Heard at Carnegie Hall, Sounds From a Galaxy Far, Far Away

Carnegie Hall is traditionally the home planet of such colossi of classical music as Gustave Mahler, Leopold Stokowski, and Maria Callas. The likes of Benny Goodman, Judy Garland, and the Beatles have also made their presence known there. On Friday evening, the performance at the venerated venue was decidedly more extraterrestrial, and the names that came to mind included Luke Skywalker, Jar-Jar Binks, and Yoda.The occasion was the opening concert of the New York Pops’s 40th season, “The Music of Star Wars,” directed by the orchestra’s resident conductor, Steven Reineke. Without having to state his basic point verbally, Mr. Reineke proved repeatedly throughout the two-hour performance that the underscoring music for this film series amounts to a full-on franchise within a franchise — perhaps more so than any other, though the James Bond films and “Star Trek” are contenders. Certainly no other cinematic epic has had so much of its music composed by a single individual, in this case one who happens to also be the most revered maestro in the last 50 years of Hollywood history. John Williams has scored fully 10 out of the 11 theatrical “Star Wars” films, and he has achieved the trick of making the music of these movies brilliantly consistent but diverse. Famously, franchise creator George Lucas drew on a wide range of inspiration for his on-screen narrative — from Joseph Campbell and the archetype of the hero’s journey to Buck Rogers, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Eastern spirituality. So, too, Mr. Williams was famously influenced by both the worlds of classical and movie music, from dissonant Russians (Stravinsky, Mussorgsky, Prokofiev) to impressionistic Frenchmen (Debussy, Ravel) and programmatic Britishers (Vaughan Williams, Delius, Britten) — not to mention Elmer Bernstein and Leonard Bernstein.Mr. Reineke presented the music in narrative order, which is not exactly the same as the chronological order of the films. Thus he started with the “prequel trilogy” (beginning with “Episode I – The Phantom Menace,” 1999) and ended with the “sequel trilogy” (which began with “Episode 7 – The Force Awakens,” 2015), and he included the original trilogy along the way. The two “Anthology” films, “Solo” (2018) and “Rogue One” (2016) — the latter is the only entry to employ music from a different composer, Michael Giacchino — fell in between “Episode III – Revenge of the Sith” and “Episode IV – A New Hope.” Listening to music from across the so far 40-year creative span of the theatrical features, it’s almost possible to enjoy them en toto as kind of an instrumental mega-opera of the gods, a Ring cycle on steroids, with certain themes, musical and otherwise, running through the entire opus.Mr. Williams is most famous for his marches — he’s got to be the most famous composer to work in the form since John Philip Sousa, though the “Star Wars” marches are more directly inspired by “The Planets.” This iconic suite, written 100 years ago by the Swedish composer Gustave Holst, begins with “Mars: Bringer of War,” whose artfully bombastic 5/4 time fanfares directly prefigure Mr. Williams’s “Imperial March” (“II”). Also, one has to love Mr. Williams’s fast-paced chase themes; like the imperial marches, they create tension but in a much more light-hearted vein. The underscoring for Darth Vader’s evil legions employ lots of dark-toned brass and frighteningly militaristic snare drums by the carload. The chase themes, like “The Adventures of Han” (“Solo”) and “Speeder Chase” (“IX”), are faster and snappier, eschewing the snares in favor of xylophones, which give the proceedings a more cartoony, slapstick-y sound.Mr. Williams is also a master of the classical tradition of using leitmotivs, à la Wagner, to signify specific characters, concepts, and plot points. The love theme “Across the Stars” (“II”) sounds somewhat like Nino Rota in its use of high strings. It starts out lush and exquisitely romantic but grows more foreboding as it progresses, clearly signifying an ominous turn in the relationship of Anakin and Padmé. Indeed, in a recent episode of the excellent sci-fi and fantasy podcast “Imaginary Worlds,” one “Star Wars” fan claimed that he was able to guess the surprise ending of “Rise of Skywalker” well before the on-screen reveal merely from the musical cues and clues.Perhaps the only completely tranquil piece of music played all evening was “Yoda’s Theme” (“V”); even “Princess Leia’s Theme” (“IV”) gives us info on the soundtrack that we weren’t being provided in the visuals, namely that the feisty heroine of the original trilogy — she of the much parodied bun-like braids — has a more sentimental underside than we are shown on screen.The New York Pops made a point of not projecting scenes from the films, wanting us to concentrate on the music as a distinct entity unto itself. Mr. Reineke’s only concession to the iconography of the pictures was after intermission, when he re-entered in Obi-Wan Kenobi drag. The orchestra concluded with an unannounced encore of the famous “Cantina Band” theme (“IV”), stressing jazz age clarinets in a peppy two-beat to create outer space dixieland. It was a triumphant opener to the anniversary season and one of the best all-around Pops shows in memory. Great movie underscore music, perhaps even more than traditional songs with lyrics, is a perfect mandate for this ongoing metropolitan institution. Even more than iMax or 3-D, John Williams’s music, when performed live in concert, pulls you inside of it and puts you in the middle of the action, transporting you back a long time ago to a galaxy far, far away. Here’s hoping for more Max Steiner, Erich Korngold, and Ennio Morricone in the orchestra’s future.

Heard at Carnegie Hall, Sounds From a Galaxy Far, Far Away

Heard at Carnegie Hall, Sounds From a Galaxy Far, Far Away

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