John Williams returns to Chicago -- April 26-29, 2018 (*Full concert now available online*)

[Pellaeon 596]

We should have a secret handshake or something.

[Joni Wiljami 1,212]

I'm flying fom NY right now. Its gonna be a night to remember!!!😍😍😍

[PokeDocMatt 62]

I have an ER shift that ends at 2 on Thursday. One that starts at 6 am on Friday. In-between, driving the three hours there and back, for what is sure to be a spectacular concert. Most excited about Jane Eyre! 4th time in concert for me. First was 2010 with Pittsburgh, thought that might be my one and only chance. Since then, also got to see Hollywood Bowl and Boston. What a time to be alive!

[Pellaeon 596]

Is this the Jane Eyre arrangement that is usually done in concerts, or something different:

 

[Random Youtube link removed]

 

Never mind. Found this: Pops Britannia by The Boston Pops Orchestra & John Williams

[leeallen01 2,179]

Tonight I see John Williams in person for the very first time! I'm like a giddy kid right now.

[leeallen01 2,179]

What a dream come true!

 

 

He was sensational tonight. Such energy and passion for each piece. Getting to watch his face as he conducted was something truly special. Just pure emotion and happiness on his face. At one point he even mouthed the words "oh wow" during the 3rd encore (The Imperial March) the other two encores were Marions theme from Raiders and the Superman March. 

 

And I get to do it all over again on friday night! but this time on the front row of the other side of the choir stalls. 

 

 

 

Oh and we all know he loves Daisy Ridley, but he really really really loves Daisy Ridley. He wouldn't stop swooning over her. It was so charming and sweet to listen to him tell the story of scoring Ep 7 and 8. He even said (when introducing Marions Theme) that Karen Allen is wonderful on-screen with her energy and grace, much like Daisy. Which got a big laugh from the audience.

[crumbs 15,125]

Did he say anything about Star Wars IX? How was the Jane Eyre suite? Don't think I've ever seen him conduct this live!

[Pellaeon 596]

He mumbled something about Ep.9 that we couldn’t catch. The gist was that he’ll be doing it. As the previous poster mentioned, he gushed about Daisy Ridley and joked that when Kathleen Kennedy asked him about doing TLJ he only agreed because Ridley was in it!

 

Jane Eyre unfortunately was sloppy and lazy. Not directed well. The first movement was fine but in the second one the flutes couldn’t keep up, and the third movement just wasn’t very musical at all. Adventures of Mutt same deal. All in all the first segment wasn’t great, though the genius of E.T. shone through. When Williams took the stage the orchestra was in good hands.

 

SW pieces were Rebellion is Reborn, Rey’s Theme, and Throne Room/Finale. Encores were Marion’s Theme, Superman Theme, and Imperial March.

[leeallen01 2,179]

The concert was recorded last night - 

 

"The concert which is being recorded for a possible future CSO broadcast!"

 

http://wbaa.org/post/cso-john-williams-426-preview#stream/0 

[BuzzLightyear 143]

What a wonderful evening! It's just a thrill to see John Williams in person conducting his great music. And I have to say, the performance of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra was such amazing. Also Richard Kaufman did a great job. Now I'm looking forward to the next concerts

Great to be in Chicago these days!! 

[Joni Wiljami 1,212]

It was an amazing night!! 

I loved so much to hear those rare pieces like The New Beginning and Jane Eyre. 

 

No Han Solo and the Princess encore though😢

 But maybe tonight!

 

I loved also that pre concert conversation with the guest conductor and Gene Pokorny, tuba player. I thanked him afterwards and we talked about 90's when he played JW concerto with my orchestra.

[Ricard 2,275]

 

Review from the Chicago Tribune:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/vonrhein/ct-ent-cso-williams-review-0428-story.html

[leeallen01 2,179]

If anyone has any pictures of Johnny with the choir stalls in the background, then I'd love to know if I'm in the picture

[BuzzLightyear 143]

2 hours ago, leeallen01 said:

If anyone has any pictures of Johnny with the choir stalls in the background, then I'd love to know if I'm in the picture

[MrScratch 296]

They played Jane Eyre AND Superman?!  

[Will 2,278]

Tomorrow night's the big night for me... 

[King Mark 3,748]

So a concert if finally recorded but no Han Solo and the Princess

 

How typical

[Drew 594]

An iFunny user attended the concert, and... https://ifunny.co/fun/904Cyjpi5

[leeallen01 2,179]

6 hours ago, BuzzLightyear said:

 

I can see myself! Now I officially have a picture with me and Johnny in it! 

