Omen II

I went to a wonderful concert with the LSO at the Barbican in London a few weeks ago.  I am happy to see at least one movement (the lovely Romanza) from Ralph Vaughan Williams's sublime fifth symphony on YouTube, one of my absolute favourite symphonies by anyone.  The conductor is Sir Antonio Pappano.
 
Music doesn't get much better than this.
 
 

I went to a wonderful concert with the LSO at the Barbican in London a few weeks ago.  I am happy to see at least one movement (the lovely Romanza) from Ralph Vaughan Williams's sublime fifth symphony on YouTube, one of my absolute favourite symphonies by anyone.  The conductor is Sir Antonio Pappano.
 
Music doesn't get much better than this.
 
 

Good morning.
 
I woke up to a message from Joe's sister. He has died unexpectedly.
 
Joe is one of the longest standing members of JWFan. Joining, i assume, in 1999 or 2000.
 
We became friends and remained friends.
 
Joe always claimed that when John Williams dies God would thank him personally for E.T.
 
A score i will listen too a lot this weekend. 
 
He is survived by his husband, and 2 Boston Terriers.
 
Stefan Cosman 

I visit here for this sort of quality content. 
 
There is one bit of unreleased music from Stepmom which really struck me when I saw the film many years ago.  I swear that Williams briefly references the theme from The Towering Inferno in a shot when the camera pans over the World Trade Center.  The film was released in 1998.

The film and score are so masterful and deeply moving, this sequence always brings me to tears.  This film exemplifies two masters of their medium at the pinnacle of their craft.  Sublime, mature, rich, complex, efficient, and ultimately deeply moving.  This is from a moment in the film where so much is happening subtextually.  A masterpiece of film making, scoring, and storytelling.  
 
 
The film never scores the action, only the subtext or inner thoughts of the characters.  Something Spielberg and Williams hinted at in all their prior collaborations but here it is in full display.
 
A few reasons why this film hits me so hard - I think it was 2014, I was flying back from Baltimore, Maryland, after performing there.  That was after a wonderful experience performing with Marin Alsop and the amazing musicians and friends in the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.  Since I had to fly with my trombone in a seat without it blocking any passengers in case there was an evacuation, I was boarded first and in the front row. Next were a group of 20 senior citizens that were all part of the Honor Flight Network (a non-profit organization whose mission is to transport Veterans to Washington DC to visit memorials dedicated to their service and sacrifice). This was one of the most enjoyable flights I had ever taken making the five-hour flight feel like only 30 minutes it was over so quick.
 
The man sitting next to me was known as the “kid” because he was the youngest one at 87. He was a rear gunner on a B-17 bomber. I told him I was a pilot which excited him, and I felt helped loosen him up as we began talking about what he saw and experienced flying dozens of dangerous missions, the fright of the Luftwaffe, friends he lost, and the incredible randomness of great tragedies. Our initial discussion was about the experience he had as a vintage aviator.  Then he almost started tearing up recalling a routine mission with several of his friends where all on board died because the plane simply flew into a mountain. I could feel the cold, noise, smell, fear, cramping, claustrophobia inside the rear and belly turret of these long missions over enemy terrain. He said the introduction of the P-51 Mustang was a game changer because they would now have armed escorts on their dangerous missions who were as agile (probably more so) as the Luftwaffe. They frequently didn't even know what happened to their friends. After difficult missions, they simply returned and noticed airplanes missing or bunks unoccupied. No word of what happened to their friends...are they now POW? Did the plane ditch in the sea? Were there any survivors? They had no easy answers. How terrifying it must have been to fly these missions before the P-51 where it must have felt like they were a large sitting duck! Now at least, they had a chance.
 
Halfway through the flight, many of these men had to go the bathroom so my front row chair became a rotating door of great stories from these incredible veterans. One consistent story I heard was how much they all revered one of the passengers on the flight above all else. Finally, he made his way to the front row seat awaiting the bathroom.
 
