Limerocker

The Concert is being re-broadcast on Saturday in case anyone missed it. https://www.nepm.org/show/tanglewood It's hard to criticize a concert with Izthak Perlman playing Schindler's List. However, overall I felt like the concert missed the mark in many ways. The first half of the program featured many of JW's concert works. Although I know that these pieces are important works of his, I don't think they really belonged on a 90th birthday celebration of JW with 18,000 people. I was excited to bring two 13 year olds to the concert hoping they'd be inspired by the music but they didn't get much out of the first half. Yo-Yo Ma was brilliant but I was surprised that he didn't play Memoirs of a Geisha. I was also surprised by the choice of conductor (Ken-David Masur). I don't remember him saying a single word during the whole concert and he didn't seem to have any connection to Hollywood or Boston Pops. That also brings up the topic of narration. There was very little said about John Williams throughout the night. Yo-Yo Ma said some kind words and there were sporadic video clips. Just seems like a flow of narration throughout the concert would have been nice and I can't imagine that they couldn't find someone willing to do that for John. Branford was amazing and it was great to hear Catch Me If You Can. James Taylor was James Taylor but his performance took the focus away from John I thought. He also got the first standing ovation of the night for performing a non-Williams piece. Still, Schindler's List at the hands of Perlman=incredible concert.

Speaking of snubs, it's also worth noting that John wrote "Overture to the Oscars" last year. I am not sure if it was commissioned, but I am guessing it was.

I was not too thrilled by this album. Every selection sounded like it was scored as background to a hunger relief commercial. I am not sure who made the arrangements for this album or if they were original composer arrangements but to me, they all sounded like soup. Even the Star Trek Into Darkness sounded gloomy.

Anyone else notice that drastic accelerando near the start of Olympic Spirit - horns were dragging and then a sudden huge tempo increase. Odd for him to conduct it that way! I noticed it as well. I think John Williams was trying to get in sync with the film clip. I am also very impressed by the recording quality at Tanlgewood. It sounds better to me than recordings at Symphony Hall.