Conductor Daniel BlendulfPiano Jean-Efflam Bavouzet

Glinka Overture to Ruslan and LudmilaDebussy Fantaisie for Piano and Orchestra

INTERVAL Ravel Concerto in D for Piano (Left Hand) and Orchestra

Scriabin Symphony No.4, Op.54 The Poem of Ecstasy

SAT 17 FEB 7.30PM

MAESTRO

Pre-concert talk at 6.30pm with Lachlan Snow

Concert Hall, QPAC

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Enjoy coffee, cake and cocktails after tonight’s performance at QPAC’s

downstairs bar – open until late.

FROM JAWS TO JURASSIC PARK THE MUSIC OF JOHN WILLIAMS

QUEENSLAND SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA PRESENTS

Sat 24 Feb, 2pm + 7.30pmConcert Hall QPACConductor Guy Noble

In addition to the four main sections of the orchestra, this concert also features keyboard instruments, such as the piano and the celesta. The celesta is a keyboard instrument where the

hammers strike metal bars and can be heard best in the themes of Harry Potter and Schindler's List.

ORCHESTRAS SIT IN SECTIONS BASED ON TYPES OF INSTRUMENTS. THERE ARE FOUR MAIN SECTIONS IN THE WESTERN CLASSICAL ORCHESTRA: STRINGS, WOODWINDS, BRASS, AND PERCUSSION.

STRINGS

These instruments produce their sounds by vibrating or plucking stretched strings.

First and Second ViolinsViolaCelloDouble BassHarp

WOODWIND

Wind instruments produce their sound by being blown into - the vibrating air from the musician creates the sound.

FluteOboeClarinetBassoon

BRASS

Brass players create their sounds by vibrating their lips. When this vibration is pushed through large brass tubes, it creates a huge sound.

TrumpetTromboneFrench HornTuba

PERCUSSION

These instruments create their sounds by being struck. Some instruments just make a sound; others play particular notes.

TimpaniXylophoneVibraphoneGlockenspielNon-tuned percussion

IF YOU'RE NEW TO THE ORCHESTRA

RELIVE THIS CONCERT - Search for Queensland Symphony Orchestra on Spotify to find our Jaws to Jurassic Park playlist.

BIOGRAPHY

He has been host of the Music on Sundays series since 2005 and conducted the Orchestra in many other concerts in QPAC, Cairns, Townsville and Gold Coast. When he isn’t with Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Guy Noble also performs with the other major orchestras around the country. He also has worked with the Malaysian Philharmonic, the Hong Kong Philharmonic (in The Music of John Williams) and the Auckland Philharmonic in their Unwrap the Classics series. He is also host and conductor of Adelaide Symphony Orchestra’s Classics Unwrapped series at Adelaide Town Hall.

Guy Noble is the host and accompanist each year for Great Opera Hits (Opera Australia) in the Joan Sutherland Theatre of the Sydney Opera House. He conducted Opera Queensland’s 2014 production of La Bohème, and in 2016 wrote Opera the Opera for the final year opera graduates at WAAPA in Perth. Guy Noble has worked with a wide variety of international performers with orchestras across Australia, including Harry Connick Jnr, Ben Folds, The Beach Boys, The Pointer Sisters, Dianne Reeves, Glenn Frey, Randy Newman, Clive James, Conchita, The Two Cellos, Alfie Boe, and Olivia Newton John. He is also the host of Concert Hall on Qantas Radio.

Guy Noble has had a long association with Queensland Symphony Orchestra, having first worked with the Orchestra in 1994.

Guy NobleConductor and Presenter

WITH QUEENSLAND SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

QSO.COM.AU

EXPERIENCE THE MAGIC OF THE FILM WITH A LIVE ORCHESTRAEXPERIENCE THE MAGIC OF THE FILM WITH A LIVE ORCHESTRA

19 MAY 2018BRISBANE CONVENTION & EXHIBITION CENTRE

1:30PM & 7:30PM

PROGRAM | The Music of John Williams 4

LISTENING GUIDE

THE JOHN WILLIAMS CONCERTWelcome! We are delighted to present to you some of our favourite works by iconic American composer John Williams. At 85 years of age and with a long and successful career in film music behind him, John Williams shows no signs of slowing down. Just last month he received his 51st nomination for an Academy Award for his score to Star Wars: The Last Jedi, further cementing the place he occupies as the most nominated, living individual (and the second highest nominated individual in history, after Walt Disney). In this concert, you will hear characteristic trademarks of Williams’ music, such as lush, bold orchestration that draws from the full palette of the Orchestra, and an effective use of the leitmotif, or motif - a recurring musical theme, first associated with the composer Richard Wagner. So, sit down, relax, and prepare to embark on an exciting journey through some of the most memorable Hollywood music of our time.

THE MUSICWiliams – Superman March

An opening brass overture heralds the way for the main theme of this American classic, which begins with a three-note ‘Superman’ motif, first played triumphantly by the brass section and then adapted by other sections of the orchestra. The interjecting accompaniment, with its morse-code-like rhythms on bass notes, allows the melody to soar, and the racing strings depict a sense of flight. A contrasting second theme in the lower strings owes much to English composers Edward Elgar and Gustav Holst.

