Does John Williams merit the title of the king of movie music?
This was a question asked and answered in the Caird Hall this week, as the Royal Scottish National Orchestra gave an immaculate performance of the composer’s best loved scores.
Under the baton of Richard Kaufman, the concert left a huge audience in no doubt that all the hype is justified and that he is the No1 in his field.
What Kaufman doesn’t know about the music of Williams could be written on the back of a stamp. His personal anecdotes and quotes from the top movie directors Williams worked with were key to fusing the musical contents of the concert together.
What I liked particularly was the mix of the well-known and the not-so-familiar. In fact, it was one rare piece of music that might have topped the bill had it not been up against strong opposition.
Williams’ score for Minority Report is never heard as it’s part of the composer’s private collection.
Luckily, Kaufman’s close association with him meant that the score was released for public consumption – and what a beautiful piece of music it is.
It was also the perfect contrast to the opening Olympic Fanfare, written for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
Another rarity was music from Catch Me If You Can, a wonderful jazzy score for alto sax, vibes and bass. The third piece new to us all – well it was a world premier! – was Alice Mills’ Love On The Wing, winner of the RSNO’s Film Composers Lab for aspiring film composers.
Dream come true for fledgling composer
This was a dream moment for Alice to be on the same bill as Williams, but she did herself proud with a score that had the same musical imagery as those of the great man himself.
Along with these gems were classics from Harry Potter, E.T., Hook and Indiana Jones, whose scores were delivered with a mixture of power and passion by a huge RSNO.
Perhaps the most popular for the audience was the E.T. score, but for me it was the chilling duh-dah, dud-dah theme from Jaws. This music was written 50 years ago, but it is still as fresh as new paint.
There was no more fitting way to end this evening of musical movie magic than with a selection from Star Wars. Its main theme is unmistakable in its grandeur and the whole score – and the ones than came before it – made this an evening to remember.
I love seeing the RSNO in a different guise and judging by the wonderful performance from each and every one of them, they very much relish this journey into a new musical genre.
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