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The newest episode of CINEMATIC SOUND RADIO presents music from the new Sony Classical album THE SPIELBERG/WILLIAMS COLLABORATION PART III for your enjoyment! http://www.cinematicsound.net/ep-42-re-recording-john-williams/ Thanks for listening! -Erik-

Glen posted this on Facebook a couple of hours ago Kobe Bryant closes his eyes and listens for the first time to John Williams beautiful and emotional score for "Dear Basketball".

What are your favorite John William scores? Which track (piece) is your favorite on the score? I absolutely love "Rey's Theme (The Scavenger)" from The Force Awakens! Great soundtrack - can't wait for episode 8!

Pete N Tillie could have featured Love Is The Game In Town though.....

Varese announced it!!!! https://www.varesesarabande.com/products/stanley-iris-the-deluxe-edition

The Ringwraith theme develops and combined more and more with the other Mordor material, where its presence is not announced by the choral text but the subtler harmonic and rhythmic elements before it builds into the Power of Mordor motif at the Siege of Minas Tirith and the secundal harmonies of the theme form parts of the Witch-King VS Eowyn music. I think this type of thematic development starts already in the latter half of TTT and is more and more embraced in RotK where all the themes clash and combine and form new ideas. It is also a question of dynamics I believe, the roaring chorus perhaps not the right vehicle for all situations and Shore often supports the Nazgûl scenes with the secundal harmonies in the brass at varying levels of intensity.

Isn't this guy like a legend to all the cock stains around here that think I'm the weirdo for listening to this wordless background elevator music? The irony is unprecedented.

I might be naive but I highly doubt Disney will start another Skywalker trilogy immediately after IX. They'll give it at least 5 or 6 years to build anticipation. Everyone will be happy to take a break from the Skywalker story by the time we reach IX. I like the idea of starting a new trilogy set in the Old Republic, with completely new characters dealing with an ancient Sith order that worships the dark side. They could essentially remake the prequel storyline in a totally different era, and it would be a cool way to fill the gap between Skywalker trilogies. Eventually they need to start making films that stand on their own feet, rather than rehashing existing events and characters. Rogue One, Han Solo, the rumoured Obi-Wan and Boba Fett films... c'mon, let's do something new!

Here it is! By the way, looks like we should be able to see the specific date of the premiere on March 15: https://tribecafilm.com/filmguide

https://www.varesesarabande.com/products/under-siege-2-dark-territory-the-deluxe-edition

Buy it, Alex, it's a very good score.

Yes, it is complete. And in fact, is twice as long as what was used in the film.

I had some real trouble with that myself. Thankfully it's just a one-episode dumb visual (and the rest of that episode, the season 2 finale, was so good) that we can ignore that going forward (until it happens again, or until somebody becomes a lightsaber airplane).

Indeed. Two of Hollywood's most "loveable" stars... Chris Pratt is the one I want to punch less in the face, but that's probably because he hasn't been around as long.

Another combined release? Bespin will not be happy.

PETE'N'TILLIE! Damn, now I have to buy this after all....

You wanted the embossed cover?

It's not, but you'll never know

Woah! I guess I'll be listening this afternoon!

Well, you could see the Ringwraiths theme in FOTR as a theme for the Nazgûl as black riders, and the material in TTT and ROTK as music for the wraiths on wings!

It is a bit weird that after so many permutations of the Ringwraith theme in the first half of FOTR, after they are defeated at the river their theme doesn't really return with them when they return in that one TTT scene and in ROTK. I mean, the same theme is used in TTT but it sounds so different, and by ROTK Shore decided to use new Fourth Age themes to represent the might of Sauron's big attack

Brilliant foreshadowing of the connection between Thorin and the Nazgu...no wait. Was it Azog and the Nazgul? No? Well something something connected!

It is all connected thanks to PJ! Listen to this:

The entire album has been played in the most recent Cinematic Sound episode... http://www.cinematicsound.net/ep-42-re-recording-john-williams/

I've always despised inventory micromanagement, it can turn a well paced and engaging piece of gaming escapism into a plodding bore. Little wonder then that everything you play is a 100 hours long, or at least you think it is.

The simple truth is that Lucas kept changing his mind. As with the development of any story or set of stories things constantly evolve and change. The 7 saga films we have so far were all initially conceived to be very different than how they ended up. At this point, what Lucas planned doesn't really matter at all, because what Lucas planned was a whole lot of different things and the Star Wars franchise has simply moved beyond that.

