pete

Lost in Space
 
 
 

COMING SOON!
Composer and conductor David Newman returns on The Legacy of John Williams podcast for a special video episode discussing the upcoming concert "A Century Of Film Music," a dazzling program curated by John Williams featuring selections from landmark film scores performed by the LA Phil and conducted by David Newman (on Feb 2, 3 and 4 at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, link below).
The talk will feature an in-depth exploration of the challenges and the opportunities of presenting great film music in concert and how John Williams has been a trailblazer in making film scores widely accepted in the concert hall.
Joining David Newman is film music journalist and author of the upcoming John Williams biography Tim Greiving.
The episode will be available both as video and audio podcast. Get ready for another insightful episode!
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A Century Of Film Music
"John Williams Spotlight" Series
Los Angeles Philharmonic
David Newman, conductor
Diana Newman, soprano
Featuring music by Alfred Newman, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Miklós Rózsa, Franz Waxman, Bernard Herrmann, Alex North, Maurice Jarre, John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, Ennio Morricone, Nino Rota, Thomas Newman, Danny Elfman, Alan Silvestri
February 2, 3 and 4, Walt Disney Concert Hall
Info & tickets: http://laphil.com/.../2024-02-02/a-century-of-film-music
 
https://www.facebook.com/thelegacyofjohnwilliams/posts/pfbid038CNNP4UKKzkpgSrbe6XiUnfJrUdWL1VHFRWFakY7m9uL5me4oYy1Pz3htx3uLUrHl

I think that previous version is the one by The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra -
 

McCreary and his wife Raya just had another baby so I don't blame him for taking it easy during 2023 after the banner year he had in 2022. I'll bet he's also been directing whatever free energies he has towards RoP season 2, and frankly that's what I want him to do. I hope he continues scoring that series solo as he did on season 1 and doesn't start farming out to assistants like he's done on other shows.
 
Whoa I just came across this on Wikipedia:
"Composer Bear McCreary received scripts for the season the day after he completed work on the first season's music. He began composing music for the second season by November 2022, including some that was needed during filming, and expressed excitement at being involved in the season from the beginning and being able to pace out his work better than on the first season."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings:_The_Rings_of_Power_(season_2)
 
Yavar

Yes, with it me it was similar; I was giddy with joy when I discovered this box. It was expensive for a student like me, but for this I treated myself. It was during some free weeks between my diploma and the beginning of my doctorate, so I had plenty of time to listen to it. I also discovered some of the flaws like the suddenly reversed channels in the Boba Fett sequence in Empire, but did not mind much. 

He is crazy witty and charming on these occasions.  My favorite is from the late Mancini tribute when Williams went with the widow.
 
“I was all of 25 years old when Henry invited me to Universal Studios to play in his orchestra for a film session,” he recalled. “And apparently, it went very well, and I began to play with Henry on all of his recording sessions. He frequently had a chorus, and there was a beautiful young girl I kept noticing on session after session. One day I said to one of my musician friends, ‘Who is that fabulous blond girl up in the chorus? The third one in from the left.’ And he said, ‘Forget it. That’s Ginny, and she’s married to Hank.’
“So when Ginny invited me to be her date tonight, after I think 60 years” — Williams savored the pause — “I feel like I have finally made it.”

I know too many cooks spoil the broth, but here's a suggestion anyway: how about adding at least several other Williams releases Mike has worked on as well as links to articles about the Sound of Music release and this NPR piece on Hook. 

 
 

I know too many cooks spoil the broth, but here's a suggestion anyway: how about adding at least several other Williams releases Mike has worked on as well as links to articles about the Sound of Music release and this NPR piece on Hook. 

 
 

It was interesting to see the harp positioned immediately in front of the conductor for the violin concerto, given its prominent role in the work.  It reminded me of those old photos of Max Steiner or Alfred Newman in front of some Hollywood studio orchestra from back in the day.  I have yet to explore the second violin concerto beyond a couple of listens all the way through, but hearing it live certainly whetted my appetite for diving deeper into it.
 
This was my first time seeing Anne-Sophie Mutter play live so it was also my first live experience of any of the pieces which Williams has arranged for her.  I would say that the pieces from The Long Goodbye and Cinderella Liberty worked best for me, possibly because Mutter's style of playing has quite a breathy, flautando quality to it which is not always to my taste but very much suits those two jazzy, vocal pieces.
 
As Tom mentioned above, it seemed a pity that the concert could not have closed with more orchestral Williams, as great a score as Leonard Bernstein's On the Waterfront is.  I felt a little sorry for the horn player who flubbed a couple of notes in his first two solos, although I am not sure most people other than pedantic film music geeks like me would have noticed.  It is amazing to think that John Williams gave the London premiere of his symphony in the same venue more than fifty years ago, with Bernard Herrmann in the audience!
 
