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The rumors were true!!! Thank you so much for the inside scoop, @BSOinsider. I wasn’t sure I’d ever see the Maestro in person again after his last conducting concert at Carnegie Hall in early 2024, and after missing his surprise appearance at Tanglewood last year. Being able to see him, and post new photos of him, in 2026 is so special and surreal. Even a wave to the audience is precious these days! And the fact he made the cross-country trek in New England’s winter feels at least a bit promising. EDIT 1: Couple first-half points I forgot to mention: -Sabrina was a first-half encore before Williams came out. -Right before he exited, Williams did his good ol’ “sleepy hands” pose! Classic. EDIT 2: After an Imperial March encore, Williams came out again at the very end! He seemed very lively, even mimicking some grand cello movements. Some fellow JWFan’ers and I were wondering if he’d be capable of at least conducting calmer pieces like Schindler’s List. Hopefully he holds a baton again one day. All in all, a beautiful evening of music, but the real treat was finally seeing the Maestro in person again.

He wasn’t…and a bit of the magic was gone w him. Although again a lovely concert, there was too much noise from the audience - a cane dropping twice in the front row and 5 phones ringing, once in the first row. Shaham and Ax were wonderful and we were happy to run into them afterwards!

It was wonderful to see the Maestro. Treesong after all those years was a treat. Great to see Gil Shaham shine again. The Piano Concerto sounded more brilliant than at Tanglewood. And JW looked sharp and in good shape! @my fellow and ubiquitous JWFans thanks for catching up 🤗

He looks much more expressive than in previous photos. Glad to see that he's doing so well. Getting back to work has probably been the best possible thing for his health. Good that people are there to show him the love he deserves.

Based on how far along my research is, if I had to guess, in terms of number of cues, the soundtrack contains roughly 1 / 4 of the entire DuckTales score. In terms of duration, it's roughly 1 / 3. I guess this is where I can finally admit that I've known about this since last August. I was emailing Ron in hopes of getting something out of him about the names and numbers of the cues, or where to find them or who to contact. It's bugged me forever, doing my documentation, that I had to come up with my own, unofficial names as placeholders. He then emailed me back. He didn't give me the names... but he did tell me to just be patient, because he had sent Intrada a whole bunch of cues and that the soundtrack was coming. I thought my heart had stopped. I could have died on the spot. You know that cold thrill, that shudder that runs through you when your number-one holy grail, something you've wanted for long enough it feels like the hope for it began in a previous life, is suddenly within reach? And you tell yourself no, there's no way, it's too good to be true... but there it is, staring you in the face? Yeah. 😉 It taught me a thing or two about the value of having and keeping faith. Well, I got in touch with Roger asking him if I could do something for the booklet. I needed to be involved. Unfortunately, I was two months too late (apparently, the official cue sheets were a mess, and I could have helped with that too). I wish I could have written or illustrated something for it (but I was at least able to provide suggestions for screencaps. Don't know yet if they used any, but maybe I helped in some small capacity). So yes, I know what the tracklist is, but I'm not sure if I'm at liberty to reveal it. What I am comfortable saying is that the contents suggest to me this release is meant to be a highlights reel, something to test the waters and see if there's a market for the rest of the score. That means a huge chunk of Ron's best DuckTales work is on here, and an equally huge chunk of other amazing cues you'd think would be shoo-ins are conspicuously absent. There are some real heavily-tracked staples of the series on this thing, as well as an armful of rarities (like tracked only 3-4 times over the series), about a dozen cues that only got in the series once, and three cues that were never used at all (one of which is an alternate take of a fan favorite). Don't let the "rarity" label deter you. Some of these puppies floored me when I first heard them while making my cue sheets. As if that weren't enough, several of the cues that did get tracked in contain sections that were always edited out of the show, but we now get to hear them in full for the first time! And I gotta say, the show's music editor was sleeping on this stuff. Guys, this thing is a serious treat. One more thing... Ron's actual words were that he had sent Intrada "over 180 cues". (EDIT: Unfortunately, Ron's information must have been a typo. Roger has confirmed for me that Ron only sent them 80.) There are 78 on this set (not counting the theme song apart from one arrangement), and as far as I know, they're all 100% Ron Jones (again, not counting the one song arrangement); none of the material that ghostwriters were involved with is present. If this set really sells, my highest hopes is that we get the non-Jones (or not completely Jones) stuff too, which make up about 70 cues of the total score (which is some 350 strong). "Penguin Chase Pt. 2" is a classic, iconic banger, and those who hear it fall in love with it, but it comes under this category.

