Pawel P.

Looks nice. 

Looks nice. 

Looks nice. 

Looks nice. 

Looks nice. 

Looks nice. 

What's the best film score of the past 12 months? Cast your vote now for the World Soundtrack Public Choice Award.   You have until 31 July 2020 to vote for your favourite score.   To vote, go to: https://www.wsavoting.com/en/publicchoice (Don't forget to confirm your vote via the e-mail you will receive.)   The shortlist has been curated by the IFMCA. The nominees will be announced mid-September, and the winner at the World Soundtrack Awards on 24 October 2020 via livestream.  

Yes, it was mentioned here quite recently. The date change is only at US Amazon. In European stores it'll be available from August 14. (of course, they can still change the date - hopefully not)
 
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B087SCCYF1/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&psc=1
https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B087SCCYF1/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A3JWKAKR8XB7XF&psc=1
https://store.deutschegrammophon.com/p51-i0028948390458/john-williams-wiener-philharmoniker-anne-sophie-mutter/john-williams-live-in-vienna-ltd-deluxe-edition-cd-bluray-/index.html
https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/john-williams-anne-sophie-mutter-john-williams-in-vienna/hnum/9843487

OK so here are some more of my thoughts on this broadcast.
 
The opening credits sequence is hilarious.  It begins with an extreme closeup of John Williams conducting directly into the camera over an animated ocean sunset, and a medley of Jaws, CE3K, the dawning of the age of Aquarius song, and some other stuff plays.  This is just gold!
 

 
 
There's an announcer who introduces each piece throughout (not anything said at the actual concert, an announcer just for the broadcast I mean), and he introduces the first piece while we see John Williams take the stage, and we're right into the first piece!
 
But first, I must describe the outfits and look of everyone playing the music.  Don't think "80s", this is late 70s aesthetic here, which makes since since we're only 4 months into the decade.  Everyone is wearing these blue suits (I think every concert I've been to myself people have only worn white or black), there are afros and sideburns and perms quaffed hair galore.  The occasional shots of the audience are full of different outfits too, all very different than any concert I've attended!
 


 
Another funny part was everytime they cut to a closeup of the tuba player, they never got his face!  We kept laughing at that - why wouldn't they have just chosen a different shot to air?
 

 
John Williams is wearing blue as well, and he looks great;  I've only been seeing him in concert since the mid 2000s when he was in his mid 70s, so to see him a spry 48 year old is quite radically different, he's just so much more expressive and full of motion than I've ever seen him.  He bops along to the beat and really reaches out for what he wants someone to do.  As much as I enjoyed seeing all the closeups of the musicians (since you can never see this much detail in person), just seeing him for an hour would have been pretty great too.
 
Anyways, onto the music
 

 
The Cowboys - Overture
 
This isn't the short film overture of course, but the lengthy (9 1/2 minutes in this performance) suite like you can hear on "By Request".  This is a great way to start any concert, and is super fun here.
 
The Reivers - An Old Man Reminisces
 


This is a wonderful 20 minute long series of various selections from the score (and additional music JW wrote later I believe, constantly playing under and/or in between pieces of narration by Burgess Meredith.  I don't normally like dialogue or narration over my music, but this whole piece really works.  Fun stuff!
 
A Little Night Music - Selections (Night Waltz / Send in the Clowns)
 
Not my typical cup of tea, music wise, but at a total of about 9 minutes this didn't really outstay his welcome.
 
The Empire Strikes Back - Yoda's Theme
 
This was fascinating.  This concert took place weeks before the film had opened.  I don't know exactly when the LP came out, but I assume there's a good chance most people in the audience had never heard this before.  I stopped and thought to myself what it must have been like to have see Star Wars in theaters and loved it, been thrilled when you heard a sequel was coming, then gone out to see a pops concert and heard this.  You wouldn't even know who Yoda was, your mind would race at the possibilites of what the jolly music in the middle section is all about, or what the warm main part represents.  
 
