josefsuma

I'm not taking any chances. Preserved or not, I'll be cherishing that botched Leia's theme horn solo until the day I die.

At the start of the Star Wars section, he announced the three pieces: Resistance Theme, Leia's Theme, and Throne Room. I'm pretty sure he forgot about the Throne Room because after Leia's Theme he gestured to the orchestra to stand up to accept the applause like at the end of the concert, but then the orchestra leader said something to JW and he put his hand to his head in a kinda d'oh gesture. The orchestra then sat down and played The Throne Room. I wonder did any one else here notice that. 

We had to be in the same row
I would like to know how others enjoyed the concerto.
<blasphemy>Honestly, I did not enjoyed it at all. Was trying to find something interesting - but could not find anything.</blasphemy>

received_652712705990139.mp4  
 

 
 

Vienna Philharmonic / Wiener Philharmoniker 
  We look forward to starting our rehearsals with conductor John Williams and violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter for our upcoming concerts at the Musikverein Wien this weekend! Get into the mood with our performance of the 'Main Title' from 'Star Wars: A New Hope' from our concert in January 2020, recorded by the Deutsche Grammophon - DG. You can watch the full video here: https://bit.ly/3tEK9uL  

It's funny - I've traveled from Dublin to America many times to see John Williams, and also Berlin and Vienna. But even though Zimmer will be literally 30 minutes from my house, I've no interest in attending his concert. 

WQXR, NYC’s classical radio station, is currently playing the maestro’s Harry Potter Suite! It’s only 2 AM. I’m sure there’s more to come throughout the day!
 
Happy birthday to a living legend who has brought countless people across generations so much joy with his talent and creativity. Being able to see him in concert several times over the years, conducting his iconic themes mere feet away, and even exchanging smiles and head nods, will never be taken for granted. Precious memories often shared with my Mom from teenage-hood to present day!
 
Here’s to many years ahead of music and memories.
 

Here is a picture of a time a bunch of JWFanners attended a John Williams concert in Boston, Massachusetts, at Symphony Hall, in the summer of 2013
 

 
That's me on the far right holding the booklet to the first soundtrack album I ever bought.  On the left you can see @#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal, @JWfangirl1992, @josefsuma, @Damien F, and @Joe Brausam
 
Steef got his Phantom Menace LP signed that evening
 

Does any body here need a ticket? ... they are selling pretty fast. I still can buy 3 more on my subscription so if you have any problems with buying yours, let me know.

The tempi were very good. It seems like someone told Johnny that in Vienna it was a bit too slow. Jurassic Park on friday was the fastest I've ever heard it perform.

Well of course he did, it's a signature edition!

After the concert, at the hotel: "Are they still clapping?"
 

I dedicated my extended applause to jwfan.com and this wonderful fan community!

Marcy and I will be attending!

Have to begin with SW main theme surely? End with Raiders March, and an Imperial March encore would be nice.
Apart from that: Adventure's on Earth, Jurassic Park, Window to the Past and Buckbeak's Flight (Azkaban has always been a favourite), Dartmoor/1912, The Cowboys (something pre Jaws would be cool!), Jaws suite, Images!! (saw the movie only recently, has he ever performed that live?) Princess Leia's theme, Marion's theme, and Rey's theme + Rise of Skywalker near the end.
Don't have a stopwatch but that must be near enough 2 hours. It's going to be my first time seeing him in October, so he could literally do 4'33" by John Cage and leave, and I would be say its the greatest concert I've ever been to.

WARNING: Essay inbound.
 
It's interesting, the more that I think about it all; I didn't even attend the concerts and yet I have been practically glued to my screen, constantly refreshing this thread to see updates/photos/videos/reviews.
 
These concerts mean a lot more (imo) for the legacy of John Williams (as well as the acceptance of film music) than any other event I can really think of in recent history. The Vienna Philharmonic has a bit of a reputation of being thought of as perhaps the most elitist/snobbiest orchestra (no offense to Austrian forum users!), the pinnacle of "proper" classical music-making—so to see John Williams ascend this seemingly insurmountable feat of getting this orchestra to play two concerts of nothing but his film music, and having the musicians standing there clapping wildly for him with smiles on their faces... It's a pretty breathtaking accomplishment. It feels like the world is different today than it was two days ago.
 
