John Williams (b. 1932)
Spotlight On John Williams
City Light Symphony Orchestra/Kevin Griffiths
rec. 2020, KKL Luzern, Concert Hall, Lucerne, Switzerland
Reviewed as lossless download
Prospero Classical PROSP0012 [100]
Earlier this year, I reviewed another film music release from the Lucerne-based City Light Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Kevin Griffiths, titled The Sound of Adventure. I was impressed by the playing and the choice of repertoire, which was not a case of the “usual suspects”. I noted that the same forces had previously released a recording concentrating on the music of John Williams, and as it had not been reviewed on MWI, I requested it.
The first thing to note is that again the choice of music is not the “usual suspects”. Now, some might look at the contents and conclude that this is second-rate Williams. Certainly, there is no opening theme from the first Star Wars film, the Darth Vader theme from The Empire Strikes Back, the flying music from ET, or the famous themes from Jaws and Schindler’s List. If that were the criteria for recording, then we would only get Beethoven’s Fifth, The Marriage of Figaro, Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto and a few others, repeated time and time again. John Williams himself has given us magnificent renditions of those famous pieces in concerts from Berlin and Vienna, as well as in the original soundtracks. Here instead, we are presented with an enjoyable, if not quite so memorable, selection that spans more than three decades, of which the Superman March is probably the best known.
The earliest work is the Overture from The Cowboys, not a film with which I was familiar. Apparently, its Copland-inspired music was what drew the attention of the young Steven Spielberg. His initial impression was that the music was so untypical of the early 1970s, more reminiscent of the Golden Age either side of WW2, that he assumed its composer had to be eighty years old. Just a few years on, Williams would compose the music for The Sugarland Express and Jaws for Spielberg, starting an extraordinary partnership that has spanned more than four decades.
There is plenty of variety, with the jazz-inflected suite from Catch Me If You Can with a solo role for alto saxophone, and the choir of wind instruments playing Nimbus 2000 from the first Harry Potter movie, mixed in with the grand, swelling themes for which Williams is renowned. The Duel from The Adventures of Tintin allowed Williams to pay homage to the swashbucklers that he grew up on in the 1930s and 40s.
I think the arrangements presented here are all those of Williams himself; the booklet notes, which provide some good background information, aren’t forthcoming. I listened to a few of them conducted by the composer, and while Griffiths and the City Light measured up well enough, they are missing a little snap and vibrancy. This is particularly noticeable in the opening to the Temple of Doom music which reprises the Raiders March, and the Jurassic Park theme where Griffiths takes almost a minute longer than Williams, losing some of the splendour of what is unquestionably the best music of the album.
I can’t say that the music from the seventh Star Wars film, The Force Awakens, strikes me as particularly inspired, borrowing as it does from the opening scene of the very first film, but all that does is show up the new music.
The three solo parts are well-performed, Valentine Michaud’s alto saxophone in the Catch Me If You Can suite particularly striking. I’ve already commented on the missing last degree of vibrancy in the playing, but in the quieter moments, the orchestra is very good. The sound too is better in those quieter moments, becoming a little muddied at higher volumes. As I observed in my other review from this label, the pricing of CD and download is ridiculous (on Presto at least). The two-CD set costs almost four times that of the lossless download. I accept that the physical product should be more expensive – it isn’t always so – but by this much??
If you are looking for a John Williams “Greatest Hits” album, this certainly isn’t it, but if you are wanting to expand the range of his music in your collection, this will do nicely.
David Barker
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Contents
The Cowboys (1972): Overture
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984): End Credits
Jurassic Park (1993): Theme
Hook (1991): The Flight to Neverland
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002): The Chamber of Secrets; Fawkes the Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004): Witches, Wands and Wizards
The Adventures of Tintin: The Duel
Superman (1978): March
Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens (2015): Suite for Orchestra
JFK (1991): Theme
Catch Me If You Can (2002): Escapades
Born on the Fourth of July (1989): Main Theme
The Terminal (2004): Viktor’s Tale
The Adventures of Tintin (2011): Opening Credits
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001): Nimbus 2000
Reinhold Friedrich (trumpet: Born on the Fourth of July)
Valentine Michaud (alto saxophone: Escapades)
Paul Meyer (clarinet: The Terminal)