Williams – Suite fromfrom Jane Eyre, 'Lowood'

In the 1970 film of Charlotte Brontë’s book, Jane Eyre, ‘Lowood’ depicts Jane’s daunting

experience of being sent to an orphanage school. Softly plucked strings prepare the way for the sombre, folk-like tune played by the bassoon and clarinet, which is taken over by the melancholic oboe, then builds in intensity when played by the strings and reiterated in other sections.

Williams – 'With Malice Towards None' from Lincoln

The 26th collaboration between Steven Spielberg and John Williams, Lincoln, released in 2012, was another epic historical storytelling success. The solo trumpet gives this movement, ‘With Malice Towards None’, a military feel. The opening of the trumpet solo might remind you of ‘The Last Post’; its falling leaps adding a certain resignation to the mood.

Williams – 'The Shark Theme' from Jaws

Sinister, anxiety-inducing, and universally recognisable, ‘The Shark Theme’ consists of a repeating, two-note motif played on the lowest of the low instruments. Stabbing trombones and agitated strings only add to the ominous nature of the music, which calls to mind Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring (1913) and Bernard Hermann’s music for Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960).

5 PROGRAM | The Music of John Williams

LISTENING GUIDE

Williams – March from 1941

1941, Steven Spielberg’s comedy about a panic that sets into Hollywood when a Japanese submarine enters waters near Los Angeles, proved to be somewhat of a flop and is widely regarded as one of his worst films. However, it does have one of the catchiest military marches of all time, with its perky tooting on the piccolo and gung-ho playing from the brass instruments.

Williams – Excerpts from Close Encounters of the Third Kind

A more successful Spielberg-Williams collaboration saw the composer extend his musical style, using slides, strange harmonies, and aleatoric, or chance, elements to create coordinated chaos, such as string players sliding independently. The five-note motif, which represents a code used to communicate with extra-terrestrials, forms a theme which quotes Cliff Edwards’ When You Wish Upon a Star from the film Pinocchio.

Williams – Theme from Schindler's List

Depicting Oskar Schindler’s rescue of over 1,000 Jewish people during the Holocaust, Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List features Williams at his most expressive. Originally performed by violinist Itzhak Perlman, the three pieces showcase the violin’s melodic range, with allusions to Jewish folk music.

Williams – Scherzo for Motorcycle and Orchestra from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

This energetic, syncopated tune, resplendent with bursts of percussion, is fast-paced and represents the thrill of a motorcycle chase. The strings build up momentum through constant repetitions on a single note.

Williams – 'Flying Theme' from E.T. Adventures on Earth

One of the most well-known movie themes, the soaring lyricism of the sweeping melody evokes a sense of otherworldliness which also seems familiar.

INTERVAL

Williams – The Flight to Neverland from Hook

This sea-shanty theme rapidly and frequently changes key, like waves throwing a boat this way and that, crashing in upward flourishes played by woodwinds and harp. In the second melody, the use of triplets, three notes for each beat, creates a lilting rhythm, further evoking the ocean.

Williams – Theme from Jurassic Park

The piece begins with upward leaps in a French horn solo, leading, through a woodwind choir, to a delicate harp solo. A sweeping, three-note motif ties the music together, introduced by the rich tones of the viola and horns. A slower, step-wise melody represents the awe and grandiosity associated with encountering a dinosaur.

PROGRAM | The Music of John Williams 6

LISTENING GUIDE

Williams – Sayuri’s Theme from Memoirs of a Geisha

Composed for star cellist Yo-Yo Ma, this theme is part of a suite that features the cello as the main solo instrument, re-orchestrated for the symphony orchestra to reflect traditional Japanese folk instruments. Behind the cello’s delicate, resonant melody you’ll often hear a spinning ostinato (repeating pattern) on the flute.

Williams – Suite from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Against a slow, majestic tempo, lofty strings (including some rapidly-soaring violins) represent the phoenix rising from the ashes amidst the whimsical, fluttering woodwinds, bringing to life a magical scene in the second instalment of J.K. Rowling’s hugely successful book series.

Williams – Suite from Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (Episode 1) "Duel of the Fates"

Large melodic leaps add to the drama of this pagan-sounding battle piece, which sets the scene for the film’s final light-saber duel. Again, an ostinato is used to drive the accompaniment, and, along with, fast-paced, explosive trumpets and percussion accents, contributes to the sense of tension in the music.

Williams – Across the Stars from Star Wars: Attack of the Clones (Episode 2)

Emotional, expansive, and peaceful, with a slightly plaintive undertone, the music here accompanies the blossoming, but ill-fated, romance between Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala. First heard on the oboe with harp triplets, the love theme goes through many orchestral reiterations, including being featured on the harp, before returning, wistfully, on the oboe.

Williams – Suite from Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Episode 7)

The sweeping, romantic, and lively theme characterizes Rey, a pivotal character in the movie, who is strong-willed and adventurous.

Williams – Star Wars Suite

We end the program with one of the most recognisable pieces of film music. After an opening brass fanfare you will hear the monumental main theme, characterised by melodic leaps that break up its step-wise movement. Again, John Williams employs an interjecting accompaniment which allows the heroic melody to sound out. A more subdued orchestral section follows, featuring the celeste and piccolo, before the triumphant return of the main theme.

© Celia Fitz-Walter