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Showing content with the highest reputation on 24/04/21 in Posts

  1. The 2.5 hours of unreleased music from TROS alone is certainly mouthwatering... not to mention hours more from TFA and TLJ.
    5 points
  2. The Legacy of John Williams is proud to announce an exclusive online video event coming MAY 4, 2021 dedicated to one of the most iconic and beloved collaborations in the history of music. 'The Special Relationship: John Williams and the London Symphony Orchestra' will explore the 40+ years collaboration between the legendary film music Maestro and one of the world’s leading symphonic institutions in a conversation featuring several former and current members of the LSO who performed under John Williams’ baton in many of his iconic scores recorded in London: CLIVE GILLINSON (former Cellist and subsequently LSO Managing Director), DAVID CRIPPS (former LSO Principal Horn), MAXINE KWOK (current LSO First Violinist), DAVID JACKSON (current LSO Percussionist). Joining this esteemed group of musicians is Planning Director SUE MALLET, a member of the LSO family since 1976, who worked closely with John Williams in his projects with the LSO since the early days. The panelists will talk about their fond memories recording and performing with John Williams on such legendary films as the original Star Wars trilogy, Superman, Raiders of the Lost Ark, the Star Wars prequel trilogy,Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, but also on several other recording projects and live performances. The event is moderated and produced by The Legacy of John Williams’ editor/producer Maurizio Caschetto and film music journalist/concert producer Tim Burden. 'The Special Relationship' will premiere on MAY 4 (a.k.a. Star Wars Day) at 8PM BST / 3PM EST / 12PM PST at thelegacyofjohnwilliams.com and official YouTube channel. https://thelegacyofjohnwilliams.com/2021/04/23/lso-jw-video-event-announcement/ To get you in the right mood for this special event, Tim Burden produced a TERRIFIC musical tribute montage dedicated to this special relationship in music, featuring excerpts from the beloved film scores and compositions by John Williams recorded with the LSO from 1977 until today. Sit back, relax and listen to this magical musical journey with John Williams and the London Symphony!
    4 points
  3. 467947464_LSOinSpace1978.pdf filmharmonic85.pdf
    4 points
  4. Oh, he has a much longer Tradition with that stye. But you're an interesting Matchmaker. I sure would have hired him for some more projects If I Were A Rich Man.
    3 points
  5. Held a 2021 Oscar Nominees listening session in the Discord with @SteveMc and @Holko. Went with a nice little playlist featuring a few highlight tracks from each score, arranged so that each film had a little mini-suite of its own. Unfortunately, I didn't include anything from Soul because I've not heard it outside of the film, and don't have much interest in pursuing it. Here's how the rest of the nominees ranked among our group: Da 5 Bloods - Copland-esque militaristic music, touches of Blanchard's jazz background, and a hint of dark Williams Americana a la Nixon and such made this a top pick between the three of us. Minari - We all really like Mosseri's fresh and unique voice (heard a couple of Morricone influences too)! Really cool that he's (deservedly) received this kind of recognition so early in his film career, and we're all in agreement that he's got plenty of interesting work ahead of him. Looking forward to seeing what comes next! Mank - Nice old Hollywood touches, a noir-y overture (Welcome to Victorville), and a fun swing cue (M.G.M.). Pretty good! News of the World - Shares some DNA with Call of the Wild, especially in instrumentation and environment, but Newton Howard ultimately takes a different approach, with a lot of fun Western sounds and key dramatic writing. Noticed some similarities to A Hidden Life and a little bit of Thomas Newman in Kidd Visits Maria. Love the End Titles! We're hoping to make this a tradition on our listening session calendar, so hopefully next year will offer as interesting a crop of scores as 2020 did. Looking ahead to things like The French Dispatch (Alexandre Desplat) and Spencer (Jonny Greenwood), among others, I'd say there's a pretty solid chance. Good stuff all around!
    3 points
  6. This is very sweet, thank you so much @mrbellamy. Nothing gives me more joy and motivation than seeing mutual JWfans happy with the work I’m doing. For me, it’s really a labour of love, done in the hope it will be useful material for any student and fan of John Williams’ music out there, to give possibly a wider perspective on his fantastic musical persona. Your support and appreciation means the world to me. Also, I consider myself very lucky to have a such a great collaborator and friend as Tim Burden being a real partner in this. He’s the best.
