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I've not heard this name before, but after seeing The Ninth Jedi and the reception here, I think I'll be paying more attention I'm a huge sucker for allusion, and I sat up straight when Am I right or am I overthinking it?

I'm going to dodge the deep questions here ("What are aesthetics? What comprises good music? Can we reach a global consensus on these questions?") and go one level up: are you perhaps running into an issue with selection bias? Seems like an example of a megathread panning JW as you describe might be found here. A general classical forum attracts fans of all kinds, and not all of them may be warm to JW; some of them might even resent him for "diluting" their favorite parts of classical music. But over here, membership is predicated on liking JW's music. We may enjoy heaping derision on...other composers, and this can happen for any number of reasons. Any answers you might find here are likely to be frostily received by people whose hearts are already set against JW. Having strong opinions attracts eyes and sometimes builds kingdoms ("bah! You can tell me Williams is great once you've listened to Stockhausen and Boulez"). Especially if a community skews esoteric or "cultured," some measured snootiness can help accrue social credit. To be cynical, I would bet JW typically sells better and attracts a more diverse audience than does an average "conventionally classical" program. I personally see no problem here, but I'm sure some people would turn up their noses at the thought.

Did you mean ROTS the second time round there? I agree wholeheartedly if so. I wonder what prompted that to happen — maybe somebody demanded a counterpart to the Binary Sunset cue to close out the saga (not anticipating TFA etc. of course)? I will disagree gently with your assessment of ROTJ 😆 I've never heard Yub Nub proper (except in Lego Star Wars, and I'm not sure if they used the real deal) and grew up with Victory Celebration. The latter has the virtue of swinging pretty close to the target key of Eb (ending on a solid Bb). I can forgive that, especially given the nice separation between the two on the special editions. I will concede TPM as well; I don't feel like it's jarring, though consciously I'm aware of the huge key shift on the iris out. I will...quibble Giacchino somewhat. I consistently have to remind myself that it's publicly well-known that he was really under the gun, scheduling-wise, and the scuttlebutt I can glean from here suggests it's worse than Variety ever let on. So I respect that he delivered something decently well-received in the time he was given. However, he, too, elected to airdrop a G minor statement of the Force leitmotif, but lets it veer abruptly into something like D minor (sus 4?), and just holds that until the iris out, and then we're back in E flat. It's less jarring than ROTS to me, but I still find it frustrating to listen to. Do you have a source for this? This would explain a bit, but it'd also bring up more questions — like, where was this seamless modulation for episodes 7, 8, and 9, eh, Towner?

Hats off for taking the brisker tempo. The "iris out" moment comes in barely two seconds behind the ANH score, so they came quite close. Fair enough. I used to enjoy the mid-credits rendition of the Throne Room cue in the ROTS OST end title, but over time I slowly grew disenchanted with the tempo (which I found to be dragging). Has that ever stopped a key change from happening? Thinking of the sudden Leia's theme insert in the TLJ end credits 🙄 Veering a bit off-topic, I'm not a huge fan of how every cue immediately preceding the end title (save ANH) has to land on the same key (E flat major?) by hook or crook. IMO this was fine for 5, 6, and 2, but got a bit dodgy for 1, 3, 7, 8, and 9. Surprisingly, I get the sense that John Powell devoted the most energy into sticking the landing.

I bought my copy off of Google Play before they turned down that entire segment. It looks like you can still purchase from HighResAudio and Chandos. EDIT: oh look, it's available from Qobuz as well.

When I saw the thread title, I groundlessly assumed that you meant a hypothetical performance in which the piece ends immediately after the flurry of strings amid the dissolving yellow text. Then I remembered how the concert arrangement is typically arranged and performed. I personally dislike hearing the transition to the end titles; I can never escape from my impression that it sounds abrupt, like a sudden splice done live. I cast a vote for the end titles only hoping that one day I'll hear a re-recording where the Throne Room bit is taken at the same speed as the film version.

True enough, but Qobuz didn't include a digital booklet with the deluxe release of Solo 😭 OTOH, a direct-to-digital PDF is usually searchable, looks nice, and never rips or stains, which is always lovely. But where else am I going to get my half-dozen alternate sequencings for the battle over D'Qar and twenty different takes of The Long Goodbye from the Fathier chase?

Heaven forfend that naming be frivolous!

Makes me wish that Deutsche Grammophon would send a team out to Tanglewood to record the world premiere of the violin concerto no. 2! Has Williams stated that this is soloist bingo? Because it sure seems like he's going for it 😆