Taikomochi

The misprint was that it said John Williams was going to conduct the orchestra!

the HPSS leak sounds fantastic

Guys, it's not humming, it's the celli section. Really, it can give that impression, but it's the celli.

HP confirmed!!!!

I am still a bit sad about not seeing Williams in the flesh. But the concert of Brian Tyler was really good and I met him in person after the show. 

I was very lucky to have seen him twice in Boston with the BSO and Keith Lockhart 2016/17. I attended with my father who took me to all the Spielberg movies in the 70s, then took my son whom I had already brainwashed him with the Superman score!  Feel genuinely bad for everyone waiting for the London and Vienna shows It will still sound amazing without him at the podium!  Get well Johnny! 

Probably a video message from John. Unfortunately, the Vienna concert next Saturday was likely the only chance to see my favorite composer in person (being a composer myself), completely devastated. And since I got non-refundable tickets to Vienna and the hotel as well, I am still going. Might as well make a day out of it at least. So devastating. Hope John feels better very soon, and that everyone tomorrow has the most amazing time!

He should just settle permanently in London. With Trump ruining his home country this is the perfect time to do it.

The way Trump's going, John will be denied entry when he gets back to LA anyway!

Well.....I warned you all. I'm going to scream, but I'll try to keep this fashionable and respectable.

I hope it's OK if I post Mike Mattessino's recent Facebook post here, since there were no pertinent details about the illness other than to comfort us all a little bit -- which we need right now:
 
 

It's also very common to catch illnesses on long-haul flights (in this instance, 12+ hours) because all the oxygen is recycled throughout the cabin, regardless of whether you're in the cockpit or economy. It just takes one jerk who decides to fly with the flu rather than cancel and the whole cabin risks exposure.
 
The reality is we're more susceptible to getting sick as we grow older, because our immune system weakens with age.
 
The important thing is John is exactly where he needs to be to make a full recovery and that's with 24/7 care in a hospital.

Ah, that's a shame.
 
Obviously I'm gutted for everyone who has spent so much money and put so much energy into flying overseas to attend this concert.
 
But I'm also very concerned for John and dearly hope he has a speedy recovery from his ailment. May we all hope it is nothing too serious but simply precautionary. It would be nice to have a little more information because I think we're all a bit unnerved by this news and the lack of clarity around his condition, so hopefully this is a precautionary measure and Williams simply needs time to rest and recover. No doubt he is getting the best care that money can afford in London, and hopefully his close family flew over with him to keep him company.
 
Either way, I'm sure he's absolutely devastated by this turn of events and would not have made this decision lightly. It would be horrible to spend a year planning a working holiday such as this, only to be hospitalised soon after disembarking the plane.

Anyone who wants to cheer themselves up a bit and is in London tonight, I have 1 spare box ticket for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban live in concert, tonight. 
You can have it for free if you buy the beer! 
 
Oh, and I like beer! 
 

No, but at his age, everything is precautionary.
 
From the wording of the announcement in the email, he seems genuinely gutted himself.

Can I just say that we don't know that JW is seriously ill.
 
We only know he is ill and is in hospital. We don't know the nature or severity of the illness.
 
An 86 year old in hospital does not immediately indicate a serious illness.

Just spoken to one of my colleagues in the LSO, who was saying that they don't as yet know the health issue that has occurred, and that they didn't get to rehearse with him, which they'd expected to do yesterday. Will update when more info becomes available, but the orchestra are as shocked as those attending. 

People are allowed to express their disappointment here, and probably don't need to hear that right now.

I remember a few years back when I booked flights from the UK, hotel and tickets etc for Boston and he cancelled. Financially and emotionally destroyed me. I never thought I'd ever take another chance that big again to see him, but in April I took the chance to fly to Chicago, and see him. In hindsight, it was the best decision I ever made.

Well I guess if I only ever drank piss and never thought of trying red wine before, I'd be content with the piss, too.

Yay, there it is! The obligatory "I knew something you guys didn't because I'm special" post from Jason. 

The full unedited performances of "Rescuing Sarah," "Ripples," and "Tranquilizer Dart" are worth the price of the set.  Which is sold out now anyway.