I've always thought that Williams' music deserves to be held in the same high regard as many of the Romantic masters, and as a classical music fan (and musician) I've longed to see some of his film music pieces start to seep into the concert hall and gradually become mainstays of the repertoire. These concerts are a titanic step in the right direction. It feels in a way that with these concerts, Williams has finally conquered the classical world—after all, if your music is "good enough" for the VPO to play it, then who else could possibly ever deem it unworthy?! The critics? Who cares about them.
 
Audiences pay (and pay handsomely) to see Williams' compositions, and orchestras are starting to figure that out with the advent of live-to-picture concerts. These Vienna concerts show that even in the heart of the classical music world—in the "City of Music", with all its historicity and traditions and its famous-composer graves—that John Williams sells. And I'd wager that even if Williams himself wasn't conducting (he won't be around forever), the concerts would have still made a respectable sum and sold well.
 
It is always so ironic to me that the people crying from the rooftops that "Classical music is dying, what ever are we going to do?!" are the same ones who want to incessantly program postmodernist trash as their only idea of "new music"—and yet it's been shown time and time again that film music (at least great film music, like JW's), sells, and is a great way to introduce people to the orchestra and to classical music.
 
There is a clear antidote to the prospect of classical music "dying"—program stuff that people actually want to hear! Tchaikovsky and Stravinsky's ballet works were not always accepted in the concert hall, and yet nowadays you can't go a season without seeing a "Nutcracker" or a "Rite of Spring" or "Firebird Suite". History repeats itself; what we are facing today in regards to film music is little more the same aversion to change, all over again. The irony being that this sort of concert hall gatekeeping is being done nowadays by the very people who like to claim how "new" and inventive their music is, when in reality it's the same tired mix of atonal crowd-killers we've been hearing for decades now.
 
Opera and ballet were once "popular" art forms, and their staples eventually made their way onto the concert hall stage in the form of overtures and suites, respectively. So too will (I hope) film music like JW's. One day I hope it is commonplace to see an orchestra concert that has (for example) the STAR WARS "Main Title" as its "overture", and then a concerto followed by a symphony after intermission. If orchestras truly want to bring people into classical music, then give them a taste of something familiar/popular, and maybe they'll stick around for the classics. Rather than scare them out of the building by intermission, never to come back, because their idea of "classical music" is now either super-light cliche classical, or downright atonality, with no middle ground.
 
Annnyways, these concerts mean a lot to me and I think, hopefully, a lot in regards to the overall acceptance of Williams' music in the hall. Last year's double DG releases (Dudamel's all-JW live concert program with the LA Phil, and then the violin arrangements album with ASM) certainly helped, as well; they are probably the "gold standard" classical music label, so for them to be willing to put out multiple albums of his music in a year is not a bad sign at all. And hopefully 2020 will see a DG release of this Vienna program. 
 
And back on the concert hall front, Stephane Deneve (a good friend of JW's) is the new Music Director of St. Louis, and he just did a regular subscription program which featured "Hedwig's Theme" alongside other classical staples, a program which he is taking to Philly in the coming months if I recall correctly! He's got the right idea; hopefully others will be moved/relieved at the sight of the VPO applauding and respecting Williams, and will start to follow suit in their programming. But things are looking up, and I couldn't be happier. I hope I'm not just going crazy/I hope some others here share my views on this(?).

Just came across Anne-Sophie Mutter walking her dachshund in front of the Musikverein. Really hyped now!

And my journey to Austria began! See you all there in 8 hours 

Touchdown!

Its less than 1,5 years and stop jinxing!
 
Stefancos - checking www.dirkbrosse.com every hour 

He's going to have a little photo shooting in the Golden Hall during the intermission.

Good to see he is already in Vienna and in a good mood.
 

So this just happened... Got an email from Musikverein and they sent me the tickets!
 
Although my seats are not next to each other anymore... However they said in the mail that these are better than my original seats. 
They are now Balcony Middle Left and Balcony Middle Right, both row 5, seat 12 for Sunday.
 
Plus they even included my 2 standing tickets for Saturday (that I chaotically put in the basket as well - was logged into two accounts on two computers lol)
 
And of course, if some of my friends are not able to join, I will sell them here at face value