karelm
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Posts posted by karelm
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Sometimes this site is slow and I get "This page isn't responding" message. I don't get it on other sites. Is there an issue with this site being slow? Happens on random pages but I think mostly ones with lots of media.
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23 hours ago, Jilal said:
In a vague, undefined sort of way? "Make it sound more like JW"? Or more specifically certain techniques of orchestration, chord progressions, etc?
It was usually something like "Make this sound Williamsy" and we both understood exactly what was meant but probably because of many prior hours talking about Williams' writing style. So a bit of both.
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He had a very big impact on the orchestral scores I worked on. His name was brought up frequently for stylistic references.
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21 hours ago, Jay said:
Fun movie. What do you mean by "hate"? People didn't hate it, it just wasn't a huge success at the box office.
I must have equated it bombing with it not being liked. Maybe those few who saw it liked it. Don't you think it would do well if given a Mandalorian style episodic treatment?
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What are your thoughts of John Carter? Did it deserve the hate? Is it worth a reboot or perhaps tv streaming miniseries?
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20 hours ago, Marian Schedenig said:
Next month for me, and the first time ever live!
Wow, for me it was the very first professional concert I attended as a teen and was life changing. This will be the second time I've heard it in decades so will be curious if it still means as much to me as it did then, or if I'm no longer the same person and what moved me deeply once no longer means much to me. What orchestra/conductor will your performance be with?
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22 hours ago, Marian Schedenig said:
Nice! I'm going to hear it performed next weekend for the first time in maybe 30 years. We shall see if it makes as big an impact on me now as it did then or if I've changed and what inspired me then no longer moves me now. This was the first professional concert I ever attended and was mind blowing.
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16 hours ago, Loert said:
A bit of tongue-in-cheekness mixed in with some seriousness...
That opening reminded me of the big percussion crescendo in Mahler 2. Very fun piece. I could also hear it as silent movie score of damsel being threatened by a villain (like tied to a train track) while fighting with a hero who is trying to save her.
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On 14/09/2025 at 9:43 AM, Mr. Hooper said:
You did it again!
There are three rules here:
1. Do not let Jay get wet.2. Do not expose him to bright light.
And, most important...
3. Never, ever refer to film music as "songs."
Or else...
I thought our three rules were you do not talk about jwfan club.
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Happy birthday Maestro! Lots of very fine and interesting works from you over an illustrious career. His early works were serial then switched in the 1970's after going through a collage phase (mixing styles and eras) then landing on his mature overtly traditional and religious style. Lots of composers went through a similar transformation like Penderecki (similarly in the 1970's), one could argue Philip Glass too. I haven't heard anything of his pre-minimalism but he mentioned minimalism was a reaction to the avante guarde of the 1960's.
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She's awesome. That's her at the podium as I warm up. She had a very interesting life and was in a documentary about her I'll dig up if anyone is interested. Fabulous musician and friend of contemporary music. She loves big loud brass too. I was overplaying something and never was told that was too much.
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I don't think his opinion makes a lot of sense. He probably means the symphony is a pure vessel for the composer's output. But that's not necessarily true. Some symphonies have programs (a script) like Shostakovich Symphony No. 11 being about the Russian revolution, the songs of the patriots, the machine guns, etc. Some are subtextual (Shostakovich No. 10 where there is a tyrannist movement that is ultimately destroyed by the musical idea of the composer - DSCH...the individual conquering their obstacle without saying it directly). Then you have Schoenberg who wrote two chamber symphonies so only a small ensemble was used. I think it's best to say the symphony is a composer's blank canvass. Some will write a massive work with that canvass, some will be inspired by an existing story. Some will be inspired by the artist who is performing it or commissioned it. Doesn't mean it's their greatest achievement just because it's titled a symphony.
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On 25/08/2025 at 5:30 PM, aviazn said:
I feel similarly. Clearly, as @Maestro's writings make clear, Williams values the vast array of influences that he brings to his music. And not just classical, but the great jazz and, as @Maurizio points out, pop music of his youth that he admires. Variety is the life blood of all art, and JW's knowledge of those varied influences — and his ability to merge them so fluently — is part of what elevates his film music and makes it distinct from the classical figures he's so often accused of ripping off.
I feel like most of what Williams is saying here is simply his frank assessment of the limitations of film music as a medium and their impact on the resulting quality of the music. But if there is any self-deprecation or discomfort with "film music" in those comments, it feels to me less like imposter syndrome or internalized prejudice and more like a reaction of embarrassment or frustration at seeing legions of fans whose orchestral musical diet consists only of film music as a genre — and perhaps composers whose output is only drawing on that genre, like a form of memetic inbreeding. I can certainly imagine JW thinking so, if not saying so publicly. (The rumors of JW's dissatisfaction with Giacchino's Rouge One score — whether true or not — always rang true to me.)
