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John Williams' Clarinet Concerto


Figo

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To my knowledge, I own all recordings of John Williams' concert works which are either commercially available or recently out-of-print. The exception is the Clarinet Concerto, which I've seen on the internet, but have been reluctant to order, since I am relatively unfamiliar with MP3. I know many of you have it -- most recently, I think, Mari wrote that she had acquired it. How does this work? Do you actually receive a disc in the mail, or would I have to download it over the computer?

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To my knowledge, I own all recordings of John Williams' concert works which are either commercially available or recently out-of-print.  The exception is the Clarinet Concerto, which I've seen on the internet, but have been reluctant to order, since I am relatively unfamiliar with MP3.  I know many of you have it -- most recently, I think, Mari wrote that she had acquired it.  How does this work?  Do you actually receive a disc in the mail, or would I have to download it over the computer?

Figo, you can either download it or receive it on disc. I decided to spend the few extra dollars and got the disc because my computer can be tempermental when downloading. It was my first time ordering from MP3 too. I found it relatively painless and received the disc within a week.

p.s. Thank you for the info about the Prelude and Fugue! I just found a used copy and it will be arriving in the next day or so. :thumbup:

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:oops: The last post was from me. I forgot that I was logged out.

Mari

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I have the Clarinet concerto on cd from mp3.com. Sound quality is good (not excellent). Ordering from the site is no problem.

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Part of the problem with the sound quality is that the recording was done durring a live show. In your job at the radio station you work at, Figo, I'd imagine that you are well acquainted with the variances of live recordings. When the Clarinet Concerto was recorded, was it with the intention of releasing it publically? And how were the master tapes stored? Some tape, when it ages, gets "sticky". Etc...

If you enjoy Williams' "concert hall" music, get it. (I know, the ivory tower folks prefer "art music", but I consider that quite pompous and belittles other compositions.)

Peace.

bruckhorn

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Personally I didn't go through the whole thing.Got too bored by the 3rd movement.

But that 's just me i guess.

K.M.

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Thank you all for your responses (especially you, Mari). Yes, Bruckhorn, I am very familiar with the vagaries of live recordings. In the end, the music's the thing. I listen to plenty of historical reissues. If I can endure the sound quality on some of those Furtwangler, Caruso and Grainger discs, I think I can manage a modern performance. As for the character of the music itself, I listen to everything from Billy Mayerl to Bartok, from Webern to Vivaldi, from James MacMillan to Jerome Moross, so I doubt I will have a problem with it. It can't be any worse than, say, James Newton Howard. :twisted:

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All right, I ordered the concerto. But if I find a lot of suspicious charges on my credit card (eg., pizza and rolling papers), there's going to be hell to pay!!!!

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I knew I forgot to mention something! That was the relatively painless part. :)

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Hey, Mari (or anyone)!

How long did it take for your disc to arrive? I ordered this thing on the 4th, and received shipping confirmation on the 5th -- today's the 12th and STILL no Clarinet Concerto. I fear my concerns about rolling papers have come to pass.

How was it shipped? UPS? Conventional U.S. Post? If the latter, heaven help me. It took something like two weeks for AOTC to reach Big Ken. (In that instance, it was supposed to take three to four days!)

Figo, on his way over to the MP3 website to read the fine print.

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For all of you waiting for a "postal-sent" CD: my order for the Denoument-Recording of the Williams trumpet concerto was declared right, but sent to Adelaide/South Australia instead of Austria... But finally, I received it today after some weeks of waiting... :!:

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Sheesh, what a nightmare. My Denouement disc arrived fairly quickly, if memory serves correctly.

Figo, wondering if his MP3 was sent to Memphis, instead of Mount Olympus...

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Figo - I ordered it on May 18 and had it before Memorial Day so it took about a week for it to be shipped through U.S. Post to me in Michigan. If you don't receive it by the end of the week I would really start to worry!

p.s. I hope your dog is doing much better! :mrgreen:

Mari

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The disc arrived this morning. Sheesh, it took long enough! I'm glad to have it, but it is rather "bargain basement," is it not? At 22 minutes, not very good value. I feel sorry for King Mark, who was too impatient even to get to the third movement (a mere 8 1/2 minutes in)! But then what do you expect from someone who finds all piano sonatas to be "mathematical" and boring? LOL

No liner notes. No indication of the recording date, venue, or even what orchestra is performing! That's pretty bad. Obviously slapped together by someone who doesn't understand classical music, like those web sites and record stores that can't figure out whether to file their discs by composer, performer or orchestra. When you're used to dealing with pop, you assume the band name or performer is enough. It's not the same with classical, and it makes searching on the web or in mall shops frustrating. I try to stick to specialty venues, where they really know their stuff, when possible (which, in this case, it wasn't).

