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Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone In Concert Oulu Sinfonia, 3rd of March, Oulu Finland A Review by Mikko Ojala Film music fans are living in an exciting era right now as more and more of the famous and beloved scores from equally popular films are making a transition to the concert halls around the world via the live projection/in concert tours where the full film score is performed live to the movie. While such an event might be a hard sell for a wider audiences if there were just 2+ straight hours of music on its own, the combination of film and music makes it a more marketable premise, which has been a growing trend for a decade now and a really welcome boon for film music enthusists around the globe. Entire franchises are now being presented this way and Harry Potter In Concert tour which will eventually span the entire eight film saga is making rounds of performances around the world. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (or Sorcerer’s Stone to the North American fans) is now touring in several countries across Europe and two such sold-out concerts performed by the Oulu Sinfonia orchestra conducted by John Jesensky took place in Oulu Finland on 2nd and 3rd of March 2017 at the Madetoja Concert Hall packed full of excited fans of Harry Potter and John Williams. I had the privilege of attending the second night and it was nothing short of spectacular. I feel that John Williams’ colorful scores are essentially tailor made for such a concert setting. They employ the full register of a symphonic ensemble with a wide array of percussion and choice synthesizers to complement the standard orchestral roster. More over the scores are intricately orchestrated and thematically expansive and follow the narrative of the film from start to finish, which makes them ideal in a symphonic setting as they are akin to an opera without a libretto to paraphrase composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s analogy of his own balletic films scores. Williams’ scores might feel to some people like an oversaturation of sound and almost a distraction in their exuberance but in a concert hall the lengthy soundtrack like Philosopher’s Stone came to life in an electrifying way and with nearly wall-to-wall musical presentation left no dead spots of lengthy silences between pieces and flowed very naturally from one cue to the next akin to a regular symphonic concert. The audience was highly enthusiastic throughout and actually was encouraged by the conductor at the start of the concert to applaud and cheer their favourite moments, characters and pieces of music. And they did, admittedly sometimes to the detriment of the music as the whistling and excited clapping drowned out a few moments of Williams’ score. I know this is supposed to be something of an event but I personally went to enjoy the music rather than to make huge giddy noises at every appearance of a well-known actor but all in all it was a minor inconvenience and it was nice to see people enjoying the music and the film so much. For the usually reserved Finns this was a surprisingly strong reaction which speaks volumes of the fondness people feel towards this movie and its music. On a more technical note the In Concert series follows the music of the final film very closely, including replications of tracking (e.g. Entry to Great Hall music is used for the Diagon Alley introduction) and not restoring unused passages of music (like parts of the cue You’re a Wizard, Harry for Hagrid’s initial revelation) but in this case the transitions were seamlessly handled and luckily such interferences with the music are kept to a minimum in the original film without heavy handed editing or cutting of the score. I thought that the mix of the sound effects and dialogue was very well balanced in the hall so that the music received its undisputed spotlight as the main event of the evening and boy did it deliver. From my seat in the middle of the hall I had a great vantage point over the entire orchestra and the big movie screen behind them and I have to admit that at times I was so lost in the whole experience I forgot to pay attention to the orchestra and the music. The reason was simply that they played so perfectly and in-sync with the film that the music just flowed seamlessly with the picture to form a complete experience. And the music truly filled the 800 seat concert hall to the brim as the acoustics of the Madetoja Concert Hall are rather excellent and it was a true thrill to hear the whole venue ring with the sheer orchestral thunder of Williams’ most exciting setpieces like the in turn rousingly heroic and kinetically tense The Quidditch Match, the menacingly marching and percussively brilliant The Chess Game sequence and the malevolently slithering and booming The Face of Voldemort finale. But it was not only the loudest parts that impressed me as the softer and delicate moments throughout shone thanks to the deft and sensitive playing of the orchestra members, e.g. the magical Harry Gets His Wand and the wonderfully ethereal and soothing Dumbledore’s Advice voicing the old wizard’s wisdom or the sleepily serenading harp solo of Fluffy’s Harp. For a keen fan of Williams’ music the evening was full of musical highlights. A live performance really breathes a life and energy of its own into the music as the orchestra responds to the mood and excitement of the audience and there was a tangible feeling of high spirits in the air. I concede that there is that certain Max Steiner spirit to the score’s technically admirable and intricate connection to the physical action down to the minute physical detail of Mickey Mousing swish and flick but what is more important is the emotional atmosphere this music creates. From those opening swirling notes that underscore Warner Bros logo to the last giddily triumphant blast of Hedwig’s theme in the end credits the audience held under the enchantment of Williams’ writing that so openly speaks to the heart and imagination. And with a highly thematic score like this it feels like you wouldn’t really need the visuals to be able to follow the story as the music is so expressive, so balletic and so clear in its narrative intentions that it paints the events with an aural ease that still impresses me after all these years. Hedwig’s theme rules supreme over the proceedings in the first score as Williams presents it in countless variations throughout, in a way equating the melody and its airy orchestrations with magic, the theme a trigger for wonder and marvels about to unfold. And though there might be some repetition in this process, music conditioning as it were, there is a reason this theme has become the signature tune of the whole franchise, so well it captures the very essence of Harry Potter’s world and the sheer feeling of magic and mischief. And besides the main theme the score is a treasure trove of musical ideas large and small that all add their combined splashes of colour and texture to the whole and enhance their respective story elements from the weightless whirls of flight to the rumbling motifs for the main villain. One of the rare pleasurable opportunities these events allow for the audience is to see and hear in front of their eyes the connection between the image and the sound in more depth, enhanced by the fact that the music is brought to the foreground. This highlighted some aspects of this score even for me, a seasoned Williams fan, who has heard the music countless times before. Now I could more clearly than ever feel that gradual progression from the opening half full of Hedwig’s theme towards the second half of the film as the music becomes slowly more diverse and gathers darker colours to it for the dramatic final scenes before drawing the musical story to a tenderly cathartic “And they lived happily ever after” denouement of Leaving Hogwarts. It might be a textbook case of how to score such a film but it worked wonders, further enhanced by the live performance's energy. Also an observation I made during the concert is that apart from the celesta (played on synthesizer as per Williams’ original intentions for the singular celesta sound he developed with the piano player Randy Kerber for the first film) there are no really prominent soloist moments in this score and even though there certainly are solo moments they blend very much to the orchestral tapestry. All orchestral sections do get their workout at some point or another whether woodwinds, strings or brass but in comparison this music is rather closer to Star Wars and Jurassic Park than Memoirs of a Geisha or Schindler’s List in the way such elements are handled. The playing of the whole ensemble was exemplary on Friday night with particular praise going to the keyboard player whose numerous celesta solos were flowing and flawless and to the stalwart brass section which in typical Williams fashion had a lot of breathless music to play and came through with flying colours. And after the end credits had finished I could not help but to start a well-deserved standing ovation to them for delivering to us this memorable evening. As I was walking out of the hall after the emotionally intense two-and-a-half hours of music I was thinking how lucky we film music fans are to be living in times like these. Although I have seen such live projection events before and knew what to expect, hearing the music of my favourite composer performed live to the film was simply a magical, inspiring and unforgettable experience that made me more than a bit giddy when I was stomping my foot to the tune of Williams’ music or smiling and nodding approvingly to a particularly finely performed passage. Truly a night to remember. Now bring on the rest of the music from this series! -Mikko Ojala-

