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Yo-Yo Ma, Williams & Dudamel : John Williams, curator and conductor / Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra - April 3rd and 4th, 2025 + April 5 & 6 concerts


SyncMan

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Well, obviously very jarring to see him in a wheelchair (not that it's unusual for someone of his age, of course, but still). Kudos to him for making the effort to be there, though, which I'm sure meant a lot to everyone in attendance. And glad he seems to be in good spirits!

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3 hours ago, lairdo said:

What about the music, you ask? 


Understandably, I am guilty of skipping the concert itself in previous posts with news of JW's live appearance. So, I thought I would finally post thoughts on that aspect.

 

The Thu/Weekend of April 3 - 6 features 4 concerts of John Williams' music. April 3 and April 4 bring in Yo-Yo Ma performing the Cello Concerto written for him and revised in recent years. John Williams was initially listed as co-conducting Thursday alongside Gustavo Dudamel. He was moved to curator in recent month following his illnesses which was already his title for the other 3 concerts. Presumably, JW would have led the Cello Concerto and first half encore, and Dudamel would have led the 2nd half of mostly film music (the 1984 Olympic Music was the sole concert work in that part). I guess JW would have come back for encores. But it was not to be.

 

Friday night's concert is similar to Thursday but in a one part concert with a shorter program and no intermission. I am attending that tonight. 

 

Thursday/Friday

Sound the Bells

Concerto for Cello and Orchestra

(Thu Encore: Theme from Schindler's List for Cello. Fri: TBA)

Olympic Fanfare and Theme (Thu only)

Excerpts from Close Encounters

3 Piece from Indiana Jones

  Scherzo for Motorcycle

  Marion' Theme (Thu only)

  The Raiders March (Thu only)

Princess Leia's Theme

Adventures on Earth from ET

(Thu Encores: 

Main Theme and Finale

The Imperial March

Fri Encores: TBA)

 

Saturday and Sunday add Three Selections from Harry Potter, a 4 min Dear Basketball piece (which I think is WITHOUT picture - the program does not mention anything about it being live to picture), the Superman March, Theme from Jurassic Park, Out to Sea/Shark Cage from Jaws, and officially concludes with the Star Wars Theme and Finale that was Thursday's first encore. Sound the Bells and the Cello Concerto are not part of the Sat/Sun concerts, and the order is different which can be seen here.

 

Saturday night and Sunday afternoon have no listed soloists. Location: The Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles CA.

 

Background and setting aside, let's dive into how the whole concert on Thursday and how it sounded. In short, it was an amazing experience. My wife and I had never seen Yo-Yo Ma in person. Following the rousing but short Sound the Bells, the stage was reset to add a small riser for Mr. Ma to sit upon. We were sitting about 10 rows back, slight off center, and the seats in front of us were empty. So, we had a great view of his performance.

 

Ma came out with Dudamel (who had retreated after the opening piece) with arms over each others' shoulders. They paused around the first violin trying to urge the other to go first to center stage. Ultimately, unable to negotiate this awkward but charming moment, they walked the remaining 15 feet together. The audience was enthusiastic in its reception of these great artists. Both were full of smiles.

 

As the orchestra, soloists and maestro settled in for 30 mins of continuous music, Yo-Yo Ma turned serious. He closed his eyes and seemed to inwardly focus. He then gave a small visual indication to Dudamel that he was ready.


The Cello Concerto features a wide range of styles from across Williams' works across his many decades. The first movement features a hummable theme that bounces around the orchestra and is played with and manipulated by the cello. There are lyrical moments, but the piece quickly moves to much more modern territory, particularly in the solos. It is angular at times and not always in an ear pleasing manner. The cello can sing but can also sting, and Ma attacked certain moments with urgent energy. Sharp bowing and aggressive fingering. Even in the sonorous Disney Hall, some of the most quiet moments were almost inaudible. I assume this is how the score notates the work. I felt like the music was being broken down from the jubilant opening to the quietist and sparsest of notes before emerging from this darkness back into the light. The joy of watching and hearing this live is focusing on each instrument as it plays. While I've heard this work many times, I've never had the same experience with it. The hall was so still during the dark moments as if the audience was holding its collective breathes. Yo-Yo Ma's intensity added to this experience. No smiles or relaxation were in evidence during the piece. Other great moments featured the cello and the timpani - no one like Williams combines instrumental colors in such unusual but interesting ways. At least not since someone like Bartók. It was all a kind of magic to my ear and eyes. 

 

The piece finishes with the opening theme returning but not exactly the same. The music has been changed by its journey to nothingness. Ma seemed impacted too. Even after releasing the very last note, he was still, eyes closed, bow frozen above his instrument for what seemed like 30 seconds. The audience politely held its appreciative standing ovation until he opened his eyes and told us all he was out of the work. His smile reemerged.

 

At that point we were collectively made aware of John Williams being in the audience. The place went wild again, only exceeded when the Maestro joined Dudamel on the stage at the very end of the concert. However, between the Cello Concerto and that moment, we were treated to a lovely rendition of the Schindler's List theme arranged for Cello (and previously recorded by Ma on "A Gathering of Friends"), intermission, and 45 mins of more music.