I grabbed a few photos for the record.
 

 

 

 

 

Lovely little short. Good heavens Tom is looking his age. But he still sounds magnificent.

Vienna Philharmonic Ball 2024
Press announcement
On January 18, 2024 at 10:00 p.m., the 81st Ball of the Vienna Philharmonic will take place in the halls of the Vienna Musikverein.
Traditionally, the ball is ceremoniously opened by the Vienna Philharmonic in the Great Hall of the Vienna Musikverein. The opening in 2024 will be musically conducted by Philippe Jordan, who will thus make his "ball debut".
The programme of the opening of the ball includes 2 works by Johann Strauss Jr.: the waltz Roses from the South, op. 388, and the Polka Fast Under Thunder and Lightning, op. 324. 100 years ago, the ball of the Vienna Philharmonic took place for the first time. Richard Strauss composed the Vienna Philharmonic Fanfare for the occasion, which can still be heard today at the opening. John Williams also dedicated a ball fanfare to the orchestra last year. His Fanfare for the Vienna Philharmonic Ball will also be heard again.
 
Source:
Press Downloads - Vienna Philharmonic (wienerphilharmoniker.at)
 
Tickets:
81st Vienna Philharmonic Ball - Vienna Philharmonic (wienerphilharmoniker.at)

Lol. Full disclaimer: I am not a sports guy, but am I the only one who finds it kind of tacky and laughable seeing football players (and college ones!) compared to NASA astronauts…? I’m a musician, but I would find it just as cringey seeing a video comparing musicians to astronauts. Anyways, love hearing the theme again, but sometimes I don’t mind forgetting what it was written for. 

The new documentary on Disney Plus "Timeless Heroes: Indiana Jones and Harrison Ford" shows how much fun the actors and Steven had on set. It's really quite touching hearing more about Harrison's relationship with little Key Huy Quan. And there's a little footage from the Dial of Destiny recording sessions with Harrison giving thanks to Williams. I really enjoyed the documentary, and it makes me more excited for the Williams doc.

The new documentary on Disney Plus "Timeless Heroes: Indiana Jones and Harrison Ford" shows how much fun the actors and Steven had on set. It's really quite touching hearing more about Harrison's relationship with little Key Huy Quan. And there's a little footage from the Dial of Destiny recording sessions with Harrison giving thanks to Williams. I really enjoyed the documentary, and it makes me more excited for the Williams doc.

The new documentary on Disney Plus "Timeless Heroes: Indiana Jones and Harrison Ford" shows how much fun the actors and Steven had on set. It's really quite touching hearing more about Harrison's relationship with little Key Huy Quan. And there's a little footage from the Dial of Destiny recording sessions with Harrison giving thanks to Williams. I really enjoyed the documentary, and it makes me more excited for the Williams doc.

No, this was the premier of the arrangement for solo violin and orchestra.
And speaking of the concert, I think the piano trio version of Schindler's List might be my favorite version. I especially love it when the cello and violin play the melody together

The new documentary on Disney Plus "Timeless Heroes: Indiana Jones and Harrison Ford" shows how much fun the actors and Steven had on set. It's really quite touching hearing more about Harrison's relationship with little Key Huy Quan. And there's a little footage from the Dial of Destiny recording sessions with Harrison giving thanks to Williams. I really enjoyed the documentary, and it makes me more excited for the Williams doc.

I remember around 1990 - I was 18 or 19 - spotting for the first time Williams Salute to Hollywood CD. I noticed that it had music from The Witches of Eastwick. I had only been really into Williams music for about a year and it was the first time I'd seen any of that music on CD. So I bought it immediately and I was with a friend who was like "Salute to Hollywood"?  WTF?

I don't like this idea at all. 

I just remembered a memory!  The movie came out very spoon after I started listening to Williams on CD. I went to see a different movie, and Hook was finishing in a different theater as we were entering ours. I remember just being mesmerized by the music I could hear from the open door of that theater. It was I'm sure music from the last part of Farewell Neverland - The Christmasy joyous Mother theme. It had me mesmorized and I remember waiting a little bit before going into my theater so I could hear as much as possible. I think at that point I only had about 4 or 5 Williams CDs, and I got Hook as soon as I saw it in a shop.

That’s exactly what I was thinking! Those Lost in Space scores are such gems. I saw the show as a kid, and listened to the scores about 25 years later, and I was so surprised that the music was so familiar - and not just the two main themes. 

The final performance edit of Hedwig's Theme has 38 intercuts between 14 different takes 

The JW Fannies?

That’s exactly what I was thinking! Those Lost in Space scores are such gems. I saw the show as a kid, and listened to the scores about 25 years later, and I was so surprised that the music was so familiar - and not just the two main themes.