Great film. Good score.

FIRST MAN 
Review by Jerry
 
 
To start, First Man was also the first movie to get me out of the house this year that didn’t take refuge under the Star Wars name. However, it was probably my favorite space adventure yet. Although I the theatres was packed with stereotypical engineering students, old couples looking for a flick, and disgruntled Star Wars fans who still want to fly amongst the stars without having association with Kathleen Kennedy, I thought it was one of the better visits. Prime time on a Saturday evening and the lines were non-existent. Fate was on my side. I sat through way too many commercials and trailers, the sum runtime of which was about a third of the film itself. Oh well, let’s dim the lights and get started. 
 
The film starts off with a frantic scene. Neil Armstrong (Ryan Gosling) is breaking into space on a X-15 jet. The camerawork is no straight and steady La La Land. It’s jittery, quick, constant, and almost unviewable. But yet it captures the suspense better than anything else could. The contrast between those shots and the moment where Neil emerges to sit above the clouds is perfect. His pen floats upward in a surreal nod- he's in space. But what comes up must come down. It’s time for the hard part. 
 
The film does an excellent job of making the audience feel that almost nostalgic space mission feeling. The feeling you get when a crackly intercom cuts in- “Neil, you’re bouncing of the atmosphere.” - is quite enough frightening as it is.  
 
The movie has a lot to do with the personal and family life of the Armstrongs. Their daughter passes away early in the movie due to a tumor, and her passing weighs heavily on the whole family, particularly Neil, throughout the entire film. It’s a very poignant scenario. 
 
There is some slight humor- the theatre gave some laughs when the team of astronauts, shirts stained with vomit from an earlier high-intensity test, must do 605 pages of reading. There are a few other nice moments, adding limited balance to an otherwise morose tale. 
 
The film is very sad, very high-stakes, no shortage of tragedy, but still all part of the grand journey to mankind landing on the moon. Some grim scenes are quite well done (they are able to say everything the need to with out showing everything that happened)- the failed plug-in test of Apollo 1, where a fire quickly sparks and spreads throughout the cramped quarters. The actual height of it is shown from outside, with the hatch bending inwards in a sudden explosion.  
 
As for historical and general accuracy and portrayal of characters, I thought that everything played out very well, with perhaps one moment being a little too Hollywood-evoked (at the same time I am not sure if it is true or not, so it could be real).  
 
For the lack of gravity you’d expect to find, it’s actually quite a heavy film, with oft-silent sullen emotion. Armstrong seems to keep to himself but does have a few moments alone where he is able to get in a few sobs. It’s really quite a moving experience. 
 
 
 
On that note, Justin Hurwitz’s score must be addressed. His riff motif, which is primary in the End Credits and can be easily identified in the OST track Another Egghead, is quite effective, albeit simple. It was very catchy and used mostly in the first half of the film. The family theme, which is pretty much the main theme, is often whirred on the whimsical theremin, whose other worldliness is fitting. Some moments in the score also give a great feeling of the mystery of the unknown in space itself.  
 
The most rousing statement of the main theme is no doubt in the track The Landing- a piece that draws forth so many emotions it was hard to contain myself. I sat with a pensive expression, fingers splayed over my mouth, attempting to hold back the inevitable waterworks. The scene, paired perfectly with the score (of whose power was outstanding in the moment), brought me straight to tears. The achievement of mankind put in the perspective of the one man who made the final step. That’s the idea of the movie. While many lives were lost and many others worked tirelessly to get ahead of the competition in space innovation, we follow the one man who makes the small step, although with a heavy burden, in order to propel humans on Earth beyond what was thought to be possible.  
 
Director Damien Chazelle organizes another bittersweet ending. While Neil may have made the greatest accomplishment in the history of mankind, he still is a human who has felt loss. He touches the glass that separates himself in post-mission quarantine from his wife on the other side. It’s touching but all the while fulfilling. 
 
To wrap things up, it was a very enjoyable film- well-shot, well-acted, and a great story basis. I highly recommend it.
 
CONSENSUS: 4.5/ 5 stars