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ACROSS THE STARS - Williams / Mutter collaboration album


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17 hours ago, Incanus said:

This was such a lovely interview and Mutter was so genuine, excited and articulate on this whole project and music in general. I loved how both the interviewers and the interviewee are geeking out over John Williams and his music. :lol: 

 

 

Thank you!

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I use the Overcast app on iOS to listen to podcasts, but this latest episode isn't showing up on the feed.  Is anyone else having trouble finding it on a podcast app?

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8 hours ago, igger6 said:

I use the Overcast app on iOS to listen to podcasts, but this latest episode isn't showing up on the feed.  Is anyone else having trouble finding it on a podcast app?

 

I use Pocket Casts and it isn't showing up for me either.  Forget to update the RSS, @lairdo?

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I don’t know if the deluxe version will be available on Spotify. Anyway, I discovered a more balanced and good way, for me, to discover Mutter’s album by reproducing the Concert with the versions we have for now.

 

To mix orchestral and solo performances, makes all the difference for me.

 

 

 

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I like them because they allow the art to be much more expansive and ambitious, they're not restrained to an outer cover (DVD/bluray) or 4 small rectangular spaces (jewel case), they can be much more striking and creative. I cherish the LotR Extended DVD set immensely, for example.

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8 hours ago, Disco Stu said:

 

I use Pocket Casts and it isn't showing up for me either.  Forget to update the RSS, @lairdo?

 

Odd! Sorry about that. Ed controls that part of our show. I've sent him the feedback and issue to investigate. (And now that I look, it hasn't populated on iOS Podcasts either!)


In the meantime, here's the website page from The Indycast.

 

And here is my MP3 version which is a higher res version than what is online anyway.

 

Laird

 

 

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I don't think it's fair to call them bonus tracks, since they are not labeled or presented as such. They're integrated into the main program, so it's more like we have two different tours through their collaboration, the short tour and the long tour. 

 

Thanks for breaking down the new tracks though, I can't wait to finally hear the CD! 

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5 hours ago, rough cut said:

So here are some thoughts on the bonus tracks:

 

Princess Leia's Theme

Simply a gorgeous rendition of one of John William's most beautiful melodies. It really is different hearing it played by violin rather than horn, the new texture evokes a different feeling, perhaps elevating it to heights it never reached before - and that's saying something.

 

The Chairman's Waltz

The soundtrack to Memoirs Of A Geisha was never a top 10 score for me, and I've been struggling over the years trying to find the magic in the score, but never quite succeeding. Until now that is! Mutter's playing is passionate and melodic, the orchestra's playing is sublime.

 

Markings

John Williams's concert work can be difficult to get into, as it differs quite a bit from how he composes a soundtrack. This recording of Markings, however, changes that. Some of the string arrangements remind me of Empire Strikes Back, and Mutter's playing is haunting, dark, and mournful. There is a lot of longing in the piece and the way she plays it. It's beautiful.

 

A Prayer For Peace

I was really glad Mutter played this as an encore in the concert last week. It was quite something to hear Mutter and The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra play this beautiful piece from the movie Munich live in Munich, while the audience sat in awe of Mutter's playing under the setting sun. It's such a somber, well developed melody. This new arrangement is sublime, we'd be hard pressed to find a more beautiful version of it.

 

Remembrances

If we were to consider a selection of hidden gems of John Williams' themes, Remembrances would be up there with the best of them. At first glance, it doesn't present the listener with anything shockingly new compared to what we already know and love, but the longer we listen, John Williams and Anne-Sophie takes the listener into unknown territories of new arrangements. The Theme from Shindler's List makes and appearance towards the end, which is beautiful. It is clear that Anne-Sophie loves this piece, and her playing is shows she is a true virtuoso. An amazing performance.

 

In summary, I can say that these bonus tracks won't disappoint anyone. They are more than just "bonus material" thrown together to justify an extra cash grab. They showcase some of the best writing of John Williams and some of the best playing of Anne-Sophie Mutter. From the interviews on the DVD, it is clear that Anne-Sophie has a lot of love for Princess Leia's Theme and Remebrances, so it's a bit strange to see them relegated to bonus tracks, At the very least, these two - together with The Chairman's Waltz - could have easily been on the standard edition without anyone batting an eye. In fact, I think it's a bit sad they aren't. Probably a lot of "casual" listeners will miss these gorgeous arrangements and melodies.

