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What could be Williams' big "problem"?


filmmusic

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I assume someone would say "only at jwfan".:P

 

But I am regularly wondering seriously about this:

I have noticed that great composers of the past have had a great "pain" or "problem".

Others were gay, others deaf, others had a serious health or mental or alcohol problem etc.

 

Williams IS a great composer, yet he seems to be so balanced and calm, and besides his first wife's death, there hasn't been any indication of anything else that causes him pain.

Do you think he could be the first great composer without a serious problem?

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Just now, Margo Channing said:

Anyone else know where Williams had his back pain? Was it his lumbar? Slipped disc? Tendonitis? If he's had it since 1993, why has it lasted for so long?

 

I have no idea where he has it, but he's had it for longer than that. The majority of 1988 was spent indisposed due to back issues (cancelled conductor events etc.); I believe this is the first time we heard of it.

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I think it's just that years and $$$ worth of contemporary psychotherapy have enabled him to manage his... *glances at DSM*... giant narcissistic ego in ways that were previously impossible for serious composers to achieve!

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1 hour ago, filmmusic said:

(...) Others were gay, others deaf, others had a serious health or mental or alcohol problem etc. (...)

 

That's a strange way of seeing things.

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1 hour ago, filmmusic said:

yet he seems to be so balanced

 

Is being self-deprecating being balanced? It is more balanced to say "I am good at A & B, but not so good at C", than it is to say "I'm not terribly good at this. I just hope I do a better job next time!". The latter is what Williams says. Here he is revealing his buried feelings of inadequacy through micro-resentful self-deprecation!:o He can't integrate not having reached the grandiose heights of other, more serious composers whom he idolises (e.g. the ones he mentioned could do a proper job with Schindler's List to Spielberg).

 

Oh, how he must lament!

 

12 minutes ago, Bespin said:

 

That's a strange way of seeing things.

 

Well, it isn't always terribly easy being gay, 'cause of culture and whatnot! Certainly in the past.

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We talk about Tchaikovsky, I know his story. I just say to point "THE" biggest problem of a composer, is a strange way of views.

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33 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

JW was the best of the undead.

 

If only that were enough for poor Johnny boy!

 

32 minutes ago, Bespin said:

We talk about Tchaikovsky, I know his story. I just say to point "THE" big problem of a composer, is a strange way of views.

 

Yes, he could be both gay and narcissistic!

 

That might have caused him the requisite amount of suffering that could have lead to him becoming as great as Beethoven or Mozart! The therapy robbed him of all those valuable years of suffering, you see. If not for all this calm, he could've created a serious work by now!

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I believe one of his problems is to accept his film scores as of equal quality to "serious" concert music. Therefore, he always tries to remove himself from his "film score sound" and rather approach a more modern musical language when writing serious concert works. Too bad, as it probably would be both a critical and a popular success if he wrote a concerto or a symphony based on his film themes.

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8 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

Are you referring to his wives of his children?

 

He had is lot in life, he lost many children, but like many people from this time.

 

We can't point sadness for naming the "biggest problem" of a composer... it's a common point to all of them I think.

 

We all know that JW lost his wife in 1974, I always pointed out that his way of writing changed since that.

 

For me, the start of his Violin Concerto marked the beginning of his maturity period. He was 42. I know it's a very personal point of view not shared by anyone here. But I still think it.

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2 minutes ago, Bespin said:

 

He had is lot in life, he lost many children, but like many people from this time.

 

We can't point sadness for naming the "biggest problem" of a composer... it's a common point to all of them I think.

 

Suffering is common to everyone! That's why this thread is so silly :P

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I just did a thought experiment...

 

If, say, Giacchino were as self-deprecating as Williams, then that would be totally fair and acceptable, as he most certainly could do a better job the next time...? Therefore, this invalidates my initial theory, as I wouldn't believe Giacchino's self-deprecation to be due to 'vulnerable narcissism', but rather an accurate reflection of reality! This leads me to the irrevocable conclusion that Williams must indeed be a victim of his own success! :o I will send the flowers to his agent.