    3 points
  7. Disappointed by the music? No. Disappointed with the idiotic dinorama packaging? Extremely!
    3 points
  8. I just have to say @TownerFan, I wasn't really sure what this blog thing was gonna be when you first announced it. You never know with these things, you see them get abandoned or kinda go nowhere and I just remember being like "Well, okay..." But I am just consistently blown away by your dedication and all that you've put into it, producing all this great material and contacting these fabulous people. We all appreciate you, Maurizio. Looking forward to this one.
    3 points
  9. Holko

    John Powell kicks ass

    Anyone who's attempted to familiarise themselves with Powell knows how freely and fluidly he treats his themes - he adds or subtracts notes and figures, uses them partially, pitched differently, rhythmically altered, seamlessly integrated into the action landscape, to the point where you can barely ever hear 2 similar statements. That's why when there are two samey statements of the mainish themes, it stands out to me: vs. vs. vs. I guess it could just be demos getting tracked into separate places then being asked to do the same... but I can't help but notice that these are all in narrative key points: Hiccup joyously flying Toothless away from everyone vs. Hiccup joyously flying Toothless together with everyone, Han getting saved and flying away vs. Han flying through hyperspace, the galaxy opening up for him, Buck defeating the sledding team leader vs. Buck saving a wolf from going over a waterfall (unused, film has an alternate shorter less dramatic version without this theme). Seems to me that he's intentionally drawing parallels between these scenes or beats to show character growth by not doing his usual wide variations but very similar tempos, phrasings, accents and orchestrations instead. Though he does always make it grow somehow - for HttYD, he plays the full sequence of Friendship Ostinato, Friendship, Flying instead of just the first and the last the second time around, for Solo the rhythmic base is more accented and brass joins more prominently alongside the strings, and for CotW the tempo's quicker.
    2 points
  10. It’s going to be awkward when Disney airbrush the main character out of their Chinese posters for Captain America 4
    2 points
  11. 1. SW sequels (It will be revelatory and the amount of new music with Mike's assembly will make me feel like listening to these scores for the first time) 2. SW prequels (probably my favourite from a purely musical perspective) 3. SW OT (Mike's treatment is long overdue) 4. Indiana Jones (even as no. 4 it's still a set that needs to happen) 5. Oliver Stone 6. Universal
    2 points
  12. Geez, what a crowd. I'm looking forward to this very much.
    2 points
  13. Yeah it’s a different arrangement. For me, it’s more fun and oddly joyful than the Summon the Heroes version.
    2 points
  14. Actually, I just discovered (or remembered) that the full version appears on this album: Actually, in addition to the soft coda after the big finish, somebody added two final bars with a sudden fortissimo ending (and sounds rather tacky; I can't imagine Williams wrote it). It's also a bit of a sloppy recording, so I wouldn't recommend it. I bought it off iTunes several years ago and I think I listened to it once (that's why I forgot about the extended Raiders March...)
    2 points
  15. It does, expect for the computer monitors
    2 points
  16. Opinions are for everybody different so here's mine. Movoe was quite enjoyable but had a few problems. The Cole Young character was the main focus of the film, but actually the least interesting and the worst performance. The VFX was really good and besides the sometimes very quick cutting, the action scenes were so much fun. For me the standout was, even with the little screentime that he got, Hiroyuki Sanada. I think he's always great and he's a great fighter. As for Wallfisch's score. It's works extremely well in the movie, and that's what it is about. I personally like it on album as well. The Mortal Kombat theme was used sparingly but made a great impression each time. I'm a big fan of Wallfisch from the beginning of his career so this is a great score for my collection of his work
    1 point
  17. True, but at the same time, the JP album is a bit misleading in that regard. In the film, everything up to Jurassic Park Gate is basically exposition, and that's where you'll find all the awe and admiration stuff. From that point forward it's just in between bits like the triceratops and brachiosaurus music, the rest is tension and actions. So the big thematic stuff that everyone knows makes up less than the first 20 minutes of the score. The original album not only repeats some of that, it also mixes the raptor music from near the end of the film with the earlier stuff and groups the hardcore action stuff at the end (except for Incident at Isla Nublar). As a result, the album has over 40 minutes of music dominated by the two major themes, with just a bit of the action and suspense material mixed into it - giving the impression that the two memorable themes dominate the score, when in fact the bulk of it is much darker. Compared to this, and considering that it doesn't need to repeat the exposition, TLW isn't *that* different in tone. It's much more percussive and jazzy, and it has its own danger motif, but it also has its share of moody adventure material.
