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What a fantastic photo! He looks like a proud dad

Here is my review for Donnerstag, den 14. Oktober 2021 performance by John Williams and the Berlin Philharmonic. After the welcoming standing ovation, the concert opened with the sounding of the Olympic Fanfare, which introduced the reliably disciplined and strong sound of the Berlin Philharmonic. This was followed by The Close Encounters of the Third Kind, which, in contrast to the Viennese direction that mirrored Charles Gerhardt's legendary recording, here were conducted by Williams with more liberty. Afterwards, Williams took a while to compliment the city, which he said to have driven around over the past few days. He said that, in contrast to Los Angeles and New York with their abundant cars, it was great to see so many pedestrians and cyclists in Berlin. He added that the city has great history in its antique architecture, a thriving present, and in the faces of the many children in the park he saw that it is set for a great future as well. Next came his introduction of the Far and Away suite, which Williams said was a project with a need for Irish music, something that he had always wanted to do at the time. He described the Doonybrook segment, written as a non-seriour brawl that in tone harkened back to the times of pies thrown in people's faces in Hollywood comedies. The execution of this suite by the Berlin Philharmonic was solid, with the ever-energetic concertmaster convincingly taking on a role of a country fiddler. The Donnybrook segment stood out thanks to the great vitality coming from the lower strings. The introduction of the selections from Harry Potter was brief, and their execution conservative (as far as world's greatest orchestras go). Hedwig's Theme is a fitting piece where I should mention that the oboe soloist (a young lady with a flaxen hair – later identified as Sofía Zamora Meseguer) was outstanding throughout the concert among the woodwinds. Overall, for this reviewer the highlight of the segment was Hogwarts' theme in Harry's Wondrous World, a guilty pleasure it always is. The final piece before the break was the concert arrangement of Jurassic Park, In contrast with the original 1993 direction, where one can relax and stirr a tea between the phrases of the maestoso, this rendition followed Williams' recent tendency for much faster tempi. The main theme at today's speed resembled a single lyrical utterance, closer to an aria, credit to the skill of the Berlin Philharmonic which played it with grace. The island fanfare was played by the trumpet section with gusto, I daresay rivalling the legendary original performance of Malcolm McNab and his colleagues. The BSO's trumpet section is young and strong, precise in attack, and very cohesive, which continued to be felt throughout the concert. It is not improbable that all of the trumpeteers who played today grew up with Williams' music and knew its big moments by heart. What an uncommon and wonderful compliment to an old composer this is! ---Intermission--- The second part of the concert resumed with a mighty performance of the Superman Theme. The excellence of the bassline, if it persists until Saturday, should be felt on the recordings, and the BSO certainly can hope to produce one of the go-to recordings of this piece. After Superman, a selection from the Indiana Jones series was introduced in Williams' standard fashion. The difference was the mention of contemporary events - Harrison Ford having recovered from an accident and filming the next installment in London, and Williams planning to begin the writing of the score upon a return to Los Angeles. It also involved what to me was the most comical event of the evening, when the maestro forgot Sean Connery's name and the crowd in the front rows begun trying to yell it to him through muffling masks. The Scherzo for Motorcycle and Orchestra to me was one of the highlights of the evening. The BSO was a flawless machine in this one, fitting for a piece most of all related to Berlin. Marion's Theme was a solid show, although I confess that I missed the spoiling plushness of the strings of the Vienna Philharmonic. Raiders March on the other hand was directed by a noticeably more vigorous hand than the one in Vienna, and the eventual recording, if safe from any misfortune, might well prove superior to the one made by Simon Rattle at the Waldbühne a few years prior. Next came the introduction of the Elegy for Violoncello and Orchestra, which Williams selected because he personally associated the sound of the cello with many different emotions, and the Elegy is well-suited for individual interpretations by the listeners. Indeed, it sounded generally solemn and emotional; clearly could work well as a score to many different films, and was a fine choice as an ambassador for Williams' concert works. Without much ado, the Star Wars pieces were announced, and to my pleasant surprise, in the opening Adventures of Han, the Philharmoniker roared to life as if they had just been reborn, no doubt owing to the shrewd contrast produced by pairing this piece with the Elegy. Overall it was my favourite performance of this piece to date, matching, and possibly exceeding the original one, and joined the Scherzo as another highlight. After it, Yoda's Theme came in with unexpected nobility, courtesy of the Berliner horns, and upon its completion earned an immediate standing applause. Afterwards followed the final piece in the official programme, Throne Room and Finale from Star Wars. The performance was a very fine one, and the eventual recording is likely to be added to the list of ones we so much like to compare and favour. The trumpeteers should be mentioned once again, since a lot in the Star Wars pieces depends on their excellence, and they provided it in spades today. Overall, with energy reserves of the orchestra fully engaged and just about every piece a barn-burner, the second part of the concert was especially strong, not unlike in Vienna. It should also be noted that the percussion was astutely disciplined – certainly less error-prone than that of the VPO. Then came the encores, known to me beforehand since the concertmaster named them loud to the orchestra during the public-open rehearsal on Wednesday. Princess Leia's Theme, after a standard introduction, much like Marion's Theme, was a solid performance, and the principal horn was distinguished by Williams and orchestra colleagues to stand up three times to receive a standing ovation. The second encore was Flying from E.T., begun in a racing tempo from the final bike chase and welcomed by the audience with some happy noise. Then Williams feigned leaving the stage again, and returned with the final piece – The Imperial March. The public reacted with a welcoming ovation, one even longer than what I remember from the initial Viennese concert. With the composer-conductor overjoyed, and the orchestra firing on all cylinders, the piece was over not long after it begun. It was decidedly faster than the one in Vienna, although to my ears the horns lost their discipline and got a bit uneven, and so the Viennese ones remain unmatched. I regret I cannot single out the principal flute for praise as much as I could the oboe, or the flutes in Vienna, but that is the beauty of having these live performances with different orchestras and different strengths - back then they were strings, horns, and flute; today - trumpets, percussion, and the oboe. I am sure the orchestra will continue to make quick gains during the two performances it still has ahead of it, since it most certainly already did between Wednesday and Thursday. I am looking forward to your reviews after the next concerts. P.S. It should be noted that I was seated behind the orchestra and cannot speak about all nuances of balance or judge the string performance. I am sure those at the front might have praise to add in these areas. P.P.S. The audience seemed slightly inhibited by all the circa-epidemic restrictions. Had it been like in January 2020, when all everyone cared about was a ticket, I am sure the crowd would have been more freely jubilant. Yours, Fabulin

