Matt S.

I’m listening to this recording right now… it’s probably my favorite of the ones I’ve heard. I still need to check out the Detroit recording. Though to be honest, I prefer this concerto to be played by a bass trombone. Charles Vernon has recorded it with piano reduction, and former Boston Pops bass trombonist Douglas Yeo performed with John Williams himself back in the day.

I agree! I like Bugler’s Dream just fine in it’s own right, but I’ve never liked the sudden shift from that to the Olympic Fanfare. Very sudden and awkward to my ears. Between the sudden key change and the difference in style, it really doesn’t work very well. Give me the original version any day! The problem with this recording is it uses an abridged version of the opening, which I feel robs it of some of its power.

Yes, they are. Plus there is also Wide Receiver, the theme for NBC’s broadcasts of NFL games.

I think this piece is definitely a product of its time, as SteveMc said, it goes back to the early-80's, Reagan-era patriotism, at the height of the Cold War. The lyrics definitely reflect that. I also don't think it's very interesting musically; the snare drum ostinato is very pedestrian and doesn't really give it much drive, and the song is basically the same thing over and over. (America.....America.....America.... America... we get it already!) What exactly was the piece written for? Was it commissioned for an event? The Boston Pops July 4th concert maybe?

Actually, there are three recordings of the Trumpet Concerto... by trumpeters Arturo Sandoval, Juoko Harjanne, and Thomas Hooten.

I think The Reivers is probably his oldest work he still programs with any semi-regularity.

The Cowboys Overture (By Request...) Throne Room and Finale (Skywalker Symphony) Journey to the Island (Jurassic Park OST) Finale & End Credits (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade OST) Adventure on Earth (E.T. OST)

Every selection has clean openings and endings (no audience applause obviously), so someone could extract the audio and make a nice playlist out of it, with or without the comments by Williams and Lockhart. (There is an exception during the Cantina Band encore, which includes a voice over about the sponsorship of Fidelity Investments, but it's fairly short.)

I don’t think the accordion is part of Spielberg vol. 3, but it is definitely featured on the recording on Lockhart’s “Lights, Camera, Music!”

Here’s a hint

Ordered! (a used copy from Amazon, that is!)

When I started exploring and collecting in the mid-90's, the Cincinnati Pops recordings were the only ones I trusted to buy (aside from the Boston Pops, of course!) The performances are top-notch (though not necessarily the arrangements they play) and aside from the silly sound effects tracks, I've enjoyed them all. I remember buying a CD by the Orlando Pops, or something like that (forget the exact name), expecting it to be like the Boston or Cincinnati Pops, and oh boy was I shocked... I think it was a CD of Star Trek themes, and it went straight in the trash! It was all synth,

I would like to have purchased the Bernard Herrmann box set Varese put out several years ago. That was a fast sellout, as I recall, and I didn't make it in time. I bought several of the scores that were released later by Kritzerland, but still, that set would have been a very nice addition to my collection.

Disappointed by the music? No. Disappointed with the idiotic dinorama packaging? Extremely!