Matt S.

Yes, indeed the last concert I attended on the day before lockdown in March 2020 was a recreation of that concert by the Philharmonia Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall.  There were two intervals and Stephen Fry presented.  At the end he very poignantly wished everyone well as we would awake to a “very different world” the following day.
 

 

Has anybody ever staged a recreation of that concert?  I'd go for sure (as long as the heat works!)

My hot take: I enjoy watching all 4 Indiana Jones moving pictures.

I believe he guest conducted them on tour when Fiddler had to be replaced due to illness, when they had reached LA.
His first appearance with the orchestra, after signing his first two year contract, was an off-season concert in January 1980 at Carnegie Hall.

The BSO online archive has May 25, 1979 as his debut as a guest conductor with the Boston Pops.
 
https://archive.org/details/bostonpopsorches1979bost/page/n178/mode/2up?view=theater

John Williams has conducted some of the world's greatest orchestras and continues to add more of them to his résumé.
Here is a brief list of debut or presumed debut concerts that I was able to find. Feel free to correct and/or add more.
 
USA:
American "Big Five"
Philadelphia Orchestra - 1978 Boston Symphony Orchestra - ? (commissioned: Cello Concerto)  Boston Pops - May 25th, 1979 (guest), April 1980 (principal conductor) Chicago Symphony Orchestra - July 31st, 1994 (commissioned: Horn Concerto) New York Philharmonic Orchestra - February 10, 2004 (commissioned: Bassoon Concerto) Cleveland Orchestra - 2019 (commissioned: Trumpet Concerto)  
Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra - July 28th, 1978
National Symphony Orchestra (U.S.) - July 4th, 2014
Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra - April 13th, 2017
Houston
Dallas
Columbus 
Cincinnati
Pittsburgh
Seattle 
San Diego (or Jose--not sure)
San Francisco 
Indianapolis
Baltimore
Detroit  
Salt Lake City
 
Europe:
London Symphony Orchestra - 1977 Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra - 2020 (aged 88, oldest conductor debutante of the Vienna Phil; commissioned: 'fanfare for the Vienna Philharmonic') Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra - 2021 (aged 89, oldest conductor debutante of the Berliner Phil)

Here is my review for Donnerstag, den 14. Oktober 2021 performance by John Williams and the Berlin Philharmonic.
 
After the welcoming standing ovation, the concert opened with the sounding of the Olympic Fanfare, which introduced the reliably disciplined and strong sound of the Berlin Philharmonic. This was followed by The Close Encounters of the Third Kind, which, in contrast to the Viennese direction that mirrored Charles Gerhardt's legendary recording, here were conducted by Williams with more liberty.
 
Afterwards, Williams took a while to compliment the city, which he said to have driven around over the past few days. He said that, in contrast to Los Angeles and New York with their abundant cars, it was great to see so many pedestrians and cyclists in Berlin. He added that the city has great history in its antique architecture, a thriving present, and in the faces of the many children in the park he saw that it is set for a great future as well. 
 
Next came his introduction of the Far and Away suite, which Williams said was a project with a need for Irish music, something that he had always wanted to do at the time. He described the Doonybrook segment, written as a non-seriour brawl that in tone harkened back to the times of pies thrown in people's faces in Hollywood comedies. The execution of this suite by the Berlin Philharmonic was solid, with the ever-energetic concertmaster convincingly taking on a role of a country fiddler. The Donnybrook segment stood out thanks to the great vitality coming from the lower strings.
 
The introduction of the selections from Harry Potter was brief, and their execution conservative (as far as world's greatest orchestras go). Hedwig's Theme is a fitting piece where I should mention that the oboe soloist (a young lady with a flaxen hair – later identified as Sofía Zamora Meseguer) was outstanding throughout the concert among the woodwinds. Overall, for this reviewer the highlight of the segment was Hogwarts' theme in Harry's Wondrous World, a guilty pleasure it always is.
 
