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Lennox MacKenzie retired last month and just missed it by a few years. I recorded a terrific interview with Lenny (the alternative Lenny, as Leonard Bernstein referred to him when working together during the 1986 LSO Bernstein Festival and 1989 Candide recording) during my trip with the LSO to Cologne in 2010. They were there playing the premiere performance of European Filmharmonie's Spielberg & Williams concert package. It was a very emotional time for the orchestra as Maurice Murphy had just passed away days before.

No! Where did I say Far & Away was confirmed? I just said that this and Fiddler were 2 of my most wanted. Have a good weekend! 🙂

Excellent reference point, Karol. Many thanks for posting! As JW says himself in the clip let's leave it at that as it's obviously incredibly personal. Yes Rodney did give us a unique and rare insight into that era which was all part of Mike and I wanting to focus on the significance of London and I'm glad it was eluded to respectfully, briefly and with tact. I meant to say a few additional things last Friday which might be of interest: There's a Facebook page devoted to Lionel Newman which features many London based photos of Williams from the late 70's and early 80s. Here's a YouTube clip of some ROTJ session footage Rodney was talking about (from 03:14): Murray Close is a wonderful photographer and was with us at NBC and at RAH on Friday night. You'll know his work from the classic Spielberg & Williams shot in the recording booth featured in Sony Classical's Spielberg & Williams Collaboration and many of the on-set photos of Spielberg's films. The Harry Potter Live in Concert Producer / Conductor was also there with us: Justin Freer. It would have been too repetitive to mention everyone and some prefer discretion anyway. Yes, you all heard correctly regarding 'Poseidon'. Coming soon! (*in trailer voice!) The two releases I am dying to have (which Mike is used to me hounding him about!) are: Fiddler on the Roof (featuring all of the film versions - especially 'Miracle of Miracles' - and alternates / outtakes) and 'Far & Away' with the film version of 'Oklahoma Territory' and plenty of alternates. Although, as we heard from Mike we'll not get to hear all of the session chatter we had a window to during the End Credit takes in the unofficial late 1990s Concord CD.

Hi All! Last Friday was so enjoyable and thank you for being such a wonderful bunch. Sorry I didn’t get speaking with all of you and it was great to finally meet Miguel Andrade (the JWFan Yoda!) Putting names to faces is always a pleasure, sorry I missed Quint and Richard though. Most others are on Facebook with me so you were easily spotted :-) The Gore Hotel was actually a suggestion by the Bernard Herrmann Society and I thought it would be good for our 2 groups to collide. Ironically, they didn’t come to the concert in the end as some members pulled out. Rodney Newton reminiscing about attending the early 80s LSO sessions and speaking about JW’s personal life was a highlight, but obviously Mike pulling back the curtains of what he does was always the point of this and big thanks to him once again for doing it. We spent that morning recording an interview before heading over to NBC, so he was already talked out! Links to the 3 part interview will be on the main JWFan page soon by the way. The concert had a marvellous atmosphere and other than the too slow tempos of CE3K and Dracula (in my opinion!) it was first class. All the best! Tim ps - I’m in Dublin for Jaws Live to Picture at the National Concert Hall on Wednesday. If any of you are going let me know and we can share a pint.

Glad you like the interview. Thanks for the feedback and more will come later this year :-)

Thanks, Amer for posting links to these. I'm definitely not famous, but thanks for the kind words. The full length version took a while to be finished, but happy to say that Cinematic Sound will premiere it tomorrow and I hope you enjoy listening. Mike is a real pleasure to listen to and his commentary on E.T., Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Star Wars and Superman are very informative. His thoughts on Close Encounters are particularly insightful. Here's a further clip, this time on Richard Donner's Superman:

Sorry for the delayed response. Yes, i'll be going to the Friday night Star Wars & LSO concert. See you there, if not a few weeks before at the Potter POA and John Williams & LSO concerts.