When he sat next to me, we started talking and I saw his cap "101st Airborne Screaming Eagles" Infantry division. My jaw dropped. He was a paratrooper on D-Day who jumped from a glider behind enemy lines in the middle of the night during the Invasion of D-Day. Against incredibly bad odds, he survived the battle telling me that night, he lost half his company. Just imagine, in a 24-hour period losing one out of two people you trained and bonded with.  These guys were around 17 to 22 years old at that time and I couldn't believe I was looking them directly in their eyes hearing them recount these horrific experiences firsthand.  This scene from Saving Private Ryan, the 101st is crossing paths with Captain Miller's (Tom Hanks) character as they look through the dog tags of paratroopers killed.  I met those men.  
 
It was incredibly humbling to meet these true heroes and I was reminded of them each time I see this film. I will never forget meeting them and hearing their stories firsthand. 
 

Vaughan Williams SYMPHONY #2, FANTASIA ON A THEME BY THOMAS TALLIS, and SERENADE TO MUSIC.
Roger Norrington/LPO.
This is music!

I visit here for this sort of quality content. 
 
There is one bit of unreleased music from Stepmom which really struck me when I saw the film many years ago.  I swear that Williams briefly references the theme from The Towering Inferno in a shot when the camera pans over the World Trade Center.  The film was released in 1998.

I visit here for this sort of quality content. 
 
There is one bit of unreleased music from Stepmom which really struck me when I saw the film many years ago.  I swear that Williams briefly references the theme from The Towering Inferno in a shot when the camera pans over the World Trade Center.  The film was released in 1998.

I'm another who hears Williams fine craftmanship and sensibilities all over this. And since I play a little guitar - well, a normal sized guitar a little - I especially like to hear Williams writing for guitar. I certainly have a softspot for Taking Pictures and The Days Between arrangement which features more guitar. In my mind, they're up there with Williams most beautiful pieces. I hope Williams writes a guitar concerto one day. A nice one like Elmer Bernstein's - not a weird one!

This was many Halloweens ago.
 
Here's my daughter and her friend.
 
 
 
And with apologies to @Mr. Hooper, here's me:

 
Hey I don't need this working class hero crap.
 

 
And Here's the family dog, with 3 barrels on 'em:

 
Quint gets revenge:
 

 
Aboard the Orca....
 

 
 

 
 
Thanks for indulging me!
 
 
 

A few of my favorite shots with my phone yesterday. What an amazing night!

I agree with all that has been said. Lovely concert, wonderful orchestra, great atmosphere, and “Just Down West St” was a treat🤗

A magical evening with the Maestro! I’m sooooo glad he did the second half of the concert instead - hearing him introduce his own iconic pieces and conduct them himself just can’t be beat! Williams was in great form, telling the usual funny stories with even greater humor and joy than usual (and noting that Empire is when he “put clothes on Darth Vader and Yoda” when telling the Luke-Leia-love-them story before Leia’s Theme). He also seemed more spry than the last time I saw him, walking much more quickly and easily and even bending down multiple times to pick up his massive score books. At one point, his baton even fell to the ground and he was about to pick it up himself before a cellist did for him.
 
Needless to say, Yo-Yo Ma was brilliant during the Concerto and Schindler’s List Theme in the first half, but the second half with Williams himself stole the show, and the energy of the audience alone demonstrated that. The second half encores were Helena’s Theme, Star Wars Main Title Suite, and Imperial March. So, no surprises this time, but still a wonderful concert full of classics and amazing energy from both Williams and his audience.
 
My only “critiques” would be that beyond Williams coming out before and after Schindler’s to bow with Yo-Yo Ma, there was no other interaction between them, and you’d have expected Williams to conduct Yo-Yo at some point given their double headline spots in the concert. And additionally, Williams’ security needs to chill a bit. A kid who couldn’t have been older than 14 walked up to the stage with a CD and sharpie in hand towards the end of the concert when Williams was exiting, and a security guard standing stage right began motioning to the kid to leave and ultimately came down to tell him to go away. Let’s not forget Williams used to come out the stage door after Boston shows and greet everyone. I know eBay scalpers ruined that, and now Williams is up in age, but for security to get on a kid’s ass just because he was holding a CD was sad. Not necessarily Williams’ fault, of course, and also not surprising since Williams hasn’t signed for people in years, but it definitely showed how times have changed.
 