The final piece before the break was the concert arrangement of Jurassic Park, In contrast with the original 1993 direction, where one can relax and stirr a tea between the phrases of the maestoso, this rendition followed Williams' recent tendency for much faster tempi. The main theme at today's speed resembled a single lyrical utterance, closer to an aria, credit to the skill of the Berlin Philharmonic which played it with grace. The island fanfare was played by the trumpet section with gusto, I daresay rivalling the legendary original performance of Malcolm McNab and his colleagues. The BSO's trumpet section is young and strong, precise in attack, and very cohesive, which continued to be felt throughout the concert. It is not improbable that all of the trumpeteers who played today grew up with Williams' music and knew its big moments by heart. What an uncommon and wonderful compliment to an old composer this is!
 
---Intermission---
 
The second part of the concert resumed with a mighty performance of the Superman Theme. The excellence of the bassline, if it persists until Saturday, should be felt on the recordings, and the BSO certainly can hope to produce one of the go-to recordings of this piece.
 
After Superman, a selection from the Indiana Jones series was introduced in Williams' standard fashion. The difference was the mention of contemporary events - Harrison Ford having recovered from an accident and filming the next installment in London, and Williams planning to begin the writing of the score upon a return to Los Angeles. It also involved what to me was the most comical event of the evening, when the maestro forgot Sean Connery's name and the crowd in the front rows begun trying to yell it to him through muffling masks.
 
The Scherzo for Motorcycle and Orchestra to me was one of the highlights of the evening. The BSO was a flawless machine in this one, fitting for a piece most of all related to Berlin. Marion's Theme was a solid show, although I confess that I missed the spoiling plushness of the strings of the Vienna Philharmonic. Raiders March on the other hand was directed by a noticeably more vigorous hand than the one in Vienna, and the eventual recording, if safe from any misfortune, might well prove superior to the one made by Simon Rattle at the Waldbühne a few years prior.
 
Next came the introduction of the Elegy for Violoncello and Orchestra, which Williams selected because he personally associated the sound of the cello with many different emotions, and the Elegy is well-suited for individual interpretations by the listeners. Indeed, it sounded generally solemn and emotional; clearly could work well as a score to many different films, and was a fine choice as an ambassador for Williams' concert works.
 
Without much ado, the Star Wars pieces were announced, and to my pleasant surprise, in the opening Adventures of Han, the Philharmoniker roared to life as if they had just been reborn, no doubt owing to the shrewd contrast produced by pairing this piece with the Elegy. Overall it was my favourite performance of this piece to date, matching, and possibly exceeding the original one, and joined the Scherzo as another highlight. After it, Yoda's Theme came in with unexpected nobility, courtesy of the Berliner horns, and upon its completion earned an immediate standing applause. Afterwards followed the final piece in the official programme, Throne Room and Finale from Star Wars. The performance was a very fine one, and the eventual recording is likely to be added to the list of ones we so much like to compare and favour. The trumpeteers should be mentioned once again, since a lot in the Star Wars pieces depends on their excellence, and they provided it in spades today. Overall, with energy reserves of the orchestra fully engaged and just about every piece a barn-burner, the second part of the concert was especially strong, not unlike in Vienna.  It should also be noted that the percussion was astutely disciplined – certainly less error-prone than that of the VPO.
 
Then came the encores, known to me beforehand since the concertmaster named them loud to the orchestra during the public-open rehearsal on Wednesday. Princess Leia's Theme, after a standard introduction, much like Marion's Theme, was a solid performance, and the principal horn was distinguished by Williams and orchestra colleagues to stand up three times to receive a standing ovation. The second encore was Flying from E.T., begun in a racing tempo from the final bike chase and welcomed by the audience with some happy noise. Then Williams feigned leaving the stage again, and returned with the final piece – The Imperial March. The public reacted with a welcoming ovation, one even longer than what I remember from the initial Viennese concert. With the composer-conductor overjoyed, and the orchestra firing on all cylinders, the piece was over not long after it begun. It was decidedly faster than the one in Vienna, although to my ears the horns lost their discipline and got a bit uneven, and so the Viennese ones remain unmatched. I regret I cannot single out the principal flute for praise as much as I could the oboe, or the flutes in Vienna, but that is the beauty of having these live performances with different orchestras and different strengths - back then they were strings, horns, and flute; today - trumpets, percussion, and the oboe. I am sure the orchestra will continue to make quick gains during the two performances it still has ahead of it, since it most certainly already did between Wednesday and Thursday.
 
