Lenox
Question: What does John Williams have in common with recent Tanglewood performers James Taylor, Dolly Parton, and Brian Wilson?
Answer: (1) His greatest hits fill a catalog the size of a small galaxy, (2) he takes simple pleasure in performing them, and (3) Tanglewood audiences adore him for it.
Williams’ fans adored him more than ever on the occasion of this year’s Film Night at Tanglewood because last summer, as a result of a back injury, he had to withdraw from all his scheduled appearances. That’s why, on Saturday, August 13, the crowd expressed their delight in no uncertain terms when they watched Williams take the stage and step up to the podium. The uproar was unprecedented.
When John Williams invites a conductor to substitute for him or to share the podium, you can be certain of their qualifications. Conductor Richard Kaufman was a natural choice to serve as Williams’ opening act. Having played violin on many of his scoring sessions, Kaufman has an unusually deep technical understanding of Williams’ music. His film and television production experience is extensive, and he is highly respected in the movie business.
The program’s first half was about flight: “UP, UP, AND AWAY: THE MOVIES TAKE FLIGHT.” It consisted mainly of music Williams wrote for various cinematic flying scenes, but it also included excerpts from three of his favorite film composers, Henry Mancini, Franz Waxman, and John Barry.
Following Intermission, an unscheduled fireworks display (in the form of a lightning storm) over Stockbridge Bowl delayed the concert’s second half. But it was only a delay: Nothing on the program was omitted, and Williams gave a generous and unhurried encore that included the biggest crowd pleaser of the evening, music from the “Harry Potter” movies.
In the show’s second half, Williams conducted his “Olympic Fanfare and Theme,” his “Song for World Peace,” and several of his favorite Star Wars themes. Williams and the Boston Pops performed the fanfare and Star Wars cues live to picture, which is always an amazing spectacle. (Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops will repeat the trick on August 26 when they play the entire score to “Raiders of the Lost Ark” live to picture.)
Several months ago, rumor had it that after “The Force Awakens,” Williams would not be scoring any of the upcoming Star Wars films. But on Saturday, August 13, he expressed a keen interest in doing so, mainly, he told the crowd, because he’s so fond of actress Daisy Ridley that he can’t bear the thought of anyone else writing music for her. (Ms. Ridley played Rey in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”) When he addresses the crowd, Williams reveals himself to be everyone’s kindly grandfather. Kindly but mischievous.
As a composer of film music, John Williams is peerless. But he is Everyman when it comes to conducting it. On the podium, he enjoys himself at least as much as the audience does. There’s a childlike quality about John Williams that’s been crucial to his success over the past six decades. He knows how to think like a ten-year-old moviegoer when he wants to connect with a ten-year-old moviegoer. (Before scoring it, he thought “Star Wars” was a children’s movie.) John Williams panders to no one but himself and his director. When he writes music for ten-year-olds, he writes music for his inner ten-year-old. Writing music for stories of good versus evil, Williams says, is “an opportunity probably that is, maybe sadly, only in the craft of film scoring any more. I mean, where else can you do that?”
The reason John Williams enjoys performing his old hits is that he is a fan of his own music, not because he wrote it, and not because of an inflated ego. He loves his own scores simply because he loves highly effective film music, no matter who writes it. John Williams would have to twist his mind into a bizarre pretzel shape before he’d be able to love all great film music but his own.