As for the music itself, I like it! The opening bars remind me of Barber's "School for Scandal Overture." The orchestration is always interesting, and as usual, even when there doesn't seem to be much going on in the way of melody, it can still be identified as Williams. Yet, generally speaking, this is a very melodic concerto. I'm surprised, since I remember reading negative things about it from fans, who said they didn't find it very interesting. Of course, that was a while ago, before I began posting at this site, and I've long since realized I shouldn't always take fans' opinions at face value (especially regarding "A.I." and "AOTC"). Being a fan of Williams, Lucas, Spielberg, and sci-fi has a way of blinding some to their faults, while being a fan of film music can alienate others to the merits of concert works (eg., K.M.).

There is a lot to enjoy here. The recording itself is much better than I anticipated. As I've said before, I am accustomed to live recordings, but given the words of caution about the sound quality, I expected worse. I do wish someone would have executed the woman who coughs at very exposed moments during the second movement. K.M., you should have stuck it out, the last movement is the payoff! Work on that attention span! It can only improve the quality of your life. :)

After the Denouement Trumpet Concerto, a luxury release in every respect, the MP3 is a bit of a letdown. Wasn't there an earlier incarnation, with some couplings at least? 22 minutes seems so stingy. What else was on that concert, I wonder? Did Williams conduct the other pieces? Couldn't they have at least added another work from another concert?

Figo, out twelve bucks and expecting an "official" release from Sony any day now. :(

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Mari, my dog is doing well, wobbly but getting around. She's been using all four legs, but she likes to lunge (at pigeons, squirrels, dogs, mailmen, motorcycles, big trucks, people with ostenatious wallet chains, people with walkie talkies, people with briefcases, skateboarders, the elderly, the infirm, the first person she sees on the street in the morning -- pretty much everyone and everything), so she keeps reinjuring herself.

She's actually a very sweet pet in the home. She's a foundling -- I took her in during a thunderstorm about seven years ago -- so I have no idea about her upbringing. For all I know, she may have been bred to fight. She's very easily freaked, especially by thunder and lightning, flashing lights, that sort of thing. But in private, she's a real sweetheart.

Kind of like me. :lookaround:

Thanks for asking.

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Figo, I'm glad she's feeling better although the recovery is taking longer than expected. I know it can be hard to make an animal understand that moving around too much is not good when recovering from an injury. :)

p.s. Your just an old softie with a bark worse than your bite! ;)

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  • 6 months later...
  • 2 years later...

No. As far as I know the only time it was ever played was back in April 1991 when it was premiered by John Williams with the Riverside County Philharmonic. I can't tell you if any small orchestras played it since then, but no one has ever recorded it professionally. Some time ago, some schmo was selling copies of a live performance (possibly the '91 version) on Ebay for like $1000 each. Hopefully one day we'll all get to bask in concerto goodness if and when it gets released.

Tim

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Actually, Williams was happy with the piece to the point that in 1993, during an interview, he expressed the wish to record it.

The CD-R that was released a few years back through mp3.com was credited to the Bohemian Philharmonic, but I'm inclined to belive that his is actually the premiere performance as mentioned above. The sound quality is poor, but still listenable. I do hope that Williams finds the time to record it, and if not himslef, someone pick it up -- as it happened witht eh Tuba cocnerto (with three recordings avaialble already) and the Trumpet Concerto.

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Maybe it hasn't been released in all this time because it's isn't really any good?

Oh, please, it's one of the most wonderful concerti I've ever heard :P Last movement is glorious.

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I also heard it is a very enjoyable concerto. Are those premiere recordings still around? I'd definately like to hear it.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I'm that schmo Miguel - and it's illegal to share it, however, it was just now released on Itunes

http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore...196405&s=143441

reason it was on Ebay when it was first released was that it was also the 1st Major Composer Concerto released solely on the Internet. Was a big time exclusive.

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Scissorhands - your avatar looks just like John Corigliano! I doubt that it's him, but big time resemblance. (the Corigliano Concerto is on the recording too)

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btw - The 3rd (last) Mvt with the Clarinet and Piano version is also on the ITUNES page.

It is currently featured on the front page of http://www.cdbaby.com and here's their review of it:

While we don't normally feature albums of artists who have already "made it" and who don't necessarily need any more exposure, this album is such a gem that it can't be resisted. This disc features the personal, classical and non-film music of Hollywood's soundtrack guru, John Williams. It is quite a treat to peer into the creative life of this man and his genius in such a way; with no need for the music to serve some other art form, this work allows us to get a glimpse into the "other" sound world of this truly brilliant, historic composer. And if that wasn't enough incentive to encourage a listen, the concerto is followed by Bartok and Corigliano (also highlighting the clarinet), making this disc one of the highest profile classical treasures here. [

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By the way Al, who's the babe in your avatar? ;)

Good question...intelligent :) (bonus points for who can place that quote)

See here

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Wow. Unfortunately the sound quality is below the standard of a professional recording.