 

 

I completely agree with your assessments of the tracks. Spot on.

 

In particular, I am so thrilled to have this recording of Markings, which is a bit longer than the performance with Andris Nelsons from 2017. And seemingly having the composer be the conductor had an impact on Ms. Mutter’s playing. Plus of course, she had nearly 2 years to process, practice and find her voice in the piece.

 

Still, I can understand why Markings was placed on the Deluxe Edition as a casual fan will likely skip this track should it pop up on Spotify or if they own the CD. As for the selections of the rest on the regular or deluxe, I think that was mainly marketing. I would guess that the Princess theme is the prime driver here. 

 

I think indicating the tracks as “bonus” is really just to make it clear to a purchaser what is different between the albums and what is driving the higher price. As mentioned, there is nothing throw away about this material in any regard. And I think that both track sequences make for really enjoyable listening experiences.

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58 minutes ago, lairdo said:

I think indicating the tracks as “bonus” is really just to make it clear to a purchaser what is different between the albums and what is driving the higher price.

 

I never meant to imply otherwise, that’s just how it’s done. As it is, it also makes it easy to refer to them as “the bonus tracks”, which they are - but that doesn’t take away any of their quality.

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1 hour ago, rough cut said:

 

I never meant to imply otherwise, that’s just how it’s done. As it is, it also makes it easy to refer to them as “the bonus tracks”, which they are - but that doesn’t take away any of their quality.

 

I know. I was just trying to offer a further explanation theory as to why they were called that. Total speculation on my part though. 

2 hours ago, Jay said:

You've heard the Deluxe Edition too? How? 

 

Yes. We were given a link to the album online ahead of our interview which is how we were able to play some small segments of it on the Podcast. Some sort of press/preview site. 

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On 9/20/2019 at 4:44 AM, Disco Stu said:

 

I use Pocket Casts and it isn't showing up for me either.  Forget to update the RSS, @lairdo?

 

Thanks for the notice and patience. This should be fixed now. 

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Just saw this post on Anne-Sophie Mutters Facebook page about the Munich Concert. 

 

Wow – what an evening that was at the Königsplatz with music by the legendary John Williams! David Newman and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra were on fire; as was the amazing audience. Thanks to my best fans ever: this evening will stay in my memory as one of the greatest adventures in my life. It all started out with me (in the hair style of Rey) presenting my green bow (quite an alternative to the light saber -:)) Each set of music was arranged by John Williams to be in itself a cosmos. And I followed through with 4 costume changes . We had full moon – total perfection!!! In the day following the concert I felt quite sad that this project is over – for now. But I will be back with music of John Williams soon … and then there are still the limited editions of the vinyls coming soon. It is so moving to have met a world full of John Williams admirers!! This has been a great present to my life. May the force be with the master – and all of you 😘

 

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I find it really fascinating how a part of the ‘Dracula’ track, just before the orchestral tutti, sounds very very similar to the 1974 violin concerto. It’s also by far the most atonal section of the album. Both score and concerto were written around the same time I think, and we all know how the violin concerto is closely related to the passing of his late wife. Could this section be a sort of recollection from this dark period in his life? I guess we can only speculate...

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Well I'll wait for my physical copy to arrive before taking a listen. It was shipped this morning so it should be here in a week's time.

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On ‎9‎/‎21‎/‎2019 at 3:21 AM, rough cut said:

 

The Chairman's Waltz

The soundtrack to Memoirs Of A Geisha was never a top 10 score for me, and I've been struggling over the years trying to find the magic in the score, but never quite succeeding. Until now that is! Mutter's playing is passionate and melodic, the orchestra's playing is sublime.

 

This arrangement is very similar (borderline the same) as the version of the Memoirs cello suite. Have you heard the latter?  It is sublimity for 30 straight minutes.  Also, the Mutter version is a bit too fast for my tastes. 

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4 hours ago, The Five Tones said:

Eagerly awaiting release day delivery of the DE, gotta have lossless/CD quality or better

 

Yes! Currently refreshing the tracking page. This has sure been a looooooooong wait, but it's almost over!!

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