Tanglewood 2019: ANH Live, "Across the Stars", Film Night and more

[Falstaft 363]

The 2019 season for Tanglewood has just gone up, and there's a lot of Williams on the program, https://www.bso.org/brands/tanglewood/features/2019-tanglewood-season.aspx. Tickets go on sale February 10, 2019.

 

Williams highlights include:

 

July 7: Across the Stars: Music of John Williams

David Newman, conductor
Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin
Across the Stars: Music of John Williams
Join the Boston Pops for the first of three programs this summer, celebrating the art of John Williams. Drawing from her recent recording “Across the Stars,” the great violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter performs selections from Mr. Williams’ iconic scores, in brilliant new arrangements created especially for her. The program includes music from Star Wars and Memoirs of a Geisha, as well as the haunting melodies of Schindler’s List.

 

Aug 16: Keith Lockhart conducts Star Wars: A New Hope

Join Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops as they present this classic film with live orchestral accompaniment. Set 30 years after Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, Star Wars: A New Hope, the fourth episode of the saga, returns to the desert planet of Tatooine. A young Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) begins to discover his destiny when, searching for a lost droid, he is saved by reclusive Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness). A civil war rages in the galaxy, and Rebel forces struggle against the evil Galactic Empire, Luke and Obi- Wan enlist the aid of hotshot pilot, Han Solo (Harrison Ford). Joined by the quirky droid duo R2-D2 and C-3PO, the unlikely team sets out to rescue Rebel leader Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) and make use of the stolen plans to destroy the Empire’s ultimate weapon. In a legendary confrontation, the rogue group mounts an attack against the Death Star for a climactic battle with the evil Sith Lord Darth Vader.

 

Aug 24: John Williams' Film Night

John Williams’ Film Night has long been established as one of the Tanglewood calendar’s most anticipated and beloved evenings. Join Mr. Williams as he introduces this year’s celebration of the music of Hollywood and beyond, featuring the Boston Pops and conductor David Newman.

 

Williams is also listed on the Tanglewood on Parade conductor roster for July 23. Interesting that on Film Night JW is listed as a "host" instead of conductor. Guess he really is stepping away from the podium.

 

 

[Jay 12240]

Wow all three concerts sound great!

[Disco Stu 8956]

If he's not conducting in August, he probably won't be earlier in the season.  There goes any hope for a Boston meetup.

[Stefancos 9643]

Early days! 

[Smeltington 317]

Aw man. That really is a shame  :C  I still might do film night though, depending what gets announced for Boston. And the Across the Stars concert sounds exciting, given the new JW arrangements. I'll probably try and make that one.

[Not Mr. Big 2431]

You had me at "and more"!

[Ludwig 565]

Great stuff, @Falstaft! Exciting programs for sure.

 

I'm especially glad they give the plot summary for ANH since the movie is so obscure and for a niche audience that no one would know it otherwise.

[King Mark 1980]

So JW is not conducting concert anymore? I don't see threads of any concerts with him conducting in 2019

 

Was Vienna meant to be is big finale?

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 4845]

2 hours ago, Falstaft said:

Set 30 years after Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, Star Wars: A New Hope, the fourth episode of the saga

 

An unworthy sequel to The Phantom Menace.

[mrbellamy 3666]

Agree, it really doesn’t make much sense as a follow-up to that movie. 

[pete 323]

If he’s not conducting, it could be because he’ll be busy with Star Wars

[Will 1664]

Yeah, hopefully it's just that. I was pretty gutted to see the designation in the brochure this afternoon. 

[crumbs 6010]

That's definitely sad but to be expected after London. I imagine his doctor has instructed him to limit exerting himself too much.

 

If he still intends to conduct IX, he might be under orders not to do concerts at the same time as any sessions (and I'm guessing the sessions will run intermittently from May through October). 

[TownerFan 2411]

11 hours ago, King Mark said:

So JW is not conducting concert anymore? I don't see threads of any concerts with him conducting in 2019

 

Was Vienna meant to be is big finale?

 

Even though he isn't getting any younger and despite recent health issues, I don't think he's giving up on his conducting career. It's more likely he needs a few months of rest to recover properly and be in good shape for the Ep9 schedule next year (and whatever else he's writing), so he probably can't take conducting engagements for a while. The fact he still will be attending the Tanglewood Film Night makes me hope that if he will be in pretty good shape by then, he might step in on the podium to conduct at least two or three pieces.

[ricsim88 81]

Looks like a little road trip to Tanglewood to see SW live. Since I hadn’t had the chance to see it yet.

