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John Williams & the Vienna Philharmonic: January 18/19 2020


Ricard

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The 13 audience-noise-free tracks from the CD are also on the Blu Ray in higher quality?  That's neat

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CD arrived from Amazon on Saturday. Such a historic event and I'm so happy about it as a fan and amazed at the achievement, even if by the time I got down to listening to the music I had a hard time not comparing it to everything that's come before especially recently with the Dudamel and Mutter releases. As a general response. And having that composer/musician perfectionist response (i.e. wasn't there time to retake all the mistakes?). And if I'm being honest, having that biased reaction in hearing American music performed by continental European orchestras, no matter how great or interconnected with the repertoire style-wise, still not quite an ideal fit. Shouldn't really matter on this occasion, right? The trick is to take what is a nostalgic viewpoint on all of these classic gems and get into the moment. Still, the editing out of nuanced transitions, retouching of details here and there and adding concert endings compared to the recordings during the film scoring sessions inevitably throw me off, no less now than in the 80s or 90s, etc. All that said, I'm still chiming in to say "Bravo, Maestro." I really appreciate the noise free presentation, and the sound of the orchestra and the hall is quite superb. (I was listening to the maestro's music on a tuned audiophile system starting in 1980 so I've been paying close attention a long time!) I really heard those echoes of Korngold in Hook. I was most moved by CE3K and Luke and Leia. The Imperial March was *impressive* and both it and the Raiders March were suitably stately. Looking forward to watching the video at some point.

Oh, and was an HQ square cover image for the CD posted anywhere?

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6 hours ago, Jay said:

The 13 audience-noise-free tracks from the CD are also on the Blu Ray in higher quality?  That's neat

 

Yes, Blu-ray pure audio format. Unfortunately the intention  behind this format (listening without monitor like a CD) is hampered here, because it is found on the menu below the Concert (the first, highlighted option). So if you want to listen to the Blu-ray audio tracks, you have to remember to wait until the menu is loaded, click then on „down“ on the remote, and the enter. If all goes well, you are listening to high resolution 2.0 stereo tracks of the CD program. If you want it in 5.1, you have to change it with the color buttons on the remote. Not the best user experience, but at least it is there on the disc. 

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19 hours ago, lairdo said:

Generally, I found the editing decent. They save the wide shot for big moments, and mostly follow along the key instruments (where they had cameras) or on JW or ASM (when she is playing). Like most concert films, I actually find this annoying at times because visually, we will be right on the harp strings (this is the most egregious close up), but of course the harp is not blasting out - the mix remains a neutral seat location. So, you eyes and ears do not match. This is not specific to this recording; you experience it in other concert recordings and if the mix changed, the music would severely suffer. It's less jarring to see the violins or French horns up close when they play because they cut through so much of the mix anyway.

 

That's just what I like about these kinds of films: When well edited, they can direct your attention to details in the orchestration that you can hear, but wouldn't notice without the image pointing them out.

 

19 hours ago, lairdo said:

When the image is on Williams, you can also get distracted by audience members who are themselves distracted. I wish the crew had kept the light levels on the audience a bit lower. (There is one girl who looks interested, then bored, then seems to have fallen asleep on her father's lap.)

 

It was regular concert lighting. Darkening the hall for a better video would have been a strange move.

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Well, I finally had the time to listen to the Blu-Ray. And you know what? I had a good time. Yes, the same performance issues are still there, and yes, the beginning of Star Wars Main Title and ET (brass) is a catastrophe, but it’s a lot harder to be upset about those details if you accept is as a live concert, an experience, instead of a stupid CD that lacks half of what made this evening so enjoyable.

 

First, JW’s speeches. So entertaining. I kind of wish he would have said more. Even though he mixed up some Star Wars info, that swordfight bit was just hilarious. And the applause was equally infectious.

 

Second, Mutter’s contributions. Whether I’m a fan of the arrangement format or not is besides the point. She played in the concert, so include her on the CD! And as for all that drivel about how all those pieces had already been recorded, you could say that about every other track on the CD too, but I’m sure I’m missing the bigger picture. Hedwig’s Theme and Far and Away were so good, while Cinderella Liberty was a very nice re-discovery and the slower Raiders March works a lot better after Remembrances.

 

And finally, the sound. Is it me, or does even the stereo track sound better on the Blu-Ray?

 

All in all, if I ever return to this concert, I’ll avoid the CD. Think I’ll listen to the 2018 one tomorrow.

 

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9 hours ago, Gurkensalat said:

 

Yes, Blu-ray pure audio format. Unfortunately the intention  behind this format (listening without monitor like a CD) is hampered here, because it is found on the menu below the Concert (the first, highlighted option). So if you want to listen to the Blu-ray audio tracks, you have to remember to wait until the menu is loaded, click then on „down“ on the remote, and the enter. If all goes well, you are listening to high resolution 2.0 stereo tracks of the CD program. If you want it in 5.1, you have to change it with the color buttons on the remote. Not the best user experience, but at least it is there on the disc. 

