Legendary composer John Williams played to packed crowds at Disney Hall
(photo by L.A. Phil)

Where would films like Mission
Impossible and E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial be without gripping
musical scores? In celebration of amazing film music, John Williams
conducted the Los Angeles Philharmonic through some of his favorites
as well as a few of his own classics at the Disney Hall Oct. 16-18. 

The concert, called "Music
from the City of Angels," featured music that in most cases was inspired
by or created in Los Angeles. We would have liked to hear additional
music originally set to films actually taking place in the city, but
with half the concert devoted to Williams' own film music, we understand
there was only so much time in which to cram seven decades' worth
of film music. 

The suite from The Private
Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939) by Erich Wolfgang Korngold ("the
grandfather of film music," Williams says) and a selection from Alex
North's music in Spartacus - the two opening pieces - helped
us realize that isolating these scores from film visuals is an excellent
test of the music's quality. Good scores should evoke just as much
emotion without the "crutch" of a film and, in that respect, it
was really with a scene from Vertigo, composed by Bernard Herrmann,
that we began to appreciate the music in this concert setting. 

"People always ask me who
my favorite film composer is," Williams said before introducing the
music of Vertigo, noting that Herrmann always comes to mind.
After hearing the scene d'amour from that film, Herrmann is now one
of our favorites, too. The tender opening of the piece introduces a
gripping musical theme that builds with good use of dissonance. The
beauty of this piece makes us hope the Los Angeles Philharmonic will
eventually release an iTunes download of the concert. 

A so-called "L.A. Triptych"
brought together three scores with a noir vibe whose films take place
in 1940s Los Angeles. Sunset Blvd. and Double Indemnity
were part of the trio, as was Chinatown and a trumpet solo that
gave chills. The solo, echoed by the orchestra, characterizes a "doomed
love affair" between characters played by Jack Nicholson and Faye
Dunaway. Conductor Jerry Goldsmith, himself a Los Angeles native, completed
the superb score in just 10 days. 

As you might expect from a
conductor who has amassed more than 40 Academy Award nominations, Williams
could not limit himself to the printed program featuring Memoirs
of a Geisha and E.T. Before we get to the second encore on
Sunday, though, we must recognize the performance of the first violinist
and Johannes Moser, the cellist in a selection from Geisha. The
duet was a sweet moment in a slightly too long suite that demonstrated
why Williams is an award-winning composer. Hearing E.T.
left the same impression, but it was the Star Wars encore that audibly
excited people as it began. 

Listening to Williams conduct
film music at the Disney Hall was an informative, if expensive, reminder
of the standard to which truly great film music should aspire.