In Thursday’s (12/7) Toronto Star, Olivia Stren writes that she and her family “have watched ‘Home Alone’—and its quintet of followups—countless times. Every scene, outfit, trap, facial expression, one-liner, musical note and anguished scream in the original have turned into winter’s consoling ambient noise. The film provides the literal soundtrack to the season, too; instead of cozying up to carols or jazz standards, we listen faithfully to John Williams’ masterful film score…. If [actor Macaulay] Culkin found just the right notes, so, of course, did Williams…. His music, brilliant, uplifting, heart-filling, has become part of our collective musical memory … This weekend, my family is taking our “Home Alone” immersion live [at] the Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s ‘Home Alone in Concert’, Dec. 7 to 10 … Mark Williams, who was appointed CEO last April, and music director Gustavo Gimeno are reimagining and modernizing the TSO, dispelling preconceptions of the symphony as an exclusive pastime for the fusty. Their live film-score performances are helping rebrand the TSO … as approachable to broader, diverse audiences.”
