Unless you've been living under a rock the last 20 years you are already well aware of the global phenomenon of J.K. Rollings' fantasy book series that centers on the young wizard Harry Potter and the subsequent Warner Brothers film adaptations.
The Phoenix Symphony has featured the music from the Potter films in previous concerts and starting last season they've also been presenting the feature films, in order, projected in their entirety on a large screen over the Symphony Hall stage with the Symphony accompanying the film playing the soundtrack live. Last season they kicked off the series with the first two film adaptations and this season they are presenting the third and fourth films.
Last week brought the third screen adaptation Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban to the Symphony Hall stage. I'll admit that this film is my favorite of the 8 in the series and the John Williams score, the last that he wrote for the Potter films, is full of a wide range of memorable themes and varying musical styles. Williams received an Oscar nomination for his score which, like the film, is more adventurous than the two previous entries in the series.
The 2004 movie follows the adventures of teenager Harry and his close friends, and fellow wizards, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger and takes place over their third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It was the film to introduce such memorable characters as Sirius Black, Harry's godfather, the evil demontors, who are the guards of Azkaban prison which Sirius has recently escaped from, as well as the mystical Marauder's Map, which allows the person holding it to see where anyone is within the grounds of Hogwarts and the fast moving, invisible triple-decker Knight's Bus that transports wizards around. Directed by Alfonso Cuarón, who took over the reigns from Chris Columbus, who helmed the first two films, the movie features a more mature tone and a fairly complex plot.
John Jesensky, the conductor for this concert, has past experience conducting other live film scores for CineConcerts, the company founded in 2013 that presents the Potter series, plus several other famous films including The Godfather, with live orchestral accompaniment around the world. Jesensky's expert conducting of the Phoenix Symphony and his proficient musicianship and playful nature worked exceedingly well in ensuring the entire film presentation came across exceptionally.
You might wonder how a live orchestra can stay in sync with a film that is being projected over their heads with dozens of soundtrack cues that run from several minutes to just a few seconds. It's all well orchestrated with a monitor situated directly in front of the conductor that displays the film while it's also being projected overhead. The image on the monitor has the addition of numbers that tie to the bars of the score and flashing symbols that note both the beginning and end of a cue as well as the tempo of each musical piece. While those specific elements may make it seem easy to ensure the orchestra is always in sync, having to be knowledgeable of the film while also constantly watching the monitor and at the same time watching the score, while also focusing on the specific requirements of conducting a large orchestra, takes a special skill and Jesensky was more than up to the challenge.
John Williams’ superb score for the film features the now familiar “Hedwig’s Theme” plus an abundance of themes and cues that run the range from subtle to grandiose, including the high spirited “The Knight Bus,” the frightening “Apparition on the Train”, which introduces the Dementors, the beautiful “A Window to the Past” and the dark and brooding “The Werewolf Scene.” The score gives solos for just about every instrument and section within the orchestra and the Phoenix Symphony excelled in delivering every nuance and high flying moment of the score with skill.
Williams' score also includes a few moments that feature a chorus, including the musical piece “Double Trouble”, which includes the song "Something Wicked this Way Comes." The Phoenix Symphony Chorus provided rich vocals for these sections at the concert. Also, “Mischief Managed!”, a summary of the score’s main themes which plays over the end credits, was the perfect way to end this event since it wraps up the film's major themes and also gives the entire orchestra an expanded musical section, that runs over 10 minutes, to demonstrate their exceptional skills.
The Phoenix Symphony Orchestra will be presenting the next film in the Potter franchise, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, from April 26-28 as well as Star Wars Ep.IV: A New Hope, also with live orchestra accompaniment as the entire film plays overhead, from March 15-March 17
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