Edited my post to add more details and photos from when he came out again at the end!

Sabrina featured Emmanuel Ax on piano. Right after playing the concerto! He shook his hand once or twice like it was getting tired. But he played beautifully. Also notable, Gil Shaham played Schindler's List and it was an unexpected revelation; his lyrical fluidity distinguished the piece from the familiar stylings we associate with Perlman. Let me add that Shahams's performance of treesong was the best I've heard. So detailed. I guess it helped that I was sitting in the center of the first balcony of symphony hall where the acoustics are pristine.

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1789334305356230 Concert review https://bostonclassicalreview.com/2026/01/john-williams-music-is-feted-in-high-style-by-bso-nelsons-and-guests/

I don’t need a personal trainer. I have a naturally occurring workout routine which consists of running desperately to catch the train because I’m late.

That is all so wonderful. The world is truly blessed to have the Maestro still active, approaching 94. It is truly remarkable. I wish there was a recording of the concert, but this is great. Makes me all the more excited for Disclosure Day.

He is here. He waved and even gave his little time-to-sleep gesture. Very warm applause.

The masters for the CRs are over twenty years old and could do with a bit of polish. If the original Pro Tools sessions can be salvaged, there’s no need to rebuild the entire thing from the ground up. From my perspective, a ‘definitive’ presentation would be: A revised assembly of the complete score, with EE inserts and trims/tracking restored to the music as recorded (also fixing the mix where necessary) An assembly of the theatrical-only material, structured so that it could be seamlessly dropped in to construct a full presentation of the theatrical scores A definitive rarities archive for each film, including any material unique to the original album (in unedited form) There are various issues across all three scores that could be easily fixed, and more than enough additional rarities to make that side of things interesting. The Hobbit could be presented in a similar way, albeit with less EE material for films one and three, and perhaps a smaller rarities archive.

I think that it is confirmed that they are recording the piano concerto for release.

I wish the 5th disc of the Anthology had happened before the idea was shelved to make way for the SEs. At least then we might have had more of Jedi in better sound quality than the SE.

Thanks for the reports from those who were in attendance. I'll echo the others who are so moved and thrilled to see him attend. So wonderful to see. From the photos, you can tell he had such a spark in his eye and really enjoyed being there. Bravo maestro! Can't wait to hear the eventual recording!

He's entering his Dumbledore phase

Yeah, I feel the score works better on the show than on album. The score release usually blends together different cues, which makes some themes stand out less than they do in the show, but I think it works great in context, and while it's nothing groundbreaking, Bear and co have created a solid thematic tapestry imo. I've done a couple of videos highlighting the new themes introduced each season, in case anyone wants to take a look, and also I've reviewed both soundtrack albums on my blog: SEASON 1 SEASON 2

Why did I even bother buying Tim Greiving's biography? This is all I needed

Debney posted this in his story on Instagram. Expect a release on February 26 when all episodes are released Prime.

Thanks so much for sharing this!

@Andy as someone who only saw a handful of DuckTales episodes back in the day and who doesn't have @kenisu3000's obvious (and admirable) obsession with it, I can back up the claim that this is objectively quality TV scoring and well worth your time. I'd just encourage you to check out Intrada's sound clips next Monday, and judge for yourself whether it's for you. It's much less synthy than his Trek scores (which was a deliberate sci-fi choice on his part, inspired by Jerry Goldsmith's synth/orchestra sound established on Star Trek: The Motion Picture). With the template being Indiana Jones-style old-fashioned exotic adventure, rather than Star Trek/sci-fi, I suspect you'll enjoy it a lot more. Yavar

Does the fact that Cliffhanger does not end on a cliffhanger mean that it is false advertising?

I still think the Millennium Falcon's initial Death Star approach must have been at least a bit influenced by this:

Pemberton is scoring the new Masters Of The Universe film. That should be fun!!

Have you not traveled around other European countries at all? Cyclists everywhere. Primarily taking cars to work is an American thing. I was very impressed by the nice bicycle lanes when I visited Vienna last year. And this summer, we're going to Amsterdam, and probably renting bikes ourselves!

