I had a good day planned, but it turns out that life sometimes does not go as one wants, so in the end the fun part of it was reduced to attending a concert in the theatre Auditorio Buero Vallejo in Guadalajara. The Hollywood Symphony Orchestra was touring Spain with a repertoire of film soundtracks by Hans Zimmer and John Williams.

The Hollywood Symphony Orchestra (HSO), from Los Angeles, comprises some musicians who record original soundtracks for films. Originally just a recording orchestra with works dating back to 1953, from 2006 they hold concerts and radio broadcasts. Today it is dedicated to perform “live to picture” concerts, playing live music in synch with the original material from the film. I think it would be really cool to watch a whole film with them playing the score!

However, this is not what they brought this time. It was more “snippets” of films with a remix of the main themes. The “Best Cinema Music” La mejor música de cine comprised several pieces by probably two of the most famous composers ever.

John Williams was born in 1932 and is still considered “an active composer and conductor”. Since his career started in 1954, he has been nominated for an Oscar 54 times, and he won five times – Fiddler on the Roof, Jaws, Star Wars, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Schindler’s List. Hans Zimmer, a German film score composer and music producer, has been “only” nominated twelve times, with two wins – one for The Lion King and another for Dune. But he is more than 30 years younger than Williams, so I guess there is still time. Both of them have written film music I enjoy a lot (along with Howard Shore and Jerry Goldsmith), so I really wanted to go. I was even ready to brave the awful Guadalajara crowds and head to the theatre there.

The whole concert lasted about two hours, in two parts with one interlude, and two pieces of encore – a total of 15 songs. The director was not introduced, but he looked nothing like the main director that the HSO webpage introduces. As set up, the orchestra was on stage and behind them, a screen showed scenes from the films whose soundtracks they were playing. They were not too well planned, though, because most of them had to run a time and a half before the music piece ended. I like this set up though, because it gives me something visual to look at while the music plays. For me, it is perfect – it is the same thing they’ve done before at the Final Fantasy live concerts.

Setlist:

Part 1
  1. Main Title from Star Wars (Williams, 1977)
  2. The Lion King soundtrack medley (Zimmer, 1994)
  3. Superman Main Title Theme (Williams, 1978)
  4. Schindler’s List Theme (Williams, 1993)
  5. Pearl Harbor Suite (Zimmer, 2001)
  6. Now We Are Free, Gladiator main theme (Zimmer, 2000)
  7. The Raiders March, Main theme of the Indiana Jones films (Williams, 1982)
Part 2
  8. E.T. the Extra-terrestrial main theme (Williams, 1982)
  9. Main Theme from Jurassic Park (Williams, 1993)
  10. Molossus, Batman Begins main theme (Zimmer, 2005)
  11. Hymn to the Fallen, Saving Private Ryan main theme (Williams, 1998)
  12. Harry Potter Main Theme (Williams, 2001)
  13. He’s a Pirate, Pirates of the Caribbean main theme (Zimmer, 2003)
Encore
  14. Imperial March from Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (Williams, 1980)
  15. The Raiders March, Main theme of the Indiana Jones films (Williams, 1982).

All in all, the day did not pan out as I had planned it, but it did have a bit of an epic ending, and I was glad that I managed to squeeze the outing. I did miss hearing the theme of Jaws, but I got Jurassic Park, Pirates of the Caribbean and Indiana Jones. I have to admit that The Lion King was way intense (hello, inner child!). And I did not like the Gladiator film, but the rendition was epic. Most of it was. Except for E.T., which felt a bit too long, I thoroughly enjoyed the performance. A great way to end a not-so-good day.

Edit in January 2025. It seems this was not the Hollywood Symphony Orchestra at all, but a group of musicians impersonating them. During the 24/25 tour, the performance so bad that there were complaints and musicians got sacked and quit left and right. This rendition was good, to be honest, but I feel ripped off. Isn’t this fraud, technically? The reports of what happened in 2025 are surreal, with the ensemble impersonating two different orchestras for different repertories. Note to self: never trust promotor NK Prodarte.