attridge writes: I just went to the 100th performance of Howard Shore’s The Lord of the Rings Symphony. It was a feast for the ears, eyes & heart! The soloists were wonderful. The young lady (16 years old) has been the featured soloist at 4 other cities already before San Francisco. The boy soprano soloist was a very talented local SF boy from the Boys Chorus of SF. The addition of the SF Girls Chorus was really exciting, as well.
Listening to the music was a joy! At any time of the music you could close your eyes and be brought into Middle Earth. But you didn’t want to close your eyes for a minute! On a humongous screen above the orchestra there was artwork from Alan Lee and John Howe throughout the show.
Many of the audience were obviously new to the Symphony, drawn in by the lure of the ring, oops, Howard Shore’s music. We were swept away by the richness of the music following the story of the ring via the artwork. The first half of the performance was dedicated to The Fellowship of the Ring. Pieces included: I. The Prophecy – concerning Hobbits – The Shadow of the Past – A Short Cut to Mushrooms – The Old Forest – A Knife in the Dark; II. Many Meetings – The Ring Goes South – A Journey in the Dark – The Bridge of Khazad-dum – Lothlorien – Gandalf’s Lament – Farewell to Lorien – The Great River – The Breaking of the Fellowship.
The second half included: Two Towers III. Foundations of Stone – The Taming of Smeagol – The Riders of Rohan – The Black Gate is Closed – Evenstar – The White Rider – Treebeard – The Forbidden Pool; IV. The End of All Things – The Return of the King – The Grey Havens – Into the West.
I would recommend this symphony show to all LOTR enthusiasts! If it weren’t sold out, I’d see it again tomorrow night!!!!
