Madmartigan JC

I think what this polls shows is that there is a definite generation gap on this forum, if nothing else. When I first started communicating on internet messageboards in the late 90s, I was a young whippersnapper. It's all very natural, the progression of time, of course - but I often find myself "shocked" that I basically still do what I did back then in terms of messageboard interactions (so that way "time has stood still"), but suddenly a whole new generation has 'snuck up' behind me - young enough to be my own sons and daughters, almost. I can never get used to that.

Pretty cool behind the scenes look at the artwork for this amazing set
 
 
 

But compare this. 
 
 
to this
 

I get what you are saying about Hook's lack of menace. It feels mostly harmless. But there is a track in it which I find wonderfully evocative and conveys both menace and anticipation for a coming adventure:
 
 
It's one of my favorite moments in the entire score. Works wonders in the film, with the view of the painted panel

Good to hear someone my own age feeling the same way!  I often feel very 'fatherly' around these parts.

As wonderful as HP is, I must say Hook. Such masterful orchestration and the sheer variety of extraordinary themes. 
I love the ballet-like quality of the score. It always makes me dream of what could have been, if the original project for a Peter Pan musical had become a reality.

I'm not much of a collector myself, but I wonder how excited y'all are about the prospect of acquiring the inevitable Oma Tres action figure.

The three movement suite was performed once at Tanglewood, back in 2011. Starts with "Three Million Light Years from Home", the second movement "Stargazers" is the same arrangement recorded by Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops. The final movement is the regular concert version of "Adventures on Earth".

I was shocked that A New Beginning made it into Spielberg / Williams III

What an absolute delight! So glad to be able to listento/watch this concert in its entirety.
The yet unreleased arrangements are truly wonderful.
 
And the sound is pretty good, for a live outdoor perfomance. I might even add that the "harshness" that was pointed in the CD performance is much reduced here, probably due to two things: Mutter's further familiarity with the pieces as well as a more distant micing setup (studio recording tends to locate the mics much nearer to the violin).

I merged you together

What an extraordinary album this is! I was eagerly anticipating it and I haven't been dissapointed in the least.
I understand and adhere to the criticism regarding some of the playing. Mutter is an extraodinary violinist, but many of her stylistic choices usually make for performances that are far from being my favorite.   That being said, the greatest thing for me about this whole project is that these arrangements actually exist at all. It's an unexpected gift to have JW himself revisit some of his compositions at this point in his career. His work is marvelous and in the future they might be played and recorded by any number of musicians. So for me, this performance may not be ideal in every respect. It sounds amazing and you can tell Mutter did put a lot of dedication to the project (we should actually thank her tenacity that Williams took the time and effort to produce it). And while I may not like some chocies to me that doesn't take away from the fact that these arrangements exist and we get to enjoy them.
  I can't wait for the Deluxe edition, particularly to hear what he did with Princess Leia’s Theme. I am bummed, however by the exclusion of Witches of Eastwick, sincce that is one of my favorite JW pieces (especially the piano/violin arr.). Here's hoping for a second album!

What an extraordinary album this is! I was eagerly anticipating it and I haven't been dissapointed in the least.
I understand and adhere to the criticism regarding some of the playing. Mutter is an extraodinary violinist, but many of her stylistic choices usually make for performances that are far from being my favorite.   That being said, the greatest thing for me about this whole project is that these arrangements actually exist at all. It's an unexpected gift to have JW himself revisit some of his compositions at this point in his career. His work is marvelous and in the future they might be played and recorded by any number of musicians. So for me, this performance may not be ideal in every respect. It sounds amazing and you can tell Mutter did put a lot of dedication to the project (we should actually thank her tenacity that Williams took the time and effort to produce it). And while I may not like some chocies to me that doesn't take away from the fact that these arrangements exist and we get to enjoy them.
  I can't wait for the Deluxe edition, particularly to hear what he did with Princess Leia’s Theme. I am bummed, however by the exclusion of Witches of Eastwick, sincce that is one of my favorite JW pieces (especially the piano/violin arr.). Here's hoping for a second album!

What an extraordinary album this is! I was eagerly anticipating it and I haven't been dissapointed in the least.
I understand and adhere to the criticism regarding some of the playing. Mutter is an extraodinary violinist, but many of her stylistic choices usually make for performances that are far from being my favorite.   That being said, the greatest thing for me about this whole project is that these arrangements actually exist at all. It's an unexpected gift to have JW himself revisit some of his compositions at this point in his career. His work is marvelous and in the future they might be played and recorded by any number of musicians. So for me, this performance may not be ideal in every respect. It sounds amazing and you can tell Mutter did put a lot of dedication to the project (we should actually thank her tenacity that Williams took the time and effort to produce it). And while I may not like some chocies to me that doesn't take away from the fact that these arrangements exist and we get to enjoy them.
  I can't wait for the Deluxe edition, particularly to hear what he did with Princess Leia’s Theme. I am bummed, however by the exclusion of Witches of Eastwick, sincce that is one of my favorite JW pieces (especially the piano/violin arr.). Here's hoping for a second album!

What an extraordinary album this is! I was eagerly anticipating it and I haven't been dissapointed in the least.
I understand and adhere to the criticism regarding some of the playing. Mutter is an extraodinary violinist, but many of her stylistic choices usually make for performances that are far from being my favorite.   That being said, the greatest thing for me about this whole project is that these arrangements actually exist at all. It's an unexpected gift to have JW himself revisit some of his compositions at this point in his career. His work is marvelous and in the future they might be played and recorded by any number of musicians. So for me, this performance may not be ideal in every respect. It sounds amazing and you can tell Mutter did put a lot of dedication to the project (we should actually thank her tenacity that Williams took the time and effort to produce it). And while I may not like some chocies to me that doesn't take away from the fact that these arrangements exist and we get to enjoy them.
  I can't wait for the Deluxe edition, particularly to hear what he did with Princess Leia’s Theme. I am bummed, however by the exclusion of Witches of Eastwick, sincce that is one of my favorite JW pieces (especially the piano/violin arr.). Here's hoping for a second album!

What an extraordinary album this is! I was eagerly anticipating it and I haven't been dissapointed in the least.
I understand and adhere to the criticism regarding some of the playing. Mutter is an extraodinary violinist, but many of her stylistic choices usually make for performances that are far from being my favorite.   That being said, the greatest thing for me about this whole project is that these arrangements actually exist at all. It's an unexpected gift to have JW himself revisit some of his compositions at this point in his career. His work is marvelous and in the future they might be played and recorded by any number of musicians. So for me, this performance may not be ideal in every respect. It sounds amazing and you can tell Mutter did put a lot of dedication to the project (we should actually thank her tenacity that Williams took the time and effort to produce it). And while I may not like some chocies to me that doesn't take away from the fact that these arrangements exist and we get to enjoy them.
  I can't wait for the Deluxe edition, particularly to hear what he did with Princess Leia’s Theme. I am bummed, however by the exclusion of Witches of Eastwick, sincce that is one of my favorite JW pieces (especially the piano/violin arr.). Here's hoping for a second album!

I wasn't so keen on having this particular piece revisited, as I didn't think Williams would derive enough from it to make it a truly unique arrangement. Glad to have been so wrong.
Can't wait for the rest.

Fantastic performance! Thank you so much!
 
 

The whole Tokyo concert just popped up courtesy of YouTube's amazing "recommended videos" magic thing...