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Memoirs of a Geisha: Suite for Cello and Orchestra


TownerFan

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On the new issue of FSM Online the following news appeared:

"Sony is preparing Yo-Yo Ma: 30 Years Outside the Box, a box set of every album Ma has ever recorded, including two discs of rare and never before released material (like John Williams’ Memoirs of a Geisha: Suite for Cello and Orchestra, and his recent arrangement of Air and Simple Gifts). The set will also feature a 312-page hardbound book with complete liner notes. For more info, click here."

Let's hope they will release the Suite on a stand-alone CD as well...

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Wow! Looks terrific. Will that Yo-Yo Ma CD with that Williams TV theme be included? (Classic Yo-Yo or something I think.) Not that it matters, I'm afraid this one is out of the budget...

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Not good news. I was hoping that the suite would be released stand-alone with another big Williams work (horn concerto, maybe? as it was premiered by the CSO too...) Every chance has been reduced to zero now...

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Not good news. I was hoping that the suite would be released stand-alone with another big Williams work (horn concerto, maybe? as it was premiered by the CSO too...) Every chance has been reduced to zero now...

You're obviously not thinking outside the box.

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Not good news. I was hoping that the suite would be released stand-alone with another big Williams work (horn concerto, maybe? as it was premiered by the CSO too...) Every chance has been reduced to zero now...

You're obviously not thinking outside the box.

I'm afraid it will be an all Yo-Yo Ma CD, should it happen.

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First off there's already about 50 alternate Sayuri's Theme Concert Version already ,and it's not a great theme by Williams standards. There's not much room left to make it sound any better

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P.S. and by the way...

Its currently $789.00 USD! as pre-ordered from Amazon.com

:P

I think I just threw up in my mouth a little bit.

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Is there a complete cue list yet - not that I'll be buying it at that price.

Williams also recorded an Angela's Ashes suite I think with Yo-yo Ma... wonder if that makes it onto the box set.

Has anyone tried contacting Sony to ask if the Geisha suite will receive a separate release?

Update, I just asked via their contact form. Fingers crossed for an answer.

Here's what I asked:

Hello,

I have a question regarding your upcoming Yo-yo Ma boxset: http://www.yo-yoma.com/news/yo-yo-ma-30-years-outside-the-box-exclusive-fan-details

I have read reports that it contains a new suite from Memoirs of a Geisha by John Williams.

I'm wondering if that suit will receive its own release, ie will it eventually be available separately?

While I am here I believe John Williams recorded a suite from his score to Angela's Ashes several years ago for Sony, also with Yo-yo Ma. Do you have any plans to release that?

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P.S. and by the way...

Its currently $789.00 USD! as pre-ordered from Amazon.com

Yes, but that's only $8.77 per disc. What a bargain...

I can't see how anybody other than the most die-hard Yo-Yo Ma fans would be interested in legitimately buying the set. The die-hard JWFanners here are interested, of course, in obtaining the Williams collaborations in the set, and power to those with the ~$800 to burn.

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Indeed.

I have the Classic Yo-Yo CD that features the Masterpiece Theatre theme and Yo-Yo Ma Plays The Music Of John Williams in both CD & SACD form. And I'm satisfied with the iTunes versions of Geisha and Simple Gifts.

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It looks like cardboard.

Nah, those jewel cases are definately plastic.

If you turn the box on its side...Chello ?!!

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P.S. and by the way...

Its currently $789.00 USD! as pre-ordered from Amazon.com

Yes, but that's only $8.77 per disc. What a bargain...

I can't see how anybody other than the most die-hard Yo-Yo Ma fans would be interested in legitimately buying the set. The die-hard JWFanners here are interested, of course, in obtaining the Williams collaborations in the set, and power to those with the ~$800 to burn.

Good Point. I think 90 of us should get together and chip in $8.77 to purchase the set and we can all own 1 disc. I know which one I want =)

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Wow that's a lot of money! How much of this is never before released music?

I didn't get the impression that there was much new material, more so that it was just a one-stop shop for the catalog along with a nice coffee table book.

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Then I really can't see this thing selling very well. I imagine most of the people who would be willing to dish out 800 dollars for Yo Yo Ma's music would have to be dedicated fans, to the point that they already own a good amount of his music, and I can't see anybody who owns a good amount of his music paying 800 dollars to double dip quite a bit.

Pete, did you get an answer yet?

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Now here is the real question:

If a John Williams box was released with all of his recordings, to include never before released music and complete scores, how many people here would be willing to double dip for the stuff they didn't have?

:pukeface:

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Well, if the unreleased music only spanned 2 CDs and the set cost 800 dollars, I'd say that maybe 10-15 people from this MB would spring for it.

indy4 - who notices the winkey face, but would like to make the point that from his untrained mind, this set seems like a bad idea regardless of the artist

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It's a marketing thing. Every TV series these days gets a complete treatment at the end of its run, yet people still buy the individual seasons. I bought KOTCS knowing I would double-dip when the box set was released.

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But most TV shows or franchises like Indiana Jones are much more known and popular than a mostly classical cellist. And those boxsets usually don't cost more than 40 bucks.

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In all seriousness, I would imagine there will be a target audience that will buy this or else Sony wouldn't have put it together. They must expect to move some among classical fans.

Given how everyone is cutting back these days I doubt they would have thrown an $800.00 box on the market without expecting any returns on it.

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When it's all said and done, who here has not spent more than $800 for 90 discs worth of albums by their favorite artist(s)?

