toothless 963 Posted December 11, 2017 Share Posted December 11, 2017 Tribute to Steven Spielberg London Symphony Orchestra - Frank Strobel _______ Yesterday I’ve had the opportunity to attend the LSO concert at the Philharmonie de Paris. One of the greatest concerts I’ve attended. Let me start by saying that I was looking forward to hear live the LSO (as any soundtrack/JW fan would be). Of all the concerts I've attended, it was the second time it was a pure acoustic concert. No mics, no amplification and yep does it make everything better. (The first time was a Star Wars Concert at the Auditorium National de Lyon). On the concert hall itself, Its architecture is amazing and the acoustic really nice. For those of you not familiar with the place I found this video on instagram : Everything was scheduled to start at 4:30PM but I went to the conference before the concert : « John Williams : a shared adventure with the LSO ». Unfortunately, I could not record anything as we were not allowed to do so (even If I saw numerous people take photos…). The conference was held by Stephane Lerouge and featured members of the LSO : Gerry Ruddock (Trumpets) Ginette Decuyper (First Violins) Neil Percy (Principal percussion) Sue Mallet (Director of Planning) Please remember that I report this from memory and I’m trying not to deform whatever the members have said. The point of this event was to discuss the relationship between Williams and the LSO. From what I can tell, it seemed really obvious that all the players have a great opinion of Williams work both as a film and classical composer. They also stated that he is very humble man and a much better conductor than he says. Also, we were shown a few interviews of Williams, but nothing new here. All the members said they keep there fingers crossed that Williams will conduct the orchestra again one day. They talked about the time Williams visited the orchestra when they played in the US in 2015 and how rare it is for a composer to actually come and say "Hi" just like that. All these things highlight the relationship between Williams and the LSO. When doing commercial work for exemple, film music, they receive the partitions the first day of recording which means they are playing at sight. For a non musician like me, I find it impressive to be able to play such complex pieces without rehearsing. But of course they take the time to perfect important things with Williams. About Williams : It’s one of the greatest film music composer. His compositions are beautiful, challenging and fun to play. I remember Ginette Decuyper saying that, even nowadays, she stills rehearses Hedwig’s Theme because her part is quite hard to play with really fast and high pitched movement. (Sorry for all the musical terms that I probably use in the wrong way). They also talked about Alexandre Desplat who kind of discovered film music with the first Star Wars movie. They told us how surreal it was for him to record for the first time with the LSO, as it was THE orchestra for film music AND the orchestra John Williams used to work with. They pointed out that Desplat, like Williams, is a really great orchestrator. Also, he has a great respect for John Williams and they are sure John would say the same of Alexandre. There was also a part about the process of recording. They said Williams preferred to work with the movie on screen to coordinate the rhythm and make everything fit whereas nowadays it’s kind of rare. They said that whenever he is able to, Alexandre Desplat still tries to record with the movie projected behind the orchestra. (I’m not sure of that as I was in the back of the room so sometimes it was hard for me to understand). There was so much more but I can't remember everything And now the concert. I looked for and found some videos on social media. Again, I did not record anything by myself… Jaws - John WilliamsMain Title Quote Perfect track to begin with and to grab the audience attention. This piece truly shines when a full orchestra is blasting at you ! Poltergeist - Jerry GoldsmithThe Calling Night of the Beasts (The Slown Attacks) Carol Anne’s Theme Quote Nice ! Back to the Future - Alan SilvestriSuite Back to the Future Quote One of the highlights, nothing more to say. It’s a WOW factor. The Adventures of Tintin - John WilliamsThe duel Quote I love this track with its multiple endings and I was so looking forward to hear it live. I was I bit disappointed at first, as I imagined it would be more kind of loud. But this is my fault, I listen to it on repeat at loud volume all the time. At the end of the day, the LSO performance was top notch and hearing all the instruments and flourishes that Williams incorporated in this piece was truly great. Super 8 - Michael GiacchinoSuper 8 suite Quote I’m not familiar with Super 8 but one thing for sure, Giacchino sure knows how to write good music. It was a pleasant discovery for me. Gremlins - Jerry Goldsmith Quote Nice ! INTERMISSION Jurassic Park 3 - Don DavisIsla Sorna Sailing Situation Quote I was so looking forward to Jurassic Park 1 that I forgot about this piece. Jurassic Park - John Williams They played several cues I can’t remember, sorry. Quote Another WOW factor. Such a lively performance. Bridge of Spies - Thomas NewmanSunlit Silence / Homecoming Quote Having seen the film, I did not remember the soundtrack as it was actual « background » music which was great for the movie. But, live in concert, it was different. Subtle yet effective. Beautiful work. The BFG - John WilliamsSuite the BFG Quote Woodwinds ! This suite gather everything that’s great in the BFG OST. The LSO knocked it out of the park. You can tell Williams had fun writing this! Indiana Jones - John WilliamsSwashbuckler! (The Adventures of Mutt) A Whirl Through Academe Marion’s Theme Scherzo for Motorcycle and Orchestra The Raiders March Quote It was a really nice moment even though something went wrong with The Raiders March, as one of the brass sounded weird ? I don’t know. The LSO confirmed it with humor on facebook. And it does not matter to me, the whole evening was great. I’d take any live performance (with its numerous qualities and very few flaws) over anything. ENCORE E.T - John Williams Quote Wow… I mean WOW. Now, I just can’t wait to see E.T LTP because this, THIS was the true highlight of the concert. Such energy, it was subtle yet powerful. The end Bayesian 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toothless 963 Posted December 3, 2018 Author Share Posted December 3, 2018 The conference I attended is now available online. You can hear LSO members talking about John Williams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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