Locrius

I’m sure some of you have seen this. Really cool stuff.

Just heard the the piece, and I was surprised for sure.  John is on top form these days.  The quality and the nuance of the writing is staggering.  Hedwig's Theme never did much for me in the past, but here, John really draws the most out of the material.  In these recent arrangements, it would seem he trying to write a definitive musical statement.  And he is marvelously blending his characteristic sense of melody and harmony with what is to my ears a new, commanding mastery of form.
 
You know, this rather reminds me of Bach's later career. After years of putting extraordinary effort into writing music of above and beyond quality for his employers, Bach set himself down and, recycling some of what he had before, produced some exquisitely structured masterworks for posterity. 
Perhaps John  is indeed doing the same here.

It's definitely fascinating to witness the journey of this almost 90 years old artist. He truly seems a contemporary version of Haydn, or Brahms.
 
What's also interesting is JW using a quite established classical vehicle and applying it to his own material. In some ways, it almost seems as if he's putting his own spin to the works of someone else, like the classical Carmen Fantasy by Sarasate--but he's actually making a fantasia for soloist from material written by himself

John Williams: “You really need a better composer for this film.”
 
 Steven Spielberg: “I know, but half of them are dead.”

"Perfectly balanced, as all things should be" - John Williams to Shawn Murphy

No... I want her to play the original part with reduced orchestral presence, so that you clearly hear her and her alone.

That's really strange.

That really doesn't make any musical sense.

So you'd prefer her to be a part of one of the violin sections of the orchestra while they performed the original arrangement? You must be joking!

I understand the wish not to spoil things with a tracklist.  But I find the track titles for both this and Infinity War very annoying.  A track title should allow you to connect a cue to a scene in your memory after one viewing of a film IMO.

Extremely tough with the limit of one track per score. In no particular order:
 
“Harry’s Wondrous World” (Children’s Suite/COS version)
“Main Title and Escape”
“The Firebolt and End Credits Suite”
“Fawkes the Phoenix”
“The Reunion”
 
Close runner-ups/favorites on a different day:
 
“The Quidditch Match”
“Page 394 and Quidditch, Third Year”/“Quidditch, Third Year”
”Dobby the House Elf”
“The Fathiers”
“Battle of the Heroes”
“Anakin’s Dark Deeds”
“Main Title and the Attack on the Jakku Village”
“Anderton’s Great Escape”
“Hide and Seek”
“Where Dreams Are Born”
“The Visitor at Himmel Street”
”Buckbeak’s Flight”
“Rey’s Theme”
“Love Pledge and the Arena”

Horner's dynamic range in the 90s was incredible.

Didn't notice that, but I noticed a potential French horn wrong note at 1:01?
 
EDIT: Never mind, just found out it's that way in a lot of re-recordings. Could be a misprint or just a different edition than the version JW recorded with the Pops.

I can't believe I never noticed this before, but what's with the fart sound at 6:48 in "The Flying Sequence"? Just checked the 2000 Rhino release and it's in there, too...

I just found another photography of JW, reviewing one of Zimmer's scores:
 

Preview clips are up on iTunes! Sounds great!

Preview clips are up on iTunes! Sounds great!

Can't wait to listen!  Makes my heart glad to see Mozart, Beethoven and Williams all together like that.
 

Preview clips are up on iTunes! Sounds great!

Preview clips are up on iTunes! Sounds great!

Preview clips are up on iTunes! Sounds great!

I've been loving this variation on the theme from "Flying with Mother" recently - is it technically called the Lost and Found theme? Either way, it's bloody epic!
 
 
And the whole of "Once There Were Dragons", especially the choral Hidden World theme!

Here to the end of the cue is just awesome:
 
 
I think the love theme variations here are even better than those in "Furies in Love"/"Romance in the Clouds." Speaking of the love theme, I think it's really cool how it's so unexpected in its form -- sure, the second part of the melody has some lovely classic romantic tropes, but the beginning is very different from what I usually expect in a love theme ... heroic, imparting perhaps even a sense of danger. 

There's the Trumpet Concerto recording with Williams conducting. 

The Live-to-Projection concert program of How to Train Your Dragon is getting a USA premiere:
Houston Symphony Orchestra at Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion,The Woodlands, TX, May 30, 2019