I went to Wikipedia to count the number of movies that John Williams has scored, and it looks like 96, but I know not all of them have had album releases, to the dismay of many. But if you have bought 40 of John Williams' albums, at an average CD price of $20, you have spent $800. I know that many albums cost more than $20, and many were cheaper over iTunes or in the bargain bin.

The difference is that you paid out that $800+ gradually over time, not all at once like this Yo-Yo Ma set. I know I've bought a lot of soundtracks in the last two years from the score labels, and I don't want to think about how much I've paid. It's not close to $800, granted, but I still don't want to count it all up, especially since I've only been collecting since 1995.

I can't think of too many artists who have enough material to warrant a box set of 90 discs. At least, not outside the film score world, where titans like Goldsmith, Steiner, and Morricone have scored dozens upon dozens of films. Even the Rolling Stones don't have 90 albums. I think you'd have to look at people like Tom Jones, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, and some of your long-lived country stars to come close.

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I get scared when I look at my order histories at Varese, Intrada and SAE. :pukeface:

If my wife ever saw the $$$ amounts she would flip.

I think it's just the thought of plopping down $800.00 at one time that gets most people thinking.

Although I've gone on some CD shopping sprees that came to half that amount so it doesn't bug me.

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It's even easier to fall into the credit card and PayPal trap that way. It's not like you withdrew a thousand dollars on Friday, only to find moths flying around in your wallet by Monday morning. You can pretend it's not real money, and spend it more frivolously. Not to say that all this music is frivolous, but when I'm cast out into the street, starving and shivering, they sure won't go good with ketchup.

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Now here is the real question:

If a John Williams box was released with all of his recordings, to include never before released music and complete scores, how many people here would be willing to double dip for the stuff they didn't have?

:)

This is an extremely good question, and one to which I would like say an unequivocal "yes". It does raise the issue, however, of how many times music companies can repackage the same material (regardless of any inclusion of "rare stuff") and get away with it? In this current economic climate (and I'm sorry to reduce everything to a question of money), it seems to me, not a little vulgar to try to sell a bunch of c.d.s for nigh-on what I would estimate to be £600. This is more than some poeple pay for their monthly rent/mortgage. If enough people said "no" to the price, it would, inevitably, come down to a price which more people could afford, thus shifting more units, and making more money for the companies. Having said that, I will willingly admit that I am not a little blinkered when it comes to the subject of the music of Mr. John Williams... There comes a time, however, when, even if I had the money to buy this very appealing, yet imaginary, and no doubt very expensive box-set, could I do so morally? Could I spend my hard-earned on stuff that REALLY matters, like food, shelter, clothing, etc? How far does/can a J.W. fan go to complete his/her collection at the expense of more important, but far more mundane endeavours? Answers on...

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When I talk about buying things in various threads I'm making the assumption that everyone takes care of their priorities first before spending money on luxury items (film scores).

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There comes a time, however, when, even if I had the money to buy this very appealing, yet imaginary, and no doubt very expensive box-set, could I do so morally? Could I spend my hard-earned on stuff that REALLY matters, like food, shelter, clothing, etc? How far does/can a J.W. fan go to complete his/her collection at the expense of more important, but far more mundane endeavours? Answers on...

There's no dilemma here. If I had to starve to death to complete my John Williams collection, I would. Some things are more important than living.

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There comes a time, however, when, even if I had the money to buy this very appealing, yet imaginary, and no doubt very expensive box-set, could I do so morally? Could I spend my hard-earned on stuff that REALLY matters, like food, shelter, clothing, etc? How far does/can a J.W. fan go to complete his/her collection at the expense of more important, but far more mundane endeavours? Answers on...

There's no dilemma here. If I had to starve to death to complete my John Williams collection, I would. Some things are more important than living.

And since you'd be dead already by the time your collection is complete, any fortunate fan could make copies of it and distribute it among lesser aficionados, thus making you a messianic martyr for the cause. That is the attitude.

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When it's all said and done, who here has not spent more than $800 for 90 discs worth of albums by their favorite artist(s)?

I went to Wikipedia to count the number of movies that John Williams has scored, and it looks like 96, but I know not all of them have had album releases, to the dismay of many. But if you have bought 40 of John Williams' albums, at an average CD price of $20, you have spent $800. I know that many albums cost more than $20, and many were cheaper over iTunes or in the bargain bin.

The difference is that you paid out that $800+ gradually over time, not all at once like this Yo-Yo Ma set. I know I've bought a lot of soundtracks in the last two years from the score labels, and I don't want to think about how much I've paid. It's not close to $800, granted, but I still don't want to count it all up, especially since I've only been collecting since 1995.

I can't think of too many artists who have enough material to warrant a box set of 90 discs. At least, not outside the film score world, where titans like Goldsmith, Steiner, and Morricone have scored dozens upon dozens of films. Even the Rolling Stones don't have 90 albums. I think you'd have to look at people like Tom Jones, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, and some of your long-lived country stars to come close.

No...there is another. When we spent the 800 dollars we were not double dipping (well, perhaps a bit, but not nearly as much as the potential for this set). The way I see it, the only people that would be willing to pay 800 dollars for any artist's work would be those that are very dedicated fans. Such dedicated fans are probably going to own a majority of the CDs included in the boxset, and thus most of them probably wouldn't want to pay 800 dollars for a boxset that most of them almost entirely own. I'm sure Sony knows something I don't here, as they have probably thought about all this stuff before deciding to release the set (then again, aren't these the people who won't release an expanded AotC because they think people dislike the actual music of TPM rather than the presentation it recieved in the UE?), I'd just like to figure out what exactly that is.

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