Hi, I posted last year of wanting to get John Williams' autograph so much to hang on my wall. I was even willing to travel to get him. Well, I'm so excited that he is finally coming where I live (Seattle)! I was able to get tickets which is awesome! Pretty close too. Row 11. I've never been to Benaroya hall before (I've seen it passing by many times). But I'm wondering what the odds are that he would sign one autograph for me? I'm not sure where they go in or out at Benaroya, but I'll try to find out. That would be amazing! Thanks!

So I thought that I would share this story with everyone about the time I almost meet John Williams. I have always wanted to meet John Williams.(and I'm sure a lot of people here on this site would like to as well) And seem to never be able to catch him at his performances. Yes, I know that there is an address that I can use to mail to him. But that wouldn't be the same as meet Mr.Williams in person. I had to do a lot of interneting but I found my golden ticket. Now finding him was all figured out. The main reason I had this idea to find him was because I was going to California for Spring Break, and Mr Williams just so happens to live in Los Angeles. After sitting 2 hours in traffic the big moment had arrived. I pulled up next to his house, got out, and walked up to the door. With me was a letter and a copy of The Force Awakens I was hoping he would sign. I pushed the door bell and waited about five minutes. When the door finally opened a sweet little old lady opened the door just enough so she could see me.(as we talked she opened the door gradually) She eventually told me that Mr.Williams was at his house in Santa Barbra and that she could not give him my letter. So I was very bummed that I didn't meet him. But I kind of knew that in the back of my mind. But I got to go to his house, and that's probably the only Star Tour I would want to go on. *picture is of Mr.Williams house*

Does anyone have a pdf copy of the book thief piano solo songbook? Also other sheet music or scores by John Williams?

