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Dunno if there's a 'Concerts of Williams' music you've attended' thread ...


Sweeping Strings

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A few years ago I saw the Colorado Symphony Orchestra perform a night of JW music, conducted by a man who had performed as a violinist on some of his great scores in the 70s—Close Encounters, The Towering Inferno, and the like. It was an amazing evening. In addition to the usual great concert pieces, the conductor had contacted Mr. Williams and asked as a personal favor to be allowed to perform "The Face of the Pan," a piece which Williams had only conducted himself to that point. He said yes. So there was something of John's spirit in the air, given that he had personally granted a rare concession for this single concert.

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Dutch conductor?

Yes indeed, Ernst Van Tiel.

Set-list -

Star Wars Main Theme

Phantom Menace Suite (The Flag Parade/Anakin's Theme/The Adventures Of Jar-Jar/Duel Of The Fates)

Across The Stars (from Attack Of The Clones)

Luke and Leia's Theme (from Return Of The Jedi)

Interval

The Imperial March

Leia's Theme

Battle Of The Heroes (from Revenge Of The Sith)

Yoda's Theme

Shadows Of The Empire Suite (The Seduction Of Princess Leia/The Destruction Of Xizor's Palace)

Throne Room/Grand Finale (from A New Hope)

Our 'special' thing was that it was a concert premiere for the Shadows Of The Empire music.

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In addition to the two concerts where I've seen the man himself conduct (Hollywood Bowl 2012 and Boston 2014), I've attended at least one Williams concert here in Norway. Could be more, but I'm beginning to be forgetful.

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Wow that is a cool programme. I see they arranged it so that the brass section won't be in their death throes when all of this is done as a lot of this music features them quite heavily.

I would love to hear the Shadows of the Empire suite sometime. The finale of the score, Destruction of Xizor's Palace, is one Prokofievian tour-de-force.

Oh and yes Johnny's music is cool too! ;)

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Hearing the Main Theme played live triggered a strong emotional response, because it took me right back to 1977 and being a wide-eyed-with-wonder 6 year old upon seeing A New Hope for the first time at the Curzon cinema on Belfast's Ormeau Road with my Dad.

Sadly, both he and the cinema are gone.

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