KingPin

Just attended an amazing concert by the San Diego Symphony conducted by David Newman in an all-Williams program in honor of the composer’s 90th birthday year. The highlight for me was what Newman indicated to be the world concert premiere of “A New Beginning” and “End Titles” from The Accidental Tourist, which I managed to record and am sharing the YouTube link here. Other great pieces were on the program as well (see photo). Overall the orchestra played expertly. It was a great night with friends at the orchestra’s beautiful summer venue, The Rady Shell (guess which one I am in the group photo…).
 
https://youtu.be/6n3l9hRTDSQ
 
 

Just attended an amazing concert by the San Diego Symphony conducted by David Newman in an all-Williams program in honor of the composer’s 90th birthday year. The highlight for me was what Newman indicated to be the world concert premiere of “A New Beginning” and “End Titles” from The Accidental Tourist, which I managed to record and am sharing the YouTube link here. Other great pieces were on the program as well (see photo). Overall the orchestra played expertly. It was a great night with friends at the orchestra’s beautiful summer venue, The Rady Shell (guess which one I am in the group photo…).
 
https://youtu.be/6n3l9hRTDSQ
 
 

Just attended an amazing concert by the San Diego Symphony conducted by David Newman in an all-Williams program in honor of the composer’s 90th birthday year. The highlight for me was what Newman indicated to be the world concert premiere of “A New Beginning” and “End Titles” from The Accidental Tourist, which I managed to record and am sharing the YouTube link here. Other great pieces were on the program as well (see photo). Overall the orchestra played expertly. It was a great night with friends at the orchestra’s beautiful summer venue, The Rady Shell (guess which one I am in the group photo…).
 
https://youtu.be/6n3l9hRTDSQ
 
 

Good news -- it appears that WCRB will be broadcasting this concert on August 29 at 7 p.m. Eastern Time!! 
 
 
https://www.classicalwcrb.org/show/the-boston-symphony-orchestra/2021-08-13/film-night-with-the-pops-and-john-williams-2021 
 
So excited to hear this new overture!

I had a great evening in western Massachusetts last night.
 
We've had quite a mosquito problem around here lately after 3 straight weeks of rain, so I was worried that could put a damper on things, but it turned out to not be an issue at all - didn't even notice any bugs of any kind the entire concert.  I was really worried when Anne Sophie Mutter mentioned the mosquito problem on social media, and brought bug spray, but didn't even need it.
 
Since the pandemic lockdowns, we've got to so very few public events, so it was quite wonderful to be out in a big open space full of people to enjoy the arts and not feel weird about it; Earlier in the summer we attended a baseball game and never quite settled into feeling like everything was normal, but this time it was much easier to do so.  It helped that the weather was so great and there was very few unvaccinated people there (or at least, very few people wearing masks).
 
I only arrived in time to briefly chat with @Doug Adams and his lovely wife before the show, but that also made things feel normal again, to be talking to out-of-state visitors on vacation, and dragging my small talk and social interaction muscle memory back out from the depths!
 
When it comes to orchestral music concerts, I have only really attended Film Night type concerts (and Live To Projection movie concerts) so am more used the conductors taking to the mic and telling stories in between pieces.  As this was the first entirely classic music concert I've ever attended, I was a bit surprised that that didn't happen; Shortly after 8:00 the orchestra tuned and settled down, the lights went off, and after a bit of a wait Andris Nelsons finally came out and jumped right into the first piece - Starburst, for string orchestra (2012) by Jessie Montgomery.  This was a fun little piece that was surprisingly short!
 
After that was over, he left the stage without saying anything, and then there was a lot of re-shuffling on stage to move various people to different spots, including bringing out the harp to the forefront.  After another bit of a wait, Anne Sophie Mutter and John WIlliams came out together to a tremendous applause, and he began the next piece right away - Violin Concerto No. 2 (2021) by John Williams
 
This was an incredibly long work - is it the longest of his concertos now? - full of so many different ideas, I can't possibly even begin to attempt to describe it.  At times its felt like a duo for violin and harp, and had many other interesting solo passages for other instruments too.  I'll have to re-listen to this a few times before forming a solid opinion.  After it was over, the audience erupted into a long applause until Anne Sophie and John Williams walked off the stage... and then I was surprised to see them come back out, like what would happen for an encore... which turned out to kind of be what happened, an encore in the middle of a concert instead of at the end - never seen anything like that before!  His introduction to the encore was hilarious:
 
"Here is Anne Sophie playing Across the Stars, which is a theme from one of the Star Wars films - I haven't the vaguest memory of which one.  One of the nine"
 
Across The Stars (2002 - Revised 2021 arrangement) by John Williams was probably the highlight of the concert for me; The theme itself has always been a really good one, and the fact that he's returned to re-arrange it so many times is pretty interesting.  While this wasn't near one of my favorite tracks on the Mutter album, I am curious now to compare this revision to that version to see what he changed.
 
When this piece was over, the audience erupted into an even bigger and longer applause, that continued strong as they left the stage, and then came back again to even more applause - I was half-expecting another encore! - but they eventually left again, and the stage was again re-configured.
 
Andris Nelsons then returned to conduct two more pieces - Quiet City, for trumpet, English horn, and strings (1941) by Aaron Copland & Suite from The Firebird (1919 version) by Igor Stravinsky - without saying a word.  I was unfamiliar with these pieces, but recognized that Williams must have been inspired by The FIrebird for his Tinkerbell music in Hook.
 
After a long round of applause with just Nelsons on stage, Mutter and Williams came out as well, and Mutter had her violin, so I was expecting another encore, though I guess it was just for show.  The standing ovation continued for a very long time, perhaps longer than any concert I can remember, until eventually all left the stage, and the lights came on, and the concert was over!
 
