This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, April 4, 2013 - In The Matrix, Laurence Fishburne’s character, Morpheus, sums up the elusive subject of the film for our unlikely hero Neo, played by Keanu Reeves: “Unfortunately, no one can be told what the Matrix is. You have to see it for yourself.”
Thus, it is fitting that The Matrix and the St. Louis Symphony share that same enigmatic quality, as well the Powell Hall stage, this weekend.
Why?
Because both defy explanation and both promise a better experience when encountered together.
What makes this concert more intriguing is the presence of Don Davis, the film score’s composer, who will take up the baton for the April 5 and 6 performances, in which the St. Louis Symphony Chorus also appears.
This but-wait-there’s-more star power creates the sort of energy that infomercial barkers can only imagine.
Truly, the symphony and the chorus provide more than enough talent for the stage. Adding Davis to the performance provides a once-in-a-lifetime experience, which gives the audience an immediacy, as well as an intimacy, with the music and its role in the film.
Davis said when he first read the script for the movie, he was struck by its intelligence. “We pretty much knew this was going to be a sensation,” he said.
Davis said he realized during that first read that this was not just another film in the pulp science fiction machine. The film has sophisticated humor, as well as philosophical references, literary allusions and cultural context.
Simply, it is one smart film. Even the references to Dorothy and Kansas shape the story as hyperbole of The Wizard of Oz, with Reeves playing a hero dealing with an alternative universe who becomes a modern day, gun-toting Dorothy who is facing much more menacing foe than a flim-flam wizard and a soluble witch.
This isn’t about ruby slippers and a dog. This battle is about perspective and place in the universe, the very existence of humankind and the role we play in destroying ourselves.
Many critics have referred to The Matrix as the first film of the 21st century, even though it was released in March 1999.
Davis gives credit to the script, which has strong character development, and a clear context and perspective. So much, he said, is going on in the movie — much more than action and special effects.
“I recognized this as being post-modern,” Davis said. “And I think that what has turned out to be the sound of the Matrix — if you can call it that — are two different chords.”
He describes how he was inspired by the opening sequence of the film. In this portion he establishes two chords — one high that gets softer and one soft that gets louder.
The juxtaposition of the high bass, which begins softly and gets louder, coupled with the strings that start loudly and get softer suggest the very theme of the movie in musical terms.
“Originally, I had written this fast and loud action kind of music that went with what was going on in the film,” he said. “But they said ‘no’ because the audience needed to hear the fire trucks and the street noise.”
Ultimately, the music he created added to the drama without adding to the decibels.
“The change in the loudness and the dynamic is used a lot in the film,” he said. In fact, that change serves as the film’s audible signature.
In praise of SLSO
For those who attended the Judy Garland signature The Wizard of Oz in December, this week’s concert will fast-forward the symphony into modern day, and at the same time, will showcase the dexterity of the orchestra as well as the synergy of the symphony and the chorus.
“That’s what so wonderful about doing these concerts,” Davis said. “It is when they perform the music live that it is so good. It never sounds as good in the theater as it does live.
“And when you get an orchestra like the St. Louis Symphony, the sound is just so good.”
Davis credits both the musicians and Robertson with their success and acknowledges that their reputation is noteworthy.
“I am a huge admirer of David Robertson,” he said. “He has put his perfectionist stamp on the sound and it is wonderful.”
He also credits the nature of the relationship between the musicians and Robertson. “When an orchestra is as good as this one, it is because there is a level of respect there,” Davis said. “He works himself as hard as he works his musicians, and they are happy working with him because of that level of commitment.”
Davis said he hoped to meet Robertson. Few conductors have the sort of reputation that Robertson has built, and the fact that he works with the St. Louis Symphony helps to shape his stature as a internationally recognized maestro, as well as his approach to music.
“I think that Robertson is an American conductor with true European cred,” Davis said. “And I think that he could get a position in Europe somewhere if he wanted it. But we need him here in the U.S. I think it is important for him to be here — there is a real symbiosis.”
Elizabeth Harris Krasnoff is a freelance writer.