Both of Williams/ 1975 scores were for Universal Pictures - The Eiger Sanction for Clint Eastwood and Jaws for Steven Spielberg. Both films and both scores were successful, particularly Jaws - the film basically created the summer blockbuster, and put both Spielberg and Williams on the map and in demand for the next 40 years and counting, while the LP was a huge success, selling millions of copies and winning Williams and Universal a Grammy for "Album of Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special" So you would think that the next several scores Williams did would all get LP releases, right? But they didn't! In 1976, he scored two more pictures for Universal - Family Plot (for Alfred Hitchcock) and Midway (a big WW2 movie). Why wouldn't Universal have wanted to release LPs for these scores, especially since Jaws just won them a grammy? (His third 1976 score was The Missouri Breaks for United Artists, and they happily gave that film's score a nice LP release at the time of the film's release.) Luckily by 1977 all would be right in the world - Sure, Black Sunday didn't get an LP, but both Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind did - and were as big or bigger successes than Jaws, and every single film Williams has scored since has had an OST release at the time of the film's release since (with the sole exception of HeartBeeps in 1982). But what was Universal thinking by not giving Family Plot and Midway LP releases in 1976 after the smashing success of Jaws? Does anybody here who is old enough to have already been into John Williams at the time remember what it was like to go out and see Family Plot and Midway and then not be able to buy their scores?

If you could pick only one John Williams soundtrack and only one for the recording sessions to be sold complete commercially which would it be? The release would contain all takes with all the different alternates and orchestrations. I am curious to see which you guys would pick. Mine personally would have to be Close Encounters of the Third Kind because how much I love it.

This is a question that I keep coming back to with the Star Wars sequel trilogy: Will John WIlliams ever record another Star Wars score with the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) again? While I enjoyed the score for The Force Awakens, I couldn't help but notice that there was just something different about it or missing. Part of it could have been the recording techniques, digital vs. analog, or a host of different variables, but one element I feel that supersedes all of that was the absence of the LSO. Yes, the musicians used to record the score on The Force Awakens I'm sure are world class and likely some of the best in the world, but there is something to be said when comparing a group of musicians that have been put together in a very short amount of time with very little time playing together as a group to record a film score, as opposed to a world class orchestra that has been playing together for years. I also realize that even the musicians in the LSO change over the years, but as a unit, I would bet they have spent much more time playing together than any group of musicians put together to perform on one film score. For me personally, I felt that overall, The Force Awakens score was amazing and the playing was good, but I felt that the cohesion and crispness experienced with the LSO at least on the prequel scores, was lacking. I just wanted to get everyone's opinion on this. With the recent news that Williams will be recording the score for Episode VIII on and off now and into early next year, does this signal Williams official departure from the LSO on Star Wars? Do you think we'll ever get another Star Wars score composed and conducted by John Williams with the London Symphony Orchestra? Fingers crossed, I'm hoping we get just one more with the LSO, but of course, I am thankful that we still have John to bless us with new material for Star Wars regardless.

http://www.insidethemagic.net/2016/02/star-wars-in-concert-to-return-in-2016-to-a-city-near-you/

http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/leisure/national/11809760.Mark_Rylance_and_Steven_Spielberg_to_do_The_BFG_justice/ The film is currently set to open July 1, 2016

