"The Flight to Neverland" from Hook
At a Glance
-
Composed
1991 -
Length
c. 5 minutes -
Orchestration
3 flutes (2nd & 3rd=piccolo), 2 oboes (3rd=English horn), 3 oboes (2nd=E-flat clarinet, 3rd=bass clarinet), 3 bassoons (3rd=contrabassoon), 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion (suspended cymbals, crash cymbals, 2 glockenspiels, vibraphone, bass drum, chimes, snare drum, sizzle cymbal, bell tree, triangle), harp, piano/celesta, and strings -
First Los Angeles Philharmonic Performance
September 8, 1995, the composer conducting
About this Piece
Steven Spielberg’s first three films of the 1990s could not have been more diverse, further inspiring the composer. In 1991’s Hook, conceived initially as an elaborate song-and-dance movie musical (with lyrics by Leslie Bricusse, only three of which survived the final cut), John Williams created a score to accompany the onscreen frolicking of another famous Williams, Robin, in the role of a grownup Peter Pan, fighting the nasty villain of his youth. The sheer joy of “The Flight to Neverland”—with its atmospheric opening winds, harp, and strings yielding to a soaring figure for the brass—sets the proper mood of anticipation as the three Darling children fly from their nursery window on a chilly London night. —Notes from the Philharmonic’s archive
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