Posts Tagged ‘Warner Grand theater’

Star Wars: In Concert

The film medium is getting another ego boost, with a collection of multiple orchestral concerts scheduled throughout the country over the next few months that will be reserved specifically for movie music. High-profile venues such as New York City’s Lincoln Center and Radio City Music Hall, as well as the Warner Grand theater in San Pedro Cali., will play host to renowned orchestras like the Golden State Pops Orchestra and Seattle Symphony, with composer John Williams himself conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic on October 16th-18th.

Movie scores that appear the most popular for these concerts include Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, Psycho, and various Disney collections.

It is speculated, and apparently corroborated, that symphonies have decided to give more attention and practice towards movie scores as a means to draw larger audiences in order to battle the ongoing recession, which has hit the performing arts world rather hard. It is thought that more people will pay to go to concerts that play familiar and well loved movie music who ordinarily would not think to spend money to see a live orchestral concert. The idea seems so good, one wonders why they didn’t think of it before.

“Good music is good music, period,” says composer David Newman (Hoffa), who often conducts concerts of classic movie music, “and film music is part of our shared heritage.”  – Variety

It’s refreshing to hear such sentiments from an accomplished classical composer, and surely he is not alone. But has the professional symphony circuit truly embraced movie scores as a medium capable of being of such high status as the work of Aaron Copeland, Tchaikovsky, and Bach?

Personally, I of course hope that the great works of John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, Hans Zimmer, Danny Elfman, and others are finally getting their due by their orchestral peers. Audiences of films and concerts alike have appreciated their work for decades (ex., can anyone not hum the theme to Indiana Jones if asked to?). However, I wont believe that such great artists and their work have truly earned their peer’s respect until after the current economic recession concludes and symphonies no longer feel financially obligated to give them extra attention.

Do you think movie music is finally getting the recognition it deserves? Is the sudden showing of love for them purely to draw audiences for money? Tell us your thoughts by submitting your comments below.

Read more about this news, including when and where these events are occurring, by clicking here.

Source: Variety