BSOinsider

I have zero involvement with that kind of artistic planning unfortunately, so I can't give any special insights. Personally I agree with what Tom said:

Last year they were very similar. I don't know this for sure, but I think that they may be less similar this year because in L.A. David Newman is conducting the first half, and at Tanglewood the first half is conducted by Ken-David Masur.

Amazing program! Nice pacing, and an excellent mix of well-known and rare selections. I'd love to have more cues directly from the film score played. HL arrangements are convenient and great for many orchestras, but the POPS can absolutely do better for a special occasion like Film Night.

This is Sid Ramin's treatment of Cantina Band.

Me too! Haha! Nailed it, just put Imperial March as the last encore and you're there. (Kidding of course) Regarding your selections, Land Race is a nice choice for opener! I would love to hear your first half Star Wars suite, that's a great set! And wow, you fit a lot of Harry Potter in there! I'd really enjoy a Sid Ramin-esque arrangement of Canto Bight as a surprise encore, that would be great. Thanks for taking to time to type all that out!

4:30 - Williams: Esplanade Overture 2:30 - Williams: Men of Yorktown March 4:00 - Williams: Leaving Home (4min Oscars 2019 Version) 4:00 - Williams: of Grit and Glory 7:00 - Williams: Seven Years in Tibet Main Theme 6:00 - Williams: The Mission: Jonathan begins to Draw 5:00 - Williams: The Mission: The Landing 6:00 - Williams: AI: The Search for the Blue Fairy 8:00 - Williams: AI: The Reunion 8:30 - Williams: The Mission Suite (The Mission, Fugue for Changing Times, Scherzo for Today, The Pulse of Events) 5:00 - Williams: Nixon Turbulent Years 3:30 - Williams: Masterpiece Theatre American Collection Theme 5:00 - Williams: Parade of the Slave Children 70 minutes of music, so 25ish more minutes to fill. If you don't include something from Star Wars the crowd might riot! Some great picks in there. I think Esplanade Overture, Seven Years in Tibet, and the Mission Suite would be fantastic additions to a Film Night program.

That's totally ok! I'm curious which deep cuts you think are worth it, and how you'd work those into a program. Would you do all obscure pieces, or mix in a few classics?

I'm curious to see what an imagined Film Night program might look like for users of this forum. Using the following rules, please design your own "John Williams' Film Night at Tanglewood" program! -Maestro Williams can only only conduct half a program, and no longer plays solo piano on programs. -Total length of all music programmed including encores cannot exceed 100 minutes. -No film clips which synch with film music like a LTP are permitted, but non-plotted projections are ok. (This is a film rights-issue.) -No more than 3 Encores. For ease of reading and comparison, please try to stick to the general format I'm using below (Demonstrated with Copies of the 2023 and 2017 Film Night Programs): 50:00 - First half: David Newman Conducting 3:30 - Whiting/Williams: Hooray for Hollywood, with film projection montage of classic films 9:30 - Williams: The Cowboys Overture 6:00 - Herrmann: Scène d’amour from Vertigo 8:00 - Williams: Suite from Far and Away 8:00 - Williams: E.T. Flying Theme 6:00 - Williams: Theme from Jurassic Park 9:00 - Williams: Love Theme and March from Superman, with Projection of JW footage -Intermission- 45:30 - Second half: John Williams Conducting 3:30 - Williams: Adventures of Mutt 4:00 - Williams: Call of the Champions, with projections of Olympics footage 3:00 - Williams: Dry Your Tears, Afrika 4:00 - Williams: Duel of the Fates, with Star Wars montage projection 4:00 - Williams: Theme from Schindler's List 4:30 - Williams: The Asteroid Field 3:30 - Williams: Anakin’s Theme 8:00 - Williams: Throne Room and Finale 4:00 - Williams: Helena's Theme (Encore) 4:00 - Williams: E.T. Flying Theme Encore) 3:00 - Williams: Imperial March (Encore) ---- 37:00 - First half: Andris Nelsons Conducting 4:30 - Korngold: Adventures of Robin Hood March 9:00 - North: Spartacus Forest Meeting and March 6:00 - Herrmann: Scène d’amour from Vertigo 3:00 - Williams: Adventures of Tintin The Duel, with Classic Film Duel montage projection 3:30 - Williams: Dracula End Title, with Dracula Film Montage 11:00 - Williams: E.T. Adventures on Earth -Intermission- 53:00 - Second half: John Williams Conducting 3:30 - Williams: Adventures of Mutt 7:30 - Williams: Close Encounters, Excerpts 5:00 - Parade of the Slave Children 8:00 - Williams: Suite from Far and Away 5:00 - Williams: With Malice Towards None 3:30 - Williams: Chamber of Secrets 3:30 - Williams: Fawkes the Phoenix 4:30 - Williams: Harry's Wondrous World 4:30 - Williams: March from 1941 (Encore) 4:30 - Williams: Theme from Schindler's List (Encore) 3:00 - Williams: Imperial March (Encore) A complete listing of Tanglewood programs can be found on https://archives.bso.org/ (and also by using the search function on this forum haha) Click the text next to the red downward arrow 'Show Additional Options', and then in the 'Event Title' field, add "Film Night at Tanglewood". Many (not all) of the Film-themed Tanglewood performances are displayed with this search. In reality, Mr. Williams plans these programs himself but I thought it might be interesting to see what classics and obscure pieces made the cut for a musical "Fantasy Bracket".

