The Legacy of John Williams (Website & Podcast)

[Falstaft 2,242]

4 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

 

Interesting. While we're on the subject of books, how's it going with your JW book? You must have been working on it for a few years already! 

 

Slow but steady! 

[Jurassic Shark 16,456]

1 hour ago, Falstaft said:

 

Slow but steady! 

 

Just like my PhD! 

[Jay 46,476]

This has been mentioned in other threads, but not here, so allow me the priviledge to do so:

 

https://thelegacyofjohnwilliams.com/2019/12/11/mike-matessino-podcast-disaster-soundtrack-collection/

 

This is the latest episode of Maurizio's podcast, where him, Tim Burden, and Mike Matessino discuss not only The Disaster Movie Soundtrack Collection, but also Minority Report and Monsignor.

 

The 105 minute episode provides lots of fascinating insight into how all 3 (really, 5) releases came to be, and contain lots of sound clips as well.  if you had been undecided on buying any of these releases, this might change your mind.  Either way, you will enjoy hearing these three gents not only talk about these releases themselves, but John Williams' work throughout the 70s, his tutelage under Lionel Newman, and lots more.  Check it out!

[Dr. Rick 1,388]

It's a fantastic interview, and I've got it saved to my hard drive along with the many other podcasts / interviews we've been fortunate to get the last couple years!  

[Thor 9,363]

Guess I should chime in too, since everybody else does. As I've said before, I aim to boil myself a pot of coffee (or open a bottle of wine) and read/isten through all of these articles and podcasts at a later date; I love your project and angle, Maurizio. But it will have to be later, as I have too many other things to do and listen to at the moment.

 

As for the new episode, I'm not interested in the expansions/C&C aspect of the discussion, but from what I understand, you also talk about other things, like previously unreleased JW scores and their potential release. THAT is more up my alley. 

[Incanus 5,894]

46 minutes ago, Thor said:

Guess I should chime in too, since everybody else does. As I've said before, I aim to boil myself a pot of coffee (or open a bottle of wine) and read/isten through all of these articles and podcasts at a later date; I love your project and angle, Maurizio. But it will have to be later, as I have too many other things to do and listen to at the moment.

 

As for the new episode, I'm not interested in the expansions/C&C aspect of the discussion, but from what I understand, you also talk about other things, like previously unreleased JW scores and their potential release. THAT is more up my alley. 

Hey Thor some older obscure scores get a mention in the most recent talk! 

 

And thank you for another fascinating talk Maurizio (and Mike and Tim)! It is always so fascinating to hear these behind-the-scenes stories and background not just on John Williams and these new releases and how they came to be but also on the industry and its constant evolution as well. We rarely hear these publicly discussed anywhere, like how Nick Redman's passing actually affected the soundtrack restoration projects in a major way etc. which is really interesting business side of these things and how Mike Matessino and the new people he is working with had to learn a lot of new skills in the changing environment as older generation of people working on these projects or particular studios (e.g. after Fox was bought by Disney) are retiring or have passed away taking with them their knowhow and even previous teams working on these soundtrack projects.

 

[Maurizio 6,914]

.

[Thor 9,363]

If I were to interview Matessino at some point, I'd slam these titles, and only these titles, on the table and say "Go ahead -- TALK!".

 

YOU ARE WELCOME
A TIMELESS CALL
THE SUGARLAND EXPRESS
THE SCREAMING WOMAN
STORIA DI UNA DONNA
DADDY'S GONE A-HUNTING
SERGEANT RYKER
THE PLAINSMAN
THE RARE BREED
THE KATHERINE REED STORY
THE KILLERS
NIGHTMARE IN CHICAGO
GIDGET GOES TO ROME
THE SECRET WAYS
BECAUSE THEY'RE YOUNG
I PASSED FOR WHITE
DADDY-O
INSIDE THE MOVIE KINGDOM

[Jurassic Shark 16,456]

Why don't you invite his for an interview at Celluloid Tunes!

[Thor 9,363]

Sure. At some point, maybe.

[Jurassic Shark 16,456]

Why the maybe? Are you afraid he'll start talking about expanded soundtracks?

[Thor 9,363]

You never know.

[ChrisAfonso 238]

Just listened to the new episode and enjoyed it a lot! Many thanks to Maurizio, Tim, and Mike to offer us this new peek behind the scenes, and great discussion of music old and new

[Maurizio 6,914]

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[Disco Stu 15,517]

1 minute ago, TownerFan said:

I know you're all getting crazy with Star Wars madness, but if you have 60 minutes of spare time, here's a new Legacy Conversations podcast episode from The Legacy of John Williams: an exclusive interview with legendary music contractor Sandy DeCrescent.

 

https://thelegacyofjohnwilliams.com/2019/12/17/sandy-decrescent-podcast

 

Sandy talks about her very long and illustrious career, her days at Universal television with Stanley Wilson where he met many young up-and-coming composers, what a music contractor does, and of course her long and fruitful collaboration with John Williams. Lots of musical excerpts peppered throughout the episode, including some interesting and rarely heard snippets.

 

It ties nicely with Star Wars because Sandy worked with JW also on the upcoming Rise of Skywalker.

 

Hope you all enjoy!

 

Wow!  One of his longest time, seldom interviewed collaborators!  Well done, Maurizio, can't wait to listen.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 12,463]

Awesome!