[Timo Martikainen 16]

On 11/15/2018 at 10:15 PM, Falstaft said:

July 7: Across the Stars: Music of John Williams

David Newman, conductor
Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin
Across the Stars: Music of John Williams

 

Anne-Sophie Mutter's website now mentions John Williams conducting the 2nd half of the concert. Also BSO website has been updated to include JW as a conductor. 

[Ricard 1202]

...And here's the program:

 

Quote

TANGLEWOOD, US | TANGLEWOOD FESTIVAL 07 JUL 2019  | 2:30 PM

ACROSS THE STARS: MUSIC OF JOHN WILLIAMS

Boston Pops Orchestra – conductors David Newman and John Williams (2nd half of the concert)

 

• Just Down West Street
• Theme from “Jurassic Park”
• Rey’s Theme from “Star Wars Episode VII”
• Across the Stars from “Star Wars Episode II”
• Donnybrook Fair from “Far & Away”
• Harry’s Wondrous World from “Harry Potter”
• Night Journeys from “Dracula”
• Sayuri’s Theme from “Memoirs of a Geisha”
• The Devil’s Dance from “Witches of Eastwick”
• Superman March
• Theme from “Sabrina”
• Princess Leia’s Theme from “Star Wars Episode IV”
• The Duel from “The Adventures of Tintin”
• The Flying Theme from “E.T.”
• The Chairman’s Waltz from “Memoirs of a Geisha”
• Love Theme from “Cinderella Liberty”
• Hedwig’s Theme from “Harry Potter”

 

 

[Disco Stu 8956]

"Just Down West Street... on the Left" lives!  Has it been performed since 2015?

[Jay 12240]

Holy cow.  I want to go to there!

[pete 323]

Donnybrook Fair from “Far & Away”. Never heard of that before. I wonder if it's a new arrangement or simply a renaming? 

 

[TownerFan 2411]

My likely bet is that it's this arrangement:

 

 

I guess Jurassic Park, Harry's Wondrous World, Superman March and Flying from E.T. aren't violin solo arrangements, while the rest is from the upcoming album. Quite an exciting program!

[mrbellamy 3666]

That makes sense. The pattern starting with “Rey’s Theme” would be three Mutter pieces then she gets a break.

[Miguel Andrade 628]

3 hours ago, Disco Stu said:

"Just Down West Street... on the Left" lives!  Has it been performed since 2015?

 

Stephane Denève conducted it in LA sometime during the following year.

[rpvee 135]

9 hours ago, Timo Martikainen said:

 

Anne-Sophie Mutter's website now mentions John Williams conducting the 2nd half of the concert. Also BSO website has been updated to include JW as a conductor. 

 

So then perhaps the annual Boston concert isn’t happening because of Star Wars writing, not age or physical condition? Maybe the tradition will return next year!

[Foxfan 21]

Bad news... looks like John Williams has been taken off the roster for Tanglewood on Parade July 23rd.

 

https://www.bso.org/Performance/Detail/100171?fbclid=IwAR3TPKQYd1L03T1AZzdFslyLjlvzEfK8ogATbJsirKSk2vkS952UDYuzrAs

 

It was the only concert I was scheduled to attend this year, not expecting him to conduct on July 7th or August 24. I now regret not going last Sunday!  

[Disco Stu 8956]

JJ's endless revisions strike again

[Bayesian 299]

Oh man, that’s disappointing news. My wife and I are going to that concert and I was really hoping to see JW conduct. 

 

It’ll still be a wonderful experience to visit Tanglewood but still... 😕

[Jay 12240]

According to the main post he was always listed as "host" for July 23rd, not conductor?

[Foxfan 21]

10 minutes ago, Jay said:

According to the main post he was always listed as "host" for July 23rd, not conductor?

Actually, no. Back in January/February he was listed as "host" or "special guest" for July 7 and August 24, and "conductor" for July 23rd only, which is why I picked that date to go.

[Jay 12240]

Interesting!

 

Maybe doing 4 encores last weekend drained him

[Foxfan 21]

Just now, Jay said:

Interesting!

 

Maybe doing 4 encores last weekend drained him

 

That's what I'm thinking. Or he knew ahead of time he would be away on the 23rd and gave it all on the 7th to make up for it. Shame the BSO didn't announce it ahead of time... there's even a Boston Pops Facebook post on July 9th that still listed Williams as a conductor for the 23rd. Now I'll try to exchange my ticket for August 24 if one becomes available.