    1 point
  18. I was just thinking about this. There’s the old quote about Goldsmith writing the score “ for the film the studio thought they were making...” He certainly scored his share of clunkers. Powell also seems to really commit to his scores even if the films don’t deserve them. Can’t think of a score of his where he “phoned it in”. Goldsmith and Powell don’t really sound alike. But they both have terrific melding of orchestra and electronics. Do you think John Powell has assumed Goldsmiths mantle of “fantastic scores for bombed movies”?
    1 point
  19. Wow! Look at this Revox receiver and CD player from 1985: It's a genuine Space Odyssey. Made in Switzerland!
    1 point
  20. That was one of my very first film music compilations and while is far from perfect, it holds a special place in my collection. I would guess that Stanley Black did the arrangements, most likely from the music that was already at the LSO library.
    1 point
  21. The 60s sounds awesome! It has a full-bodied bass that many of Karajan's other recordings (including his Ring cycle from the same time) don't have. That other more expansive sound is great for Wagner, Strauss, Bruckner, & Co., but I think it's a perfect fit for the Beethovens. Those wonderfully droning double basses in the finale of the 8th! Many of Karajan's 80s recordings don't live up to his 60s and 70s versions. Partly because he didn't take the lively stuff lively enough anymore, and partly because the early digital recordings just sound much flatter. An exception are his Berlin Planets (because I still think the Wiener just didn't bother when he did it with them in the 60s). His 80s Alpensinfonie is fine, but I really wish he'd also recorded that work with his earlier 70s Strauss cycle, because everything else in there is superiour to the digital remakes.
    1 point
  22. I've had a vinyl transfer for years but have to confess I never payed much attention to it. Not even tried to find a decent copy of the album on vinyl for my own collection... time to fix that.
    1 point
  23. I guess the players knew that Karajan was going away for a long time after the recording.
    1 point
  24. I really love the cue where Bill Pullman speaks to his dead wife, who oddly doesn't look like a cartoon spectre. Good effort from Horny.
    1 point
  25. In the end, it turns out that The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was not but was actually
    1 point
  26. Bought Beethoven's symphonies yesterday, conducted by Gardiner. Just finished the 7th. Heaven.
    1 point
  27. rough cut

    Upcoming Films

    When you google for “forthcoming movies”, Google includes “upcoming movies” in the results. A search for “upcoming movies” doesn’t do the opposite however, which should indicate that the phrase “upcoming movies” is more frequently used.
    1 point
  28. I wasn't disapointed by the score at all. In Germany the soundtrack album was published before the movie. So, I heard the score first. First thought was, that Williams is really the King of sequel scores, because unlike many others he always creates something new and unique. Secondly, I was really excited by this orchestra percussion sound. I hadn't heard such sound in that way before. Thirdly, I thought what a cool movie is this going to be. That leads directly to the disapointing parts. I was disapointed not hearing The Hunt in the movie. I was disapointed by the whole movie. I was disapointed by the story. I expected the movie to be much darker and bloodier from the mmusic.But IT wasn't.
    1 point
  29. Not if the image is composed properly!
    1 point
  30. Yes, I was - sort of. But I had been mentally prepared for it, because there was an early blurb in the FSM magazine (by either Andy Dursin or Jeff Bond, can't remember) that described the score as "Stravinsky-ian" or some such thing. So going in, I already knew it was not going to be in the same style as JP. Still, it took a few months, perhaps even a couple of years, to adjust to the new, more aggressive, less awe-and-wonder-centered aesthetic and embrace it for the excellent score that it is. When the movie came out in September-97 (over here), I was 19 going on 20, and had already lived away from home for about a year. In Oslo, where there are (or were) many great record stores. I was practically DEVOURING soundtracks at the time, picking up new acquisitions left and right. I built the majority of my CD collection between the mid 90s and mid 2000s. So in all this mayhem, properly assessing and appreciating THE LOST WORLD took somewhat of a backseat.
    1 point
  31. Never. I've always preferred THE LOST WORLD to JURASSIC PARK. It's sounds better, it's played better, and it's simply a better score.
    1 point
  32. Unfortunately the sequel trilogy didn't really allow for JW to let loose with a lot bombastic action music, but the music at the beginning of TLJ will always be one of my favourite musical moments, especially the complete version. It has basically everything: Reworkings of motifs and themes from the OT, the musical style of the prequels and the developing of themes from TFA.
    1 point
  33. Spielberg thought it was so shit, he didn't even write a note!
    1 point
  34. Yes, I was disappointed in this score when the movie first came out. And no, the expansion didn’t change my opinion. Outside of the Main Theme, The Hunt, Rescuing Sarah and The Raptors Appear this score doesn’t do much for me.
