A little something for everyone
Keith Lockhart tunes up for Boston Pops eclectic spring season
TAKING THE BATON:
The Boston Pops work hard to balance classic fare and future classics, toetapping standards and progressive new pieces. You know, not just music from “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Beauty and the Beast,” but “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” too.
A quick glance at the Pops’ spring season and parents will find concerts ideally suited to get kids engaged in symphonic music. A longer look reveals treasures for more sophisticated ears, including the world premiere of “The Strayhorn
Concerto,” based on the works of jazz titan Billy Strayhorn and a Boston Pops co-commission.
“Coming out of (the pandemic), I think parents will be really eager to give their kids these kinds of musical experiences,” conductor Keith Lockhart told the Herald.
Typically, the Holiday Pops caters to a large number of families. But not everybody was ready to crowd into Symphony Hall in December. For many, this spring’s Pops season — the orchestra’s first since 2019 — will be their first time back, or maybe their first time ever.
The Pops present a shortened run this year (four weeks instead of six). This meant Lockhart had to carefully calculate his programming.
“Obviously we want to first bring back those people whose spring wouldn’t be complete without the Boston Pops,” he said. “We also wanted things with a wide-level of attractiveness. We’d like to have full halls for our return.”
To cater to kids — and parents (and anyone who loves musical theater or a good film score) — the symphony opens with “The Magical Music of Alan
Menken” and at the end of the month puts on a pair of “Sorcerer’s Stone” film nights. The Menken tribute brings in Broadway stars Susan Egan, Telly Leung and Alton Fitzgerald White to sing selections from the composer’s catalog including tunes from “The Little Mermaid,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “Little Shop of Horrors.” As part of a yearlong celebration of Boston Pops conductor laureate John Williams’ 90th birthday, Lockhart will lead his orchestra through the Potter music and another set of film nights devoted to “The Empire Strikes Back.”
For those over 40, Williams’
work on the original “Star Wars” trilogy ranks as a milestone in movie music. But Lockhart points out Williams’ magic was rarely more dazzling than during “Sorcerer’s Stone.”
“I was 18 when the first ‘Star Wars’ came out so that’s what I think of when I think of John Williams,” he said. “But the Harry Potter scores are just as iconic. They’re really wonderful … and there’s no coasting. This is one of the longest movie scores I have ever conducted. It’s like a thousand pages and none of it is marking time. It’s all pretty involved.”
Along with nods to Hollywood and Broadway, it was important to push ahead. The Pops welcome back pianist Lara Downes and singer/actor Brian Stokes Mitchell for “Duke Ellington Reimagined” and the new concerto based on Ellington-collaborator’s Strayhorn works.
“Billy Strayhorn is one of the most famous artists you’ve never heard of,” Lockhart said. “He was a good half, some people say more than half, of the creative genius that we know as Duke Ellington.”
For tickets and a complete look at the Boston Pops season, go to bostonpops. org.