I am used to Film Night concerts being closer to 3 hours long, so I was surprised this one was around 90 minutes.  I don't know if this is standard for a night of classical music, or if Tanglewood is cutting concert lengths in half and not having intermissions because of covid, but the decision was fine for me.  I had a great time.

467947464_LSOinSpace1978.pdf filmharmonic85.pdf

Film Fest Ghent presents: World Soundtrack Awards: Tribute to the Film Composer
Performed by Brussels Philharmonic & Vlaams Radiokoor, conducted by Dirk Brossé
Release date: 23 Oct. 2020
Order your copy at: https://shop.filmfestival.be/collections/cd
 
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the World Soundtrack Awards, Film Fest Ghent devotes its annual album to all thirteen winners of the coveted World Soundtrack Film Composer of the Year Award over the past two decades. This special compilation features newly recorded pieces by Angelo Badalamenti, Nicholas Britell, Carter Burwell, Mychael Danna, Alexandre Desplat, Patrick Doyle, Michael Giacchino, Elliot Goldenthal, James Newton Howard, Alberto Iglesias, Jóhann Jóhannsson, John Williams and Gabriel Yared.
As a tribute to these masters of film music, this album goes the extra mile, featuring, almost exclusively, studio recordings of pieces and arrangements that have never before been released on CD. This includes concert suites, such as Desplat’s “The Imitation Game” and Giacchino’s “Star Trek, into Darkness and Beyond”, and special orchestral arrangements, such as Badalamenti’s “The Voice of Love” from Twin Peaks and Doyle’s “Never Forget” from Murder on the Orient Express. The album also features the premiere release of music for Fear by Carter Burwell and Troy by 2020 WSA Lifetime Achievement Award winner Gabriel Yared.
Two remarkable bonus tracks bookend the album: the premiere release of the World Soundtrack Awards Fanfare, written by Elmer Bernstein especially for the awards ceremony, and “Tribute to the Film Composer”, a fabulous homage arranged by John Williams that brings together no less than 23 different Oscar-winning or Oscar-nominated film themes.
Performed by the Brussels Philharmonic & Vlaams Radiokoor and conducted by Dirk Brossé, all music is newly recorded by MotorMusic at Flagey’s legendary Studio 4 in Brussels. The album is licensed to Silva Screen Records.
Tracklist:
World Soundtrack Awards Fanfare (Elmer Bernstein) Red Sparrow Overture (James Newton Howard) Fear – Main Title (Carter Burwell) Hable con ella – Soy Marco (Alberto Iglesias) Cobb (Suite) – The Homecoming (Elliot Goldenthal) Troy (Suite) (Gabriel Yared) When at Last the Wind Lulled (Jóhann Jóhannsson & Rutger Hoedemaekers) Hook – The Face of Pan (John Williams) Succession (Suite) (Nicholas Britell) Monsoon Wedding (Suite) (Mychael Danna) The Imitation Game (Suite) (Alexandre Desplat) Murder on the Orient Express – Never Forget (Instrumental Version) (Patrick Doyle) Star Trek, into Darkness and Beyond (Suite) (Michael Giacchino) Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me – The Voice of Love (Angelo Badalamenti) Tribute to the Film Composer (John Williams, arr.)  
 

I have a very soft spot for those Philips recordings.
From the ones you're missing, "Pops Britannia" and the two Jessie Norman collaborations are a must.
I'm very fond of "Bernstein By Boston", though I never really liked much the medley they did of West Side Story.
"Swing, Swing, Swing" is really fun, and "Pops in Love"... well, the name kind of says it all. Really wonderful collection for a romantic evening.
Holst's The Planets is great indeed, as pointed out before, and I also like a lot "Pops à lá Russe". 
If memory serves, the Tchaikovsky/Prokofiev album was Grammy nominated and it's fun, though I prefer other performances over this one.
The Gershwin is a hit or miss thing -- love the abridged version of the Porgy and Bess suite, but never cared much for this performance of Rhapsody.

Found this fascinating arrangement of the Schindler’s List theme for theremin and piano.
 

Found this fascinating arrangement of the Schindler’s List theme for theremin and piano.
 

Found this fascinating arrangement of the Schindler’s List theme for theremin and piano.
 

Found this fascinating arrangement of the Schindler’s List theme for theremin and piano.
 

Found this fascinating arrangement of the Schindler’s List theme for theremin and piano.
 

I’d probably add:
 
- Song for World Peace
- Hymn to New England
- Theme from The Patriot
- The final two movements of The Unfinished Journey
- Back to America from Angela’s Ashes
- The Long Road to Justice from Amistad
- Theme from The American Collection
- The Banquet from Hook
- With Malice Toward None from Lincoln

The Hal Leonard Signature Edition scores for Suite from Jane Eyre and “Men of the Yorktown” from Midway include parts for organ.

The Hal Leonard Signature Edition scores for Suite from Jane Eyre and “Men of the Yorktown” from Midway include parts for organ.

On Williams and Birches.

The Long Road to Justice from Amistad.

The Days Between from Stepmom

FYI, the GLORIA from MONSIGNOR will be performed Live in Los Angeles @ 5:00pm on March 15,2020
 
They are going to be using Mr. Williams original scores for this performance
 
 

I happened to see this photo from the Library of Congress, with a handwritten cover page (by Williams himself, it seems), showing the very first, 5-movement version of the Star Wars suite.
 
Note the December 5, 1977 date:
 

Basing my list on known concert arrangements that have been performed live at least once:
 
The rest of the Lincoln suite
Circus Train Chase from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
The full JFK suite
The Sea Battle from The Adventures of Tintin
Escape from the City and Epilogue from War of the Worlds