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It's really too bad that they used a take of "Droid Battle" that has a noticeable horn flub at 2:18...

London Symphony is way out of Sydney Symphony's league.

He's not... That Tweet is a joke. People still haven't figured this out?

Bump. Anyone seen this around?

You are correct; it plays when the Nine float up around Sauron before Galadriel banishes him. Really chilling moment in the film. It's a real shame that the soundtrack doesn't include it in that track. Can someone determine which cue from DOS it was probably tracked in from?

3:51-4:09 of "The Darkest Hour" is The Dwarf Lords, I'm pretty sure.

1:33-1:48 Descending Thirds in "Sons of Durin"? I don't think so... Also, just in case it hasn't been mentioned before, I've been listening to DOS tonight and thought I'd point out that Tauriel's theme at 1:10-1:26 in "The Forest River" is not just the A section; the B section serves as counterpoint beneath. Same goes for 2:35-2:58 in "Beyond the Forest"; the A and B themes coincide. You all have probably no doubt noticed, but Jay's original post doesn't seem to make that distinction so I thought I'd throw it out there.

Is there a similar thread with breakdowns of the LOTR themes/tracks? Would be very helpful to ultimately have these all in one collection.

The chords are exactly the same, just slowed down a lot and it would seem in groups of three, rather than four. I actually half expected the Fellowship Theme to make an appearance at the end. It caught my attention when I was revisiting the score the other day. Then I double-checked out of curiosity and it just so happens that that track ("An Ancient Enemy") underscores the flashback of Azog's orcs taking Moria. Not a coincidence.

Here's one that seems to have been overlooked. Moria/Khazad-dûm music (from FOTR) at 2:02-2:37 in AUJ 1-09.

We don't complain about the Hollywood Studio Symphony because they do explicitly this sort of work for a LIVING. They are trained and used to performing at their best at a moment's notice, with little to no rehearsal. These players in the National Philharmonic may be among "the best" in London, but they make their main living by playing in normal season orchestras that have more rehearsal time available. They aren't as good at sight-reading or getting a cohesive sound with others as the members of the Hollywood Symphony are. Being the best at one's instrument doesn't automatically mean you are the best in a pick-up ensemble scenario. And it shows in these recordings. A friend of mine is a regular member of the Hollywood Studio Symphony, and I can honestly say that while he is a great player, he has not "won a big gig" (i.e. Principal or a tenured section position of a major orchestra). Yet the soundtrack recordings he plays in, still sound overall more flawless than recordings of the "big name" orchestras. It's simply a matter of how one is used to making one's living. He is better accustomed to learning on the fly and playing his best in a studio setting than even the best symphony player in the world. Yet the best symphony player in the world is the best at turning out meaningful, moving classical performances weekly, year-round.

Exactly. It's not a regular famous orchestra playing concerts weekly with a deeply rooted history like the London Symphony is.

The OST version sounds more convincing, coming from a brass player. There are intonation and articulation issues littered all throughout the Gerhardt recordings. And some players simply have bad tone. "National Philharmonic" actually isn't very well known. On the other hand, LSO and their brass are both legendary.

Not sure why everyone seems so wrapped up in these Gerhardt recordings. Check out "Luke's First Crash", for instance; at 0:50 the tuba/trombones don't sound nearly as clear and strong as in the OST version, and at 1:58 there is a really nasty trumpet clam...

Any word on when this will be released? Maybe I'm missing something, but the press release doesn't seem to indicate.

It's actually not uncommon practice for a pianist to have the sheet music in front of them, for 20th century and post-20th-century works. That being said, I'm just in general not a big Lang Lang fan.

