NEW John Williams concert work: Markings, for solo violin, strings, and harp - Premiering Sunday, July 16th 2017 at Tanglewood

[Tom 4,640]

Sounds like an exciting piece.  Not sure why the write up sounds like an angry JWfaner talking about JW's plagiarism.  I hope they do that for all new commissions. 

[Disco Stu 15,495]

I thought to myself, "Why spend an entire paragraph talking about this Bernstein piece that you ultimately decide it bears only superficial resemblance to?"  Comes across a little rambly.

[Miguel Andrade 1,262]

As soon as the piece instrumentation was known, my first thought was the Bernstein connection. I would actually be fine if there was some sort of nod to Bernstein, since he was such an integral part of Tanglewood and we are celebrating his centennial...

 

The notes are actually quite a tease... Sunday seems to far away now

 

As for the piece never being performed again... I'm sure it will. So many of Williams concertos are receiving attention lately, I'm sure that it won't be long that we'll see this one programmed again and who knows, even recorded commercially.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

12 minutes ago, Miguel Andrade said:

As soon as the piece instrumentation was known, my first thought was the Bernstein connection. I would actually be fine if there was some sort of nod to Bernstein, since he was such an integral part of Tanglewood and we are celebrating his centennial...

 

 

Yeah, I suppose it'd be like not addressing the elephant in the room to not mention it in some way.  It just read a little strange to talk about the connection so much and then at the end basically say, "but really it's nothing like that."

[Miguel Andrade 1,262]

Yes, I do understand your point.

[Will 2,215]

Williams attended Wednesday's rehearsal:

 

 

(https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/names/2017/07/12/bso-preps-for-premiere-john-williams-work-tanglewood/j6R8tnEgQ5uYnXbwjlBzkN/story.html)

[BloodBoal 7,538]

Well, that is one big baton.

[thx99 1,740]

3 hours ago, BloodBoal said:

Well, that is one big baton.

 

She's just happy to see Williams.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

How many black turtlenecks do you think Williams owns?  And how many lint rollers?!

[Will 2,215]

Interview with Mutter:

 

https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/music/2017/07/13/anne-sophie-mutter-john-williams-premiere-and-bambis-tanglewood/FsBZEEmM72xfLbvP0YfzTL/story.html

 

Here's all the Williams-relevant material:

 

Spoiler

[...]

 

It was a cloudy Thursday morning in Lenox, but Mutter was sunny and bright when she picked up the phone at the Blantyre hotel. She had good reason to be excited. In a few hours, she would rehearse with the BSO, and for the first time, soloist and orchestra would play “Markings,” a new piece dedicated to her by Boston Pops laureate conductor John Williams. An avid advocate for and performer of new music, she had been asking Williams for a piece “for some time,” she confirmed. The world premiere will begin Sunday afternoon’s Andris Nelsons-conducted concert, which will also feature her as soloist in the Tchaikovsky violin concerto.

 

Q. What drew you to ask John Williams to compose a piece for you? What was it about his music that attracted you to it?

 

A. It’s just the uniqueness of his orchestration. He certainly is among the two or three greatest composers of music in any genre. And for me, having a piece by John Williams is a wonderful enlargement and enrichment of the violin repertoire. Because he writes in a way which is extremely refined. And the piece, which is called “Markings,” it’s for string orchestra and harp. It’s wonderfully, delicately orchestrated. He just understands how to write for instruments. And that seems to be something normal, you might think, but it is not, particularly in times in which we live. Much of contemporary music can be overloaded with information. Everything gets bigger and louder, but it doesn’t necessarily do justice to what instruments have as their characteristic features, and John Williams is one of the composers who understands how to put instruments into the best possible position to soar, to fly.

 

Q. Tell me about the new piece, “Markings.”

 

A. It is a short, serene, very poetic, mostly lyrical piece with a wonderfully witty and virtuosic center part. Sadly it is very short, and my hopes are still there that Mr. Williams, who is of course very busy, might find the time to add a few more bars, so it might be a work in progress. But it is as it is now, in its form, absolutely perfect. A very unique musical setting, just the strings and the harp and the solo violin.

 

[...]

 

Q. What do you do to relax?

 

A. Staring at Bambis walking over the lawn. [laughs] Jokes aside, I love nature. I love hiking in the mountains, I love trees, and I love silence, the silence of nature which is never silent. I think it’s a great present for all of us. I  love to read, to cook, to go to the cinema. It was how I came across John Williams’s music about 40 years ago, when the first “Star Wars” appeared. Since then I have been his greatest fan.

 

I wonder just how long the piece is. Her comment about it being very short is a little worrisome. 

[artguy360 1,843]

Do we know just how short the piece is? Beggars can't be choosers but short is sad.

[mrbellamy 6,272]

It'll be 24 seconds.

[Miguel Andrade 1,262]

It's hardly a surprise for me that this will be a rather shorter piece. Probably some 5 minutes long... but will be more than happy to be proven wrong -- if it goes over the 5-minute mark, that is.

[crumbs 14,304]

He clearly just wrote it in an afternoon to get her to stop badgering him about writing something for her!

[Will 2,215]

Open rehearsal of this starts in an hour. Hopefully some videos show up online. 

[Will 2,215]

Darn, haven't been able to find any videos so far. 

[crumbs 14,304]

Williams deployed an EMP at the rehearsal to stop any leaks.

[Will 2,215]

All I've been able to find is this photo:

 

 

As well as this tweet which seems to indicate Williams was in attendance...

 

 

[Will 2,215]

This is nice. I envy that kid! 

 

 

[Will 2,215]

10 minutes!!

