Wednesday evening was one of those blessed nights in Boston – the weather was absolutely perfect. Low 70s, no humidity, a light breeze. Picture-perfect late spring evening to stroll through the streets of Boston. Once Erich met me at Back Bay station, we walked through the park toward Symphony Hall, through my old neighborhood where The Beast apartment still stands quietly. I’d forgotten how much I loved that walk through the Southwest Corridor park, passing the doggies at play in the fenced-in dog playground, past all the kids playing in the playground and basketball courts along West Newton Street.
And I’d forgotten how beautiful St. Botolph Street truly is in the springtime – all of the tiny little gardens were in bloom. Everything was much greener and more lush than I remember it. The new brick sidewalks add a richer feel to the neighborhood. It looks older, more distinguished. I felt a brief sadness for leaving it behind, even if the life that I’m leading now makes me incredibly happy. I won’t lie – I do miss my old Boston neighborhood. Had I not met Erich, I imagine I’d probably still be living in that little studio apartment on Blackwood Street, cozily holed up in that single room flat and teeny tiny galley kitchen, but with a glorious bay window that I spent so many hours sitting in, watching the world go by. I’d still be comfortable there, living in the amazingly quiet spot only blocks from two of the busiest streets in the city.
But we didn’t stop by the old apartment – I just took a glance down the street as we walked by. We were on a mission for a quick dinner before hitting the theatre, and the closest place was Boston Market… mmmm… rotisserie chicken. Which was, of course, quite yummy and not at all concert-going elegant, but perfect for us.
(I should note…the photos are not mine from last night – we forgot our cameras. Erich took a couple of interior shots on his cell phone, though, so maybe they’ll be good enough to post later)
We arrived at Symphony Hall around 7 p.m., picked up our tickets at the box office, and headed inside. The first thing you notice about Symphony Hall is that it’s very different than the typical classical arts theater. Symphony Hall is rectangular – an actual hall. It reminds me of a royal court – with two tiers of narrow balconies wrapping around three sides, all focused upon the stage at the front.
The hall smells of history - that wonderful old smell of varnished wood, musty from years of patrons, and the slightly stronger smell of aged leather. The seats are the original from when the hall was built; hard wooden plank seats that pull down, not unlike the wooden planks in older high school auditoriums, but covered in a thin layer of leather and brass bolted to the frame. And, considering the era that the hall was built, they're surprisingly wide and comfortable for the modern American body. Perhaps it was to accommodate the heavy skirts of the Guilded Age... *grin*
There are literally NO bad seats in Symphony Hall - the entire building was designed with acoustics in mind, down to having only a few narrow rows in the balconies to prevent trapped sound. In fact, it's considered as one of the top concert halls in the world. And I'd forgotten how incredible the acoustics are, until I heard the definition of the oboe softly playing among the orchestra's strings. No instrument gets lost. Our seats were first balcony, center section (but a bit off to the left) - two rows in, back in a romantic little nook with narrow wooden steps to get to our seats.
And at 8, the lights dimmed and the fun began. John Williams took the stage, and my inner band geek was all asquee.
The opener was a piece called "Fanfare for a Festive Occasion" by Williams. It was my least favorite - mostly because it just sounded a bit discordant, honestly. But I'd never heard the piece before. *shrug* No matter. I knew what was coming up. :)
Boston Pops concerts follow a specific format - three music portions (each usually themed), wrapped around two fairly brief intermissions.
The first portion of the program was titled "A Tribute to Bernard Herrmann."
The set:
The Inquirer, from Citizen Kane
Scene d'amour, from Vertigo
Suite from Psycho
Prelude from North by Northwest
Suite from Psycho was, by far, my favorite of this set - the hall lights darkened, a movie screen was lowered, and the opening drive scene to the Bates Hotel - followed by the infamous shower scene - was played silent movie style as the orchestra played.
Very very cool. :)
The Prelude from North by Northest also was accompanied by a movie reel - a montage of Hitchcock movies, including The Man Who Knew Too Much, Vertigo, The Birds, and of course... North by Northwest.'
We then moved to the first intermission.
The second portion of the program was titled "From Broadway to Hollywood." And that's exactly what it was.
The Set:
Hooray for Hollywood (Whiting/Mercer, arr. Williams)
Carousel Waltz (Rogers)
Exerpts from Fiddler on the Roof (Bock/Harnick, arr. Williams)
All that Jazz, from Chicago (Kander/Ebb, arr. Williams)
Hooray for Hollywood immediately made me flash to Mel Brooks entering Caeser's Palace in History of the World Part 1, because it's the song from that very scene. :)
The waltz was lovely.
