Music Reviews : John Williams Leads Boston Pops Esplanade at Bowl

There’s an unwarranted stigma attached to the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra. It is, as the program book Sunday evening at the Hollywood Bowl reminded us, composed of “other Boston-based musicians” rather than the Boston Symphony stalwarts who make up the real Boston Pops.

You couldn’t tell that from the performance, however. This was a tight, hard-hitting band that played its pops with spirited conviction and skill.

Although the concert was the finale of an 11-city, cross-country tour, there was nothing tired or routine in the playing. John Williams guided the orchestra in a program devoted largely to music from movies and musicals.

Williams dispensed with the National Anthem, initiating instead an evening of brass heroics with his own Olympic Fanfare and Theme. Other Williams contributions were two characterful, lovely and almost understated pieces from his 20-year-old score for “Jane Eyre,” the love theme from “The Accidental Tourist” and more predictable hits from “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and “E.T.”

Three big medleys--a group of tunes from Fred Astaire films, a four-item Duke Ellington tribute and a train-theme set--dominated the second half of the program. There were times when it all began to sound the same, through the high-calorie, overachieving orchestrations, but all sections of the orchestra had opportunities to strut their stuff.

The audience response was overwhelming. Relatively few of the 15,151 left early. Most stood and stamped and cheered, eventually drawing Williams out for four encores.