Joe Brausam

The orchestra will be live streaming their annual "Free Neighborhood Concert" tomorrow night at 6pm. Stéphane Denève will be conducting - he's been conducting a lot of Williams lately, actually. The concert will open with "Sound the Bells". It looks like a real fun program! philorch.org/livestream Williams - Sound the Bells Higdon - blue cathedral (with LiveNote) Bernstein - Overture to Candide Berlioz - "Dream of a Witches' Sabbath," from Symphonie fantastique Ravel - La Valse (with LiveNote)

I got an email saying the date, but I think I deleted it...

I saw Fellowship last night with he Philadelphia Orchestra - amazing show! But what really struck me, seeing the film on a big screen again is how well made the film actually is. It's without a doubt in my mind the best of the trilogy!

Seems that way!

So my copy arrived from Amazon....and does NOT have the "This album is dedicated to the memory of James Horner" on the cover. I feel a little let down by that!

Just not a personal fan of the technique. It may have its uses, but it's not something I'm into. The idea of playing something that's part of a whole but in an isolated situation would make me feel uncomfortable!

Yeah, I was going to say that only the brass was there. So the woodwinds, percussion, and strings are all going to be recorded separately. I hate that, and I can't really understand how you can expect to have a truly musical result. Can't the right balance just be achieved at the podium?

I've been listening to so much of his music lately too... Horner is one of my biggest musical influences. His music, along with Williams', was what really propelled me into majoring in music in college and becoming a music teacher. I wouldn't feel the same way about music that I do today if not for him. Last year I had my choir sing "Somewhere Out There", this year I meant to have them do "Dreams to Dream" but never got to it. I wish I had. I have been constantly hoping that he would somehow one day get to work on a Star Wars anthology film. I have been looking forward to his upcoming works. What will Avatar be without him? He had so much left to give the world.

Actually it opens with the island theme!

At this point I've completely given up on trying to enjoy Giacchino's scores. I like some of his older ones well enough, but it's just not working for me. I hope he doesn't get anywhere near a Star Wars film... The first major use of Williams' theme was a misstep, it did not fit the sequence at all. It felt very forced and at odds with what I was seeing. The inGen/military theme was something I'd expect to hear in a comedy. Giacchino's main themes didn't work for me in their big moments. The only two effective uses of Williams' music for me were in the sequence at the ruins of the old visitor's center and at the end when the T-Rex is set loose.

This is awesome!

Thought the concert tonight was great, Kauffman did a great job subbing in. He seemed very excited to be there, and performed with a lot of energy. He also talked a lot and had a great story about Witches of Eastwick, that piece was also the highlight of the evening for us. It was a good time!

I'll be playing this today in a patriotic concert. Such a great part to play, especially in that brass chorale!

My guess is E.T. or Far and Away.

There will be 3 of us - but I don't know about dinner, have to play that by ear. Definitely drinks after.

That pretty much happened to me two years ago. What's worse is that the kid that was used sat behind me at the concert and didn't shut up the whole time. Snoring noises, "is this Star Wars?", "is THIS Star Wars?" and the whole bit.

As far as I've been able to tell without having sheet music, yes. There's nothing in the film that isn't heard on the boot. The boot wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for he sound quality,

Brausam.Who? Born on the Fourth of July is pretty much my favorite Williams score!

The idea is that the films can be watched, understood, and enjoyed without you ever checking out the other media. The main episodes are all you need. The Anthology films, books, comics, games, and television shows are not necessary for understanding the main story. They exist to enrich the story. If you enjoy what you're watching and you want to experience more, there is an official avenue for that. Take Jakku for example - we'll get to experience the battle in Battlefront, but in the film we know all we need to. We can see the crashed ships and the scavengers and understand that a massive battle happened there at one point. The First Order and the Resistance will certainly be explained either in the crawl, or through character interactions in the film. Just like in A New Hope, we learned that there was an Empire and a rebellion against it. We knew that there used to be more Jedi, and an Old Republic. But we didn't have the events of that transition explained to us. We didn't need it explained either!

They should be very well looked upon. They do great work, and have been for nearly a decade now! El Cid in 2008 really went a long way in changing public perception.

No, they really did screen a short teaser and show some art. Granted the teaser wasn't any filmed footage, since nothing has been filmed.

I'll back you up on that!

That doesn't bother me really. It's been ten years since the last game, I'm okay with revisiting planets and battles. I'm very leery about shooters these days, I feel like they've gotten too complex for me. I was great at the original Battlefronts and they were a lot of fun for me, but I really struggle in modern shooters. I'm hoping at the least the option to go 3rd person again will help make it fun for me like the old ones, because I can't stand 1st person.

The most important things to me were confirmed today - you CAN play in third person, which is what I was hoping for. We'll get dogfighting again, all atmospheric. And it looks that there may more or less be a single player conquest type mode. I'm excited!

I don't know how anyone could have something against the trailer music! I personally do think it's 100% Williams, aside from maybe the percussion. But even if it weren't, who cares? It sounds wonderful and evokes exactly the mood that we all look for in these Star Wars trailers. Great stuff! It's useless to be cynical and over-analytic of these things. Just take it all in and let it affect you like it's meant to.