Jerry Goldsmith: The Legend of Film Composer (2024)

JERRY GOLDSMITH: THE LEGEND OF FILM COMPOSER
Music composed by Jerry Goldsmith
Music conducted by Nobuki Okumura
Performed by the Film Score Philharmonic Orchestra
Music director: Nobuko Toda
Master of ceremonies: Satori Ito
August 17, 2024
Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall
Tokyo, Japan

PART 1: A NICE SURPRISE

To be honest, I had a few reservations going into this concert.

For one thing, I have this policy of not going to film music concerts unless the original composer is there performing or conducting their own work. Because regardless of how good the orchestra is, it’s just missing something when the original composer isn’t there.

Second, the concert was listed at a flat 2,000 yen per ticket at the famed Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall which is much, much cheaper than usual film music concerts in Japan which average 10,000 yen a ticket.

Naturally, this huge difference in price made me wonder about the level of the orchestra.

But after coming home from last night’s tremendous concert, all I can say is that I was totally wrong and needn’t have been concerned.

I was truly blown away by not only the top-class quality of the orchestra, choir and conductor, but also the genuine passion and love for Jerry Goldsmith’s music by the orchestra and concert organizers．And when you mix that with a concert hall full of devoted Goldsmith fans, it was certainly an event to remember!

PART 2: A TEXTBOOK EXAMPLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

The lead up to the concert was characterized by a highly successful marketing campaign on social media platforms like X, Facebook and Instagram.

There were constant updates with rehearsal notes and photos, reposts of fan comments about the event, detailed info about the special pre-concert performance, cosplay guidelines, and more. This high level of communication just showed how much the organizers wanted to connect with the fans and bring them along for the ride on this very special passion project by esteemed composer and concert producer Nobuko Toda and the Film Score Philharmonic Orchestra.

It really was a textbook example of how to run a successful concert marketing campaign on social media – whoever runs these accounts should be applauded and given a nice raise!

PART 3: A SPECIAL PRE-CONCERT PERFORMANCE

The event kicked off with a special performance thirty minutes before the concert proper.

A reduced-size orchestra of about fifteen players got on stage to perform a lovely arrangement of Goldsmith’s “Soarin’” from the Disneyland attraction, SOARIN’ OVER CALIFORNIA.

Despite the small number of performers, it was a nice and spirited performance that allowed Goldsmith’s melody to… soar 😉.

PART 4: THE CONCERT PROGRAM

Here is a pic of the concert program in Japanese:

And here is the full concert program in English:

Pre-concert performance

• SOARIN’ OVER CALIFORNIA – Soarin’

Part 1 – Goldsmith: The depth of his film scoring genius

• AIR FORCE ONE – Main Title
• BASIC INSTINCT – Main Title (Theme from Basic Instinct)
• FIRST KNIGHT – Promise Me
• THE WIND AND THE LION – Main Title
• MULAN – Suite
• GREMLINS – Suite

Part 2 – Goldsmith: The 3-star chef of horror and suspense film music

• PLANET OF THE APES – The Hunt
• THE SWARM – Main Title
• ALIEN – Hyper Sleep
• ALIEN – End Title
• POLTERGEIST – End Credits (Carol Anne’s Theme)
• THE OMEN – Suite

Part 3 – Goldsmith’s masterpieces etched on film forever

• UNIVERSAL 100th ANNIVERSARY LOGO (arranged by Brian Tyler)
• THE GENERALS: MACARTHUR & PATTON
• THE MUMMY –The Sand Volcano
• STAR TREK: FIRST CONTACT – Main Title / Locutus
• STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE – Main Title
• TOTAL RECALL – The Big Jump
• TOTAL RECALL – A New Life
• TOTAL RECALL – End Credits

Encore

• RUDY – Main Title

PART 5: THE FIRST PART OF THE CONCERT

• AIR FORCE ONE – Main Title
• BASIC INSTINCT – Main Title (Theme from Basic Instinct)
• FIRST KNIGHT – Promise Me
• THE WIND AND THE LION – Main Title
• MULAN – Suite
• GREMLINS – Suite

The concert proper started with the master of ceremonies, the charming and highly knowledgeable Ms. Satori Ito, coming out on stage and providing a brief introduction to Goldsmith and the music that would be featured during the concert.