I am looking forward to your reviews after the next concerts.
 
P.S. It should be noted that I was seated behind the orchestra and cannot speak about all nuances of balance or judge the string performance. I am sure those at the front might have praise to add in these areas.
P.P.S. The audience seemed slightly inhibited by all the circa-epidemic restrictions. Had it been like in January 2020, when all everyone cared about was a ticket, I am sure the crowd would have been more freely jubilant.
 
Yours, 
Fabulin

I can't imagine they would include the first concerto.  That would require a lot of preparation for both the soloist and the orchestra, and there's been no hint of that (unless I missed it somewhere?)  I'm assuming they are using the live recordings from this past week of the Concerto #2 and the encores, (and possibly the Tanglewood performances, at least of Across the Stars), and that's the album.  It's all about the close connection Williams and Mutter have these days, and the first concerto has nothing to do with her.

The on-demand version of the October 2 BSO concert is now available via the WCRB site:
https://www.classicalwcrb.org/show/the-boston-symphony-orchestra/2021-09-17/opening-night-from-symphony-hall

Direct link to MP3 file:  https://cpa.ds.npr.org/s1142/audio/2021/10/bso211002.mp3

I'd be surprised if the tweaked "Across the Stars" made it to the album, since she already recorded it in the studio.  Wasn't that itself an update of an earlier violin arrangement she performed somewhere in Europe the year before the album came out?
 
Upshot: there's plenty of room on the album for "Crimebuster for Violin and Orchestra."
 
Unrelated: this would never happen, but wouldn't it be cool for Williams to do a Halloween album with Mutter?  Tracks 1-3 are done already!
Devil's Dance Hedwig's Theme Night Journeys The Chamber of Secrets Duel of the Fates Anthem of Evil Highwood's Ghost Family Plot The Fury In Search of Unicorns

Glad to report that it was quite easy to remove it

Who’s the asshole whose iPhone alarm went off exactly as the final chord of the concerto faded out??

I would bet a week's pay that the encores will be "Flying" from E.T, along with The Imperial March.  A possible third encore could be anything, but those two I would take to the bank.

Looking forward to “Crimebuster for Violin and Orchestra!”

Who’s the asshole whose iPhone alarm went off exactly as the final chord of the concerto faded out??

Looking forward to “Crimebuster for Violin and Orchestra!”

Looking forward to “Crimebuster for Violin and Orchestra!”

Looking forward to “Crimebuster for Violin and Orchestra!”

Looking forward to “Crimebuster for Violin and Orchestra!”

The free Sunday concert specifically mentions including film pieces.

Looking forward to “Crimebuster for Violin and Orchestra!”

Looking forward to “Crimebuster for Violin and Orchestra!”

Looking forward to “Crimebuster for Violin and Orchestra!”

Can anyone get a hi-res zoom of those pictures so we can read the titles on the sheet music?
 
EDIT: Now that I look very closely, the third pic from the top, with the cello laying on its side, the music clearly has a four-word title, and I'm wondering if it's "With Malice Toward None."  The cello is set up as a soloist, at the front of the orchestra...

In addition, the fourth pic down from the top (with the music showing through the harp) shows a piece with a long title and four movements, the last three having one-word titles.  I'm thinking:
 
"Concerto for Cello and Orchestra"
 
1. Theme and Cadenza
2. Blues
3. Scherzo
4. Song