Sharkissimo 1,976 Posted February 16, 2015 Posted February 16, 2015 How do you feel about the album Sharky? Enjoying it all?I love the Williams/Davis/Broughton/Desplat pieces. Will need more time to deliver a verdict.Dare to listen to it!I'm not musically educated, so i cant tell when something is atonal. Please just answer my questionIt is atonal, like most of Williams's other concert pieces.
KK 3,310 Posted February 16, 2015 Posted February 16, 2015 Played this today.I was surprisingly taken by Broughton's work, especially the 4th movement/piece.The highlights of this album are the works from Broughton, Davis, Desplat and Williams. Davis and Williams delivered in aces as I expected, but Desplat was a pleasant surprise. It's a more accessible harmonic palette than the other pieces on this album, but those Debussy-ian harmonies really get to you. I wish we could hear the whole thing.Giacchino's piece was better than I expected. But again, it takes a lot after his film voice and is just not as intersting as the other works. Newman's piece is alright, but I don't see myself revisiting it very often.
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 11,285 Posted February 16, 2015 Posted February 16, 2015 I don't think you'll like it Steef.Why not? I like plenty of his concertworks
Tom 6,066 Posted February 16, 2015 Posted February 16, 2015 I have no musical training and enjoy Williams's film music over his more atonal concert pieces. However, I find the latter engaging in their own right, particularly the concertos. I like, but do not love, Conversations. The movement that I like the most is the last piece which captures the birth of stride. It is nice but leaves me wanting a fully-developed stride piece. Interestingly, I like much more the scherzo for piano and orchestra, even though the piano idiom is similar to these pieces. Perhaps it is the more tonal orchestral aspect that enhances my appreciation. I remain hopeful that the scherzo turns out to be a movement to a larger concerto. Either way, I find it touching that Williams is returning to his "home" instrument in his later years.
Code 000. Destruct. 0. 4,261 Posted February 17, 2015 Posted February 17, 2015 I don't think you'll like it Steef.Why not? I like plenty of his concertworksThis one is particularly thorny though, and in the exposed medium of a solo piano, it's even tougher.Give it a shot though. Hope I'm wrong.
Incanus 5,882 Posted February 19, 2015 Posted February 19, 2015 I am half way through my first listen (the album arrived today) and I am really liking what I am hearing.The inspirations behind Williams's Conversations seem to have been surprisingly dramatic and contain a series of imaginary narratives (as he so wonderfully describes in the liner notes with his usual eloquence) but he translates it in a less readily accessible form in the music yet it is no less compelling work for its apparent lack of hummability.The liner notes are very lovely, although I only half understood Don Davis's, perhaps intentionally convoluted note on his piece Surface Tension (a great piece btw.). Great photos of the composers and Cheng throughout as well. A wonderful release all around.
BLUMENKOHL 1,088 Posted February 19, 2015 Posted February 19, 2015 Never have so many talented people come together to produce so dull an album as this. The liner notes were interesting though!
Incanus 5,882 Posted February 19, 2015 Posted February 19, 2015 Never have so many talented people come together to produce so dull an album as this. The liner notes were interesting though!That's the spirit! Try to find some good in everything Blume! Or should I call you Bluhr now?
BLUMENKOHL 1,088 Posted February 19, 2015 Posted February 19, 2015 To be absolutely fair, the performance and the recording quality is a bit...meh, and I know how important performance can be to actually appreciating more technical exercises like this.
Incanus 5,882 Posted February 19, 2015 Posted February 19, 2015 To be absolutely fair, the performance and the recording quality is a bit...meh, and I know how important performance can be to actually appreciating more technical exercises like this.Hey Randy is laying in Hollywood sugar thick and fast! I agree on the recording though. I would prefer some more resounding acoustics.
A24 4,933 Posted February 19, 2015 Posted February 19, 2015 While most solo piano classical recordings sound very roomy or hally, I like a recording of a piano to be 'close miked' (or the perspective of the player). What's the deal with Conversations?
Code 000. Destruct. 0. 4,261 Posted February 19, 2015 Posted February 19, 2015 I like the way this album is recorded. Suits the music well. What do you mean by "the deal" Alex?
Jay 43,953 Posted February 19, 2015 Posted February 19, 2015 He's asking if Conversations is close-miced or has a roomy feel.
BLUMENKOHL 1,088 Posted February 19, 2015 Posted February 19, 2015 But everything sounds hollowed out and bloated, so it sounds roomier than it actually is. The effect is you lose the low end loses oomph and the high end of the piano loses it's sparkle.
Code 000. Destruct. 0. 4,261 Posted February 19, 2015 Posted February 19, 2015 Questionable mic placement.
Sharkissimo 1,976 Posted February 20, 2015 Posted February 20, 2015 Questionable mic placement.Phase cancellation due to breaking the 3:1 rule, or maybe poor choice of mics (a pair of large rather than small diaphragm condensers)?Re: miking distances - for angular and pointillistic pieces I prefer close miking, but if we're talking about lots of pedal work and a 'carpet of notes' - then room mics are more appropriate.
BLUMENKOHL 1,088 Posted February 20, 2015 Posted February 20, 2015 Kept reading that as "milking" It sounds fine. Good god! You really have no standards! God damned relativist!
Code 000. Destruct. 0. 4,261 Posted February 20, 2015 Posted February 20, 2015 When it comes to recording a solo piano there's close and there's close. This disc is pretty average classical close. People's ears are probably used to cinematic close with the mics actually in the piano.
Sharkissimo 1,976 Posted February 20, 2015 Posted February 20, 2015 When it comes to recording a solo piano there's close and there's close. This disc is pretty average classical close. People's ears are probably used to cinematic close with the mics actually in the piano.That's probably it. I've never really liked classical recording norms anyway. Everything's too live. It's like the Steve Albini school of production.