Anyway, looking forward to experiencing this wonderful program again at the legendary Carnegie Hall in a couple days! Hopefully Williams does the second half there, too. It really enhanced the entire evening. Tonight was my 30th time seeing him conduct live, and I certainly hope there will be many more ahead!
 
My pics from the evening:
 

 



 

 
 

Late to the party, but thought I would add that there seems to be a connection between Williams' use of fugues in film and that of William Walton. The 1942 film, The First of the Few, is about the conception and construction of Britain's Spitfire fighter plane for World War II. In the scene where the Spitfire is finally being assembled, Walton writes a fugue. Now as @Falstaft rightly pointed out, a fugue is basically a texture that is built up one voice (melody line) at a time. The first voice announces the line that is the whole basis of the fugue, and is always called the "subject". Then another line enters with the same melody, as a rule transposed (usually up) by 5th to become the "answer", while the first voice continues with other material. Then another voice enters with the same melody, and so on...
 
Anyway, I lay this out again because I think this idea of gradually building up a texture from a single line nicely captures something in the process of making preparations. Things start off simply but become increasingly complex, and all the "moving parts", so to speak, need to work together for the plans to come off properly.
 
So take a look below at the way Walton does it in The First of the Few (should start at 7:51 for you). I think this is essentially how Williams uses his film fugues as well - Jaws, Black Sunday, and Home Alone. So it seems that he picked up this kind of association from Walton and really ran with it, giving it new life in key scenes from these films.
 
 
 

That Intrada… you give ‘em an Inchon they’ll take a mile.

JWFan was born 25 years ago today! 
 
Hard to imagine back then that the site would still be up and running two and a half decades later, let alone that the Maestro would still be active after having composed nearly thirty more film scores and a similar number of concert works, as well as conducting over 200 concerts including Vienna, Berlin, Milan and Japan!
 
Dozens of his film scores have received perfect releases during all this time, providing fans with the confidence that many more will come in the future, while maintaining and further enhancing the collective appreciation and admiration for the music we all love and which will remain with us for the rest of our lives.
 
The analysis and discussion of his work has reached such level of comprehensiveness and detail, that our forums have become an essential reference for fans and scholars, while fomenting the creation of fascinating projects that expand and deepen the study of the Maestro’s oeuvre and contribute to increasing its appreciation by future generations who, without doubt, will continue to ensure that his name is in the place it deserves in the history of music and cinema.
 
Thank you, Mr. Williams, and thanks to all those who have contributed during this time to make the site such a wonderful place. Here’s to 25 more!
 
PS. The following quoted post, written for this thread 10 years ago, provides a short summary of the origins of the site:
 
 
 

My rundown of the nominees:
 
AMERICAN FICTION -- has some interesting jazz bits, but also bits that wander too far off into experimental landscapes to be properly engrossing. It's not bad or anything, but not terribly interesting either. Lots of noodling that goes nowhere fast. A far, far superior jazz score from 2023 was RUSTIN (Marsalis), which came in at 7th place in my own list.
 
KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON -- as said elsewhere, its main quality lies in the spotting here. Also, that opening montage sequence is brilliant. But in and of itself - as a musical composition - it isn't that interesting. Especially not on album. Twangy country stuff. I'd be willing to condone it winning if just as a tribute to the late Robertson.
 
POOR THINGS -- still haven't seen the film (I haven't liked anything Lanthimos has done, outside his debut DOGTOOTH, but I need to see it soon nonetheless). The album is just too weird for my taste, even if I like some weirdness now and then. I'm struggling with grasping on to structures and textures that interest me.
 
