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Sold Out Last Saturday ! |
Mix
of Williams' film scores, 'The Planets'
suite packs Chapman Hall
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Tulsa World
Article
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For
Tulsa Symphony, space is full
By JAMES D. WATTS JR. World Scene
Writer
1/8/2007
Mix of Williams' film scores, 'The
Planets' suite packs Chapman Hall
First, the news: The Tulsa Symphony
Orchestra played to a sold-out house
Saturday night in the Chapman Music
Hall at the Tulsa Performing Arts
Center.
The last time an orchestral concert
even came close to drawing that
large of a crowd was about a decade
ago, when the Tulsa Philharmonic
performed the Ninth Symphony of
Beethoven. People were out on the
street in front of the PAC that
night with signs, begging for
tickets to the show.
I wasn't aware of anyone trying to
find scalpers to get tickets to
Saturday's concert, but Tulsa
Symphony officials did set up a
waiting list in case seats became
available.
So what prompted such a turnout for
an evening of orchestral music?
A program titled "Shoot for the
Stars," which was evenly divided
between selections from John
Williams' film scores and Gustav
Holst's epic evocation of outer
space, "The Planets"? The return to
Tulsa of the conductor Edwin
Outwater, once the assistant
conductor of the old Philharmonic?
Balcony seats that cost a mere $5?
Online podcasts about the music by
professor Carol Reynolds? A special
video presentation drawn from NASA's
archive of planetary photography?
Or maybe -- just maybe -- the
realization by a large number of
Tulsans that a professional symphony
orchestra is worthy of their
support, and listening to what that
orchestra creates is a splendidly
entertaining way to spend an
evening?
Whatever the reasons, the hall was
full. And the Tulsa Symphony
Orchestra responded with a
performance that did indeed "Shoot
for the Stars."
It also was a concert that
demonstrated the Tulsa Symphony's
philosophy: to present the highest
quality orchestral music, regardless
of how that music might be
categorized.
For example, some might think that a
serious piece of music such as "The
Planets" shouldn't be on the same
program with something as
commercially successful and "light"
as movie music.
Hogwash. The music that John
Williams has written for films such
as "Star Wars" and "Superman" is as
demanding to play well as any
"serious" work. And Outwater, I
think, spoke for a good many people
when he said that the "Star Wars"
soundtrack -- which more or less
revitalized the concept of the
orchestral movie score -- was "what
made me fall in love with the sound
of the orchestra."
That's because one of Williams'
greatest talents is the way he uses
every aspect, every instrument of a
very large orchestra -- tunes such
as the "Star Wars" main title theme
or the opening march from "Superman"
give the sense that an orchestra can
be used to the fullest.
But not everything Williams does is
fanfares and bombast. His theme for
"Schindler's List" is a simple,
keening melody filled with sadness
and hope, which concertmaster
Rossitza Jekova Goza played with
passionate restraint, and the
"Princess Leia" theme featured
wonderfully lyrical solos by
principal flute John Rush and
principal French horn Bruce Schultz.
"The Planets" is one place from
whence Williams drew his inspiration
-- the "Star Wars" score, in
particular, owes a great deal to
Holst's seven-movement suite.
But then, people have been inspired
by Holst's score for close to a
century, ranging from political
statements (Holst wrote the piece
during World War I) to astrological
musings (more in keeping with
Holst's ideas about the work).
The Tulsa Symphony's performance was
accompanied by a video presentation
created by Nils Neubauer, taking
images from NASA satellites and
mixing them into a visual ballet of
the worlds around us.
Thus, the martial, at times
terrifying music of "Mars, the
Bringer of War" was set to images of
the rusty, rough-edged surface of
the Red Planet, and the serenity of
"Venus, the Bringer of Peace" was
underscored by pictures that were
predominantly blue and yellow --
cool, quiet images of a place even
more hostile than Mars.
The images for "Jupiter, the Bringer
of Jollity" emphasized this planet's
massive size and ever-changing,
cyclonic surface, and "Saturn, the
Bringer of Old Age" used slow,
stately pans over this ringed
planet. And as "Neptune, the Mystic"
began to fade away, the images
shifted from the solar system to the
galaxies beyond -- and all the
mysteries and wonders that may be
there.
The orchestra's performance more
than matched the visuals. "Mars"
roared with menace and terror,
"Jupiter" was a fine blend of
jocularity and solemnity, as the
famous hymn-like tune in the middle
of the movement swelled gloriously.
"Saturn" was profoundly moving, with
its sense of great energy held
forcibly in check.
The only thing missing was the
women's chorus in "Neptune";
although listed in the program, the
women of the Trinity Episcopal Choir
did not perform.
But that did not distract from the
fact that "Shoot for the Stars" did
what Outwater said is true of all
classical music: "It touches us, in
ways that no other music can."
Let's hope those touched Saturday
night will continue to seek out that
experience again and again.
James D. Watts Jr. 581-8478
james.watts@tulsaworld.com
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