Jump to content

Revised versions of Violin and Cello Concerto on Youtube


MovieMusicMaestro

Recommended Posts

On August 10, 2016 at 5:48 AM, MovieMusicMaestro said:

Revised version of Cello Concerto (2012):

 

Revised version of Violin Concerto (2016):

 

 

These were excellent!  Very fine performances.  Thanks for posting it.

 

One thing I just thought was interesting, there is a moment in Prokofiev's Symphony No. 4 first movement where you have these intensely dissonant chords over a pedal of C (4 horns in octaves) as the orchestra pounds away any chord that does not fit.  Like C# minor, D#7, well listen for yourself here (really starting at 8:39):

 

and in JW violin concerto, the pedal is B on the strings but similar effect and very exciting stuff (29:52). 

 

 

He does this sort of thing to maximize tension before a suddenly unexpected transition in a different direction.  In the case of Prokofiev, it suddenly jumps to hyperactive manic mode after the searing drama.  For Williams, it's to go from drama to sudden serenity but a great example of this dramatic technique and I see this as a glimpse into how JW's love and study of Prokofiev is made his own.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...
1 hour ago, pete said:

Thanks for the link. Always a pleasure to hear the musicians themselves talk about Williams' music and how their perceive it and approach it. While the critics might turn up their noses to JW's concert works, the performers themselves often admit that they are not only interesting and well written works but also extremely challenging as well and thus very rewarding for them to play.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can't tell if the violin concerto is a revision or it's just played poorly on the orchestras part.....
I heard a snippet of the ending of the third movement back in march or whenever it was, which was horribly played, and over all the piece seems way too slow. However Gil played wonderfully as always. The orchestra just sounds poorly rehearsed, and the percussion is barely audible.

What does everyone think of the cello concerto "revisions"? I he is more re-writing rather than revising. There are things that remain in the 4 different versions, but a lot completely re-done. I prefer the second one which he released with my by Sony.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've never really understood the need to have multiple versions of the same music myself, unless they're radical re-interpretations (like remixes or jazz versions and stuff). Doesn't matter if it's classical or film music. If I find ONE version of a piece I'm satisfied with, that's all I need.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

42 minutes ago, Stefancos said:

How about the artistic interpretation of different orchestras and conductors?

 

It's perfectly legitimate; I'm just saying it's not something I'm personally in need of possessing. For example, I have a bunch of STAR WARS albums, but if I want to play something different, I'll put on the jazz or church organ versions. For the "proper" orchestral versions, I almost always go for the soundtracks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, Fennel Ka said:

I am assuming you are talking about re-recordings, not revisions then?

 

Mostly, yes. But sometimes revisions too, unless they're clearly very different like -- say -- "Song of World Peace" is in relation to the original "Satelite Celebration". Also, sometimes, I only need a decent re-recording, not the original soundtrack (e.g. I only need the Marco Polo re-recording of Steiner's KING KONG and have no interest in the scratchy original recording or any other version).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

More than any other art, music lives on because there are people who constantly picks up the score and their instruments and starts to play. Otherwise it's only dots and signs on a piece of paper. Also, it's the artist's right to go back and revisit his own work for whichever reason. It's our right to like or dislike whatever revision he/she might do, but it's still part of what music-making is.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, TownerFan said:

More than any other art, music lives on because there are people who constantly picks up the score and their instruments and starts to play. Otherwise it's only dots and signs on a piece of paper. Also, it's the artist's right to go back and revisit his own work for whichever reason. It's our right to like or dislike whatever revision he/she might do, but it's still part of what music-making is.

 

Oh, I agree. It's a living, breathing thing and I think it's great that new orchestras and soloists can bring their own voice to the dots on the paper. It's not the idea I'm puzzled by, but by the need to own and listen to multiple versions that are only SLIGHTLY different. If you have multiple versions of a piece, do you constantly rotate between them?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Thor said:

 

Oh, I agree. It's a living, breathing thing and I think it's great that new orchestras and soloists can bring their own voice to the dots on the paper. It's not the idea I'm puzzled by, but by the need to own and listen to multiple versions that are only SLIGHTLY different. If you have multiple versions of a piece, do you constantly rotate between them?

 

Yes, I do!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, that's awesome. I have two versions of the violin concerto in my collection -- the ol' Mark Peskanov one and the Gil Shaham one. I tend to go for the Peskanov one, but if I play the Shaham CD, I'll just let it play through his version as well. I'm more than set, though. I would have lived perfectly happy with just one of them.

 

For the cello concerto, I have the Yo-Yo Ma, which is all I ever need.

 

For me, it's more about owning the piece than its many variations (providing that the piece is well-performed, of course).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In terms of recording, it's perfectly normal to prefer one over another. But personally I don't think there's something as the "definitive" interpretation of a piece, especially if we talk about classical repertoire. Case in point: Williams' Violin Concerto. Even though Williams' writing is very specific and there's no room for too many liberties, every soloist who plays it will bring something personal and maybe even new to the piece, as much as it happens with Brahms' Violin Concerto or C'ajkovskij's. So I too like to listen to different interpretations. The more, the better. The film pieces are somehow a different beast because the original film recording is usually used as the benchmark (in case of JW also because he's the conductor of his own music), but the film recording is usually also slave to sync issues and specific needs in order to work well in cohesion with the other sound elements, so the musical thought is somehow secondary, to a certain extent. But a piece like The Imperial March or Adventures of Earth can be performed and expressed in very different ways by orchestras and conductors.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't share Thor's characteristic "mystified at the behavior of other humans" attitude, but I do think one can uncover what, for them, is the "definitive" interpretation of a piece.  I have quite a few, and while others are interesting, there's a reason why one works for me more than others.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 minutes ago, Prerecorded Briefing said:

I don't share Thor's characteristic "mystified at the behavior of other humans" attitude, but I do think one can uncover what, for them, is the "definitive" interpretation of a piece.  I have quite a few, and while others are interesting, there's a reason why one works for me more than others.  

 

Absolutely, I agree. For example, once I discovered Esa-Pekka Salonen's version of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring (the one with the LA Phil on DG), that's the version I'm usually returning to when I want my dose of Le sacre--the visceral power of Salonen's reading combined with the spectacular audio sonics of the recording makes it the non-plus ultra for me. That being said, I cannot avoid myself the pleasure of listening to the recordings conducted by Boulez, Bernstein, Ozawa or Ansermet as well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 10 months later...

I'm not so sure if this has been posted before, but here's a recent performance of the Cello concerto with Yo-Yo Ma, conducted by Joshua Weilerstein. Unfortunately I can't find the first and third movement, but I'd love it if these went online too since this seems to be the best performance of the most recent revision so far.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This was posted on youtube a while ago. They posted excerpts of the concert celebrating JFK's Centennial, and sadly just those two movements of the Cello Concerto. Still is awesome that for such an event, they choose to program a lesser know piece.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 11/2/2016 at 5:58 AM, WilliamsStarShip2282 said:

Does no one else think this recording of the violin concerto is awful?

Lacks some energy.  When I heard Denève conduct it with Ehnes it was much better.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Guidelines.