And with that, prolific conductor Nobuki Okumura graced the stage and treated us to a fantastic performance of the “Main Title” from AIR FORCE ONE. With its militaristic percussion and strong feelings of patriotism, the piece immediately made me recall the opening titles of AIR FORCE ONE with the film credits in plain blue text on the stark black background – it is simple, meaningful and, coupled with Goldsmith’s music, a perfect way to set the tone of the film.

The “Main Theme” from BASIC INSTINCT immediately seduced with its mysterious sounds and sexual undertones. I’m sure I wasn’t the only man in the audience shifting uncomfortably in his chair…

“Promise Me” from FIRST KNIGHT was stunning with its strong sense of nobility, power and heroism; a real treat to hear live.

The “Main Title” from THE WIND AND THE LION was absolute gangbusters with its thrilling percussion and heroic theme. To these ears it sounded just like the original recording.

The “Suite” from MULAN was identical to the suite from the commercially released Disney soundtrack album which included orchestral versions of the non-Goldsmith composed songs “Honor to us all” and “Reflection.” The suite also had a glorious statement of the “tender” theme (sorry, it’s been a while since I saw the film so I just can’t remember when it’s used in the film!). When I first heard this theme many years ago, I clearly remember thinking that it sounded a lot like the “family theme” from AIR FORCE ONE.

The GREMLINS “Suite” matched the one on the “Goldsmith Conducts Goldsmith” album. Highlights included the plaintive opening melody on flute and the crowd-pleasing “Gremlin Rag,” which was driven forward with passionate glee by the drummer.

PART 6: THE SECOND PART OF THE CONCERT

• PLANET OF THE APES – The Hunt
• THE SWARM – Main Title
• ALIEN – Hyper Sleep
• ALIEN – End Title
• POLTERGEIST – End Credits (Carol Anne’s Theme)
• THE OMEN – Suite

The second part of the concert opened with a thrilling performance of “The Hunt” from PLANET OF THE APES. Despite missing the unconventional instruments from the original, it still sounded great live. The pianist did a fantastic job creating an ongoing sense of panic, while the iconic part for the ram’s horn – this time played by the French horn – was a bit soft at first, but got louder and more frantic. Overall, the piece wasn’t as feral or nightmarish as the original, but it was still a commendable performance.

I have never really warmed to the “Main Title” of THE SWARM, but hearing it live made me greater appreciate the buzzing effect in the opening of the piece.

Full of darkness and foreboding, the two tracks from ALIEN, “Hyper Sleep” and “End Title,” were right on the money. And when the trumpet came in during the “End Title,” I was in Goldsmith heaven – it was spine-tingling.

To be totally honest, I much prefer Goldsmith’s more overtly emotional pieces to his action music, so I was delighted to hear “Carol Anne’s Theme” from POLTERGEIST live. I truly had the feels when the adult female choir made their entrance and sung Goldsmith’s gorgeous theme. I was half-expecting the choir to break out into devilish laughter at the end, but alas, it didn’t happen. I’m pretty sure it would have both freaked out and pleased the audience!

The “Suite” from THE OMEN was just oozing menace and power, with the ferocious might of the male and female choir making us tremble in our seats! This suite included Goldsmith’s killer (pun intended) music from “Ave Santani,” “Killer’s Storm,” “The New Ambassador,” and “The Dog’s Attack.” A true privilege to hear live.

PART 7: A POST-INTERMISSION PHOTO

After the intermission, the MC and Toda-san came out on stage and invited the audience to take photos of the orchestra. This might sound unusual to most outside Japan, but a common rule in concert halls in Japan is that photos or videos cannot be taken during live music performances.

Sadly, I heard from numerous people at the concert that due to rights (and most certainly cost) issues, no video or audio release of the concert will be made. Bummer.

PART 8: THE FINAL PART OF THE CONCERT

• UNIVERSAL 100th ANNIVERSARY LOGO (arranged by Brian Tyler)
• THE GENERALS: MACARTHUR & PATTON
• THE MUMMY –The Sand Volcano
• STAR TREK: FIRST CONTACT – Main Title / Locutus
• STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE – Main Title
• TOTAL RECALL – The Big Jump
• TOTAL RECALL – A New Life
• TOTAL RECALL – End Credits

The final part of the concert kicked off with a surprise performance of Brian Tyler’s smashing arrangement of Goldsmith’s UNIVERSAL LOGO music for the studio’s 100th anniversary. When the full choir came in it was pure ecstasy… it just made me wish that this version was still playing in theatres!

