The Best of the London Symphony Orchestra

[Trumpeteer 302]

Listening to a John Williams score in the car the other day, I was amazed by the masterful playing of the London Symphony Orchestra. Great stuff, even though parts of the score were passable.

I won't tell you the score for fear of

My question to you is: which recording has the best LSO performance?

I admit, there may be one or two that I'm not aware of. I made a choice to reflect my idiocy. :oops: And I call myself a JW fan.

[scissorhands 16]

I personally like the Episode I performance.

Well, I would say London Symphony plus London Voices.

They made a good work.

scissorhands - who thinks people won't vote in this poll for the best performance, but for the best score

[King Mark 3,631]

It's Raiders for me.When listening to Star Wars(ANH)original recording,I find that Willliams was still a bit rough around the edges in his conducting(it was his first score with a big orchestra).All major re-recordings of ANH pieces sound way smoother.

K.M.

[RomanticStrings 10]

I voted for another composer. Trevor Jones' score to Crossroads was absolutely brilliant. Actually, i don't remember the score, maybe it was. It was seriously recorded by the LSO, however. I really voted AOTC, but I think that I should have voted TPM. I don't know. I like them both the same. I wish I could vote for both. Oh, well.

~Conor

[Beowulf 4]

Wow great topic!

I voted for Episode I. There's just something about that score that blew me away the first time I heard it. Everything was so crisp and clean, and I actually remember thinking that it sounded very un-Star Wars like just because of that. Also, I think the score itself is brilliant, contrary to what many people on this board falsely believe.

Beowulf - Psyched because he is moving to London next year and will get to listen to the LSO in person!

[Figo 2]

Without going to the CD shelf and pulling down every single LSO disc for comparative listening, I'm voting for Superman, for the very simple reason that the main title is the only one I know which fills me with what American landscape painters used to refer to as a sense of the sublime -- an awesome beauty -- and I mean awesome in the most traditional sense, awe-inspiring, at times downright terrifying. The tension in the LSO performance takes the listener right to the edge of the precipice. It is the best performance of the piece I know, and possibly the most thrilling I have heard on any Williams soundtrack. Screw precision, screw sonics -- for me, this is the one.

[King Mark 3,631]

!

.  Also, I think the score itself is brilliant, contrary to what many people on this board falsely believe.

!

Your not alone

K.M.

[Morn 8]

Without going to the CD shelf and pulling down every single LSO disc for comparative listening, I'm voting for Superman, for the very simple reason that the main title is the only one I know which fills me with what American landscape painters used to refer to as a sense of the sublime -- an awesome beauty -- and I mean awesome in the most traditional sense, awe-inspiring, at times downright terrifying.  The tension in the LSO performance takes the listener right to the edge of the precipice.  It is the best performance of the piece I know, and possibly the most thrilling I have heard on any Williams soundtrack.  Screw precision, screw sonics -- for me, this is the one.

Sometimes the Star Wars theme does that, it depends on ones mood.

[Rogue_Leader 2]

I have no idea. I mean it is hard to discern which orchestra was better. I mean I think most people judge the music based on the melody not the quality of the orchestra. I went with A New Hope. I always liked the performance ALOT on that one.

[Ricard 2,245]

It's Raiders for me.

For me too.

When listening to Star Wars(ANH)original recording,I find that Willliams was still a bit rough around the edges in his conducting(it was his first score with a big orchestra).All major re-recordings of ANH pieces sound way smoother.

I totally agree.

[Morn 8]

I like rough.

[Markuz 0]

Although I like Williams LSO-coorperations and their results very much, "Cutthtroat Island" is still the score with the best LSO and Londoner Voices performance :oops: ...

Best Regards

Markus

[Morn 8]

[The Five Tones 302]

Like Figo said, I don't care about sonics. TPM was clean and crisp but soulless (except for Duel of the Orfflings, nice cut). And KM, I think your issue with ANH must in essence be with the sonics (which weren't great on the original recording). Come on, is "The Last Battle" rough around the edges conducting wise? Is "Princess Leia's Theme", "The Throne Room"? I think I have to call you on that, my fellow Canuck!

For me, the best performance is TESB. "The Battle of Hoth", "The Asteroid Field", "The Imperial March", it doesn't get any better than this. The LSO were a mighty fierce beast on those dates in 1979/80 -- the tuning, the blending, the resonance, the kineticism, the chromoluminescence (sorry, made that word up), the power!! Plus, JW had already worked with them on four other scores already, among other things. They were working so unbelievably well together.

Listen to "The Clash of Lightsabres/Rescue from Cloud City/Hyperspace/Rebel Fleet/End Titles;" it is truly opera without words, this final act of the score evokes nearly the full gamut of emotions (in the SW world anyway) and leaves me speechless each and every time. Those last accents -- the four notes of Vader's Theme -- no orchestra in the world could hit it like that, and I would venture no JW/LSO collaboration ever hit it like that again. Raiders was just slightly less magical.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

[Trumpeteer 302]

I can finally come out of the closet ..... my favorite LSO performance also was Episode I. The way the chorus and orchestra worked together and in, um, symphony, was truly masterful. And I'm not just talking about Duel of the Fates. Plus, I believe this score truly required each orchestra section to truly listen to each other, as the score moved from section to section rather quickly.

[MAG-SI 10]

Come on! Episode V just doesn't have the best LSO performance! This is (for me) the only reason why I don't like the SW 4,5,6 so much! Episode I has the BEST performance, and even AOTC couldn't beat that!

[Morn 8]

Episode 1 performance is lacking in soul.

[Miguel Andrade 1,275]

Episode V for me (he beats Raiders only by a nose...)

I don't find any problem with Williams conducting in ANH. I think the problem is in fact with the sonics.

And I've only considered the Williams listed recordings -- The LSO is known to be the most recorded orchestra ever! So just say that any of this few scores is the best recording they've made is maybe like saying Williams is the best conductor ever....

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Voted for the last option, The LSO's best work (that I have heard ) is Cuttroath Island and Braveheart.

Stefancos-

[tpigeon 3]

i voted for Episode I. this poll should have nothing to do with the quality of the music, but rather the performance of it. and in that case, i think Episode I is the best. i am amazed by it every time i hear it.

[Morn 8]

Why are you amazed?

[Rogue_Leader 2]

Episode 1 performance is lacking in soul.

In more ways than one!

[Morn 8]

I like the score.

[Rogue_Leader 2]

I wasn't talking about the score!