[Thor 9,363]

32 minutes ago, TownerFan said:

Sandy talks about her very long and illustrious career, her days at Universal television with Stanley Wilson where he met many young up-and-coming composers,

 

You sold me on that point. Whatever I can get to know about early Williams, I swallow like a starved castaway.

[Maurizio 6,914]

.

[bollemanneke 4,332]

Just listened to the Sandy episode and to Marriage Story immediately afterwards. What a privilege to be able to hear all these people talking about JW.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 12,463]

Enjoyed Maurizio's chat with Sandy Decrescent, and his pronunciation of the word legendary.

[Jurassic Shark 16,456]

Maurizio's got a great accent.

[bollemanneke 4,332]

Especially when he pronounces his own surname!

[Jurassic Shark 16,456]

ASMR!

[Maurizio 6,914]

.

[crumbs 16,069]

Woohoo! You just made my night @TownerFan!

 

I was missing these fantastic MM interviews and listened to the Dracula, JP/TLW and Superman podcasts last week. So this is a great surprise!

[Chewy 2,915]

Nice @TownerFan, I love those interviews!

[Incanus 5,894]

Another wonderful talk with Mike and Tim, Maurizio! I really love this format which feels like an informal chat between film score and John Williams fans and also goes fairly in-depth into the behind-the-scenes of producing these excellent releases. Always a joy to listen! Thank you for all your efforts!  

[Miguel Andrade 1,729]

Looking forward to listen to this tonight. Thank you Maurizio, Tim and Mike.

[Dr. Rick 1,388]

Great interview, Maurizio!  There was a little bit of talk regarding Eiger Sanction, hopefully that one is on its way soon, one of the few remaining gaps in my JW collection.

[Jay 46,476]

The only gap in mine! 

[crumbs 16,069]

...but Mike insisted the paperwork wasn't right in front of him!

 

 

 

[bollemanneke 4,332]

Did he say something about the paperwork on Hook? I stopped listening when they started talking about The River since I haven't seen the movie yet.

[Dr. Rick 1,388]

2 hours ago, crumbs said:

...but Mike insisted the paperwork wasn't right in front of him!

 

Doesn't mean it's not in his top drawer filed under "PENDING"

[Maurizio 6,914]

.

[crumbs 16,069]

Brilliant, Maurizio! Some of the best minds in film music right there. Amazing work assembling that group for a roundtable discussion on SW, @TownerFan!!

 

[bollemanneke 4,332]

What a perfect day this is becoming. First the FSO albums, then preparing some more for my England trip and now this fantastic episode, which has just completely changed my opinion and interpretation of the TROS track. It's so wonderful that we're getting all these interesting conversations in these times.

[crocodile 9,769]

Wonderful stuff. It really made my day.

 

Karol

[Holko 12,083]

Great talk. I love the little comparative evolution medley in the middle.

[Sunshine Reger 3,714]

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[Incanus 5,894]

Another superlative podcast Maurizio! What a great talk and wonderful guests and as they said you are really raising the bar for yourself show after excellent show.

 

Your work is truly appreciated!  

[mahler3 548]

Excellent show! Very enjoyable, I re-listened to  the Conrad Pope and Sandy De Crescent editions straight afterwards, whilst lying in bed with headphones during the night  🎧 .

 

*apologies for that image!

[bollemanneke 4,332]

One question, though: Why did you decide to use clips that also include movie dialogue? You could have filtered that out using the Blu-Ray/DVD. Just a very, very minor issue in an otherwise perfect episode.

[artguy360 2,237]

Loved the new episode, especially the discussion of TROS theme itself. 

[Maurizio 6,914]

.

[crumbs 16,069]

Doug actually gave me some closure about the lack of prequel themes in the final film, brilliantly explaining how JW carried the harmonic language established in the prequels into the sequel trilogy.

 

So while there might not be literal thematic quotes, the DNA of those themes carries throughout TROS, notably with Anakin's Theme and The Rise of Skywalker. Brilliant observation.

[Jurassic Shark 16,456]

Interesting.

[12-Mile Reef 164]

This was a great episode and it made me go back and listen to Frank Lehman's first appearance on the podcast which is also a terrific listen. There is an interesting distinction made between the more developmental use of themes by Wagner versus the more citational use by Prokofiev and that Williams was closer to the Prokofievien. Lehman mentions Williams candidly saying that he didn't particularly like Wagner's music in an interview with Grace Edgar. I'd love to read the full interview but can't find it anywhere online, does anyone have a copy that they can share here?

[Jurassic Shark 16,456]

I'm sure @Falstaft will direct you to it.

[Falstaft 2,242]

42 minutes ago, John Chambers said:

This was a great episode and it made me go back and listen to Frank Lehman's first appearance on the podcast which is also a terrific listen. There is an interesting distinction made between the more developmental use of themes by Wagner versus the more citational use by Prokofiev and that Williams was closer to the Prokofievien. Lehman mentions Williams candidly saying that he didn't particularly like Wagner's music in an interview with Grace Edgar. I'd love to read the full interview but can't find it anywhere online, does anyone have a copy that they can share here?

 

Grace presented her interview at a conference a few years ago, which is where I heard about Williams's distaste for Wagner. It hasn't been published yet, to my knowledge. But you can see the basic gist in the abstract to her presentation, available here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1a3lXQZxAduX_bkm8HtoK6C4yBg7ArvNU/view .

[12-Mile Reef 164]

Thanks Falstaft, most appreciated. Let's hope for a transcript of the full interview one day, sounds like it would be a fascinating read!