 

 

Thanks. While I wait patiently to get my set (which will take much, much longer :() I'am happy to hear that the audio only channel on the blu ray is presented in both 2.0 and 5.1 sound (as well as dolby atmos). I wouldnt even mind a SACD edition (which I think will happen sometime later since the mix on the blu ray is already in multi channel) 

 

P.S. Anyone in Australia who has received their copy yet ?. Mine is supposed to ship from there. 

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3 hours ago, Amer said:

P.S. Anyone in Australia who has received their copy yet ?. Mine is supposed to ship from there. 

 

I'm waiting for the Bluray/CD set to have stock. It's not available currently in my city.

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3 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

Not for now, at least. Most of the Mutter pieces are excluded from the CD album, in favor of non-soloist pieces with flubs and timing issues.


I can live without Hedwig and Tintin, but Remembrance should have totally been on the CD. If they swapped it with Jaws, and had re-recorded SW Main Titles my impression of the album would be already quite different I guess!

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On 8/24/2020 at 6:47 AM, Jay said:

The 13 audience-noise-free tracks from the CD are also on the Blu Ray in higher quality?  That's neat

 

Yeah, I thought it was a nice touch.

 

 

On 8/24/2020 at 7:16 AM, moi said:

Anyone else ordered from jpc.de?

They send shipping confirmation  2 weeks ago but nothing yet... 

 

Mine came all the way to Seattle and arrived a week after release. (I ordered the CD, Blu-Ray and LP from them.) All of them beat my Amazon order. Amazon lost the CD shipment and never shipped the others (the Oct 2 date). So I canceled the entire Amazon one. Price was the same in the end I think.

 

On 8/24/2020 at 2:59 PM, Marian Schedenig said:

 

It was regular concert lighting. Darkening the hall for a better video would have been a strange move.

 

Ahh. Great to know. Thanks for that detail. 

17 hours ago, crumbs said:

 

I'm waiting for the Bluray/CD set to have stock. It's not available currently in my city.

 

It's interesting to think about why DGG/Universal Music had this issue. Is it popularity? Not enough planned demand? COVID manufacturing/shipping issues? Whatever the answer, the set is all of the sudden hard to find. At the same time, I don't really see a lot on eBay at ridiculous prices. Only the Japan version seems to be commanding a premium. 

 

 

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On 8/24/2020 at 5:16 PM, moi said:

Anyone else ordered from jpc.de?

They send shipping confirmation  2 weeks ago but nothing yet... 

 

Finally my copy arrived. It is so wonderful, Dolby Atmos sounds just like it was in that beautiful hall back in January. 😭😭😭

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Does anyone else find it sweet that the CE3K interpretation feels so close to Gerhardt's rather than to the OST or more casual concert settings? 

 

I don't know how many recordings in (orchestral) classical music have such a convenient field for comparison:


The elder recording has a great interpretation that the composer himself lauded a classic, and the second has the composer himself, 42 years later(!) echoing these tempo choices.

The first had the Kingsway Hall of revered memory and Kenneth Wilkinson as an engineer; the second is a 2020-tech high quality recording from the Golden Hall of the Musikverein.

 

When I aligned a pair of 15-second sections of both recordings end-to-end, it sounds as if the VPO repeated after their Philharmonia predecessors like the Mothership in the film.

 

Gerhardt 17:26-17:41

Vienna 4:25-4:40

 

:lovethis:

 

Both Erich and George Korngold would have been proud.

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1 hour ago, Fabulin said:

Does anyone else find it sweet that the CE3K interpretation feels so close to Gerhardt's rather than to the OST or more casual concert settings? 

 

The elder recording has a great interpretation that the composer himself lauded a classic, and the second has the composer himself, 42 years later(!) echoing these tempo choices.

The first had the Kingsway Hall of revered memory and Kenneth Wilkinson as an engineer; the second is a 2020-tech high quality recording from the Golden Hall of the Musikverein.

 

When I aligned a pair of 15-second sections of both recordings end-to-end, it sounds as if the VPO repeated after their Philharmonia predecessors like the Mothership in the film.

 

Gerhardt 17:26-17:41

Vienna 4:25-4:40

 I can't agree more. I believe I mentioned somewhere earlier that this was the best recording I'd heard since Gerhardt. If the Vienna recording had Arrival of the Visitors it could easily compete for best overall, but that 21 minute Gerhardt suite remains my favorite way to listen to Close Encounters.

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2 hours ago, blondheim said:

this was the best recording I'd heard since Gerhardt [...],
but that 21 minute Gerhardt suite remains my favorite

#metoo (this is something positive in this case ;))

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On 8/26/2020 at 10:09 AM, rough cut said:

Well, lookee here, I got my limited edition golden vinyl.

 

Pretty cool number too!

 

CC3FC5C3-AD3D-402E-B2FD-DD2F7DD104A1.jpeg

 

3324A2C1-C716-40FE-84BA-AC98746DBA90.jpeg

 

What was the original price of the limited LP-set?