Of the Star Wars sequels, The Last Jedi proved the most faithful to John Williams' intended score, with one major exception: the opening Escape sequence. After Williams recorded the score's first 8 cues, Rian Johnson restructured the entire sequence, forcing deep music edits to match the revised opening. Sadly Williams followed suit on his OST, presenting a heavily truncated suite of these cues in Main Title and Escape. Now, with the aid of sheet music and mockups, I've reconstructed the film's opening sequence, reintegrating deleted footage where available, and restored Williams' complete score to its intended glory. In my opinion, the best continuous stretch of film scoring in the trilogy. Enjoy! Williams' ability to ratchet up musical tension is simply unrivaled, paired with a climactic release to make the hair on your neck stand up. A shame neither the film nor soundtrack presented Williams' complete intended score; this had every potential of being the greatest opening track of any Star Wars soundtrack, period. Alas, the wait continues for expanded releases that showcase the Maestro's complete musical vision. Special shout out to @BrotherSound and another anonymous user for their help!

Absolutely brilliant today!! Even though they skipped Luke and Leia, they definitely gave their absolute best. Hopefully tmr will have something special for the last show in Berlin

Ah, I see. I waited for 15 minutes too (probably prior to YOUR 15 minutes), during which the aforementioned three people showed up, and then decided that it would be just as easy to meet up at the Lindenbrau. The beer thirst was too strong! Ran into JWFAN member Stempel too, and although I recognized him, he had no idea who I was (that was a sobering encounter, LOL!). In any case, my concert is now over. I do not have tickets for tonight's or tomorrow's concert. So I'm just going to "crash" pre- and post-concert meetings that you guys are presumably holding from now on (unless other things pop up in my itinerary). As for the concert itself, I'll have to sort my thoughts and provide a review on Celluloid Tunes when I get back home. Probably not a lot of new observations compared to the ones that are aready coming in (like the above from Fabulin), and will be coming in in the next few days, but still. I snapped a few photos at the end of the concert (too afraid to snap them during, which was strictly forbidden), but they turned out pretty bad and blurry -- especially when zooming in on Williams. Hopefully, there are press photos I can use, or some of you took some I can use (and credit).