Schindler's List Review of the Soundtrack Album by Mikko Ojala This was my first CD (along with The Lost World:Jurassic Park) back in the late 1990's and I have listened to it countless of times but the hushed respectful melodicism and on the other hand the raw emotion distilled by Williams into this singular work still makes my heart ache from the grief inherent in the music but also because of its sheer exquisite beauty. Itzhak Perlman's contribution as the solitary voice in the wilderness is immense as he conjures such sensitivity to his violin solos that range from anguish to solace, from sheer cold terror to heart warming pathos in a way it is hard to imagine Williams' music without it. No other soloist has ever come close to encapsulating the emotions of this music in such raw and refined way although the suite has been recorded countless times by many fine artists. Apart from the famous main theme and the secondary theme titled Remembrances that are most often mentioned by people for a good reason as much of the central pieces are built around these two wonderful sorrowful melodies, but the rest of the score is just as full of both cinematic and emotional power. Immolation is like a pained cry of dying souls, full of anguish and mourning, the cries of the chorus "With our lives we give life" in Hebrew haunting and terrifying at the same time. Schindler's Workforce is both suspenseful in its conspiratorial mood and every so subtly comedic as it underscores the understated defiance of Stern and the people he hires for Schindler's factory to save their lives in the film and contains superbly done allusions to Jewish musical idiom both in melody and orchestrations, the jauntily plodding rhythm effectively pacing the scene from start to finish and it works just as well on the album. There is heart breaking fragility to Stolen Memories where chorus softly laments the loss of not only lives but history as well, cruelly taken from these people and Making the List ebbs and flows full of meaning and dramatic significance, at times doom laden at times quietly triumphant in the best Williams fashion with great interplay with the main themes and really is one of the things people should be mentioning about this score as a highlight among highlights. I do not know what part of his soul Williams pulled some of this music from as it seems to come out of nowhere when looking back at his career. To me Auschwitz-Birkenau is probably some of the scariest music he has ever written, Perlman's solo is so malevolent, so cold and cruel it rends your innards with fear and lurching feeling of dread, especially when accompanied by the hellish churning, groaning lower reaches of the orchestra that thunder underneath. Jewish Town (Krakow Ghetto - Winter '41), a concert staple by now, is another completely unexpected piece which has such feeling of time and place and Jewish character to it, the suffering and perseverance but also such elegant beauty with Perlman's voice taking the narrative lead through the piece with the winding violin solo. Williams employs not only Perlman but also a famed Klezmer clarinetist Giora Feidman on the soundtrack for a brief part as he makes an appearance in the simply mesmerizing Oyfn Pripetshok and Nacht Aktion where after a children's chorus intones a Jiddish song by M.M. Warshawsky Feidman's smoky and exotic solo part over a droning background has a brilliant almost hypnotic quality to it. Give Me Your Names on the other hand is the soothing balm with gorgeous violin solo that weaves around the orchestra so full of comforting emotion as Williams combines main theme and Remembrances into one elegant whole. I Could Have Done More comes at midpoint through the album but is actually the emotional finale which starts quietly but turns into an emotional showcase for Perlman as the composer wrings every ounce of feeling from the orchestra and the soloist for this denouement where the main theme receives its most extensive and perhaps most resonant performances, the violin almost weeping at the end. And what could be a better finale for the album than the quiet small piano refrain of the main theme in Theme from Schindler's List (Reprise) that ends the experience on a tender but thoughtful note. The film is sparsely spotted but the album running little over 60 minutes is a perfect encapsulation of the score and again reminded me why, even though it is such a beautiful piece of music, I don't listen to it very often. It is because the score is such an emotionally taxing experience and the years seem not to have diminished its power over me. It is and will forever remain a classic to me and one of the lasting musical testimonies of the genius of John Williams.

Moochin About Records has been releasing a series of jazz collections showcasing jazz music used in films, not compilations of jazz pieces used in movies, but scores specifically composed by jazz musicians and film composers alike for movies and TV series. Jazz On Film...Crime Jazz features scores from various TV shows from 1950s and 60s in the style that has become called "crime jazz" which was the mode of the day to express the dark, gritty and suspenseful world of these detective shows and thrillers. What makes this 8 CD compilation especially interesting to John Williams fans is that it features music from Checkmate (the original LP programme already previously released by FSM) and M-Squad (this album has 3 selections composed by Williams) but there are other quite familiar composers among the people featured here like Henry Mancini, George Dunning and Elmer Bernstein. Here are the scores presented on this compilation. 77 Sunset Strip Warren Barker Hawaiian Eye Warren Barker M~Squad Stanley Wilson Staccato Elmer Bernstein Mikey Spillanes Mike Hammer Stan Purdy Orchestra Music From Mike Hammer Skip Martin Checkmate Johnny Williams Shotgun Slade Stanley Wilson Orchestra Peter Gunn Henry Mancini Mr Lucky & Mr Lucky Goes Latin Henry Mancini The Naked City George Dunning The Untouchables Nelson Riddle Richard Diamond Pete Rugolo Bourbon St Beat Don Ralke

There's been discussion of this piece scattered in various threads, and I figured it was prime time it got its own thread to increase visibility of this piece Here are two performances of it on Youtube, anyone know of any others?

Wow, chorus galore.

Hi everyone I am interested in seeing what peoples favorite moment of John Williams work that was more dark or scary rather than happy or upbeat.

Does anyone here know if there was ever a piano book that had any of the music from Williams's Spacecamp? I'm looking to starting up piano lessons again.