The Empire Strikes Back - The Imperial March
 
This was even cooler!  This has got to be the piece of music I've heard live the most times in my life, it's seemingly performed at almost every film music concert I go to.  As such, it often isn't play that spectacularly, as by the time I was going to see the pops in the 2000s, everyone playing it had probably already been playing it regularly for years themselves, and JW can easily conduct it now in his sleep.  But to watch him conduct this premiere performance, for an audience that had never heard it, was fascinating.  I don't think I've heard a performance quite like this one, unpolished, unsure of itself, a bit hesitant... it was great!  After hearing countless flawless performances, this was really cool to hear so many little differences.
 
After this, JW left the stage... and C3P0 came out.  What was cool is that we actually get to see JW behind the stage a bit, since that's where C3P0 is before he comes out.  I have no idea who was in the suit, someone who knows how to conduct, I imagine, or who provided the voice, but it was a very close approximation of Anthony Daniels'.  I just realized, this is actually the only speaking in between pieces in the whole broadcast - you never get to hear JW talk at all!
 
Anyways, C3P0 thanks the audience and apologizes because R2D2 was supposed to be there but had dissappeared, so he will carry on without him ("and it will probably be much better that way")... but then R2 rolls in from the side stage, to another round of applause.  They have a little back and forth exchange, the C3PO goes right into conducting the main theme
 
Star Wars - Main Theme
 


This was great, because it was actually a different arrangement of the main theme I'd never heard before!!  OK, that is partly because 3 times during the main title, the orchestra stopped playing and R2 provided solo beeping and booping to cover the part they would normally play, which was honestly pretty cute and not annoying (though I can't say I wouldn't have been annoyed if I had never heard Star Wars music live before).  But then at the end, instead of going into the end of the crawl music and seguing to the end credits, JW actually wrote a brief little new ending that ends the piece right after the main segment of Luke's theme ends.  Pretty cool!
 
C3P0 and R2 then leave the stage and JW comes back out
 
Star And Stripes Forever

This is a huge crowd favorite every time it's done in Boston, and this was no exception.  Like the Imperial March, it's something all these performers can do in their sleep and is probably pretty easy to conduct - in fact JW honestly looked over it when they showed him a few times, which kind of made me wonder why they'd elect to use those shots at all!  This is always nice to see with the various orchestral sections getting their mini solos, and the American flag and balloons coming down towards the end.
 

 
What a fun hour of television!  I wish PBS would just air pops concerts every Friday night all year long!
 
 
Oh, and I have many more great animated GIFs of JW conducting to post tomorrow....

Here.
 
It's tiny bit different from the regular tired anecdotes. It's a pretty good article.
 
 
 
Karol

Yes, they're but my point is that in the case of John (and Jerry), their (orchestrators) influence on music is sometimes overestimated.

Very interesting. She talks also about working with JW (around 36:00) and what an orchestrator does for him. From around 45:00 to 47:00 she talks about arranging source cues for Home Alone and Schindler's List.

Well, there is no delay in Europe. The release date is still August 14.

^ if you’ve ever heard live orchestra performances, they are not supposed to sound like even tempo’d perfectly timed Mathematical equations Like the record labels insist on during an official OST. Live performances allow room for tempo changes, and allow Williams to feel out the room and each change of tempo is based on what he thinks fits best in the program. If ur going from listening on Spotify to watching a live performance and expecting “perfection” in that way, you’re not at all understanding symphonic music

Well, for me, it's about the collector's value (plus a dose of nostalgia). If  you own the first edition of your favourite book (let's say Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings or whatever), would you throw it away because a newer version came out with better, more legible print, with a new introduction and afterword, new illustrations, updated cover art etc.? 
 
Well, for me, that's a big no. The first edition will always hold a very special place in my heart. But that's just me. You're welcome to have your own take on things.

I agree. I never get rid of original editions after getting extended ones - from sentiment, and sometimes because the original shorter program is still attractive to listen to. And let's not forget that in the 80s and 90s the discs were made of better quality materials than now, which may mean that the original releases will survive much longer than the extended ones.

