by Gil Benbrook
In the documentary "Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy," it's mentioned that when director George Lucas screened a rough cut of his now famous first film in the series, 1977's Star Wars, for a few of his close friends, it didn't exactly receive overwhelming praise. It wasn't until later, once the completed special effects and the beloved score by John Williams was added that the movie truly came together and would go on to become the phenomenon that we know today.
Over four performances last weekend, the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra screened Star Wars: A New Hope with the entire score for the movie played live in sync to the film. It proved to be a phenomenal event, not just for fans of the film but also for those who know the Williams score note by note from the best selling soundtrack album. Though, a few cuts on that album are slightly different from the pieces used in the actual film which made hearing the score played live that much more intriguing.
Williams has said that he was told by Lucas that the score should provide "an emotional anchor" to the film so he set about creating specific themes to be used for the various characters in the movie as well as ones that would heighten the many large scale action sequences. Williams composed an old fashioned symphonic score which at a time when disco music was the norm was a bit out of the ordinary. Williams recorded the film score with the London Symphony Orchestra over just 12 days and his sweeping and symphonic masterpiece would go on to win him an Oscar.
In a time when so many people watch films on their mobile devices, it was nice to see this iconic film projected on the large screen and played by the Phoenix Symphony, which never fails to impress with their exceptional musical skills and impressive clarity of the acoustics at their many Symphony Hall concerts. I'm sure there were many young people in the audience who've never had the chance to see this particular film on such a large screen which only added to the enjoyment. I also can't remember the last time I saw this film projected as large and noticed details in the backgrounds, spaceships and droids I don't remember seeing before.
Much of Williams' score is brass heavy and seems to be quite a work out for the entire brass section, though you'd never notice it from the succinct musical notes and precision heard during the concert. There are also many iconic moments in the score, from the haunting melody of "Princess Leia's Theme" to the sense of longing for adventure and the duty of responsibility that underscores Luke Skywalker's predicament in "Binary Sunset," and so many other beloved themes which feature solo moments for the clarinet, oboe, violin, percussion and just about every instrument in the orchestra.
Each of these iconic pieces was met with approval from the Symphony Hall audience. Even the "20th Century Fox Fanfare" that appears before the film starts got a large round of applause when it was the first thing the audience heard.
Using an ear piece and a video screen that indicated the exact beats of each musical composition, many of which have tempo changes in sync to the changing film imagery, conductor Nicholas Hersh proved to be exceptional in his ability to not just ensure the members of the Phoenix Symphony hit all of the well known notes in Williams' score but also that they were in sync to the film projected over their heads.
With almost every moment of the 125 minute film scored, it seemed like it could be very tiring for an orchestra since there is little time to rest. However, you'd never guess from the exceptional and assured playing throughout. Only during the cantina scene, when the actual original music soundtrack for the "Cantina Band" cue is heard, did the Phoenix Symphony get a brief break before they were right back at it again.
It proved to be a special treat and experience hearing this beloved score and these well known themes played live while seeing a film that I, and I'm assuming many others in attendance, have seen dozens of times. Since I was familiar with the movie, I occasionally watched Hersh and the orchestra and noted many of them watching the film on the screen above their heads when they had a brief break and also the intensity they exhibited as they played so many themes, motifs and well known musical compositions.
The childlike excitement was apparent and not just from the audience but also from members of the orchestra who appeared just as thrilled to play this iconic score as the audience was to hear it. The joy the crowd felt was witnessed by the immediate standing ovation and steady applause the Phoenix Symphony received after the end credits rolled and the last note of Williams' score was heard. Seeing this classic film while hearing the Oscar winning John Williams music played live resulted in a nostalgic and immersive shared experience for fans of this iconic film and score.
The Phoenix Symphony has performed live accompaniment to well known films in the past, including the first four films in the Harry Potter franchise. They've already announced that the second film in the original Star Wars trilogy, The Empire Strikes Back, will play with live orchestral accompaniment this coming season along with the next two films in the Harry Potter series, The Nightmare Before Christmas and Home Alone.
These concerts clearly are a treat for fans of these films and their scores. If drawing film lovers in to see their favorite movie while a live orchestra plays its score will entice them to come back to hear other pops or classical concerts played by the Phoenix Symphony that is an added bonus.
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