In about 9 hours, I’m going to see John Williams conduct an orchestra. Something I had started to think would never happen after London.

Thanks for posting your awesome work, @crumbs. Let's hope that anonymous user who did the mockups and music editing eventually finishes their TFA edit, with 5 kajillion versions of that film's first ten minutes!

I sat in the first row next to his entrance. When he came in he winked at me. Best. Day. Ever.

Fantastic!

What a night, what an experience!Such a pleasure to have visited yesterday’s concert and seeing the Maestro conducting the Berlin Philharmonie Orchestra.So happy that I got a ticket in first row and to be so close to the stage!A dream has come true.

Funny that with this thread, none of us speculated that Williams himself would answer the question.

Did I catch you?

Some interesting points from a radio interview this evening with Andrea Zietzschmann, General Manager of Berliner Philharmoniker: BerlinPhil tried for a few years to get Williams to do a project together in "Waldbühne" stage (https://www.waldbuehne-berlin.de/en/) but it didn't work out because of scheduling conflicts. Says they tried to get him to conduct subscription concerts instead. Is happy to have him, at almost 90 years, conduct BerlinPhil, especially because he hasn't really conducted in Europe before, except Vienna. When asked about the atmosphere in the rehearsals: says it was Williams' wish to conduct the BerlinPhil, that he is very curious and interested about Berlin as it's his first time in the city; Appreciates Williams as great human and artist, many musicians know his filmscores and associate some kind of life experience with his music; that it is a special experience (to have him personally conduct etc.) for all involved. About a potential album release: says they're currently thinking about how to release it (mentions CD, Digital Concert Hall, and the radio broadcast); says they hope that they can release something for a large audience. https://www.rbb-online.de/rbbkultur/radio/programm/schema/sendungen/der_tag/archiv/20211014_1600/kultur_aktuell_1610.html Direct .mp3-download of the interview: https://rbbmediapmdp-a.akamaihd.net/content/9c/58/9c58d3b6-e875-45f5-ab59-c7d7a8cc0d0e/776be749-8813-43ac-8d67-03f6d3e51214_0a471277-09af-463f-9e32-29e5a5f05780.mp3 Radio broadcast on Saturday: https://www.rbb-online.de/rbbkultur/radio/programm/schema/sendungen/berliner_philharmoniker/archiv/20211016_2000.html So I guess it's pretty much confirmed (at least very likely) that we'll get some kind of audio release. Look at all the microphones in @GlastoEls photos Can't wait for Saturday

When John said that Indy was being chased by "the bad guys", I saw a cellist jokingly raising his eyebrows to another musician. I think they were acknowledging who those bad guys were

Just came back from the concert with a head full of music and a min at peace. What an extraordinary night with such a performance from the. Maestro! Thanks all involved here you've bring me so much happiness tonight.. For the encore see the spoiler section below By the way could have Anne Sophie Mutter assist the concert? I thought I saw her wearing a pink mask, is that possible?

John Williams has conducted some of the world's greatest orchestras and continues to add more of them to his résumé. Here is a brief list of debut or presumed debut concerts that I was able to find. Feel free to correct and/or add more. USA: American "Big Five" Philadelphia Orchestra - 1978 Boston Symphony Orchestra - ? (commissioned: Cello Concerto) Boston Pops - May 25th, 1979 (guest), April 1980 (principal conductor) Chicago Symphony Orchestra - July 31st, 1994 (commissioned: Horn Concerto) New York Philharmonic Orchestra - February 10, 2004 (commissioned: Bassoon Concerto) Cleveland Orchestra - 2019 (commissioned: Trumpet Concerto) Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra - July 28th, 1978 National Symphony Orchestra (U.S.) - July 4th, 2014 Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra - April 13th, 2017 Houston Dallas Columbus Cincinnati Pittsburgh Seattle San Diego (or Jose--not sure) San Francisco Indianapolis Baltimore Detroit Salt Lake City Europe: London Symphony Orchestra - 1977 Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra - 2020 (aged 88, oldest conductor debutante of the Vienna Phil; commissioned: 'fanfare for the Vienna Philharmonic') Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra - 2021 (aged 89, oldest conductor debutante of the Berliner Phil)