 

*brain fart*

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1 hour ago, Jack said:

 

Is being self-deprecating being balanced?

No. I meant the tone of his voice when he speaks.

He sounds like a balanced person to me.

1 hour ago, Jack said:

 

Well, it isn't always terribly easy being gay, 'cause of culture and whatnot! Certainly in the past.

Believe me today too.

I have suffered from this too, and it brought other more serious problems...

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15 minutes ago, Obi said:

He love Daisy Ridley.

 

Like a granddaughter!

 

 

2 hours ago, Bespin said:

For me, the start of his Violin Concerto marked the beginning of his maturity period. He was 42. I know it's a very personal point of view not shared by anyone here. But I still think it.

 

You should listen to the first Jaws episode of The Soundtrack Show.

 

David Collins goes into detail on this very theory/viewpoint, actually.

 

https://www.soundtrackpodcast.com/podcasts/jaws-williams-and-spielberg-an-introduction.htm

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15 minutes ago, Disco Stu said:

You should listen to the first Jaws episode of The Soundtrack Show.

 

David Collins goes into detail on this very theory/viewpoint, actually.

 

https://www.soundtrackpodcast.com/podcasts/jaws-williams-and-spielberg-an-introduction.htm

 

I don't have to listen to other one comments on this subject, I know what I say! ;)

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5 minutes ago, Disco Stu said:

 

That's a strange way of seeing things.

 

After, we saw the friendship period (many many works composed for friends and collaborators).

 

And in a blink of an eye, we are now in the poetry of his last works. :unsure:

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1 minute ago, Jurassic Shark said:

I must say, your eye blinks are quite long...

 

:lol:

 

You must be younger than me to say that.

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3 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

Are you from before the Jurassic era?

 

I am from the same year the Violin Concerto's composition began.  :D

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4 hours ago, Margo Channing said:

Anyone else know where Williams had his back pain? Was it his lumbar? Slipped disc? Tendonitis? If he's had it since 1993, why has it lasted for so long?

 

John used to have quite a gut, which has a tendency to shift one's centre of gravity further forward, consequently pulling the lumbar spine into hyperlordosis. Pregnancy has a similar effect.

 

I'd say it's probably a herniating or bulging disc, but as he's aged it might be degenerative disc disease.

 

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A degenerative disc disease.

 

It's the thing that worries me the most.

 

Tell me it can't attack my CD collection?

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1 minute ago, Sharky said:

 

John used to have quite a gut, which has a tendency to shift one's centre of gravity further forward, consequently pulling the lumbar spine into hyperlordosis. Pregnancy has a similar effect.

 

I'd say it's probably a herniating or bulging disc, but as he's aged it might be degenerative disc disease.

 

Ah. You see, I pulled a muscle in my lower back in December. And I probably messed up some tendons and ligaments, which is why it's taken a while to heal. My MRI was really optimistic. But it's significantly better now than it was in January, and will probably be completely gone in a few more months, which blows a hole in Pub's ridiculous "often permanent condition" claim. I could see it being permanent in a natural degenerative condition, but not an acute injury.

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12 minutes ago, Margo Channing said:

 

Ah. You see, I pulled a muscle in my lower back in December. And I probably messed up some tendons and ligaments, which is why it's taken a while to heal. My MRI was really optimistic. But it's significantly better now than it was in January, and will probably be completely gone in a few more months, which blows a hole in Pub's ridiculous "often permanent condition" claim. I could see it being permanent in a natural degenerative condition, but not an acute injury.

 

Yeah, it's probably DDD. John was 56 in 1988 which isn't that old, but abdominal obesity can accelerate the process. Especially when you're standing for long periods of time conducting rehearsals with the Boston Pops.

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He relayed a story in some interview recently addressing this.  He mentioned that he was going through a creative dry spell of sorts.  He was told that perhaps looking at what his greatest fans think of him might give him a boost.  So he checked out the local messageboards.  From the resulting despair and trials, he felt creatively reborn and rejuvenated. 

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