down with NYP

Last night our good friend and benefactor, Joe, took us to see John Williams conduct the New York Philharmonic at Lincoln Center in an evening in celebration of the film score. Normally I have a hard time enjoying classical music in large concert halls – it always feels like a celebration of wealth, and I and I can’t help but wonder how the music might come across in a low-lit club at 2AM after I’ve had a few. Although, that argument makes a lot more sense when discussing a string quartet than the monstrous posse of musical bad-ass-ness that is the NYP.

This night was special, though, because:

1. Martin Scorcese and Steven Spielberg were co-hosting the event and
2. Our seats were second row, center (prime foul-ball territory)

As soon as we sat down I realized we were in for a treat. Being that close to a world-class symphony (even when they’re just warming up) is incredible. Everyone plays their instrument as if it is merely an extension of their body, and they all look confident and slightly homely at the same time, which is not easy to pull off.

The first half of the program was presided over by Scorcese and featured the music of Bernard Hermann, who composed the music for Citizen Cane, Vertigo and Taxi Driver (all of which was performed), amongst other films. Occasionally a huge screen was lowered and Williams would conduct live to a clip of a film or a montage. Having sliced and gesticulated my way through two semesters of conducting in music school, I fully appreciate how difficult this must be. Scorcese was dignified and professorial. Despite looking even more like a cartoon character in person (he’s really short), he was the epitome of class and told a touching story about working with Hermann, who passed away the night he finished the music for Taxi Driver. As Scorcese would take his seat next to Williams before each piece, his back to the symphony, he would close his eyes and lean his head back so as to better listen.

Listening to a symphony from our vantage point, you really don’t have access to the natural acoustics of the hall and lose a liitle bit of the brass (both of which are fine by me), but instead you get to hear the natural sound of the strings, which is about as emotional as a listening experience can get. The musicians seemed to be enjoying themselves for the most part, which makes sense considering that they were playing relatively easy music, at least some of which had to resonate on a sentimental level.

The second half of the evening featured the largely celebrated collaboration between Spielberg and Williams. Spielberg took the podium and began: “Movies. [dramatic pause] Flashes of light on the screen…” and so on. He was funny and charming, but undeniably fascinated with himself (not that I can blame him). I felt like I was watching a friend’s dad go on a little too long during a Bar Mitzvah toast. But following the understated and reserved Scorcese must have been tough.

He redeemed himself soon after, by talking us through the opening sequence of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (the River Phoenix/bad guys chase scene) without music and then having the symphony play along with the same clip. It was a pretty convincing display of just how powerful music can be in a film. After that, they played music from Schindler’s List, Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. They closed by playing along to the entire closing sequence of E.T., which was incredible (Am I officially old, now that I get choked up by certain films from my childhood that I barely remember? Just wondering).

But the evening wasn’t over yet. In a move that would make any self-indulgent rock band proud they played THREE encores: some music from Munich (pretty, but an odd choice), the NBC Nightly News theme song (funny and familiar) and the theme from Star Wars, which brought the house down and had much of the string section grinning ear to ear.

This post should probably have included some hyperlinks and could have benefited from more editing, but it’s 1AM and I have miles to go before I sleep.