There will definitely be a 4th trilogy. The only question is how long Disney waits to do it. Probably depends on how long they can make annual Anthology films before people lose interest?

I mean he didnt innovate much in the OT... regarding the stortrooper desings.

I don't think that's weird at all. In fact, it's perfectly natural, as I see it. While many fans consider "Star Wars-y" to mean "like the original trilogy," George Lucas considers it to mean something new, something that is always innovating.

What was that line-crosser?

I hate crafting in games, it's mundane as fuck.

I understand completely. I love when themes come up out of nowhere and give you goosebumps... Chills created by JW's scores is what I live for. But the definition of a "song" is poetry and JW's music are poetry for the ears of what is being seen by the eyes. So, yeah. lol I have to say right now I'm really into "Rey's Theme" for The Force Awakens. It all depends on my mood. I'm studying and writing a paper now so "Rey's Theme" has got me in the working mood. :-)

Please don't call film music cues "songs". My favorite score is either Temple of Doom, Hook, or Empire Strikes Back depending on the day, with my favorite cue within each I guess being Indy Takes Charge, Finale, and The End of Hook, something like that. What about you?

That's so cool! Never expected we'd get an unofficial Disney sketch of John Williams at the podium out of this.

Logan Eh, it was alright. It was absolutely better than a lot of recent superhero movies, but people need to calm down with the amount of praise its getting in some circles. Primarily it accomplishes being better than other superhero movies, by kind of only being a superhero movie by technicality. Its really a road movie drama with action scenes. The acting is great, at least by the 3 leads (Wolverine, X, and the girl) - all the other characters are pretty forgettable. It was nice seeing Elizabeth Rodriguez from OITNB in a different role, and she was actually quite good too come to think of it. The much discussed R Rating is kind of neither here nor there; It does make the characters and fights a bit more realistic for sure, but say it had been a PG13 movie I think it would have been received roughly the same - the film doesn't live or die by its swears and violence, but rather whether or not you care about the characters. To that point, eh, I kind of did, kind of didn't. I definitely didn't get that emotional about the big deaths as some people claimed, in fact I didn't really care that much; In the end, with these world of movies, there will always be reboots and prequels and whatever else so we'll see them again anyway. The score by Beltrami actually enhanced the movie throughout; It was nothing I'm remotely interested in checking out on its own, but I did notice it improving the film for sure. I can't say this is anything anyone needs to rush out and see at all, but again I want to say it is indeed nothing like the superhero movies that are being overdone these days for sure, which is nice.

I like THE LAND THAT TIME FORGOT. It has Susan Penhaligan.

Medal of Honor: European Assault by Christopher Lennertz Secret Weapons Over Normandy by Michael Giacchino

And... This.

Bah! I think another reason this film resonates more than his latest string of pseudo-documentaries is because it's largely tied to one location. So the house, the fields, the American plains; all very much a character in the film, allowing for Malick's keen visual eye to have a more dramatic life and role than just presenting a series of pretty shots you could place in any random nature documentary.

Weirdly, while James Cameron is now a pretentious vegan telling people to reduce their carbon footprints, the eatery in the Avatar land at Disney's Animal Kingdom serves meat to the tourists.

A full length Incanus review would include a full thematic breakdown, an instrument list, biographical info on the orchestra and conductor plus a description of the dinner after the show.

"Brief"... Hehehe...

But there's no new hashtag on it! Lame!

Very cool! I keep thinking back not too long ago to 2015 when we had so much concern for his health. He was cancelling things left and right, looking and sounding a little frailer than usual. I was definitely coming to terms with the idea that he may be about ready to quit conducting by 2016, and keeping my fingers crossed that the same wouldn't be true about composing. Two years later, look at him. Not just physically, but mentally he continues to have the endurance and enthusiasm to multitask that has always inspired me. What are the odds that somebody with that much talent would ALSO have pretty much unlimited monster success leading to the greatest musical resources at his fingertips AND a variety of opportunities and projects to utilize them AND blessed with longevity in life AND a passionate work ethic that has kept him even wanting to give music to the world in his "retirement years" AND an amiably grounded and humble attitude throughout it all? Seriously, what the fuck? I can't help but think about Jerry, James, Basil, Kamen, and too many others who died too soon. Elliot Goldenthal, Don Davis, Bruce Broughton et al who should be working more with better film opportunities and aren't. Thank god Ennio's still going strong, of course it'd be nice if he were a little more high-profile but who's complaining? And then there's John Williams. Every year he's looking more and more like some miracle man. A superhuman! But in a way that cheapens the remarkable career achievements and life's blessings on this sweet, unassuming man, and the struggles that he's had like anyone else. At any rate, he is rather special and I've been feeling grateful to call myself a fan lately. When I was 10 years old, one of my favorite things to daydream about on the bus and in school was the new John Williams CD coming out. Now I'm 26 and it's one of my favorite things to daydream about in the car and at work. Man I just love this guy! John Williams is awesome. Anyway