Hey guys, I found this on Star Wars reddit but the video was summarily taken down by Disney so I've uploaded it on my dropbox. Its basically a 10 minute long video showing Before and After of compositing and CGI addition but it features many clips from the movie with full uninterrupted audio. I don't know if its possible to rip some parts that haven't been released but at least we can listen. I believe one of the members talked about a timpani roll that he really liked during the Falcon crashing through the trees on Starkiller Base? That's a clip in here but I'm not sure exactly when that musical part plays. Even though there was quite a lot of CGI in the end oh my god is it absolutely breathtaking. I love the X-Wing fighting scenes because there's these wonderful dynamic shots like a go-pro has been attached to the side of the X-wing haha. Without further audieu, enjoy! https://www.dropbox.com/s/tj1p2csteojemtx/VFX%20Before%20and%20After%20in%20Star%20Wars%20The%20Force%20Awakens.mp4?dl=0

... and you are allowed one CD. Assuming you choose a JW soundtrack, which one, and why? (You cannot mix your own CD).

Just found out info regarding May's Boston concerts: http://groupevents.bostonpops.org/uploads/files/home/16POPS-brochure.pdf JOHN WILLIAMS’ FILM NIGHT John Williams & Keith Lockhart, conductors Thursday May 12, 8pm Friday May 13, 8pm Boston Pops Laureate Conductor John Williams shares the podium with Boston Pops Conductor Keith Lockhart for this signature concert. The brilliant composer and conductor behind films including Jaws, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and the Harry Potter series, brings you a night of some of the most memorable movie music film clips of all time. This is a concert not to be missed! As stated elsewhere here, tickets should go on sale on February 22nd 2016 16POPS-brochure.pdf

Hi! I have lurked here from time to time but the level erudite scholarship here has been so high that I never really had anything to contribute! But maybe now I have something? In the past I've written several blogs about music and other things (Beethoven, Stockhausen, anime, etc...) but my new blog project is to describe film action during soundtrack cues - I feel that this helps me enjoy the music (especially if the film itself is kind of fuzzy). There was an interview with Bernard Herrmann where he characterized the film's non-score elements (dialogue, visuals, sound design) to be the "melody" and the underlying score to be the "accompaniment" - a bit of a rough understatement, but it's an interesting viewpoint. Anyways, I just finished write-ups on Ep IV and V (with a good bit of corrections from the SE Mike Matessino notes). I see that Faleel has a fantastic thread breaking down the thematic material, and my posts aren't nearly that detailed (and are probably in need of a revision one day soon), but maybe these will be interesting to some parties. I'll be doing Ep VI very soon... My blog - called "Cue by Cue" can be found here http://cuebycue.blogspot.com/ I'll be the first to say that it's not cutting edge journal-level musicology, but I think it's presented in a fairly easy-to-read way - I hope! So far I've done Herrmann's "The Day the Earth Stood Still" and JW's 1st 2 SW films. Enjoy Star Wars direct link: http://cuebycue.blogspot.com/2016/01/star-wars-1977-williams.html Empire direct link: http://cuebycue.blogspot.com/2016/01/the-empire-strikes-back-1980-williams.html

Hello everyone, Being a fan of Star Wars since I was a kid, I couldn’t have been more excited at the idea of a new trilogy. I went to see Star Wars: Episode VII and was not disappointed. The only thing missing for me was this: The music for the big bad Kylo Ren was lacking. I went online to see if he had some sort of official theme and he did, but it wasn't really representative. Looking back at the original trilogy, I found this surprising because the theme music for Darth Vader, The Imperial March, is impossible to forget. Kylo Ren being so closely related to Vader, I decided to challenge myself to create a narrative anti-hero theme composition for Kylo Ren :

I wanted to share this: While browsing JWPepper I came across this! http://www.jwpepper.com/Star-Wars---The-Force-Awakens-%28Suite-for-Orchestra%29/10564985.item#.VnqHOcuIZFs The prices seem to check out in relation to all the other SE Star Wars Suites and no arranger is mentioned. However, when I went to the Hal Leonard site I saw nothing about this anywhere. But could this me a suite to TFA is coming soon? Also, JW has this listed as well. http://www.jwpepper.com/Family-Portrait/5970966.item#.VnqJQ8uIZFs

It was Scherzo for X-Wings! https://www.facebook.com/jbrausam/videos/10205368522355737/

I listened to the Minority Report OST for the umpteenth time today and when I got to "A New Beginning," the end titles cue, I realized that this is probably my favorite end credits cue from any Williams score. It's an absolutely fucking gorgeous piece of music that's become one of my favorite Williams tracks period. What's your favorite end titles cue from a Williams score?

Inside look at the making of the score! EDIT: Who made my post its own thread? Not complaining, we just have so many TFA threads already. Okay then. haha