 

 

Another night of unforgettable magic this evening.

 

 

[Ricard 2,275]

Some great pics from the CSO Facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/pg/chicagosymphony/photos/?tab=album&album_id=10155694201198049

 

 

[Will 2,278]

19 hours ago, Drew said:

An iFunny user attended the concert, and... https://ifunny.co/fun/904Cyjpi5

 

[Damien F 1,780]

Just back from the Saturday concert. My fifth time seeing him on stage. Amazing as always.

 

Loved how he referred to the Jaws theme as "thump thump" music and Rey's theme as "Daisy's Theme".

 

The orchestra sounded absolutely stunning.

 

I never expected to see him performing a strip tease on stage either. First time for everything  

[Will 2,278]

Just got back from the concert. Truly incredible. No time for full thoughts now but to expand on Damien's reference to a "strip tease" ():

 

This was indeed the funniest moment. Really great. So JW finished one of the pieces (I believe "With Malice Toward None") and then tugged a little at the white shirt he was wearing, looking a bit puzzled and saying out loud that it was bothersome. It looked like maybe one of the buttons had broken off or something, I don't really know.

 

So then JW decided to take off that shirt (but don't worry kids, he had another shirt and suspenders under it). So he took his jacket off, laid it down, took off that annoying shirt, put the jacket back on (was hoping he'd just conduct in his suspenders but I guess not LOL), and continued with the next piece, offering running commentary through the whole thing. Then at the end he jokingly said "I've never lost my shirt before at a concert." 

 

A really great improvisatory moment from the maestro. 

 

He handled it so well that at first I wondered if it was some sort of pre-planned gag.

[Damien F 1,780]

Yeah it was hilarious!

 

When the applause for the Lincoln piece finished, JW grabbed the strap that was hanging from the broken shirt and said "I'm not sure what to do about this" and of course the whole place burst into laughter.

 

He also described the contrast of the trumpet player focasing intently on the music while his shirt was becoming undone and hoped he didn't notice while playing. Again more laughter. It really showed his natural wit.

 

I managed to record this small clip at the end as he was taking his shirt away

 

[MikeH 799]

Wonderful time tonight!  Love how he talked about how the fugue was for when they "build the cage to capture the shark."  My highlight was definitely experiencing Jane Eyre, my favorite, live for the first time. Tempo was a bit lethargic, especially during the last movement, but I'm thrilled that more people were exposed to this gem of a score. There were definitely sparks coming off of the stage once JW took to the podium.  Oh, and the striptease!  People lost their sh** when Superman began. It was the biggest reaction of the night, for sure!

 

ps. Before the encore of Marion’s Theme, JW mentioned that Spielberg is “threatening” to make a fifth Indy film. Nice laugh. 

[crumbs 15,125]

What exactly was the suite from Jane Eyre that was played? Any examples on YouTube of other orchestras performing it?

[Pellaeon 596]

On 4/25/2018 at 3:28 PM, Pellaeon said:

Pops Britannia by The Boston Pops Orchestra & John Williams

 

It’s the three tracks from here.

[leeallen01 2,179]

I wish I could have gone to all 4 concerts now, instead of the 2. I missed the Maestro undressing. 😂

 

 

Just a random observation. Does anyone else absolutely love his sign off now to the audience at the end of a concert? Of course with his age, it must be extremely tiring to give as much as he does while conducting for over an hour, so that little sleep sign he does when he rests his face on his hands to say, "that's all folks. Time for me to sleep."

 

I adore that.

[Joni Wiljami 1,212]

Me too!!😄

[Incanus 5,828]

3 hours ago, leeallen01 said:

I wish I could have gone to all 4 concerts now, instead of the 2. I missed the Maestro undressing. 😂

 

 

Just a random observation. Does anyone else absolutely love his sign off now to the audience at the end of a concert? Of course with his age, it must be extremely tiring to give as much as he does while conducting for over an hour, so that little sleep sign he does when he rests his face on his hands to say, "that's all folks. Time for me to sleep."

 

I adore that.

Yes and Willliams has done that little gesture of "time for bed" for decades in his concert performances. 

[Damien F 1,780]

3 hours ago, leeallen01 said:

I wish I could have gone to all 4 concerts now, instead of the 2. I missed the Maestro undressing. 😂

 

 

Just a random observation. Does anyone else absolutely love his sign off now to the audience at the end of a concert? Of course with his age, it must be extremely tiring to give as much as he does while conducting for over an hour, so that little sleep sign he does when he rests his face on his hands to say, "that's all folks. Time for me to sleep."

