's my sunset?! Yee-haw!!!"

Williams
Excerpts from Close Encounters of the Third Kind
I haven't seen this movie, but the music was creepy! John Williams gave the downbeat, and for about 5 seconds, there was no sound... Then you felt it... Then, if you listened REALLY hard, you could begin to hear the faint sound of the strings... And it built and built and BUILT until BOOM! The string basses, and low brass completed the crescendo. It was a more abstract piece, but still absolutely brilliant. :-D

Williams
Two pieces from War of the Worlds
-Escape from the City
-Epilogue
(I couldn't find midi music to the pieces performed...) John Williams told the audience that while Close Encounters of a Third Kind depicts the arrival of friendly aliens, War of the Worlds, based on H. G. Wells 'science-fiction story, is about the arrival of unfriendly aliens. This music was loud and ominous right from the start. I had seen this movie over the summer with Jessica; however, I am not as familiar with this score... The music still creeped me out, though! I'm not a fan of 'medical' type gore, and there was lots of that in this movie. It featured a lot of low-voiced instruments. It was one of those pieces that you listen to and think: "Wow.... POWER!!!"

A Tribute to Three Legendary Composers:

Goldsmith
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
I've never been a big fan of the Star Trek series. It just didn't appeal to me... I like the impossibility of STAR WARS as opposed to "what might happen". However, the music was adventurous sounding... Like: "Here we go! We are plowing through the endless voids of space, boldly going where no man has gone before! Go Enterprise!" It's a good high brass, upper strings piece.

Raksin, arr. Morley
Laura
This is supposedly one of the most beautiful love songs ever written, and I agree... It was a smooth, touching piece... It makes you think of candlelight dinners and chocolate... Mmmm... :-) Watching John Williams conduct this was also touching. Seeing the gestures and facial expressions he used to convey how he wanted the orchestra to sound was really great... Wow.... *sigh*

Bernstein
Theme from The Magnificent Seven
ANOTHER COWBOY SONG!!! YEE-HAW!!!! :-D I loved it!!!! I remember watching bits and pieces of this movie with my brother Matthew, and asking him a million times what was happening and who was who, and doing what.... (I just asked Rachel if Charleton Heston or Cary Grant was in this movie... The answer is no... That was Big Country... It's Yul Brenner who is in this one...) I love listening to the syncopation! It implies stagecoaches, dust, gold mining, cattle rustlin', and cactus... This is another piece during which I could not stop smiling... HOWEVER! I'm still waiting for my horse and sunset.... lol....

Newman
Conquest from Captain from Castile
arr. Williams
It was really neat! It was a Spanish-themed, so it was VERY heavy on high brass, and high strings. Amazing snare drum part... Go percussion! It's very articulate, with such a great style... Plus it's a march, so it had a steady beat, and a good drive. It was almost a Spanish cowboy piece... :-)

Intermission




-Okay, so it's actually 12:20 am and I'm really tired... I'll have to finish later... *sigh*