Bowl Keeps Africa at a Distance in Fireworks Finale

“Fireworks Finale--A Dream of Africa” at the Hollywood Bowl on Friday (the opening of its three-night, summer-closing engagement) was accurately titled, because the program, with the exception of Miriam Makeba’s set, largely represented African dreams rather than African realities.

In the opening segment, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra under John Mauceri offered selections drawn from African-themed film music by Maurice Jarre, Alex North, John Barry and John Williams.

Efficiently performed, it was music that for the most part illustrated the dictum that the best film music is that which is supportive but invisible to the action taking place on the screen.

More intriguingly, there were excerpts from works by Nigerian composer Fela Sowande and African American composer William Grant Still. Even here, however, the emphasis seemed to be on demonstrating expertise in Western European styles rather than attempting to introduce elements from the vast vocabulary of African music. “Caravan,” the Ellington classic written by valve trombonist Juan Tizol, somehow found its way into the program, introduced by Mauceri in the context of the Sahara. (That may be what lyricist Irving Mills had in mind, but one can only wonder if the thought ever occurred to Tizol in the 1930s, when he was simply writing a piece to add to the already large collection of Ellington’s exotic pieces.)

Makeba’s set at least had a greater feeling of authenticity. She has long been viewed as one of the veteran spokeswomen for Africa in general and the South African anti-apartheid movement in particular.

But the singer, generous to a fault, turned over a far too lengthy segment of her performance to introductions and solos from each of her musicians and backing singers. At 70, Makeba is very much at the peak of her skills, and it would have been nice to hear the full range of what this magnificent artist has to offer.

The show-closing fireworks display was presented with music from “The Lion King.” But the combination of music and pyrotechnics seemed surprisingly bland.