 

I adore that.

 

Yeah I love that. Especially when you've been to a number of his concerts down through the years. It is a lovely tradition and the audience always laughs.

[MikeH 799]

Anyone else notice a big difference in JW's physicality when he's conducting vs when he's not?  As soon as he starts conducting it's like he's 40 years old again. Amazing. 

 

 

 

[Disco Stu 15,504]

Sounds like everyone got to see Johnny’s physicality 

[BuzzLightyear 143]

What an exciting week in Chicago, and today I got a real highlight with this last concert. Never saw the maestro that close

It was such an fantastic experience!! 

 

Here are some pictures... 

[Will 2,278]

Wow, you were even closer than I was (and I was pretty close!) 

[Pellaeon 596]

6 hours ago, MikeH said:

Anyone else notice a big difference in JW's physicality when he's conducting vs when he's not?  As soon as he starts conducting it's like he's 40 years old again. Amazing.

 

He’s not E.T., he’s Yoda.

[PokeDocMatt 62]

Thursday night was a phenomenal concert. While there were some struggles with conducting, following the orchestra's lead, missing cues, etc... the stamina, energy and joy he had while conducting were quite heartwarming. In spite of the difficulties, there were many amazing moments. My favorite was during With Malice Towards None. In the middle of one of the solo trumpet miniature cadenzas, the Maestro exquisitely suspended the orchestra and adapted to the soloist. You could tell that he was really loving he opportunity to let the music breathe, without being limited by the screen. 

[Pellaeon 596]

The Lincoln piece was the highlight of the concert, I thought. The soloist did a fantastic job. My wife’s favorite was Hook. It’s a crowd-pleaser, and as the first piece that Williams conducted, it was very exciting.

[crumbs 15,125]

You can tell Williams loves conducting Hook. It's been a staple of his concerts for years, just like the Imperial March.

 

I wish he'd conduct his new arrangement of The Face of Pan more often, though.

[leeallen01 2,179]

He seemed to adore showcasing the BFG. His expressions while conducting were joyous. He really likes that score.

[Pellaeon 596]

What is the best recording of the expanded (at least vis-à-vis the film score) Throne Room suite that he conducted here?

[Meredith McKay 7,071]

Gerhardt, Skywalker Symphony, ROTS  the only ones have heard.

[King Mark 3,748]

I like the Kunzel recording from Time Warp I think

[mrbellamy 6,878]

14 hours ago, leeallen01 said:

He seemed to adore showcasing the BFG. His expressions while conducting were joyous. He really likes that score.

 

He seems to have been really enchanted with the movie too, he spent a lot of time describing the story in detail and encouraging everyone to listen out for the flutes and imagine the dreams, which I thought was cute. I remember there was an article where Williams said he was disappointed BFG wasn't a success, felt like he was trying to get everyone to go watch it

 

[Joni Wiljami 1,212]

For me the BFG was a highlight of these concerts. Pure magic.

[Damien F 1,780]

I thought it was pretty cool that we got to see The Rebellion Is Reborn live just a few months after the OST was released. 

[BuzzLightyear 143]

5 hours ago, hornist said:

For me the BFG was a highlight of these concerts. Pure magic.

 

With these concerts I realized how great the BFG really is. I never hated it or anything. But it turned out that the BFG also became one of the highlights of the concerts for me! 

[Pellaeon 596]

3 hours ago, Damien F said:

I thought it was pretty cool that we got to see The Rebellion Is Reborn live just a few months after the OST was released. 

 

I didn’t think it was played with any particular enthusiasm, though. It seemed to me he cared much more about Rey’s Theme. (Which was slow, but heartfelt.)

[Damien F 1,780]

3 minutes ago, Pellaeon said:

 

I didn’t think it was played with any particular enthusiasm, though. It seemed to me he cared much more about Rey’s Theme. (Which was slow, but heartfelt.)

 

That is clear from his beaming admiration of Daisy Ridley. He literally said "I'm crazy about her" and referred to it as Daisy's Theme. 

 

[Pellaeon 596]

There is an error in the story on the jwfan.com main site—it was not Main Title but rather The Throne Room / End Title, as I have noted above.

 

I am listening to the various recordings of this suite, and the ROTS recording is shorter by a minute and a half than the other ones (Gerhardt, Skywalker, Kunzel), due to not including the usual End Title beginning. Does anyone remember if it was this version that he played at the concert, or the usual full version?