Martinland

Yes, exactly, like the Sony Double CD Menace (pun intended): Literally the *soundtrack* to the movie. I miss the good ole days when a film composition ended up on the soundtrack, more or less as is. I think that went out the window after the 80s in the middle of the 90s of last century with digital editing. *sigh* Luckily Williams' best scores of his anni mirabili where done this way, and it shows in the movies and you can hear it with or without the movie. The Phantom Double CD Menace will be the only isolated score on CD published by a major label. There is ... another ... I have "The Third Man", a bootleg CD which features ... the soundtrack of the movie as is; supposedly because the Karas recording doesn't exist anymore? Or did that change in the last 20 years?

That's no moon, it's a score distortion.

That's very, very true - thanks again. Projected film excerpts in a movie theatre would have been celebrating with style, of course - not that many people could have been made happy like with what you did instead, though. PS: Do you think John Williams is a) aware of this and b) might watch it?

Haha - actually I do wish they had spent their ample time (!) to incorporate more than a couple of audience and moderation shots of the historic and in a couple of cases better Saturday performance in a more balanced way, so to speak. Well, let's be thankful for what transpired.

This was an absolutely astonishing, heart-warming, informative, musical, even lyrical, funny, a bit nostalgic celebration of both John Williams (more candles than piano keys, that's just adorable, haha) and Jerry Goldsmith. Thank you so very, very much. It brought tears of joy into my eyes during the first minute and the last. Indeed. Say, Marian - am I going mad or did I meet Maurizio (briefly) standing next to you with our daughter during intermission at Musikverein?

Yes, indeed - I raise the glass right now - all the best to the Maestro! Looking forward to the stellar discussion panel in less than two hours. <3 "I can't wait to go back", "I would love to go back" - maybe there is a positive force (pun intended) in the universe that makes his (birthday?) wish come true, although he and us have been incredibly lucky already; just seems like an awful waste of time. (not to him, I'm sure he kept himself busy with music and composing) Cheers! *clink* To his very good health and the future!

Yes. Yes, it does. (fortunately and terrifyingly) None of us ever will. We are ... "Class of January 2020" PS: Good to know that at least you had a small party with living breathing humans at all. We weren't that lucky with our daughter. PPS: Where did you acquire this funny animated GIF with Max Steiner?

Oh yes, and right now we were sitting in "Gmoakeller", thanks to you: Happy birthday to you, Fabulin/Karol! We celebrated with our daughter via Zoom this time - absolutely no comparison to 365(+1) days ago. I hope you've had a nice birthday...

...and exactly now it has been 365 days (!!) since we went to bed after a cozy evening in that great hotel right next to the ferris wheel to awaken to nice breakfast with view to same, a small walk from the museum's quarter to Starbucks, fresh snowfall, and the most amazing experience in our family life since, well, 365 days. *sigh*

Indeed - and I fondly remember something else: Surprisingly, I was very moved and mesmerised by "Sabrina" as it was played so delicately by Anne-Sophie Mutter, especially towards the end. I remember turning to love of my life whispering "this is wonderful..." It was on Saturday only, because I didn't get the same reaction from the Sunday recording, although the (multi-channel) reproduction - as Marian already mentioned - really replicates the acoustics of the Golden Hall. Something is different with the Sunday recording of that theme; it's played louder, more pronounced if you will, not sure. This was topped only by the lush and sweet "War Horse" and its flute soloist in the "second concert" as I keep calling the second part of the Saturday performance right since the intermission back then. (because of the amazing length of this concert, it truly felt oh-so-lucky-exhaustingly like two concerts!) In a week it's been a year - I just can't wrap my head around that. It was ... a dream; come true after more than 1.5 years of hoping and in hindsight under the most improbable of circumstances. This experience will always mean 2020 to me; not those other dreadful four fifths of the year. *sigh* I concur completely, Karol - and *I* wonder, why those professional technicians and musicians at Deutsche Grammophon did not put in the extra work (they had all the time in the world!) to create the perfect blend of both performances; the existing result (not the concerts or the contents) is a bit disappointing - even the video is quite unfilmic: To many tight close-ups, so few different angles, even fewer wide shots (compare to the video of Mutter's open air concert in Munich, for example) - in an age of high resolution and big displays this looks like old-fashioned in-your-face television for small sets with low res, not like a concert recording for a broad canvas; very irritating. Still: We were lucky - and all those millions of people who were able to experience it too because all this took place and was recorded properly. (not put together properly, as I pointed out above)

Alright - now I reveal something from my treasured memories that - to my knowledge - never appeared (at least not in these later, IMHO petty discussions) in this amazingly long-lasting and extensive thread here: When I (and the rest of the world) experienced for the very first time the Star Wars Main Title being conducted by John Williams at the Golden Hall of Musikverein - I heard details in the brass in the first minute I have *never* heard like this before, neither in concert nor on recordings - it's hard to describe, but I was in heaven; and no, it did not, I repeat, did not sound like a mistake at all - on the contrary - to my (conservatory-trained violinist's) ears; and no, it's not on the recordings taken from Sunday. What do you think about that, Marian (or any of you lovely people we met after the concert, Fabulin, Biodome et al)? What do you remember? You seem to be a very acute listener and you were there to be able to compare... ...or were you as emotionally devastated (in a good way! :-D) as I was? (I think I remember you were more concentrated the next day, but the first was quite the emotional one)