Yes. I’ve never heard the runs in Harry Potter as well as yesterday. Also the warmth in their sound is amazing. Also the players were some of the most engaging I’ve ever seen in an orchestra, the leaders always making contact with each other. The concert master did incredible work too and didn’t seem stressed at all (like in Vienna). Only thing is, in a way I felt the sound was more magical in Vienna because of the incredible acoustics there. While the Philharmonie is fantastic still, you can sense it’s a more modern hall. But I’m sure this won’t matter for the recording.

Incredible.

He just said in concert that he will be starting writing the music for the new Indiana Jones in 1-2 weeks 😁

Again what a marvelous performance by the maestro!

It was fun and very contemporary JW in its whimsical structure (sorry to those who hate that adjective, but it’s very fitting) — as such, it stood out from the rest. I’ve only listened to the Solo soundtrack some 2-3 times, so it was almost like a new piece to me.

Mastered by Bruce Botnick Alan J. Smithee

It should be noted that Williams rejected invitations to Hollywood in Vienna and the Berlin Waldbühne and waited the Europeans out until they offered him their best orchestras at their best venues, as things should be.

Lets hope this gets a good recorded album done- ( I think its being done from the discussions) They have 3 day sessions to choose and edit from. It would be even nicer if Willimas can get a seperate recording done sans audience. And hopefully everything will be also released as a LIve concert video recording for possible Blu ray release. I really look forward to the live stream on Saturday.

Different Jim 😊 no apology necessary. what a great evening. John on fantastic form, and the orchestra sounded great. Lots of smiles amongst them. Privileged to have been here. My barcode wouldn’t scan, on either the pdf I’d saved or the version I’d saved to my “wallet” on my iPhone. But my girlfriend’s scanned fine 🤷🏻‍♂️ But it didn’t cause a problem in terms of gaining entry. They could see I had the covid pass, and that the name matched my photo ID.

This was absolutely phenomenal. @Jurassic Shark I know we were the ones to have some problems with the VPO but you don’t need to worry this was absolutely and totally on another level. I’ve never seen an orchestra play so engaged and so in control of everything that they do. The inevitable recording of this will be legendary.

Love the feeling that it's officially happening, that we're for sure getting more John Williams music for an Indiana Jones film. Still hasn't quite sunk in yet.

It was nice to listen to the Maestro' s introduction to Scherzo for motorcycle and orchestra while realising that that scene was set on Germany not far from Berlin.

Intermission time. The music sounds fantastic in this venue. John seems to be having a blast, often sharing smiles with the players during the performances. He's also his usual sharp self especially for a 89 year old. He was very eloquent when describing his experience of visiting Berlin for the first time. There are many standing ovations which is always heartwarming to see. I laughed when John said he never knows what Spielberg is doing next and "Indiana Jones is changing by the second!"

Here we go! F rechts Reihe 4 Platz 7

Are you wearing the Star Wars suite, then?

Can't wait for tonight's concert! The weather is great as well, with clear, starry skies above. Anyone up for post-concert drinks at Lindenbräu?

Spielberg mentioned in the liner notes of Hook that JW started scoring that film with only 47 minutes of edited footage:

Just finished my first listen. And I absolutely adore this score! A beautifully crafted album as well. (Not sure why, but structurally it reminds me of HGWs The Martian.) He takes his 7 note melody from the song and weaves it all throughout each cue in some form. Terrific choral,vocal, and percussive work used judiciously to build tension or drama. (He never goes overboard with the drums!) Beautifully subtle electronic embellishments in there too. There’s even a very disturbing motif that appears midway through the album that I assume represents the terrible assault Margarite undergoes. (It’s a female voice/choir that slides up in a semi-wolf howl cry. Really chilling.) “The Aftermath” cue is a terrific cathartic cue for the end that seems to encapsulate some form of justice in the story yet doesn’t get too hopeful/rose-tinted. And then the fantastic song (a beautiful companion to HGW’s “Light of Life” from KoH) just brings it all home. If you’re a fan of Mychal Danna’s work on “Camelot” or even “Nativity Story”You’ll eat this one up:) Its what I was hoping for and exactly what I got. Give it another listen. It’s a jewel. ****