The music of John Williams and Friends Royal Scottish National Orchestra conducted by Richard Kaufman Usher Hall, Edinburgh Friday 24th February 2017 Like Hogmanay and the Edinburgh Festival, it is becoming something of an annual tradition in Scotland for Richard Kaufman to conduct the Royal Scottish National Orchestra in the music of John Williams, so when a new concert was announced in the RSNO’s 2016-17 schedule entitled ‘John Williams and Friends’, to be performed four times over three days in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dundee, I decided that I would finally make the effort to be there at one of the concerts. So it was that this Sassenach found himself on a chilly Friday evening in a sold out Usher Hall, Edinburgh’s opulent Edwardian concert hall, four hundred miles from home and wondering whether the long train journey and expense would be worth the effort. There are several reasons why I should not have worried. Firstly the RSNO would be led by the reliable American conductor Richard Kaufman, a personal friend of John Williams who in a nine-year career as a Hollywood studio violinist played on several of the maestro’s soundtracks, including Close Encounters of the Third Kind and The Eiger Sanction. His friendship and close working relationship with Williams have given him access to rarely played Williams scores that would be out of the reach of many other orchestras and conductors. Secondly, the RSNO has recorded several John Williams albums including less well known scores such as Midway and Amazing Stories, landmark recordings that gave film music fans the opportunity to hear those scores in all their glory several years before the original soundtracks were released by specialist labels. Quite apart from that, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra is the best orchestra in Scotland and one of the best in Europe, while Scotland’s capital city is well worth a visit any time of the year (if a trip to Edinburgh Castle is not on your bucket list, it should be). The concert began in spectacular style with Summon the Heroes, written for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta and not heard in concert nearly as often as it should be. Indeed I realised that I had not heard it played live since I saw John Williams himself conduct the London Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican as long ago as 1996 - it was the first time I ever saw my musical hero. The RSNO more than did him justice, with three of the trumpeters stood off stage behind the orchestra, an unexpected if noisy treat for the audience members in the choir seats. Afterwards maestro Kaufman joked, “That was your ballad for the evening” before promising that the orchestra would play some “more exciting” pieces later on! A fellow audience member was overheard explaining to his companion that the piece was written for the Los Angeles Olympics in 1990, somehow managing to get both the venue and the year completely wrong. Mate, the programmes cost only a quid. Next up was Hymn to the Fallen from the end credits of Saving Private Ryan, the trumpet duo played brilliantly by RSNO principal Chris Hart (as he did in the first piece) and Marcus Pope, replicating the sound of Tim Morrison and Thomas Rolfs from the original soundtrack. While there was no choir, it was a great opportunity to hear live the RSNO’s top class brass section so familiar to film music fans. This would be followed by another first for me, a performance of the concert version of Jim’s New Life from another Spielberg film, Empire of the Sun. In the film the music accompanies a scene in which Jim (Christian Bale) carries out a number of errands in a Japanese internment camp. Kaufman took the piece at a good tempo, much closer to that of the film version and certainly quicker than the tempo that John Williams often conducts it. Dare I say that a quicker tempo improves this fine scherzo? This was followed by the first of two pieces not composed by John Williams that we would hear this evening, Maurice Jarre’s Overture from Lawrence of Arabia. The piece owed its welcome inclusion in the concert to the fact that David Lean’s epic had been a great inspiration to Steven Spielberg in his formative years. The percussion section earned their corn in this one, especially timpani player John Poulter who must have relished the chance to perform those bombastic opening bars penned by a composer whose primary instrument was the kettle drums. The remainder of the first half really showcased the diversity of John Williams, starting with an outstanding performance of the concert version of The People’s House from Spielberg’s biopic Lincoln. I am a sucker for that Coplandesque Americana that John Williams does so well in this score. Again the gorgeous trumpet solo was played flawlessly by principal Chris Hart, who fully deserved the audience’s ovation afterwards. The Duel from The Adventures of Tintin was another concert first for me, Kaufman explaining that it was one of several pieces that are not usually available for orchestras to perform but that John Williams had been gracious enough to lend him from his personal library. Williams famously conducted the piece at the Hollywood Bowl to an on-screen montage of famous