OPPENHEIMER -- I hated the film, but much to my surprise there were bits in Göransson's score I liked (surprising, because he is one of my "Unholy Three" that I generally dislike). Of course, these bits are buried deep, deep down in the excessive soundtrack presentation, but at some point I might attempt a playlist. Interestingly, the music was sometimes on equal footing with the endless dialogue in the film, which is quite rare. By no means a favourite of the year, but not bereft of value.
 
INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY -- the film was okay, even if it betrayed a lot of the Indy recipe, as I point out in my review of the film. Williams' score was pretty much as expected - subscribing to the same cellular, motivic style that has been his calling card since the last Indy film. So quite all-over-the-place and not a favourite in the composer's oeuvre. But -- in this company -- it's still the most rewarding score, both in the film and outside. Came in 13th on my top list of the year.
 
In short, with the exception of INDY, none of these were even close to being on my own top list, or even runner-up list of the year.
 
If I had been an Academy Award dictator, I would have nominated these five scores -- my top 5 of 2023, as I say in my podcast episode on 2023:
 
TROPIC - SebastiAn
THE CREATOR - Hans Zimmer
DER FUCHS - Arash Safaian
CARMEN - Nicholas Britell
SIMPLE COMME SYLVAIN - Forever Pavot
 
I don't know the rules on non-US scores being eligible, but I think they are? LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL, IL POSTINO and all that....

RIP Laurie Johnson, and thank you, thank you, thank you for the fantastic music.
 
I suppose he’ll be most remembered for The Avengers and New Avengers theme tunes (that’s the non-superheroic British Avengers, eh) but this is one of my faves: 
 
 
Animal Magic was another. Johnson’s music was certainly a huge part of my childhood.
 
Wasn’t it Johnson who became a really good friend to Bernard Herrmann when the latter moved to London? We also have him to thank for encouraging Herrmann back into the fray when he felt his career was in the doldrums. 

I saw Laurie Johnson with his London Big Band about twenty years ago in Croydon's Fairfield Hall of all places.  It was really good.  Although Laurie Johnson must have been in his mid-seventies then, he was a positive youngster compared to some of the other musicians on stage, a few of which were in their nineties!  I seem to remember that Jack Parnell and Don Lusher were among those in the orchestra.
 
While a lot of his most famous TV themes and film scores were just a little bit before my time, many are so familiar to British listeners even if they do not necessarily know who composed them - Animal Magic, This Is Your Life, Whicker's World and many more.  His themes for The Professionals and The New Avengers should make the shortlist if ever Great Britain needs a new national anthem.
 
 
 

https://timesgo24.com/news/laurie-johnson-composer/

“I Can’t Believe It’s Real Estate”
 
👽👽👽

Did Yoda take the picture?  

It was interesting to see the harp positioned immediately in front of the conductor for the violin concerto, given its prominent role in the work.  It reminded me of those old photos of Max Steiner or Alfred Newman in front of some Hollywood studio orchestra from back in the day.  I have yet to explore the second violin concerto beyond a couple of listens all the way through, but hearing it live certainly whetted my appetite for diving deeper into it.
 
This was my first time seeing Anne-Sophie Mutter play live so it was also my first live experience of any of the pieces which Williams has arranged for her.  I would say that the pieces from The Long Goodbye and Cinderella Liberty worked best for me, possibly because Mutter's style of playing has quite a breathy, flautando quality to it which is not always to my taste but very much suits those two jazzy, vocal pieces.
 
As Tom mentioned above, it seemed a pity that the concert could not have closed with more orchestral Williams, as great a score as Leonard Bernstein's On the Waterfront is.  I felt a little sorry for the horn player who flubbed a couple of notes in his first two solos, although I am not sure most people other than pedantic film music geeks like me would have noticed.  It is amazing to think that John Williams gave the London premiere of his symphony in the same venue more than fifty years ago, with Bernard Herrmann in the audience!
 
I grabbed a few photos for the record.
 

 

 

 

 

Next up is 'Elfman' by Danny Batman. Elfman is a superhero a bit like Superman, for whom I wrote music that you may remember... but he is a different character. His costume has ears like an elf, and he was memorably played by... Buster Keaton. Anyway, here is the march from 'Elfman'.