I found myself silently singing along with any of the words I knew from the various songs within the Fiddler on the Roof suite. Tamara Smirnova, the principle chair first violin, had a beautiful solo. Absolutely wonderful.
And All That Jazz is just one of those pieces that has to be a blast to play. Brass instruments having entirely too much fun with mutes. Slides all over the place. Seriously... it's Chicago, which is has a score that I drool over as a musician. I envied them.
And we went into the second intermission, where Erich and I popped out of the main hall for a quick drink and a breather. It was quite warm in the main hall by this time (no a/c, after all).
AND... then we got to the part of the evening that I absolutely reveled in.
Part Three: "At the Movies"
the set:
March from Superman (Williams)
Three Pieces from Harry Potter (Williams)
- Fawkes the Phoenix
- Nimbus 2000
- Harry's Wonderous World
A Tribute to George Lucas and Steven Spielberg (Williams)
- Opener to Jaws
- Star Wars Main Theme
- Raiders March from Raiders of the Lost Ark
- Main Theme, E.T.
Oh yes... *gleams*
The only, and I mean ONLY thing that could have made me even more happy with the Superman theme would be to hear the incredible opening fanfare titled "The Planet Krypton" which chills my spine any time I listen to it and the sound of the brass gets gloriously fuller and brighter. But yes... the main theme from Superman by itself is fantastic. A poor trumpet had a fudged note (and there were a few collective gasps of empathy in the crowd - trumpet players, perhaps?), but carried right on as if nothing happened.
I cuddled up to Erich's shoulder during the Harry Potter set, all cozy. :) For viewers not familiar with these pieces on their own... Fawkes the Phoenix is the piece from the end of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, where Fawkes pulls Harry, Ginny, and Professor Lockhart into the sky. Nimbus 2000 is a little woodwind piece that you hear off-and-on throughout the movie series. Harry's Wonderful World is the big sweeping piece that starts with the main theme, and just rolls through all of the discovery in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's (aka Sorcerer's) Stone.
And then the movie screen lowered again... and we saw a familiar solitary female swimmer in the ocean, viewed from under the water as she kicked lazily.
And we heard a "dun-DUN"
And there were chuckles from all over the hall.
Now...
It really only takes two notes to recognize the theme from Jaws, doesn't it? I think that's what's so remarkable about Williams' music. Yes, I realize he steals bits and pieces from everywhere. Yes, I realize there are a ton of critics out there.
But seriously - there's something to be said for themes that are so incredibly recognizable with only the first few notes... Jaws, Star Wars, the end scene from Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T., the opening theme from Home Alone... and yes... Harry Potter. Take a look at the list. :)
The montage of Lucas/Spielberg movie magic continued into Star Wars, which of course received tremendous cheers as clips of all six movies flashed across the screen. Followed by Raiders, and a montage of all three movies. Lots of chuckles as the "gun scenes" with Indy and the local villagers flashed in sequence. And then the music soared with the main theme to E.T., with clips of a now waaaaay too young Drew Barrymore screaming as she meets the little alien.
Ah yes, it was glorious. The only piece that would have made the montage truly complete for me would have been to see a gigantic spaceship rise up over Devil's Monument with the big five note motif that runs through Close Encounters of the Third Kind, one of the first movies I ever saw (Star Wars, in the theater at age two - which I do in fact remember with only one scene in flashback - was the first).
Of course, standing ovation across the house. And Williams milked it - as well he should.
He came back out for encores:
Luke and Leia Theme from Empire Strikes Back (Williams)
NBC Nightly News "Mission" theme (Williams)
Williams made a joke about the "love" theme that is Luke and Leia - written before the world knew they were siblings (whoops). He also remarked that he's waiting for the "slow news day" when NBC News actually plays the entire theme he wrote for them (you can hear a good portion of it in the end credits for the program).
And then, as is traditional with the Boston Pops - the evening ended with Souza's Stars and Stripes Forever as the audience clapped along. And for a while, Williams had to conduct the audience to keep proper time. :) The American flag unfurled at the end (also tradition) to the roar of the crowd. And once the applause had died off, we returned to the glorious springtime evening weather and headed home.
Life accomplishment checked off my list - in amazing style.
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