I have listened. And it still doesn't sound 100% like a real, live harp performance, to me. Also, just because something is "common" doesn't mean it's right. It's like the whole "But mom, everybody does it!" excuse. Furthermore, it is misleading to the public to claim that this is a harp recording and then on that same cover post the words "performed by Dominik Hauser". As evidently, that is simply not true. I am an aspiring professional orchestral musician, as well as a composer on the side; I don't listen to playback on a computer of something I've written and release it saying it was "performed" by me. That'd simply be not true. If there isn't a harpist, then say there isn't one. But it's one thing to put out something like this, in samples; it's another to put it out AND claim that it was performed by someone. I am familiar with BSX's work, and I've reviewed at least one of your albums on a film music review site, before. Like I said before, not impressed. The orchestras sounded fake (because they probably were), etc. This brings to mind a recent news story regarding a Wagner festival that was to take place in Hartford, CN. The director intended to use live singers for an otherwise full version of The Ring, except—no live orchestra. He intended to use a "digital orchestra", "performed" via a bunch of speakers down in the pit, in front of the stage. If anyone here is interested, it makes for some good reading: http://slippedisc.com/2014/06/first-a-ring-without-words-now-a-ring-without-musicians/

I think samples are fine when they are used by the composer of the music on an album. When the composer himself says, "I'm making music for this indie game or short film, and there isn't a budget at all for live orchestra, so I'll just use my computer for everything." When the composer goes in with that mindset and he produces an album of his sampled music (so basically the one and only "official" recording of that music), then it's fine. But when you've got someone like John Williams, or Howard Shore, or Herrmann, or Beethoven, or Wagner, or whoever—and the music is obviously originally intended for live musicians—then I don't think it's okay to mess around with sampling. It's just a matter of principle. I think samples are great for up-and-coming young composers who can't afford anything else, but when we're taking works by masters and "dumbing them down" to samples, AND pulling the curtain over listeners' heads by selling these "recordings"... Then that's more of a grey area.

"Proper?" Odd comment, but I'll let the recording speak for itself as well as Mr. Hauser's performance. Odd because I expect music that is written with a live musician in mind, to be performed by not a live musician? That's what I mean by "proper"; it is improper in my opinion to release an EP or album or whatever and make money off of someone else's composition, when that other person's composition was intended for a live performance. It's jipping everyone: the composer and the listener. Whether or not the samples sound like a real instrument is not the issue. Mr. Williams writes music to be performed by live musicians. Not a computer. Also, "performed by Dominik Hauser"? I'm not entirely sure it's even him sitting at a keyboard "performing" all the notes; I wouldn't be surprised if the notes were put into a computer program, which then replayed the pitches applying the harp sample to them. Not a performance in pretty much anyone's book. I've never been a fan of BSX's stuff, and this is no exception.

Not a typo; in the original program it was performed out of a set of three pieces from Schindler's List: a sort of suite. For this collection, NY Phil only included the movement that featured Dicterow.

I don't know; his concert music sounds noticeably different from his film music (primarily his extended exploration of atonality), but all the Williams orchestration hallmarks are still there. I think it's especially telling in the glockenspiel, most of all. I've not really ever heard another composer use the bells in the same way Williams does, as much as he does. Sort of a "twinkly" effect.

From what I can tell, Hauser doesn't play harp... So this is most likely sampled. In which case, even if Williams himself arranged it, I'm waiting for a proper, live-recorded release from someone.

It may only be one track, but a live recording of the theme from Schindler's List has been released as part of a recent collection celebrating the tenure of the New York Philharmonic's concertmaster (just retired), Glenn Dicterow. The album may be found on iTunes here. The digital booklet contains a bio of JW amongst the other conductors, and the program notes for Schindler's List include a little note from Glenn Dicterow: "I knew John [Williams] from when I was in the LA Philharmonic. I did some commercial work and I played on the Jaws, Jaws 2, and Close encounters scores. He’s such a consummate musician. First of all he used to play in the studios as a pianist, so he’s a phenomenal pianist and can read anything, but he’s such a clever guy and such a great composer that I have always enjoyed working with him. When he came to the Philharmonic we renewed our relationship and I had the chance to play not only Schindler’s list, but we also worked on Fiddler on the Roof, this gigantic solo that he wrote for Isaac Stern initially. That was so beautifully done. So he and I go back a long way and who knows, maybe I’ll end up in another session when I go back to Los Angeles. You never know."