I wanted the classic Force Theme horn solo in there, like you say it's such a glaring omission to us true SW / JW enthusiasts. I also love the arrangement of the Jedi Steps / End Credits as it doesn't just simply repeat the individual movements, it expands and segues them together with additional material. The Throne Room had to end the concert (I chose The Forest Battle in 2015 you may recall, and as much as I love it the book-end melodrama of Throne Room is hard to beat). Han Solo, Jabba and Little People are currently unavailable for performance. Hoepfully they'll be available soon, especially considering the new Live to Picture productions.

Yes, absolutely agree - I actually enjoy it more in concert than on the album or in the film.

These are great to look at, but does anyone honestly think these sound better than disc? Whenever I listened to vinyl the crackling during quiet moments was so distracting. Or there would be extra hiss or scratching sounds during high trumpets / woodwinds. I accept that some pop and rock recordings sound better with that gritty and edgy vinyl sound, bit orchestral recordings never did in my opinion.

How did the Sam Douglas voice over work? Was it a "Our story continues...." approach? I'm sure the music sounded superb!

PS I agree that The Force Awakens was a big highlight! I went back and forth on which Jedi Steps Finale to use as there are two versions, but the full length edition, dispute some repetition, will always win due to the overall arrangement and flow. Plus, how can I not include the Binary Sunset French horn solo?! :-)

I'm glad you enjoyed and thanks for coming. Did you enjoy the Encore intro?

Many thanks for mentioning this, Damien. I know you came to the Birmingham edition in 2015 so I hope you can come along next month as obviously there'll be more music, a revised running order and a very different atmosphere. Here's a message from our host, Richard. Just to clarify who Aks Moe is ;-) and Marc also does character voices so he's the perfect host. Hopefully you can also make it to one of the shows. Limited tickets are left. Rush's 'Spirit of Radio' is one of my all-time favourites by the way. What a song! (ref. your avatar)

Tommy Pearson flew to LA to record the new video interviews earlier this year. I'm looking forward to hearing / seeing them. Particularly the likes of uncovered territory like 'Devil's Dance' and 'JFK'. For those interested and making an overseas journey like me, the day after this there are two performances of 'North by Northwest' with Live Orchestra. Make it a weekend trip! :-) https://www.eno.org/whats-on/north-by-northwest-live/

I love the final few bars of Meeting Sicily from Monsignor, a thrilling conclusion. Invariably I often go back to this rhythmic showcase from The Lost World's End Credits: By the way, speaking of short moments. Some of you will enjoy this compilation of isolated sections of the orchestra performing 'Harry's Wondrous World'. A Genius of Orchestration!

That's unfair. It's the best that they could do with what was available. Remember that there were elements available to La La but they were unapproved. Fiddler on the Roof Complete would be very welcome at some point soon. The film version of Miracle of Miracles with the classic JW touches and the Intro after the Intermission in particular.

It is wonderful, beaten ever so slightly by Patrick Doyle's Cinderella.

I remember being very excited to see this at the cinema, as it was the first new score since 1993. The woodwind and string measures during the instrumental of Moonlight are gorgeous.

I went back and forth on that, particularly as the Throne Room Fanfare is referenced at the end of ROTJ's credits. However I felt The Forest Battle is strong enough as a rousing closer and fits the chronological journey which builds to Episode 7. Ref Han Solo & the Princess, as Jim said it's not approved for performance. Trust me, there were loads of cues I would have liked to include. Battle in the Snow / The Final Battle / Anakin's Dark Deeds / Sail Barge Assault / The Little People Work etc. etc.

Ha!

The RSNO recording has many highlights. The Promenade cue works well with a more concert hall ambience and I remember the Bassoon being more prominent in the final mix. Very effective.

The 2002 Oscars with JW conducting as MD features Tom Cruise grinning and acknowledging gushingly at John Williams near the start. Can't find a YouTube link.

Michael Seal is brilliant and unlike some conductors he actually wants the audience to hear and experience it as they know and love it, not with any audacious changes in tempo etc. I should also add that Marc Silk is going to be a tremendous host. Many thanks!

Exactly, it's also to give the programme some variety so the music can flow and isn't too back to back bombastic. The Imperial March works particularly well for Episode 2 as we all remember it's welcome addition during the finale.