It's probably a live recording, at least that's what it sounds like, especially since Williams has only played it once with an orchestra. If this isn't the premiere show, then it isn't Williams conducting. Hell, it's probably a bootleg version of that show from someone with a tape cassette for all we know, but you're definitely right, the sound quality is extremely sub-par.

Tim

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Yes, but what does Alex think of it?

Please, remain seated, Stefancos! I, the judge, have not had the chance yet to judge it. I wait for an official release. Until then, the verdict is still out.

judge_ju.jpg

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Yes, but what does Alex think of it?

Please, remain seated, Stefancos! I, the judge, have not had the chance yet to judge it. I wait for an official release. Until then, the verdict is still out.

judge_ju.jpg

Acording to blumberg, this is an oficial release...

I'm that schmo Miguel - and it's illegal to share it,  however, it was just now released on Itunes

http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore...196405&s=143441

reason it was on Ebay when it was first released was that it was also the 1st Major Composer Concerto released solely on the Internet. Was a big time exclusive.

Blumberg, I'll reply to you privatelly, later today.

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Yup, it is the official release. The work remains unpublished actually - only Michele and I have the music (I was the 2nd Clarinetist to play it - not even her husband who is a Clarinetist played it before I did as she told me). The recording is not recent, and the original master from this was damaged, so what you hear is better than what was on Mp3.com, however it is not perfect a Studio setting as that wasn't possible. It is however authorised by John Williams to be released. It is still basically an "indie" release as it is not signed to a big label as of now, may or may not be in the future. The recording that Miguel would have he got from the now defunct Mp3.com (it's not a distribution site anymore but just an informational site basically now) and is a much lower quality recording (compressed, etc).

This is a one man effort - I'm friends with Michele Zukovsky and do some audio work and promotion for her. I'm a Professional Clarinetist by trade and also was the top ranked Promoter on the old mp3.com website with the artists I promoted getting over 100 Million listens and earning over $1.5 Million in Royalties at 1-5 cents a pop.

The old mp3.com was a blast and we sold CD's all over the world from it. The ITUNES release brings this wonderful work back into the light.

I personally really like this work a lot. His 2nd mvt is GORGEOUS, along with the others being quite enjoyable too. I figured that you guys here would want to know about it as you are his most loyal fans.

I'm not going to hang around and make a pest out of myself, but do invite you to check it out as it is a very cool work!

williams.jpg

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Yes it IS live and the recording is actually a LOT better sounding than what I got from Michele as the recording master was damaged (Tons of noise and distortion).

Williams is the conductor and he did perform it more than just with one Orchestra. No other conductor has performed it, not any other Clarinetist either (I played it unaccompanied as the 2nd person to play it).

The sheet music as well is still unpublished - you couldn't find it if your live depended on it (I have it).

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It's probably a live recording

I haven't heard this recording yet, but I wanted to comment on the quote: I have lots of live recordings on CD, and most of them sound very fine. A well-done live recording isn't that much behind a well-done studio recording, and it can certainly be superior to an average studio recording.

Marian - :eek:

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It's probably a live recording

I haven't heard this recording yet, but I wanted to comment on the quote: I have lots of live recordings on CD, and most of them sound very fine. A well-done live recording isn't that much behind a well-done studio recording, and it can certainly be superior to an average studio recording.

Marian - :thumbup:

I was in no way implying that all live recordings suck, I was simply offering an explanation as to why this particular recording was so distant sounding. I have many orchestral live recordings, and like them just as much as studio recordings, if not more. There's a uniqueness that is lacking in studio recordings because there are multiple takes and so forth. Playing something live, and capturing it on tape or film, is a great experience.

Tim

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I can't tell if a private message reply was sent or not (I replied but no confirm that it actually got sent)

Do you always have to preview first to be able to send???? It seems so

This forum is quirky!!

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I can't tell if a private message reply was sent or not (I replied but no confirm that it actually got sent)

In your private messages folder check the "Outbox". If the message is in there, that means it's been sent but hasn't been read yet. If it's not there, check the "Sentbox". If it's there that means it's been sent and read by the recipient.

Do you always have to preview first to be able to send????

No, you don't.

This forum is quirky!!

It'll be better once Andreas fixes the cookie issue.

Neil

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