The bluray will feature the full concert (19 tracks), don't worry

Saw this posted on fb. 

Gratitude from Williams. As always with class and grace.

John Zorn in The New York Times on Ennio Morricone:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/08/arts/music/ennio-morricone-john-zorn.html

Ennio Morricone Was More Than Just a Great Film Composer
He was one of the great composers, period.

Ennio Morricone was more than one of the world’s great soundtrack composers — he was one of the world’s great composers, period. For me, his work stands with Bach, Mozart, Debussy, Ellington and Stravinsky in achieving that rare fusion of heart and mind. Dare we compare the five notes of his famous “coyote call” in “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” with the four opening notes of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony? Morricone’s music is just as timeless.

Morricone, who died on Monday at 91, has been an influence and an inspiration since I first encountered his work as a teenager in 1967. “The Ecstasy of Gold” from “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” hit me with the same power as modernist masterpieces like “The Rite of Spring,” Ives’s Fourth Symphony and Varèse’s “Arcana”; it shares their complex rhythmic invention, unique sound world and lush romantic sweep.

Embracing the soaring lyricism of his Italian heritage, Morricone’s gift for song was extraordinary. He was one of those musicians who could make an unforgettable melody with just a small fistful of notes. His meticulous craftsmanship and ear for orchestration, harmony, melody and rhythm resulted in music that was perfectly balanced; as with all master composers, every note was there for a reason. Change one note, one rhythm, one rest, and there is diminishment.

Having roots in both popular music and the avant-garde, Morricone was an innovator, and he overcame each new challenge with a fresh approach, retaining a curiosity and childlike sense of wonder. He was always open to trying new sounds, new instruments, new combinations — rarely drawing from the same well twice.

He was a man of integrity who did not suffer fools gladly. Stories of his responses to inane directorial suggestions are legend, including one of my favorites: “In the history of music, nothing like that has ever happened — nor will it ever happen.” He lived a relatively simple life in a beautiful apartment in Rome, waking as early as 4:30 in the morning, taking walks and composing at his desk for hours on end. He traveled little.

What needs to be understood is that Morricone was a magician of sound. He had an uncanny ability to combine instruments in original ways. Ocarina, slapstick, whistling, electric guitar noises, grunts, electronics and howls in the night: Anything was welcome if it had dramatic effect. By the 1960s, the electric guitar had become central to his palette and he was able to blend it into a variety of unusual contexts with dramatic flair. In “Svegliati e Uccidi,” he has the guitarist imitate the “rat-a-tat-tat” of a machine gun through the amplifier’s spring reverb, and his instruction to the musician to “sound like a spear” resulted in one of the most intense guitar tones ever recorded, in “Once Upon a Time in the West.”

His mastery of a wide range of genres and instruments made him a musician ahead of his time. He could explore extended techniques on a trumpet mouthpiece in a free-improvisational context in the morning; write a seductive big-band arrangement for a pop singer in the afternoon; and score a searing orchestral film soundtrack at night. This kind of openness remains the way of the future — and was a formative model for me.

Morricone is best known for his film work, but we must never forget his large catalog of “absolute” music — his classical compositions. There the music comes straight from his heart. And yet what he accomplished in the challenging and restrictive world of film music is nothing short of miraculous. There, his immense imagination, sharp ear for drama, profound lyricism, puckish sense of humor and huge heart find voice through a magnificent and masterly musicianship. Artistic freedom was his credo, and his impeccable taste and innate sense of energy, space and time was palpable. His work elevated every film he scored.

One of my dearest memories is visiting him at a recording session in New York, around 1986. He was, as always, a gentleman: elegant, gracious and more than kind to a young fan who stood humbled in front of his hero. We spoke through a translator for much of our conversation, but he took me aside for a few moments and shared some composerly advice on working in movies. I will always remember his words to me that day: “Forget the film. Think of the soundtrack record.”