This Overture really presents a lot of different thematic material from the score, but the main theme which I think is a bit overplayed first appears at 52 seconds in. I just think it's a *bit* too syrupy for Anne Frank (though maybe not how she's depicted in the Hollywood film, which I haven't seen in over 20 years). My favorite Alfred Newman sound is the one he uses for THIS much more bittersweet theme (it's the one that begins the cue): This theme gets absolutely transcendent later in the score, but he doesn't even have it in the Overture once IIRC. Yavar

The world if Ridley Scott hadn't been born:

That's why I said as originally recorded If it was unused music recorded for deleted footage from the theatrical it should go in the main program If it was a newly written insert or revision for the EE it should go in the bonus program

It's not better than Spirited Away, that's just daft. But Across the Spiderverse is incredible in its own right, as long as you're in-tune with its aesthetics and ferocious pacing and editing, and you're not epileptic. It builds to one of the best cliffhangers I've ever seen. Within the mayhem, it somehow makes you care about every one of its character.

Thanks for the pictures guys, made my day!

The Chairman already arrived before Christmas, but I didn't find time to listen to it until the end of December, and never got around to posting it. The Medicine Men arrived today from Amazon.com - I ordered a second copy for a friend to save on shipping & fees.

DUCKTALES cue analysis, part 32 (“Cold Duck” continued): DT-7-4 Mrs. B To The Rescue* (0:46) A building brass crescendo declares the AIRBORNE theme, doubling as an expression of Mrs. Beakley’s daring as she grabs hold of one of the wheels mid-liftoff to save her granddaughter. As the orchestra begins to wind down from its initial outburst, Launchpad notices something wrong with the landing gear and goes to check it out. In the cargo hold, he’s met by a modest flute piping out the first few notes of WEBBY/THE KIDS as the tiny girl approaches him and says, “Excuse me…” Launchpad’s surprise at seeing her is punctuated by the same theme plucked out on strings, but shrugging her off, he opens the landing gear hatch as trepidation pokes and prods the orchestra, which then surges anew into brass-powered adrenaline on the shot of Mrs. Beakley clinging to the plane wheel for dear life, a mile above the ground. Launchpad pulls her inside the plane and the cue dies away quickly. to be continued…

It has positive reviews from 97% of those listed on Rotten Tomatoes, from those on Metacritic its average score is 84/100, Letterboxd users have rated it 4.13/5 on average, it appeared on the majority of critics’ top ten lists for 2025 and has been one of the main contenders with all of the awards bodies. My conclusion is that either (a) by a freak accident, your sample of twelve local critics fell entirely within the minority group of those who don’t like it, or (b) you live in an area populated mainly by vampires.

A great suite.

Ah cool, thanks for letting me know. Feels like it could be ripe for some old fashioned, epic scoring in any event! Listened to the Texas Rising suite earlier and was reminded as to how good that score is.

Nice to see JW looking happy and active. Quite the spectacular white beard I can see how he's mentally able to continue writing music, with Spielberg personally arranging schedules to reduce the stress. It looks like mainly the physical side where he needs to take care of himself. Can't blame him one iota for returning early if there's a snowstorm incoming - just basic practical common sense.

Wow! it’s wonderful to see Maestro looking happy and in great form 🙂 Two quick questions: - Was Sabrina performed on piano or violin? - Does anyone know if the concert was filmed?

Wow, yeah, he looks great!

He's actually looking better than in LA when we were still hoping that he would show up in Berlin.

I gave this suite a listen and it isn't bad actually. Karol

@Andy Make sure to get the LLL version of The Robe too, if you can find it for an affordable price. And if you end up falling in love with Newman’s music, this Kritzerland box set (though it bizarrely doesn’t mention his name on the cover despite all 5CDs being his music) is 100% Newman awesomeness and a total bargain at under $12 per disc: https://www.kritzerland.com/kingfox.htm Yavar

I don’t have much golden age, but somehow I have the Egyptian and I have Diary of Anne Frank on the way to me. In both cases the were La-La Land clearances at $10 each, so why not? I’ve never heard a note of Anne Frank so I’m going in completely blind.

I’m seeing The Empire Strikes Back in concert on Saturday!! Looking forward to it. This orchestra in Jacksonville did A New Hope last January, and I hope this is a sign they do Return of the Jedi next January.

Architecture and Morality: two equally hot but differently shaped potatoes.

Wicked For Good has received 0 Oscar nominations.

The use of "On The Nature Of Daylight" during the climax. As if it hadn't been used in movies enough... lol Stranger Than Fiction, Shutter Island, Arrival... Now this. Which is kinda sad when you ACTUALLY have Richter to score your movie and he does a great job. But no, let's use that piece of music AGAIN.

Ah, JWfan since 1999!

Many composers after Williams have scored films in this franchise. Zimmer is just the next one.

This is a pet peeve with the Deathly Hallows movies in particular. So many scenes with the ensemble coming together and they're always silently rooted to one spot looking at whoever's turn it is to speak. He just never figured out very creative ways around that.