Incanus 5,882 Posted February 20, 2015 Posted February 20, 2015 When it comes to recording a solo piano there's close and there's close. This disc is pretty average classical close. People's ears are probably used to cinematic close with the mics actually in the piano.That's probably it. I've never really liked classical recording norms anyway. Everything's too live. It's like the Steve Albini school of production.Who is Steve Albini and what does he do?
Sharkissimo 1,976 Posted February 20, 2015 Posted February 20, 2015 When it comes to recording a solo piano there's close and there's close. This disc is pretty average classical close. People's ears are probably used to cinematic close with the mics actually in the piano.That's probably it. I've never really liked classical recording norms anyway. Everything's too live. It's like the Steve Albini school of production.Who is Steve Albini and what does he do?He's a record producer, famous for his stripped-down, live, 'band in the your room' aesthetic.
Incanus 5,882 Posted February 20, 2015 Posted February 20, 2015 Ah OK. Thank you for the clarification. I'll be sure check out those videos when I get back from work.
indy4 160 Posted February 21, 2015 Posted February 21, 2015 I was lucky enough to attend the concert for this last night. Really great event. Unfortunately JW wasn't able to make it - Gloria said he was "busy writing Star Wars 7" or something to that effect. Neither was Desplat, whose arriving Saturday for the Oscars. But all the other composers were there, and they very graciously met with all the fans.We also saw the premiere of the (rough cut) of the video. It's about 30-40 minutes long, and a really cool look into the process. Incanus 1
indy4 160 Posted March 15, 2015 Posted March 15, 2015 Photo from the concert: https://www.facebook.com/MontageFilmComposers/photos/a.311226809044672.1073741828.308140492686637/435130083321010/?type=1¬if_t=like
Thor 9,323 Posted March 16, 2015 Posted March 16, 2015 After some back and forth, I finally decided to just download the Williams piece from iTunes -- not the other ones, and not the physical CD. Too expensive.Well, I must admit that I find it totally underwhelming so far. Very abstract and not really much depth. It's a bit like that piano piece he wrote for Lang Lang. It's a bit frustrating to me that when he FINALLY decides to write for his main instrument, it's wildly avantgarde. I would have preferred something a bit more tonal. But that's me. Maybe it will grow on me after a few more listens. I'm glad it's been released, at least.
Code 000. Destruct. 0. 4,261 Posted March 16, 2015 Posted March 16, 2015 Not much depth. Not much depth?Only on JWFan.
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 11,285 Posted March 16, 2015 Posted March 16, 2015 Oi!Thor is not JWfan! Sharkissimo 1
BLUMENKOHL 1,088 Posted March 16, 2015 Posted March 16, 2015 Not much depth. Not much depth?Only on JWFan.Only on JWFan can a member be all "music be in the eye of the beholder" AND "No depth? it clearly has depth! Only on JWFan!"
BLUMENKOHL 1,088 Posted March 16, 2015 Posted March 16, 2015 Yes, you moron!I hate to say it...but you fit in here with us. You fit in well.
Koray Savas 2,255 Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 I think Pilgrim was the last new member that actually stuck around.
Incanus 5,882 Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 I actually like Conversations (and many other the pieces on the album) more and more the more I listen to it. It takes a bit of time to hear the architecture and structure in Williams's piece in particular.
Marcus 395 Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 Feeling the urge to chime in: I found "Conversations" to be easily the strongest piece on the album, and the most profound, both structurally and musically. It's just really, really gorgeous, poetic piano writing, with a great sense of color. Loving the harmonic writing, and the subtle inflections of the "jazz history by twilight" the piece seems to offer.
Maurizio 6,357 Posted March 20, 2015 Posted March 20, 2015 It's a very "private" piece imho, almost introverted in nature, showing a side rarely heard of the composer. Williams seems more interested in exploring "ghostly" atmospheres and the percussive nature of the instrument than going for more traditional tonal routes. It's a four-part collection of wistful impressions, almost like a water-colored painting of abstract nature. It took me several listens to fully get into it, but it surely repaid me of the effort. In this sense, I think it's very closely related to "Three Pieces for Solo Cello" and "Rounds".For the people complaining the lack of a more comfortable tonal language in the piece, I'd just say that Williams composed quite a lot of tonal, melody-centric piano music in his film repertoire, so there is quite a lot already in that department.
Thor 9,323 Posted March 20, 2015 Posted March 20, 2015 If I can't hum it, it ain't worth it! Bespin Copilot and Maurizio 2
Bespin Copilot 10,076 Posted March 20, 2015 Posted March 20, 2015 Currently listening it on Deezer.Much too cerebral and modern for me.Definitely not my cup of tea.
nightscape94 967 Posted March 20, 2015 Posted March 20, 2015 Have you tried John's signature Earl Grey?
BLUMENKOHL 1,088 Posted March 20, 2015 Posted March 20, 2015 For the people complaining the lack of a more comfortable tonal language in the piece, I'd just say that Williams composed quite a lot of tonal, melody-centric piano music in his film repertoire, so there is quite a lot already in that department.Sure. But the fact that his repertoire in this area is so skinny could explains why this is so comparatively un-engaging!
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 11,285 Posted March 20, 2015 Posted March 20, 2015 Its not really his forte.JW is more at home with soaring themes and lush melodies. And heroic fanfares!
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 11,285 Posted March 20, 2015 Posted March 20, 2015 You young whippersnapper should be taught!
Code 000. Destruct. 0. 4,261 Posted March 20, 2015 Posted March 20, 2015 You're like two years older than me....
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