I was really struck by this passage that Tim (so generously!) shared on his blog:
Would love to know Tim's thoughts on what he meant. Reading it, I didn't get the sense that JW meant to demean music written for the medium of film, but to argue that the genre of film music that so many of us like is deeply indebted to music and composers that came before them. I imagined JW giving a lesson on the classical origins of certain techniques or the jazz origins of certain voicings — the different influences that give film music its characteristic sound. (Could be totally wrong of course!)
In any case, JW's discomfort here sort of reminded me of the story of Alec Guinness extracting a promise from a 12-year-old autograph-seeking fan to never watch Star Wars again. Or George Lucas' reaction to fans' ideas of what Star Wars is. His SW films, for all their faults, are personal films with an array of influences — 1930s serials, WWII films, Kurosawa, etc. Of course, he touched on political issues of his era (Vietnam, the rise of fascism, etc.), but he would always say that fundamentally the films were for 12-year-old boys. For me, the biggest weakness of JJ Abrams' Star Wars films was that the range of influences that he brought to bear were limited pretty much to other Star Wars films, ultimately rendering it fan fiction.
That makes a lot of sense and I agree with your assessment. It also sounds like what he is saying is he is embarrassed by some of his earlier works because he wouldn't have done it that way now after a lifetime of learning. But I think everyone creative would think like this as they constantly strive to be tighter, better, more concise, deeper, more refined, etc., so in decades you might look back at something you were once proud of and find it cringey. All artists stand on the shoulders of those who came before them, even the radical ones. In 1950, Schoenberg wrote that Brahms was his biggest influence. Brahms was very traditional and Schoenberg was quite radical - they sound nothing alike. But what Schoenberg meant was that Brahms was on a path, then Mahler, then himself taking tonality where it was logically heading...to atonality. We can debate whether Schoenberg was right or wrong about this, but his point was even the radical artists are influenced by those who paved their path before them.
I also think part of what we're hearing is that the music he is best known for, that most of us adore, isn't music he particularly likes. It's not what he would listen to for pleasure. It's what the film needed and he did his job as best he could to create it well but not something he would be a fan of. That makes a lot of sense.
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There was a video game I really liked on the iphone that no longer works. It required the devs update it but it was no longer in the app store so my only option was to delete it. Luckily, I found it on steam for only $7!
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On 28/07/2025 at 4:04 AM, kingtolkien said:
I have to admit that I really like the concerto. Now the only instrument for which he has not composed a concerto is the trombone. Peculiar because he loved it when he was young. Anyway he looks fine in the videos and pictures for a man at his age. I really hope he has the clarity of mind to work on the new Spielberg film and a few more Concert works.
He's been approached about writing a trombone concerto but it's not an easy thing. Lots of things have to be aligned like a music director who wants it, a soloist who would do it and they are probably talking about years in the future perhaps. I'd like to see a Concerto for Orchestra from him and a Trombone Concerto. and of course a few more films.
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11 hours ago, mrbellamy said:No, this is:
- Brando, bruce marshall, GerateWohl and 3 others
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11 hours ago, Little Ghost said:
Which version did you watch? The original, or the editors cut that restored a lot of Young's score?
Not sure...it was on tv. They're playing tons of Spidey's right now...the 3 Sam Raimi's back to back then the Amazing Spiderman's, etc. It's like 24 hours of spidey but not sure which version it is.
3 hours ago, ddddeeee said:The first five or so minutes of this are a featurette from the recording sessions of Spider-Man 3.
Because it's lumped together with the sound design, a lot of people - I think - don't know this exists. It comes from the initial DVD release.
Hehehe, I was there a few days. That's Pete Anthony conducting. It was an intense experience but one I was proud to be involved in in some way.
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1 minute ago, Maestro said:
I'm seeing some minor misinformation about this piece, which until now has been top secret. (I was given permission to include it in the book, and indeed to attend the recording sessions.) It is not affiliated with the Sea Change Project, although that organization was part of Ma's introduction to the parties involved. And it's a piece that will accompany (or rather drive) a film about kelp forests planet-wide. There's necessarily still some factors unknown and TBD, but I just wanted to clarify these points—and I do hope the piece itself will be hearable before too long.
Mea culpa: I also somehow misreported the orchestration; it's 12 cellos (in addition to Ma's), not 8.
In unrelated news: I'm starting a document to chronicle any errors I (or others) catch for a revised edition!
Include this picture no one's ever seen of Han Solo and JW at a session. Also sneak my name in the revised book.
Close Encounters Tuba player Jim Self RIP
in General Discussion
Posted
Sad to learn of Jim's passing.
L.A. Studio Legends: Jim Self – The Legacy of John Williams
I was lucky enough to perform with him on several big, brassy concert works like Mussorgsky/Ravel's Pictures at an Exhibition and Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique. He was always kind, professional, and happy to talk about his work on Close Encounters. He played the mothership during the conversation sequence. RIP.
During one of the rehearsals, I was such a big fan, I couldn't stop asking him about his experience on Close Encounters. That was a very unusual part for a session tuba player. He mentioned there were three tuba parts but I don't recall if he overdubbed and played each part or was one of three tubists. He talked about how hard he rehearsed that mothership sequence.
Jim's amazing work.