[Marian Schedenig 1977]

I sure hope he doesn't cancel the August concert. Or that the "hosting" thing turns out to be some remote video greeting or something...

[WilliamsStarShip2282 89]

Did anyone happen to know when his name was taken off the Tanglewood on Parade concert? I was originally skeptical of him being even present at the concerts. He seemed well though during that weekend.... so perhaps is not health related. But who knows. I have a sneaking suspicion though the August one will be David Newman only....

[crumbs 6010]

He might have underestimated his workload on TROS; JJ loves those revisions. I can easily see that film being 150+ minutes. Or maybe the next batch of recording sessions got bumped to late July and created a conflict.

 

Would Williams be staying at Tanglewood writing the score there? I'm guessing he doesn't fly back and forth from LA for each concert, for health/convenience reasons.

[viktormajzik 0]

mr. Williams cancelled 23.july Tanglewood on parade one day before the event. It was not communicated at the location at all. Still not visible on the bso website. Many dissapointed fans - as myself - took the journey from Europe for nothing. It seems with his age no concert or appearance is certain. So consider not investing a lot of money foe travels and tickets. 

[Jay 12240]

@viktormajzik you had submitted some reports for the mods to check out in this thread, but it sounds like you meant to post both of them as thread replies and not reports, is that correct?

[crocodile 4051]

On 7/17/2019 at 1:41 AM, Marian Schedenig said:

I sure hope he doesn't cancel the August concert. Or that the "hosting" thing turns out to be some remote video greeting or something...

Well it could be just a video intro. The description on the BSO website is very vague:

 

Quote

Long established as one of Tanglewood’s most anticipated and beloved evenings, John Williams’ Film Night returns on Saturday, August 24, with George and Roberta Berry Boston Pops Conductor Laureate John Williams introducing the festive evening, which features the Boston Pops and conductor David Newman performing a program celebrating the music of Hollywood and more.

 

At the same time he's supposed to be doing some Q&A as a part of some workshops the day before so here's hoping...

 

I am not holding my breath this time though...

 

Karol

[Marian Schedenig 1977]

So, is anyone else coming to Film Night on the 24th? @Jay, have you decided yet?

[SilverTrumpet 30]

I'll be there.

[Jay 12240]

As of right now, the plan is..... To attend!! 

[Marian Schedenig 1977]

Well I'm up for a JWFan reunion.

 

I suppose there's a place for food (and drinks) at Tanglewood? We'll probably arrive there in the early afternoon, but I don't yet know what to do there until the concert other than walk around and try to spot Williams doing the same.

 

[Jurassic Shark 3792]

Try the local golf course.

[Jay 12240]

They sell food at Tanglewood though it's nothing special from what I know and I've always just ate dinner before arriving.  @Stefancos walked around the property when he came one year, any advise Steef? 

[Marian Schedenig 1977]

Well, not necessarily right at Tanglewood I suppose. We're leaving from Boston by car around noon, so as long as we have a spot to park the car, we're flexible.

[Smeltington 317]

They have crappy grab-and-go type of food. Burgers, fries, etc. They do have a salad bar also. But I think there's a nicer cafe somewhere too, if you go out of your way to look for it.

 

There are also restaurants along the road leading to the venue, though I haven't tried many of them.

 

The grounds are beautiful, and definitely worth taking extra time to walk around. You can also picnic there... some people go all out. Plus you can try and communicate with Highwood's ghost.

 

Enjoy!

[Miguel Andrade 628]

And there's usually a prelude concert at Ozawa Hall by TMC fellows.

[Foxfan 21]

I'm coming on Saturday the 24th! A new batch of tickets went on sale last Sunday, for those now looking to attend.

 

As mentioned, there is a cafeteria on the Tanglewood grounds, though a favourite place of mine is a seafood restaurant called the Salmon Run in Lee, MA. I might go there for dinner or lunch - I haven't decided yet if I'm attending the Beethoven's 9th rehearsal in the morning.

 

I'd love a JWFAN meetup! How many are coming in total?

[Jay 12240]

@Stefancos what was your experience roaming the grounds of Tanglewood before the concert? 

[Stefancos 9643]

Its a beautiful area so I had fun walking around there on the day of the concert. Saw them setting up the equipment. A couple of musicians were there practicing. Thats how I know they were doing a scene from Jaws live to picture. Which was a highlight of that nights performance.

[Disco Stu 8956]

I’d love to visit Tanglewood.  I want to visit the bower where Copland’s ashes were scattered which also has his memorial gravestone (and later the bust that Williams commissioned was added).