For those who were on the back of the orchestra, maybe I hope you can see yourself! sorry for the slightly blurred photo, it was not easy to take photos during the concert, especially when you were right in front...I didn't want to do the end that the "autograph hunter" did before the encores.

During the finale of the Raiders march, I noticed some extra rhythmic power from the percussion, probably from the timpani and maybe even the bass drum. Not sure if this was a slightly new arrangement for the percussion or if it was all in the performances and acoustics of the venue, but it sounded incredible. I'm not up-to-date on the various variations of his music that JW has been playing in concerts over the last few years so perhaps this isn't new at all, but it did surprise me yesterday. EDIT: I listened to the Raiders March on the Vienna album and the percussion in the finale definitely sounded different in Berlin yesterday.

I prefer this program to Vienna. No violin arrangements and just a better selection in general, Far and Away, HARRY POTTER!

Let’s talk about his phenomenal Leia’s theme solo instead! Individual mistakes can always happen, and for the recording this one will surely be fixed. But it is the ensemble playing of this orchestra that was just fabulous. Even when Williams got a bit more tired at the end of the concert, the orchestra responded by keeping the momentum forward. Also I thought the first flutist was just absolutely fantastic.

I will go tonight with my wife. Really looking forward to it.

The journalist is full of praise for the evening and the legend John Williams. Interestingly, He says, his only criticism is, there were hardly quieter moments. It was almost the whole evening tuti incuding all instruments. Therefore, he especially enjoyed the elegy for cello which provided such moments.

Report with sound snippets from yesterday’s concert https://www.inforadio.de/programm/schema/sendungen/kultur/202110/15/624929.html

Lot's of comments about the missing tracks

Also something to note is that he said we would be able to see it next ‘spring…. Or summer….’ Which indicates to me there’s no delay with scoring.

Well, he struggled for the name "donnybrook", and he clearly didn't remember Karen Allen's name. But the important thing is that he knows the music (he didn't even need the score for some of those pieces, e.g. Raiders' March), and he conducts as if he were some 30 years younger ! Actually he seemed more healthy to me than he did in Vienna !

Just finished watching..... tremendous work Watching this, I don't see why Johnson thought he needed to change anything. Not only is the whole sequence paced wonderfully here, the music is all very right for it throughout. Well, maybe it wasn't him, maybe it was Disney execs butting their heads in, who knows.

Ha! At Tanglewood, he didn't remember Roald Dahl's name, and got help from the audience “Here is something that I wanted to show you and have you hear. It’s from a film called Big Friendly Giant, which Steven Spielberg made 2 or 3 years ago, which not too many people saw <audience laughter> But it was written by um, oh dear... Charlie and the Chocolate Factory <audience helps him out> Thank you very much - Roald Dahl! And it’s called Big Friendly Giant. And Steven wanted to make this film for technical reasons, because he wanted to present an adult man, the giant, having scenes and playing the entire film with a young girl, 8 or 9 years old, small enough to be held in his hand. And he would take the little girl to the land of dreams, and find dreams, searches for them - good dreams not bad ones - and capture them and enclose them in bottles. And then the giant could distribute these to children throughout the world. And what you’ll see here is a montage put together from this, of all the searching for the dreams, and the orchestra - particularly the flutes - will accompany all this choreography and these gyrations. And the lighting I think you’ll agree is very beautiful. I hope you enjoy this. Big Friendly Giant.”

No he didn't. Just "bad guys" which was appropriate for the venue

John is very talkative today, telling stories before every piece.

The CD/souvenir shop. Ground floor between cloak rooms, WC, and bar. It’s closed so it will be not thaaaat busy. i think i‘m the only one with a red mask