leeallen01 2,136 Posted September 21, 2018 Share Posted September 21, 2018 Self-explanatory really. Not sure if there's a similar thread, but just want to know if people have seen him perform an instrument live in concert, or to share any youtube videos they know of with him playing something. I found this one, which I love. Cerebral Cortex and Naïve Old Fart 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerebral Cortex 3,357 Posted September 21, 2018 Share Posted September 21, 2018 leeallen01 and Bespin 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bespin 8,480 Posted September 21, 2018 Share Posted September 21, 2018 few seconds too late hehe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh500 1,615 Posted September 21, 2018 Share Posted September 21, 2018 John Williams started his career as a pianist. It's not instruments in plural, but just the piano. One of my favourites, although not in concert: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerebral Cortex 3,357 Posted September 21, 2018 Share Posted September 21, 2018 I mean, I'm pretty sure Williams could probably also play the triangle with a certain panache. crumbs 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post mrbellamy 6,286 Posted September 21, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted September 21, 2018 John Williams is also a pretty good guitar player tmarps, Josh500, bollemanneke and 2 others 1 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveMc 2,674 Posted September 21, 2018 Share Posted September 21, 2018 It was part of a larger video, but I remember seeing a snippet of Williams conducting Vivaldi from a harpsichord. Jurassic Shark 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naïve Old Fart 9,516 Posted September 21, 2018 Share Posted September 21, 2018 9 minutes ago, mrbellamy said: John Williams is also a pretty good guitar player Fantastic. Post CANNONBALL, please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bespin 8,480 Posted September 21, 2018 Share Posted September 21, 2018 I have some videos of me playing with my organ, but these are private videos, I can't post them on Youtube. Naïve Old Fart 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh500 1,615 Posted September 21, 2018 Share Posted September 21, 2018 8 minutes ago, Bespin said: I have some videos of me playing with my organ, but these are private videos, I can't post them on Youtube. You pervert! You enjoy filming yourself, do you? 😂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bespin 8,480 Posted September 21, 2018 Share Posted September 21, 2018 It's the only way to improve the technique!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karelm 2,913 Posted September 22, 2018 Share Posted September 22, 2018 Not a video but I heard a story first hand that JW sat down to perform the piano part of E.T. end credits to get the right feel and everyone witnessing it was stunned by the quality of the performance but it was another performer who played it. Just that he jumped in to demo it to the player. It might have been Don Williams who mentioned this who played on the sessions but I forgot who exactly it was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,067 Posted September 22, 2018 Share Posted September 22, 2018 I've heard JW's a badass on kazoo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bollemanneke 3,343 Posted September 22, 2018 Share Posted September 22, 2018 My God, he's amazing on the piano. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor 7,495 Posted September 22, 2018 Share Posted September 22, 2018 He actually played trombone quite decently in his youth, according to himself. But I don't believe there's any footage of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joni Wiljami 1,206 Posted September 22, 2018 Share Posted September 22, 2018 Yes, I was just about to mention that. There must have been some connection to the brass instrument. That good he writes for those... Chen G. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingPin 201 Posted September 22, 2018 Share Posted September 22, 2018 SteveMc and Cerebral Cortex 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor 7,495 Posted September 22, 2018 Share Posted September 22, 2018 The weird thing is that he never picked up percussion, like his father and two brothers (yeah, yeah...I know piano is considered a percussion instrument, but you know what I mean). He was the odd one out in the family. Even John's son Mark continued the family percussion tradition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted September 22, 2018 Share Posted September 22, 2018 The black sheep! The outcast! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muad'Dib 1,802 Posted September 22, 2018 Share Posted September 22, 2018 I seem to recall an interview where he stated that his life-long dream was to become a concert pianist, but he wasn't good enough -or something to the effect- and was something that has haunted him through his whole life. I remember it was a YT interview. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aviazn 273 Posted September 22, 2018 Share Posted September 22, 2018 One of my favorite JW piano performances. Listened to it on the Tanglewood lawn under a perfectly clear summer night sky. Just magical. Continued here: Cerebral Cortex 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor 7,495 Posted September 22, 2018 Share Posted September 22, 2018 23 minutes ago, Muad'Dib said: I seem to recall an interview where he stated that his life-long dream was to become a concert pianist, but he wasn't good enough -or something to the effect- and was something that has haunted him through his whole life. I remember it was a YT interview. Well, he's said similar things on various occasions. There's also one interview where he talks about his year at Juilliard, and he often got frustrated when he heard the skills of the other pianist students down the hall. I think it's all just humility, though. Obviously, Williams was a huge talent at the time. You wouldn't get accepted into Rosina Lhévinne's Juliard classes if you weren't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naïve Old Fart 9,516 Posted September 22, 2018 Share Posted September 22, 2018 5 hours ago, Thor said: He actually played trombone quite decently in his youth, according to himself. But I don't believe there's any footage of it. So, he liked a bit of tromboning, did he? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,067 Posted September 22, 2018 Share Posted September 22, 2018 17 minutes ago, Thor said: I think it's all just humility, though. Obviously, Williams was a huge talent at the time. You wouldn't get accepted into Rosina Lhévinne's Juliard classes if you weren't. Of course he had to be good to get in, but then I suspect he didn't have the same progress as some of his peers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Score 770 Posted September 22, 2018 Share Posted September 22, 2018 8 minutes ago, Thor said: Well, he's said similar things on various occasions. There's also one interview where he talks about his year at Juilliard, and he often got frustrated when he heard the skills of the other pianist students down the hall. I think it's all just humility, though. Obviously, Williams was a huge talent at the time. You wouldn't get accepted into Rosa Lhevinne's Juliard classes if you weren't. Williams is surely a good pianist (better than most film composers). However, there are many ways of being a good pianist. His way, as far as I can see, is the "composer way": intelligent, able to improvise, able to express feelings, technically ok but not necessarily able to do technical wonders. Exceptional concert pianists are, in general, different animals. Maybe they would not know what to do if they were given a vocal line with chords and asked to accompany a singer, but they are able to play anything by Liszt and Rachmaninov at age 10, without missing a single note. Now, I can easily see John Williams, as a youngster, meeting some of the latter people in Julliard and feeling he was not one of them. On the other hand, theory-wise I bet very few of his mates would have been in the same league as his. Jurassic Shark 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveMc 2,674 Posted September 22, 2018 Share Posted September 22, 2018 Actually, if I recall correctly, Rosa Lhevinne was the one who told Williams that his true talents lay in composing and arranging, and encouraged him to pursue a career in that realm. Apparently, he would transcript larger works for piano performance while at Julliard. I do very much like his approach at the piano, but it is certain he is no incredible virtuoso, which seems to be what is demanded of a top tier concert pianist. Chen G. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor 7,495 Posted September 22, 2018 Share Posted September 22, 2018 Sure, he's no Emanuel Ax or whatever. But I think he could have been, had he nurtured that further. His Prokofiev album as pianist (his only serious classical album as pianist) is pretty good -- and this came out in the mid 70s, when he had long since left his concert pianist ambitions behind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,067 Posted September 22, 2018 Share Posted September 22, 2018 3 minutes ago, Steve McQueen said: Apparently, he would transcript larger works for piano performance while at Julliard. It would sure be interesting to hear some of those arrangements! 2 minutes ago, Thor said: His Prokofiev album as pianist (his only serious classical album as pianist) is pretty good -- and this came out in the mid 70s, when he had long since left his concert pianist ambitions behind. I don't think I've heard that album. Was well received at the time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor 7,495 Posted September 22, 2018 Share Posted September 22, 2018 I have no idea how it was received at the time. I think it went under most people’s radar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveMc 2,674 Posted September 22, 2018 Share Posted September 22, 2018 Is it available anywhere? This is the first I've heard of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor 7,495 Posted September 22, 2018 Share Posted September 22, 2018 https://www.amazon.com/Sergei-Prokofiev-David-Ward-steinman-Music/dp/B000S58M1G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1537654698&sr=8-1&keywords=prokofiev+john+williams SteveMc 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted September 23, 2018 Share Posted September 23, 2018 I have it, its a nice album. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke Skywalker 1,795 Posted September 23, 2018 Share Posted September 23, 2018 Wasn't there a goldsmith quote saying that he thought when Williams left the piano for composing, the music world lost a great pianist? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,067 Posted September 23, 2018 Share Posted September 23, 2018 Goldsmith just didn't want competition in his own field. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted September 23, 2018 Share Posted September 23, 2018 He could have been a contender! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naïve Old Fart 9,516 Posted September 23, 2018 Share Posted September 23, 2018 He could have been somebody. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Illustrious Jerry 3,356 Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 I would love for Williams to cameo in IX as a Bith musician. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post The Psycho Pianist 216 Posted September 24, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted September 24, 2018 I've always adored this theme, and particularly this performance. The bit where he ascends and transitions from playing to conducting at 1:10 is just glorious - almost a kind of choreographed dance move; the 90 degree turn timed to the beat. 😅 Score, Cerebral Cortex and SteveMc 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post leeallen01 2,136 Posted September 26, 2018 Author Popular Post Share Posted September 26, 2018 "Screw this, I'm outa here!" *hums E.T* michael_grig, The Psycho Pianist and Score 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Parker 3,040 Posted September 26, 2018 Share Posted September 26, 2018 On 9/22/2018 at 9:53 AM, Score said: Williams is surely a good pianist (better than most film composers). However, there are many ways of being a good pianist. His way, as far as I can see, is the "composer way": intelligent, able to improvise, able to express feelings, technically ok but not necessarily able to do technical wonders. Exceptional concert pianists are, in general, different animals. Very astute distillation. Another great thing with John Williams as a pianist in this sense, is how he plays the orchestra at the piano, to paraphrase something said about Duke Ellington. He has a very particular touch at the piano, and his playing takes on the qualities of the instruments you know he's hearing in his head. Score and SteveMc 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,067 Posted September 26, 2018 Share Posted September 26, 2018 8 minutes ago, Nick Parker said: instruments you know he's hearing in his head. Is this the stage prior to hearing voices in your head? Score 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Parker 3,040 Posted September 26, 2018 Share Posted September 26, 2018 1 hour ago, Jurassic Shark said: Is this the stage prior to hearing voices in your head? Depends on the score. Jurassic Shark 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Score 770 Posted September 26, 2018 Share Posted September 26, 2018 3 hours ago, leeallen01 said: "Screw this, I'm outa here!" *hums E.T* More than with E.T., I'd say his mental detour probably had something to do with Dracula... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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