CIN EM ATIC BLOCKBUSTER MOVIE MUSIC SAT 30 NOV 2019 CONCERT HALL, QPAC PROGRAM | CINEMATIC I WELCOME In my work as a bassoonist with Queensland Symphony Orchestra, I get to play all sorts of music. There are the great classic masterpieces by composers including Mozart, Beethoven, and Tchaikovsky; there are famous ballets and operas; and then there is a concert like this one featuring some of the greatest movie music of all time. Every style of music touches us in different ways, however the common thread is the emotions it evokes in us and the imagination it sparks. Music allows us the space to create wonderful new worlds in our ever-increasingly busy minds. Movie music brings the visual and the auditory experience together in perfect harmony (pardon the pun!). A lot of the music we are performing tonight will take you back in time. I grew up watching many of these movies and the music brings back some fond childhood memories. Like watching the first Star Wars movie with my brother and sisters, on the couch, in my pyjamas, eating popcorn and desperately wanting long hair (I had short hair at the time) so I could look like Princess Leia! Tonight we're playing the memorable musical sounds of Star Wars and Back to the Future to name a couple. But we're also playing the music of my own children's growing years – How to Train Your Dragon and The Incredibles. There is a great deal of nostalgia and emotion mixed up in this music and I hope you adore listening to it as much as we love playing it. Nicole Tait Section Principal Bassoon IN THIS CONCERT Conductor + Host Nicholas Buc PROGRAM CONTENTS Williams Star Wars (Main Title) 6’ Williams Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Rey’s Theme) 3’ Shore The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Symphonic Suite) 8’ WELCOME 1 Silvestri The Avengers (Theme) 2’ Westlake Babe (Excerpts from Concert Suite) 5’ Williams Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone 12' IF YOU'RE NEW TO THE ORCHESTRA 2 (Excerpts from Children’s Suite for Orchestra) Giacchino Star Trek into Darkness (Suite) 7’ INTERVAL 20’ LISTENING GUIDE Goldsmith Star Trek: First Contact (End Credits) 5’ 4 Horner Apollo 13 (Excerpts) 3’ Wintory Journey (Excerpts) 9’ Silvestri Back to the Future (Suite) 7’ ARTIST BIOGRAPHY 10 Zimmer Inception (Excerpts) 8’ Giacchino The Incredibles (Full Mayhem) 4’ Powell How to Train Your Dragon (Suite) 10’ SUPPORTING YOUR ORCHESTRA 12 Queensland Symphony Orchestra acknowledges the traditional custodians of Australia. We acknowledge the cultural diversity of Elders, both past and recent, and the significant contributions MUSICIANS AND MANAGEMENT that Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples have made to Queensland and Australia. © Peter Wallis 18 To ensure an enjoyable concert experience for everyone, please remember to turn off your mobile phones II PROGRAM | CINEMATIC and all other electronic devices. Please muffle coughs and refrain from talking during the performance. 1 IF YOU'RE NEW TO THE ORCHESTRA GUITAR BASS GUITAR WHO SITS WHERE Orchestras sit in sections based on types of instruments. There are four main sections in the symphony orchestra: strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion. This concert also features a keyboard section. STRINGS BRASS These instruments produce sound by bowing or Brass players create sound by vibrating their plucking stretched strings. lips. When this vibration is pushed through large First and Second Violin brass tubes, it can create significant noise. Viola French Horn Cello Trumpet Double Bass Trombone / Bass Trombone Guitar and Bass Guitar Tuba WOODWIND PERCUSSION Wind instruments produce sound by being These instruments create sound by being blown into. struck or, for the harp, plucked or strummed. Flute / Piccolo Some instruments just make a sound; others play particular notes. Clarinet / Bass Clarinet Oboe / Cor Anglais Timpani, Harp, Anvil, Bass Drum, Bongo Drums, Bassoon / Contrabassoon Brake Drum, Chimes, China Cymbals, Congas, Cowbell, Cymbals, Djembe, Drum Kit, KEYBOARD Glockenspiel, Gran Cassa, Large Bass Drum, Keyboard instruments are played by pressing keys. Maracas, Marimba, Mark Tree, Odaiko Drum, Piano Piatti, Roto Toms, Side Drum, Sizzle Cymbal, Celeste Sleigh Bells, 2-Snare Drum, Suspended Cymbal, Keyboard Tam Tam, Tambourine, Tom Tom, Triangle, Tubular Bells, Vibraphone, Wind Chimes, Wind Gong, Wood Block, Xylophone 2 PROGRAM | CINEMATIC PROGRAM | ©CINEMATIC Peter Wallis 3 LISTENING GUIDE In this inaugural CINEMATIC concert, Queensland Symphony Orchestra will take you The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring on a journey through some of the best blockbuster movie music of recent years. These themes have become so well-loved and familiar that they almost rival the (Symphonic Suite) great classical compositions of the past for popularity. Read on for