While the music in the 2nd half was comprised of well worn areas of the Williams' canon, the performances were first rate. The stand out two tracks for me were the Olympic Fanfare and the Raiders March. In particular, the Raiders March sounded amazing. I remarked to my wife that it felt like Disney Hall was constructed for that piece. At the end of the piece, every instrument is playing. Thats' a big tutti! Yet you could hear the instruments within this wall of sound, the brass remaining distinct (I have heard the Raiders March end up sounding muddled) and the strings, percussion, and woodwinds all lovely and distinct. Rousing beyond belief.

 

That's not to say any of the pieces were really of lower quality than others. The principal flautist, oboist and harpist all had workouts in various pieces. Good horn playing was evident for Princess Leia. Trumpets led by Tom Hooten drove the brass.

 

Every now and then, I felt a person came in a bit soft or perhaps not facing exactly the right way to the front to get enough sound forward. Just a few of those, and it will be interesting to see if there are similar moments on the subsequent concerts. So, it was not perfect but it was energetically performed and seemed enjoyable to conductor and orchestra to present to the crowd. 

 

Following the last listed piece (ET), the Star Wars Theme and Finale was presented after a long applause for Duadmel and Williams (still in his seat). Williams at this point made is his way out of the hall. As documented earlier in this post, he then reappeared on the stage to enjoy the best seat in the house for the robust Imperial March. For about half of this piece, Dudamel basically stood aside, I think hoping Williams would conduct from his wheelchair. And Williams did indeed make a few hand gestures from time to time. I felt Gustavo and John were sharing the moment tougher, us fortunate to be witness to it.

 

Overall, a night of John Williams, led by Gustavo Dudamel and played by the Los Angeles Philharmonic is not going to disappoint. Quite more so, it is exhilarates and expresses joy in the energy and music. 

 

Thank you for this excellent review. I'm so jealous you got to hear the cello concerto played by Ma live. It's an incredible work. Jealous of all that were able to attend! 

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15 hours ago, Keith said:

I was there last night and also at the Miami concert recently.  I flew 5 hr non-stop from Fort Lauderdale yesterday morning.  Loved every minute of the concert.  John stood up a couple of times to acknowledge the crowd, from his seat, 3rd row from stage (facing the orchestra).  You can see this in my pictures below.  I originally planned on going to tonight’s show as well (April 4) and have a ticket that I want to give away.  Free to a good person who would absolutely love to go, is in or near Los Angeles, and promises to use it.  I only have one.  It’s a great seat.  We don’t have to meet.  I can send a transfer link from La Phil.

 

 

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Maybe this'll sound like a joke, but seeing these pics, with his hair being as thin as it is, I legit think he'd look really nice bald with just the beard. You can kind of see in the second pic what I mean.

Of course I shave my head, so I'm biased; he might be the sort to value the hair he has left :P

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4 hours ago, lairdo said:

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Ooh that is John’s wife is next to him🙏🏻

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14 hours ago, mrbellamy said:

 

811j1+MillL.jpg

 

image.jpeg

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1 hour ago, Toronto said:

JW looks to be in very good form all considering.  A few reminders to those commenting:

 

He had cataract surgery around two years ago and just like many in their older age, many don't need glasses after that, except in certain situations (like reading up close, as you an see in his documentary from last year in the more recent moments).  Hence he doesn't and hasn't had glasses since.

 

Whatever has ailed him, he is making a remarkably fast recovery considering his age!  I tend to think more positive.  The wheelchair is only for assistance is appears!

 

 


Confirmation. All those thinking and saying anything negatively about the Maestro’s condition and recovery need to stop. Now.

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It makes me wish I'd done the same at Tanglewood, when he was standing just a few feet in front of me.

 

But there was a staff member nearby (security?) who didn't look like he'd be understanding about it, so I forewent the possibility of being tackled to the ground. lol

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4 hours ago, Mr. Hooper said:

(And never mind the jealous Negative Nellies who may think it was inappropriate to do so, and a breach of etiquette equivalent to bear hugging the King of England.)

 

Has this actually been a thing?

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1 hour ago, lairdo said:

While not exactly the right thread to post for tonight’s concert since Yo-Yo is not here, but I am happy to report that the Maestro is here again! 3 for 3! 

I see a pattern here.

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29 minutes ago, mrbellamy said:

 

Has this actually been a thing?


I spoke preemptively, but it wouldn't surprise me if it was. People (i.e., overprotective fans) can get agitated over nothing.

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10 hours ago, crumbs said:

I thought the fist bump was cute! Williams did that at one of his Europe concerts too from memory.

 

He did it at Vienna II, but before that he'd already done it at least once in the US. It appears it sort of became a thing for him during the phase of the pandemic when it was find to have concerts again, but touching random people (e.g. shaking their hands) was still a bad idea.

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I'm glad we saw Williams in public again.

 

I'm sad he looks more frail than ever and also thinner. Typical of old people when they lose mobility. It seems his mind is fresh so he could still live continuing with his passion.

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Agree that it's great that he can still attend even if he's not really able to conduct... however to link it to the other thread, that does not look like a man who'd want to be spending his time writing the score for a new Jurassic Park/World movie...

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I'm 35 years old and currently resting my hip and leg because I pulled the muscles quite badly by doing nothing I can think of.

 

This man is basically 3 times my age and makes me ashamed of myself. 

 

Thank you Maestro.

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