 

When it begins, you can listen here: http://classicalwcrb.org/

 

-------

 

EDIT: WCRB host just said the piece is 9 minutes!!

 

[Disco Stu 15,495]

That was... beautiful.

 

As dark, moody, and mysterious as I think I've ever heard Williams.

 

I want to hear it again.

[Will 2,215]

Solid piece. Not the kind of stuff you can really appreciate on first listen, so I can't say I truly enjoyed it, but I may say that in the future, who knows!

 

Very much in the vein of "Heartwood."

[Miguel Andrade 1,262]

This was just lovely! It's as Williams as it gets! There are some gestures reminiscent of older concertos...

And slightly longer than what I predicted, lasting around 7 minutes.

 

1 minute ago, Will said:

Not the kind of stuff you can really appreciate on first listen

 

I have to disagree on that... I really appreciated it on first listen, though as always, there will be treasures to find on repeated listens...

[Will 2,215]

Hmm, then maybe I just don't like stuff like this. I'll admit "Heartwood" was a a challenge, although I finally started to appreciate it (if not totally adore it, unlike with, say, the cello concerto first movement). 

 

But I do agree with Miguel that this is classic Williams concert writing. Sounded very familiar! 

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Just on an emotional level I really connected with Mutter's playing.  It was more an emotional piece than a purely technical showcase for me.

[Miguel Andrade 1,262]

I probably sounded the wrong way... We are all different and experience this stuff in a different way from each other. For some reason it as always been rather easy for me to connect with Williams music, even more his concert output.

And then as one grows, and gets older, more experienced and has listened to more stuff, things seem to just find their way in more easily. Or maybe that's just me... But I'm able to listen and enjoy music today, that 20 years ago would give me a headache.

 

 

Mutter and Nelsons had an encore after the Tchaikovsky concerto... Williams' Theme from Schindler's List!

[mrbellamy 6,272]

Anybody got a link yet? Or know how soon it'll be available on-demand on the site?

[Will 2,215]

Usually it takes a few days, unfortunately. So I have to wait to hear it again!

[Miguel Andrade 1,262]

It should be noted that the live broadcast streams at 196kb, as opposed to the 128kb of the on-demand files...

[Bespin 8,480]

@Miguel Andrade you are hot. Unfortunately as I run for more than one rabbit at a Time, I can't follow all these News about new concert works and releases.... But I know that the day I will be there, I can Ask you for some updates ;-) 

[mrbellamy 6,272]

Well unless somebody recorded the livestream I don't have much of a choice!  

 

[Dixon Hill 4,233]

Fuck, was this archived anywhere?

 

Nevermind just read earlier posts.  Fuck!

[Miguel Andrade 1,262]

Did anyone noticed any micro glitches on the broadcast?

[Thor 7,477]

Please tell me someone recorded the livestream!

[mrbellamy 6,272]

Doesn't look like it.

[MikeH 768]

Let's all thank Frank!

 

 

[mrbellamy 6,272]

YAY FRANK

[Bryant Burnette 654]

THANK YOU, FRANK!!!

[Dixon Hill 4,233]

Lovely piece. Unmistakably Williams. 

[Disco Stu 15,495]

On my second listen, it still feels like a dark and desperate piece. In a great way, very emotional and very anxious.  Maybe I'm just projecting  

 

I kind of love it I think.

[Will 2,215]

Wow, great to listen again. Had just checked and was disappointed to see that the official replay wasn't up yet. 

[karelm 2,903]

Very nice!  I love the quartal harmony.  Unsettling yet elegantly restrained.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Yes, I'd be very interested to read thoughts from our music theory familiar members!

[crumbs 14,304]

Much darker than I expected this to sound. Between this and the dark concert version of Jedi Steps, JW seems to be (refreshingly) delving into darker territory in his non-Spielberg works.

 

Much prefer JW in this style; he can write the saccharine stuff in his sleep.

[Incanus 5,713]

A really terrific piece, a nice companion to his other string soloist concert works. I only wish it was longer. Perhaps he'll jot down some more markings for Mutter or another soloist in the future.  

[Miguel Andrade 1,262]

I haven't checked the youtube upload, but assuming it is from the actual stream, it should have an higher quality than the on-demand files (that will probably be available later in the week). Of course, I have no idea about how the file was compressed to be presented on youtube...

[Score 770]

Very beautiful and in need of an extension (especially of the central part)!! I hope he will do that.

 

Is it known if he had some inspiration from literature when writing this piece? It seems to represent something concrete, and it would be nice to know what. It is definitely dramatic and dark, but I don't perceive it as "desperate". The ending makes me think of flying. 

 

Also, what about the title? Does it refer to music notation?  

[Disco Stu 15,495]

14 minutes ago, Score said:

It is definitely dramatic and dark, but I don't perceive it as "desperate". The ending makes me think of flying. 

 

Responses to music can be very much like what people say at wine tastings.  Everyone hears/tastes something different!

[Miguel Andrade 1,262]

19 minutes ago, Score said:

Very beautiful and in need of an extension (especially of the central part)!! I hope he will do that.

 

Is it known if he had some inspiration from literature when writing this piece? It seems to represent something concrete, and it would be nice to know what. It is definitely dramatic and dark, but I don't perceive it as "desperate". The ending makes me think of flying. 

 

Also, what about the title? Does it refer to music notation?  

 

I'm sure that we'll know a bit more about that when the score is (hopefully) published, as Williams always includes a short program note. But I agree that there is some kind of inspiration coming from somewhere... maybe Williams own inner soul ramblings, or maybe his perception of the soloist's own soul.

[karelm 2,903]

It should be called "Carvings" since it has to be about trees.  The carvings represents memories of his youth on the backyard tree as seen from the perspective of an old man.