    1 point
  35. Pretty bad. Mostly boring, the fights are crap and badly shot. The ending is deeply, annoyingly anti-climactic and ends on a cliffhanger that definitely did not leave me wanting more. The original is at least daft fun, this was just dull. But it's still nice to go to the theater
    1 point
  36. I was only 10 and I just remember loving the movie. I still have a lot of affection for the movie, one of those movies where people list out very sensible flaws and my response is "Sure, but that doesn't matter to me." Anyway, my point is I was too young to have expectations for the score, it was just generally part of my discovering a love for movie music, which very much happened in the late 90s for me.
    1 point
  37. I believe that, in terms of composers scoring shitty movies, JNH should've been at least mentioned. I mean, I love the guy but look at all the horrible shit on his resumee: Crimes of Grindelwald, The Last Airbender, The Postman, The Happening, After Earth... His scores for these crappy movies are often the best thing about them.
    1 point
  38. His bio says 5'8 when he's really 5'8½ I wonder if it has anything to do with this "Star Wars Audio Comics" listing, which appears to be a fan-made IMDB entry listing most Star Wars composers (I imagine they took music from all of the films/games) and he probably doesn't want that on his repertoire since it's an unofficial/fake listing. Just a guess though.
    1 point
  39. I'm ready!!! I hope we get some dirt on Chamber of Secrets!
    1 point
  40. I watched some of The Call Of The Wild the other week, and from my view, Powell scored a version of the film I wished they'd made. (hence why I saw some of it). I frequently wonder whether composer A actually enjoyed scoring film B. You always hear of composers gushing over how fun or inspiring it was to do a film, but of course, they're going to say that for PR purposes even when it bored the crap out of them. Having said that, maybe composers enjoy taking on a dull film and attempting to elevate it with music. In other words, just because a film sucks, doesn't necessarily mean the composer resorted to treating it as just another job.
    1 point
  41. #RestoretheWhedonverse!
    1 point
  42. Well said @Alex, it's a brilliant fusion of all three trilogies, and the performance/recording is seriously impressive. You'd swear it was the LSO performing it at the ROTS sessions if you didn't know otherwise. It feels like a close cousin to the Battle Over Coruscant too. What a shame the JJ sequels afforded him so few opportunities to break loose with the orchestra in this vein (and thank fuck for Rian Johnson!) It is hard to fully judge based on the OST track though, because it's so frustratingly cut down (and there's even more unused material they deleted from the film!) The complete version will make a stunning opening track on an expansion someday.
    1 point
  43. Thor stepping into an expansion thread... (all in good fun, fellas )
    1 point
  44. @Thor I can see your audience now leaving the symphony.... "so which one was Darth Vader's theme?"
    1 point
  45. My ideal Williams programme would not necessarily be a symphonic concert, but a smaller jazz & chamber ensemble highlighting these, in particular: 1. Selections from early film scores DADDY-O - "Main Title" THE SECRET WAYS - "Main Title" NONE BUT THE BRAVE - "Main Title/Kuroki's Introduction" HOW TO STEAL A MILLION - "Two Lovers" (with choir) NOT WITH MY WIFE YOU DON'T - "Hungarian Jungle Music" Song medley from NOT WITH MY WIFE YOU DON'T, PENELOPE and GUIDE FOR THE MARRIED MAN 2. TV music M SQUAD - "The End" WAGON TRAIN - "Golden West" ALCOA PREMIERE THEATRE - "Theme" and suites from "Jeeney Ray" and "A Moment of Decision" KRAFT SUSPENSE THEATRE - "Theme" and suite from "The Hunt" BOB HOPE PRESENTS CHRYSLER THEATRE - "Theme" and suite from "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch" Theme medley from TAMMY GRIMES SHOW, AND BABY MAKES THREE, WHO GOES THERE, CHECKMATE, BACHELOR FATHER and LOST IN SPACE 3. Less-played films JANE EYRE - "Restoration" OR "Theme" STORY OF A WOMAN - "The Cortina Sequence" THE REIVERS - "The Road to Memphis" IMAGES - "In Search of Unicorns" CINDERELLA LIBERTY - "New Shooter" OR "Neptune's Bar" THE EIGER SANCTION - "Main Title" STANLEY & IRIS - "End Credits" ROSEWOOD - "Look Down Lord" (with choir) ANGELA'S ASHES - "Angela's Prayer" 4. Encore THE LONG GOODBYE - "Theme song" (male vocal version)
    1 point
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