The music of John Williams deserves to be heard in the concert hall, says the SSO’s new Chief Conductor.

When you enter a movie theatre you become aware of sound in a different way; the lights go down and you give yourself to the complete experience that awaits you. John Williams understands this and finds just the right combination of sounds and timbres to communicate with us on a very deep emotional level. The moments in films he’s worked on when people say “I couldn’t help but cry” are often brought on by his music. He knows just how to balance sound and silence. He is a musician who understands the enormous power music has.

That this knowledge is not just a freak was brought home to me once at the Tanglewood Music Festival. He was simply an audience member. We were both listening to 8 Pieces for Clarinet, Viola and Piano Op 83 by Max Bruch, a work composed in 1910. After the concert we had a moment to chat about the performance (full disclosure: my wife, Orli Shaham was the pianist). What struck me was the way in which he had been listening on such a deep level....