Henry Mancini at 100 at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts
30 May 2025 Concert Review Music Reviews
Henry Mancini at 100 was advertised in a very specific way, a celebration of the man and his music. The Scott Dunn Orchestra made it abundantly clear that what mattered most to them in this special performance was that Mancini’s music and legacy were preserved and respected throughout the decades. After enjoying a two hour compilation of his best works, much of which I had admittedly never heard before, I can say with certainty that their mission was accomplished and in an extraordinary way.
Mancini was a Hollywood music composer with works that spanned from the 1950s to the mid 1980s. Some of his work includes the music from Peter Gunn, Mr. Lucky. And Romeo and Juliet, all of which was played by the orchestra. And though I had never heard any of this music before, I was instantly hooked as soon as the first key was pressed on the piano. I instantly felt as though I was transported into the 1950s and knew almost immediately that this orchestra had a lot of respect for Mancini’s work and how it was played. The orchestra played all of his hit works with the performance being split into different decades of film. Scott Dunn, the conductor himself, gave some context and history on each decade of not only Mancini’s music, but the era of film in which it existed within. This gave the audience a better understanding of the choices Mancini made with his music’s various sounds, based on what exactly was occurring in his life at the moment.
What I was surprised most by was the diversity of musical instruments and styles of music across the performance. Portions of the performance were more jazz heavy and upbeat, something you imagine would be playing on a 40s jukebox. Other songs were more sorrowful with the use of a harp and at one point a choir, which appeared during the last half of the show. The second song played was the theme from the 1958 film Touch of Evil, which sounded like-to use Scott Dunn’s own words, an “Afro Cuban fiesta”, with a heavy Latin aesthetic to the sound of the theme which was completely different from the rest of the music played that night. Another song that really burrowed into my mind after hearing it was the Peter Gunn theme. It was a song I thought I had never heard before, yet instantly recognized it when it started playing. The song almost shocked me, I was feeling a little tired at this point of the show but the energy that the orchestra put into this theme woke me right back up. Something non music related that I noticed as I first sat down was that the demographic was far older than I had really anticipated. I believe that me and my guest were the only individuals in the building under forty years of age. In fact I would say about ninety percent of the audience was around seventy to eighty years old, which made sense the more I thought about the time in which many of these films were released in the first place.
The venue — the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts — itself felt very modern, the design was sleek and the red fabric that submerged the theatre had a warm ambience. Scott Dunn himself was integral in the fluidity of the show, introducing each piece with his short speeches and the energy he had while conducting left me feeling almost caffeinated. By the end of the experience I felt surprised by how moved I was by the music. I would recommend anyone who has a passion for film scores or orchestral concerts to attend this amazing experience.
by Humza Zaki