Alright, before I read this thread and negative opinions might harm me like they did in that Vienna thread I just put down my fresh and sincere observations right now: I waited with enjoying BBC magazine until this afternoon - you have to celebrate the few moments of joy these days... ...and I have to say this was a really interesting, well-researched article and engaging interview with new sights and some new insights as well plus it got me teary-eyed twice when, at the beginning of the second page of text, they stated that one concert luckily did happen and later on when Anne-Sophie Mutter observed the special atmosphere of this event and compared it to her other most significant musical moment of joy in her life as she gave her debut under Karajan. So I was glad to have this as a memento and seeing Maestro John Williams still in good health and even amazingly positive spirit and I was shocked as well that - had I waited 3 more weeks - I would have read this _a_whole_year_ after the concert actually took place. Feels like yesterday and an earth age away at the same time. Now I'll start reading this thread. Have a better one, stay shaved, Martin I already played it thrice - once for us two (sans daughter this year, sadly), then for my parents, and yesterday during our festive meal, while reading the notes. I actually adore two more modern ones, #10 and #12, that - according to the liner notes - also deal with the weather instead of the usual concerns in lyrics of these sorts... P.S.: I'm also glad that the responses in this thread are generous, to the point, polite, or at least humorous. That's great; befitting this (strange but peaceful) holiday season.

There was another...

This all means that there was only one concert in 2020, and a quite legendary one for different reasons (thank god)... *sigh*

#metoo (this is something positive in this case )

Which one? The DTS 5.1 or the Dolby Atmos? I have to decide - when I plug in the loaned BD drive for the very first time next week - which tracks to use for my BD-to-something-else transfer. (either first and second half of concert stand-alone video files or one or two DVDs, will decide later; but it's "only" those 2 hours and 3-5 minutes I'm interested in, which would fit nicely on a DVD, if I would not waste space for best audio quality) BTW: Which tool to use? FabDVD or something else? Never had this problem. (and hopefully will have never again)

Well, I had a period about 10 or more years ago, where I met him a couple of times in my dreams (after having met him for real, see below) - and those were quite funny dreams: Interesting locations in England and elsewhere, strange architecture, interesting people, likewise journeys - and the funniest bit: In the later dreams I greeted him after the concert right there in the hall which looked like a small auditorium for medicine lectures (!) and he recognised me and we continued (!) conversations or alluded to some others we've "had" in the dreams/concerts months before. :) When was that? Because that's how I met him briefly (but it left a big impression nonetheless) after the concert at the Barbican in 1996. He was very, very sweet, friendly, and amazing to talk to for those couple of sentences. *sigh* Your story happened to me after the "Goldsmith at 70" concert in Edinburgh in 1999 - we waited and had fun at the artist's entrance after the concert, since he was known to get in contact with his fans, even more so than John Williams at the time - little did we know that he returned directly to his hotel that night to continue working (!) on The Mummy.

Thought so; and for the better to all involved. The info above has not been changed because there's no official anouncement yet, I suppose?

It is beginning to look like this will turn out to be a historic year as far as Williams and film music are concerned: He will have celebrated his amazing debut in Vienna. And that will have been the *only* concert for all of 2020; plus: we have been *extremely* lucky to have had that at all! (a window of three months only!) Or is Milwaukee (see above) still on? Unlikely now. (and better not to be attempted by the Maestro, I dare say) No script doctor could have written such a tale of triumph and defeat (and victory again - because the maestro seized the day and put the time to good use - he is amazing in that way; I was just depressed a lot of the time)... P.S.: Morricone has left us too this year.

Rest in peace, Maestro - we heard your work while strolling through the old streets of Grado, Italy, each and every year - because there always would be some kind of TV programme on RAI featuring your music... ...this year we had to skip our Grado summer holiday, sadly, but we did meet you in1999 in Austria, great times...

That's *exactly* how it was done, they explained it beforehand, IIRC.

For me on the other hand it was *very* special, because me and our daughter - having been there in Vienna, at this historic moment - shared this at 3am in the morning. *sigh* (last time I did something like this was more than 20 years ago, before she was born even, for a live Star Wars chat where you could post questions intended for the Maestro )

I read about it in Soundtrack! magazine I think - and I still have the Gramophone Film Music Good CD guide (a book) from 1996 which features a full page ad for that concert (!). Regarding the CD, I can prove the sequence of events quite easily: I brought the CD with me from Austria to London and the last page of the booklet now bears a signature by a certain Maestro.

/me has an external BD drive on loan after yesterday's first real Commodore meeting since 120 days. READY. Let it be end of August now.

Aah, this November it will be a hundred years since the first (public) performance by the London Symphony. I even asked them (before all hell/hysteria broke loose) if they have scheduled an anniversary performance, alas they had not. *sigh* I own the Williams interpretation with the Boston, which I played very often - then I learned about the old (1970) interpretation by Steinberg (a recommendation in a newsgroup back then) and I liked it a lot; coming back to both of them on a regular basis.