more information Howard Shore (b. 1946) on the soundscape you can expect to hear in each piece. There is barely a moment in Peter Jackson’s gargantuan three-film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings that does not feature Howard Shore’s music. Written for huge orchestra Star Wars (Main Title) (and choir in some parts), the music is as much a feature of the film as its acting and John Williams (b. 1932) groundbreaking special effects. Shore viewed the music for this film as if it were an opera – in other words, he was unashamedly trying to heighten the emotion and intensity of Few things are more thrilling than the opening of a Star Wars movie (at least up until each scene. Fans of the films will recognise many of the themes in this suite: from the Rogue One changed the plan!). Part of what makes them so memorable is the moment folksy sound of Hobbiton, to the brassy world of the heroic Fellowship who try to destroy of silence as the words ‘A Long Time Ago In A Galaxy Far, Far Away’ display on the screen. the One Ring, to the grim and harsh clashing notes that signify Mordor and the Orcs. Then, without warning, they are replaced by the massive ‘STAR WARS’. Almost before your eyes have registered those words, your ears have been hit with the sound of brass instruments playing an epic fanfare as composer John Williams’ brilliant main theme The Avengers (Theme) begins. This opening tune created an instant sensation when the movie premiered in 1977, Alan Silvestri (b. 1950) and has remained prominent in public imagination since. We can think of no better way to begin this journey into the world of film music. Alan Silvestri has composed soundtracks for over 100 films, many of them some of the most popular films of the last few decades (including Back to the Future, which is coming up in the second half!). One of the features of film scores in recent years is the Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Rey’s Theme) use of ostinato – a musical technique where short groups of notes are repeated over and John Williams over again. Silvestri’s theme from The Avengers is a great example of this – the string instruments strike up an insistent rhythm which echoes the driving action of the film, When Disney announced that they were producing the first ever sequels to the beloved then the horns enter and raise the pulse even further. This string and brass combo has Star Wars trilogy, expectations were through the roof. Surprisingly, The Force Awakens become as much a part of modern blockbuster cinema as superheroes themselves. Have delivered, pleasing (most) fans by having enough familiar elements but with a few new a listen out for it next time you’re watching a Marvel film! surprises, too. One of the delights of The Force Awakens is its feisty heroine Rey, played by Daisy Ridley. Babe (Excerpts from Concert Suite) No helpless princess, Rey is inventive, brave, strong, and well and truly holds her own with the male characters in the film. John Williams was taken with her as well, and Nigel Westlake (b. 1958) composed her very own theme that has taken its place in the canon of great Star Wars Telling the story of a friendly pig that manages to escape the normal fate of pigs by music. Beginning with a mysterious repeated tune on the flutes and growing more heroic becoming a sheep-pig, Babe is a charming tale about how politeness really can work from there, it feels completely different from the more brass or string oriented music we wonders. The instantly recognisable main theme is actually not Australian composer associate with Star Wars, and perfectly establishes the inquisitive, intrepid nature of Rey. Nigel Westlake’s own – it is a melody that appeared in the famous ‘Organ’ Symphony by French composer Camille Saint-Saëns back in 1886. (Some tunes are so great, they never go out of fashion!) The Saint-Saëns tune was also used in the 1977 pop song ‘If I Had Words’ sung by Scott Fitzgerald and Yvonne Keeley. Amazingly, the film managed to give a nod to both versions. A trio of mice sing a sped- up version of the song over the end credits and Westlake gives us the theme closer to its original orchestral sound throughout the soundtrack. However, far from just revolving around one old tune, his score is a masterful and beautiful showcase for the emotion and joy of orchestral music. 4 PROGRAM | CINEMATIC PROGRAM | CINEMATIC 5 LISTENING GUIDE Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone Star Trek: First Contact (End Credits) (Excerpts from Children’s Suite for Orchestra) Jerry Goldsmith (1929–2004) John Williams We begin this second half with a different take on Star Trek. This film featured the cast of the Star Trek: Next Generation TV series, and legendary composer Jerry Goldsmith It’s easy to overuse the word ‘iconic’ but it’s hard to think of any other words to describe was assigned to the film.