The Tucson Symphony Orchestra took us to the cineplex on Thursday.
The only thing missing throughout the two-hour "At the Movies — Symphony Style " concert was the popcorn.
You didn't need to actually see the movies as they played. Just close your eyes and they came to life through the melodies of such famous soundtrack moments as Bernard Herrmann's "Psycho: A String Suite." As the violins let out that startling, high-pitched scream, you could see Norman Bates stabbing Marion Crane as she stood naked behind the shower curtain.
Audiences in other countries hearing this might not connect the dots to the 1960 Alfred Hitchcock horror movie "Psycho," but Thursday's audience did. Conductor George Hanson put the emphasis on the crisp phrasing so that when the violins shrieked a second time late into the 14-minute piece, dozens of the 1,050 audience members flinched and shrank in their seats. A few dozen more let out quiet gasps, probably the same reaction they had the first time they saw Anthony Perkins raise that knife in the steamy bathroom scene and stab Janet Leigh over and over again.
"At the Movies" was a two-hour romp through some of Hollywood's most memorable soundtracks, most of them written long before Thomas Edison or Louis Lumière invented movie cameras in the late 1800s.
There was Richard Wagner's dramatic 1856 "Ride of the Valkyries" used in the the dark, foreboding 1979 film "Apocalypse Now," and the lighthearted, romantic Intermezzo and Barcarolle from Offenbach's opera "The Tales of Hoffman" used as a central theme in James Cameron's record-setting box-office smash "Titanic." The concert also included the Intermezzo from Pietro Mascagni's opera "Cavalleria Rusticana" ("Godfather III") and Barber's Adagio for Strings, a haunting piece made even more so in the Oliver Stone war flick "Platoon."
Guest violinist Lara St. John took us to Hollywood's swashbuckling years with Korngold's 1945 Violin Concerto in D major. The piece was actually not used in a film, but borrows themes from Korngold's other film scores, including "The Prince and the Pauper."
St. John, dressed in a floor-length silver gown, started out a bit off-kilter. She couldn't quite nail the lyricism of the first movement and her sound was stilted and sometimes hollow. A few times you couldn't hear her above the orchestra.
In the shimmering, romantic second movement, though, St. John's sound was warmer with richer tones. It was as if she had found her footing and her play was charismatic and lush.
St. John, an ardent movie buff, treated the audience to an encore, John Williams' achingly beautiful main theme from "Schindler's List." Any missteps early on were entirely forgotten as she made her violin sing so tenderly you almost held your breath. The performance earned St. John an enthusiastic standing ovation and shouts of bravo, as well as a long line of folks at intermission seeking autographs.
The TSO earned a second round of bravos for a brilliantly energetic performance of Paul Dukas's colorful 1897 masterpiece "The Sorcerer's Apprentice." Hanson's reading of the piece, a cornerstone of Disney's "Fantasia" and "Fantasia 2000," was to play it with all the enthusiasm and nuance Mickey Mouse mustered, sans the dancing broomsticks.
Review
Tucson Symphony Orchestra with guest soloist Lara St. John Thursday at Tucson Music Hall. Concert repeats at 2 p.m. Sunday.