 

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On 8/27/2020 at 4:09 PM, BB-8 said:
“JOHN WILLIAMS IN VIENNA”
NEW ALBUM PROPELS LEGENDARY COMPOSER TO INTERNATIONAL CHART SUCCESS:
  • Top 10 album in Germany, Austria & Japan pop charts
  • Double No.1 in Australia, topping classical and crossover album charts
  • 1 classical album in US, UK & Japan
  • 1 in Austria DVD Charts

Amazing that the album made it to the top of the Austrian DVD charts despite it not being released on DVD! Williams working miracles again! 😅

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2 hours ago, Matthias said:

Amazing that the album made it to the top of the Austrian DVD charts despite it not being released on DVD! Williams working miracles again! 😅

 

I expect the "DVD charts" are for all modern video disc formats. They're just badly named.

 

What annoys me is that the album is high in the "pop" charts. I assume that means the album is marketed/categorised as "pop" instead of "classical". It's probably notable that it scores so highly there, but for film music's lacking reputation as "serious" music sake, I'd rather see it top the classical charts.

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“JOHN WILLIAMS IN VIENNA”
NEW ALBUM PROPELS LEGENDARY COMPOSER TO INTERNATIONAL CHART SUCCESS:
  • Top 10 album in Germany, Austria & Japan pop charts
  • Double No.1 in Australia, topping classical and crossover album charts
  • 1 classical album in US, UK & Japan
  • 1 in Austria DVD Charts

“Rave reviews and a growing list of Top 10 chart positions confirm that the force is definitely with John Williams in Vienna. The new Deutsche Grammophon recording registered the highest ever chart entry for a John Williams album in Germany and the highest chart entry for a Vienna Philharmonic album in recent years, as it went straight to No.7 in the Album Chart a week after its release. The recording’s tally of achievements also includes: No.1 in the US Classical Chart; No.1 in the UK Classical Chart; a double No.1 in Australia’s Classical and Crossover Album Charts; No.1 in Austria’s DVD Chart and No.6 in the Album Pop Charts; No.13 in Switzerland’s Pop Charts; and No.1 in the iTunes Classical Charts in 15 countries (on release date). Its success in Europe and Australia has been mirrored in Japan, where it hit No.1 in the Soundscan Classical Album Chart, occupied the top 5 positions in the Amazon classical chart, and reached No.6 in the Album Pop Chart – helping John Williams to overtake Paul McCartney as the oldest living artist to enter the nation’s Top 10.”
 

Congratulations to the Maestro and the Vienna Philharmonic. I cannot wait until I get the Blu-Ray/CD Set (pre-ordered via Amazon).

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9 hours ago, Marian Schedenig said:

 

I expect the "DVD charts" are for all modern video disc formats. They're just badly named.

 

What annoys me is that the album is high in the "pop" charts. I assume that means the album is marketed/categorised as "pop" instead of "classical". It's probably notable that it scores so highly there, but for film music's lacking reputation as "serious" music sake, I'd rather see it top the classical charts.

The post above yours literally quotes the albums' success in the classical charts, and is marketed through most of the online classical sites! Though, film music seems to be an intermediary of the two worlds.

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5 hours ago, Arpy said:Though, film music seems to be an intermediary of the two worlds.


And isn’t that a good thing?  
 

I totally take the side effect that snobbery against film music is a thing, but if someone purchases the Star Wars scores, and starts to appreciate nuance, then feels comfortable to explore, perhaps, The Planets.. or Wagner....

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I think it's great that the album has been a success, in fact I posted a few pages back that it topped the classical charts in my own country. I was responding to the sleight against the album being marketed as 'pop' when it isn't...

 

I've never stood for or understood the snobbery made against film music, it's always struck me as both petty jealousy, and ironic in how film scores have often been the torchbearers for classical music.

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9 hours ago, Arpy said:

The post above yours literally quotes the albums' success in the classical charts

 

Not for the German-speaking countries listed. Which I assume means that it's not marketed as "classical" in Austria and Switzerland at least, because it would surely be higher there than in the pop charts, and therefore not omitted from the press statement.

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On 8/27/2020 at 11:03 AM, blondheim said:

 If the Vienna recording had Arrival of the Visitors it could easily compete for best overall, 

that's one of the things sorely missing .To me the original recording can't be beat because of the choir ending the film, the opening of the End Credits on the OST has a more flourished version of the 5 note fanfare (similar to the Ouch alternate moment in E.T.), I can't live without the Special Edition interpolation of When you wish upon a star and the soft choir for the 5 note ending.

 

Also I think this concert proves that JW's legacy is his FILM themes , which will be considered the equivalent of classical music in the future. They didn't ask him to conduct his horn concerto or whatever.

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1 hour ago, King Mark said:

Also I think this concert proves that JW's legacy is his FILM themes , which will be considered the equivalent of classical music in the future. They didn't ask him to conduct his horn concerto or whatever.

 

As far as I know, they only asked him for the Imperial March. Everything else on the programme might very well have been Williams' own conception.

 

And let's not forget that there was some non-film stuff scheduled for the original 2018 dates, including solo cello stuff (which effectively got replaced by the ASM film arrangements). For a long time, even the new programme still listed (alternatingly) Sound the Bells and The Olympic Fanfare. I've always wondered why they were dropped, too.

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