This LTP will also be performed in Boston at Symphony Hall this spring. Details will be available whenever the Spring POPS press release happens, typically sometime in February.

Using the Hal Leonard Signature edition measure numbers, here are the changes between versions: 2 new measures added between m24 and 25. These 2 bars are an expanded orchestration of measures 5 and 6. Measures 25 and 26 have slight alterations to texture, register, and rhythm. Measure 27 returns to HL as printed. Measures 41 to 44 have been rewritten. What was previously 14 beats of music (4/4+4/4+4/4+2/4) is now 25 beats (5/4+6/4+6/4+4/4+4/4). The new version features altered meter and elongated note lengths, along with the addition of a flute to the Vln1 line and added harp. The new violin 1 part in m43 is entirely different, only vaguely similar to the contour of the older version. What has actually happened is an augmentation (lengthening) of all the notes in old measure 43. The ear is thrown by the inclusion of a G# which is new, but the rest of the melody is the same notes in a very lengthened form. The underlying harmony has also changed, but I'll leave that to a music theorist for explanation. Measure 45 to the end is unchanged. I hope this helps!

Reviving this topic just to mention that "Just Down West Street... on the left" was moderately revised (about 30 various changes to harmony, rhythm, orchestration, and dynamics) by JW before the Tanglewood on Parade performance on 8/2/22 (JW Conducting the TMC Orchestra). That revised version was repeated on 8/20/22 by the BSO, and again on 9/27/22 by the LA Phil. JW stated in general terms when revising the piece that he never fully finished it to begin with, and was happy to have the chance to work on it again.

The selections I mentioned (Speeder Chase, Farewell, Rise of Skywalker) were performed in a cut (shortened) version compared to their printed Hal Leonard version. The HL Rise of Skywalker suite as printed is much closer to the OST than the "Story in Music" version of each of the pieces. I hope that makes sense.

No broadcast, and JW had left Tanglewood by that point and was not around.

The Duel of the Fates was the HL Signature edition with no alterations that I know of. This is correct, a specific wooden rostrum travels with the orchestra. There are multiple, but they look the same. The documentary crew was on-campus and filming for the days leading up to Film Night, and the concert itself. Yes, a new edited version by JW was premiered in the Film Night concert. Using the HL Signature edition number system, 2 bars were added between m 24 and 25. HL Bars 25 and 26 are slightly re orchestrated (added vln2+vla trem, vln1 8va, HL m.26 beat 2 triplet). HL m.27 is as printed. HL m40 to 44 has been completely rewritten with new melody, harmony, meter, and orchestration. HL m.45 is back to print.