As soon as the UNIVERSAL LOGO finished, the conductor immediately went into a brisk performance of THE GENERALS suite which included the main themes from MACARTHUR and PATTON. Despite the absence of an echoplex, the trumpeter did a more than admirable job replicating its sound.

THE MUMMY is something I never fully appreciated until last night’s performance of Goldsmith’s epic music. I had goosebumps when the female choir came in to accompany the main theme towards the end of the piece. I really need to dust off the expanded edition from Intrada (R.I.P. Doug Fake) and give it another spin.

Fan-favourite STAR TREK was represented with two sensational “Main Title” performances from the films FIRST CONTACT and THE MOTION PICTURE. The performance of FIRST CONTACT was especially gorgeous, with the horns giving the theme the perfect amount of courage and pride.

The much-anticipated music from TOTAL RECALL came in the form of three pieces.

“The Big Jump” was a thrilling performance and the only piece during the concert that used a non-acoustic instrument – i.e. a keyboard – to reproduce the synth lines.

“A New Life” was a good performance of the expansive and triumphant music accompanying the finale of the film.

For the “End Credits,” the drum kit and percussion were the real stars of the piece. As I don’t have a music background, I can’t properly name musical instruments, but the drum kit being used was certainly not your usual one because it was acoustic yet sounded synthetic – similar to the original recording. Wood blocks also made an appearance and had me tapping my foot along.

PART 9: ENCORE

• RUDY – Main Title

After a sustained final applause came a most welcome encore: the “Main Title” from RUDY. Beginning with a lonely harp then segueing into that iconic theme for flute, our hearts just couldn’t help but melt. Despite missing the choir, it was a deeply moving performance climaxing as the theme swelled on strings.

And with that, the Goldsmith concert program came to a glorious and deeply satisfying end.

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To cap off the night, the orchestra played a crowd-pleasing performance of “Tribute to the Film Composer,” a medley of themes arranged by John Williams. I’m told that this medley is played at the end of every concert put on by the Film Score Philharmonic Orchestra, and it shows – it was flawless!

PART 10: A CONCERT FOR AND BY FILM SCORE FANS

As I said in the opening, my initial reservations about this concert were blown away by the time the very first piece at the concert ended.

From the well-curated program to the highly knowledgeable MC, it was clearly a concert put on by fans for the fans. And that is what made it such a successful and special event.

PART 11: NO JERRY, NO PROBLEM!

I mentioned at the outset of this report that I have a policy of not going to film music concerts unless the original composer is there performing or conducting their own work.

While Jerry (R.I.P) may not have been there, there were times during the concert that I really couldn’t tell the difference between the concert performance and the original.

Achieving this is extremely difficult, and only provides conclusive proof of the skill and dedication to quality of the Film Score Philharmonic Orchestra and the people behind it.

If Jerry was still with us today, he would have been proud.

BRAVO to all involved 😉

PART 12: CONCERT MERCH

Aside from the complimentary program (in Japanese only), no concert merch was on offer – not even a poster of the event. I was tempted to liberate one that was hanging in the foyer though… haha

They did have a table with complimentary programs from past Film Score Philharmonic concerts though:

PART 13: A SPECIAL PRESENT

At the conclusion of the concert, someone connected to the orchestra was walking around handing out A4-sized concert flyers (which were not distributed publicly) to the many hardcore Goldsmith fans that had stuck around to chat at the end of the concert. As I was with my Goldsmith “crew,” I got one!

A big THANK YOU to that most kind person for this amazing memento – it will be forever treasured!

Below are high quality scans of the above flyer:

PART 14: ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

A huge thanks to Film Score Philharmonic Orchestra trombonist Toru (on X as @ToruIchizuka) for confirming a few points I wasn’t sure about such as what was in THE OMEN suite, and what instrument replaced the ram’s horn in “The hunt” from PLANET OF THE APES.

PART 15: OVER TO YOU

Did you also go to this concert? How did you like it?

And what did you think of my report? Feel free to comment below or reach out to me directly in the “Contact Me” section.