sword fights from movie history featuring the swashbuckling likes of Errol Flynn, Tyrone Power, Stewart Granger and, erm, Kermit the Frog, but the music is more than capable of holding its own without the aid of visual images. It was good to see the string players acknowledged afterwards by conductor Kaufman who no doubt empathised as a fellow violinist familiar with the challenges of playing a John Williams film cue, especially one so frenetic in nature. The penultimate piece before the interval may well have been the highlight of the evening for me. The theme from the Richard Dreyfuss / Holly Hunter weepy Always is hardly ever played in concert and was another piece specially loaned by the composer for the RSNO concerts. Pianist Lynda Cochrane and guest principal horn player Andrew McLean deserve particular credit for their performances in a version identical to that recorded for Sony Classical’s Spielberg / Williams Collaboration CD in 1990. Taking us into the interval was the Flying Theme from E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, always a popular choice at Williams concerts even if I was spoiled by the live to picture performance by the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra just after Christmas. Beginning the second half of the concert was the legendary shark theme from Jaws, the first Williams score on which tonight’s conductor had performed as a studio musician. As is often the case, the opening string chord was accompanied by nervous laughter from many in the audience, in much the same way that Bernard Herrmann’s music for the shower scene in Psycho is now seemingly cause for mirth and merriment rather than terror. It was a punchy, exciting performance and a bonus to see it conducted by someone who had played on the original sessions way back in 1975. Unlike in the original sessions however, I did not see any of the violinists covering their eyes because they were too scared to watch the film! Tuba player John Whitener was invited to take a bow afterwards. Any concert tribute to John Williams and Steven Spielberg must include music from an Indiana Jones film and here we had Marion’s Theme in addition to the ubiquitous but always brilliant Raiders March from Raiders of the Lost Ark. Williams arranged the former fairly recently, around the time of the disappointing Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, a concert version of the theme for Karen Allen’s feisty heroine in the original movie. The RSNO’s performance of the Raiders March sounded probably as close to the London Symphony Orchestra’s film version as I have heard it played. There was further applause when maestro Kaufman hinted afterwards that there would be a special announcement regarding Raiders of the Lost Ark and the RSNO that we would not want to miss. I think you can guess what it is! It was interesting to see alto saxophonist Simon Haram again reprising Closing In, the first movement of the three-part concert suite Escapades that Williams adapted from his Catch Me If You Can score. He had performed the same piece with the Philharmonia Orchestra down in London at the Royal Festival Hall just a few weeks ago in their Spielberg at 70 tribute concert, so is obviously one of the go to guys when an alto saxophone is needed. It is always fun to watch the orchestra members’ finger clicking and ‘shushing’ whenever this piece is played in concert. The second and final non-Williams selection was Henry Mancini’s Peter Gunn theme, the Williams connection being that he had played the piano on the original soundtrack recording. This was enormous fun, with several of the RSNO musicians giving extended improvised solos, most notably principal trombone Davur Juul Magnussen who I can safely say is the only trombonist I have ever seen from the Faroe Islands. As I left Usher Hall after the concert I overheard a fellow concertgoer asking her husband, who was humming the Peter Gunn theme, “Was that Dragnet? Or The Thin Man?” [Insert face palm gif of your choice here]. This was followed by the European premiere of Flight and Technology, the final movement of John Williams’s American Journey suite adapted from his score for the Spielberg short film The Unfinished Journey premiered at the millennium celebrations at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC. Maestro Kaufman related how when sharing conducting duties with Williams at last year’s Tanglewood Film Night he had wondered whether it would be appropriate to include any of John Williams's music in his half of the concert, to which Williams had responded, “No, you should - that’s why they’re coming!” You see, the “I know, but they’re all dead” one liner is not the only gag in John Williams’s repertoire, the man’s a funny guy. As a tribute to the late Carrie Fisher, the concert ended with the only Williams selection not written for a film directed by Steven Spielberg, the Throne Room and End Title from Star Wars. The rapturous applause that greeted the final notes subsided only when Richard Kaufman turned to the orchestra to give us a little something extra from the Dark Side, the Imperial March from The Empire Strikes Back. All in all this was a five star concert and I would love to return some day if Edinburgh will have me back!