Lenox — It has been such a reliable crowd pleaser that it is now a two-night affair at Tanglewood: John Williams’ Film Night returns on August 2 and 3 with conductors Ken-David Masur and David Newman leading the Boston Pops Orchestra, Newman filling in for John Williams in the program’s second half. Williams is unable to perform in these concerts due to a recent health concern, but he is expected to make a full recovery. The program consists of film clips and music from the silver screen, with an emphasis on Hollywood’s golden age.
Celebrities abound at Tanglewood. Most of them are world-famous soloists, and there are too many to name. But there is another kind of celebrity at the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra: people who were children when they first walked the grounds, who studied at Boston University Tanglewood Institute, became fellows of the Tanglewood Music Center, then Assistant and Associate Conductors of the BSO, and from there went on to illustrious careers with major orchestras. Only one person fits this description: Ken-David Masur, conductor of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra for the last five years.
When Masur moved to Wisconsin after completing his assignment as Associate Conductor of the BSO, his standing within the organization was high, and, as expected, he has guest conducted at Tanglewood a number of times since then. For example: On John Williams’ 90th birthday, Masur led the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Branford Marsalis, and James Taylor in a concert honoring him at Tanglewood.
Masur has conducted such distinguished orchestras as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, l’Orchestre National de France, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony, National Philharmonic of Russia, and others throughout the United States, France, Germany, Korea, Japan, and Scandinavia.
Last season, Masur made his New York Philharmonic debut in a gala program featuring John Williams and Steven Spielberg.
Come to think of it, David Newman also is a unique type of celebrity at Tanglewood, where famous conductors take the podium every weekend. But Newman’s fame comes straight from Hollywood: He is the son of nine-time Oscar-winning composer Alfred Newman and the composer of 110 films. He has appeared with such leading orchestras as the New York and Los Angeles philharmonics, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra, San Diego Symphony, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, and Cleveland Orchestra — not to mention the Boston Pops. In fall 2017, Newman conducted the world premiere of the New York Philharmonic’s concert series featuring John Williams’s music from Star Wars Episodes IV, V, VI, and VII.
Although he is best known for his film scores, Newman also composes for the concert hall and has had works performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, and Long Beach Symphony, at such venues as the Ravinia Festival, Spoleto Festival USA, and Chicago’s Grant Park Music Festival.
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Hear the Boston Pops Orchestra present John Williams’ Film Night on Friday, August 2 and Saturday, August 3, with Ken-David Masur and David Newman conducting. Tickets are available here. On Sunday, August 4, Joshua Bell, Kirill Gerstein, and Steven Isserlis headline an all-Beethoven program featuring Beethoven’s Triple Concerto and Symphony No. 4. Tickets for Sunday’s concert are available here.
