John Williams - Esplanade Overture

From the original Boston Pops concert program notes: "The Esplanade is a concert overture composed especially for the Boston Pops by its conductor and introduced into the Pops repertory in the 1983 season. It is a colorful and bouncy work designed to show off the sections of the orchestra while celebrating the pleasures of music-making and music-listening on the Esplanade." One of the lesser-known concert pieces composed by John Williams, Esplanade Overture was premiered in 1983 as a sort of "comedy overture" for the Boston Pops (for which he was appointed Musical Director in 1980) and performed several times throughout his years in Boston, acting as a lively opener for the outdoor summer concerts in the Boston Esplanade, as written in the concert program notes. It's one of Williams' liveliest and most brilliant scherzos ever, full of virtuosic writing, dazzling orchestral colors and singable melodies. It contains also a few nods to British composer William Walton, one of John Williams' musical heroes. It's of particular interest because Williams re-tooled some of the musical material here from the score of "Monsignor" (1982), an almost forgotten movie (directed by Frank Perry and starring Christopher Reeve) about the story of a not-so pious priest. This recording was likely taken from one of the Boston Pops' radio or television broadcast back in the early 1980s, hence the not-so great audio quality. All rights of this recordings are reserved and entitled to their proper holders. Fair use.