Many composers wonder, and may even worry, if their work will live on after they are gone — if their contribution will be remembered and their music treasured. Morricone need have had no such fears. His work has been embraced; he achieved that rare balance of being profoundly influential to both the inner world of musicians and to society as a whole. His sonic adventures stand on their own merits both in the context of the films he scored and on their own terms as pure music. This was his magic.

He was more than a musical figure. He was a cultural icon. He was the maestro — and I loved him dearly.

Gratitude from Williams. As always with class and grace.

Just before his passing Ennio Morricone wrote a touching goodbye...
 
“I, Ennio Morricone, am dead. 
So I announce it to all the friends who have always been close to me and also to those who are a little far away, whom I greet with great affection. Impossible to name them all.
But a special memory is for Peppuccio and Roberta, fraternal friends very present in the last years of our life. 
There is only one reason that prompts me to greet everyone like this and to have a funeral in private form: I don't want to disturb you. 
I warmly greet Ines, Laura, Sara, Enzo and Norbert for sharing a large part of my life with me and my family. 
I want to remember with love my sisters Adriana, Maria and Franca and their loved ones and to let them know how much I loved them. 
A full intense and profound greeting to my children, Marco, Alessandra, Andrea and Giovanni, my daughter-in-law Monica, and to my grandchildren Francesca, Valentina, Francesco and Luca. 
I hope they understand how much I loved them. 
Last but not least (Maria). I renew to you the extraordinary love that has held us together and that I am sorry to abandon. 
To you the most painful farewell. "
 
Translation from Italian using Google Translate
https://tg24.sky.it/spettacolo/musica/2020/07/06/necrologio-morricone

Gratitude from Williams. As always with class and grace.

Just before his passing Ennio Morricone wrote a touching goodbye...
 
“I, Ennio Morricone, am dead. 
So I announce it to all the friends who have always been close to me and also to those who are a little far away, whom I greet with great affection. Impossible to name them all.
But a special memory is for Peppuccio and Roberta, fraternal friends very present in the last years of our life. 
There is only one reason that prompts me to greet everyone like this and to have a funeral in private form: I don't want to disturb you. 
I warmly greet Ines, Laura, Sara, Enzo and Norbert for sharing a large part of my life with me and my family. 
I want to remember with love my sisters Adriana, Maria and Franca and their loved ones and to let them know how much I loved them. 
A full intense and profound greeting to my children, Marco, Alessandra, Andrea and Giovanni, my daughter-in-law Monica, and to my grandchildren Francesca, Valentina, Francesco and Luca. 
I hope they understand how much I loved them. 
Last but not least (Maria). I renew to you the extraordinary love that has held us together and that I am sorry to abandon. 
To you the most painful farewell. "
 
Translation from Italian using Google Translate
https://tg24.sky.it/spettacolo/musica/2020/07/06/necrologio-morricone

Just before his passing Ennio Morricone wrote a touching goodbye...
 
“I, Ennio Morricone, am dead. 
So I announce it to all the friends who have always been close to me and also to those who are a little far away, whom I greet with great affection. Impossible to name them all.
But a special memory is for Peppuccio and Roberta, fraternal friends very present in the last years of our life. 
There is only one reason that prompts me to greet everyone like this and to have a funeral in private form: I don't want to disturb you. 
I warmly greet Ines, Laura, Sara, Enzo and Norbert for sharing a large part of my life with me and my family. 
I want to remember with love my sisters Adriana, Maria and Franca and their loved ones and to let them know how much I loved them. 
A full intense and profound greeting to my children, Marco, Alessandra, Andrea and Giovanni, my daughter-in-law Monica, and to my grandchildren Francesca, Valentina, Francesco and Luca. 
I hope they understand how much I loved them. 
Last but not least (Maria). I renew to you the extraordinary love that has held us together and that I am sorry to abandon. 
To you the most painful farewell. "
 
Translation from Italian using Google Translate
https://tg24.sky.it/spettacolo/musica/2020/07/06/necrologio-morricone