JW concert arrangements that feature a piano

[Steve 590]

Watching concert footage of Williams' music in concert, I often noticed a piano being played. For example in "Imperial March", however barely audible.

Or here in "Out to Sea / Shark Cage Fugue", which I never noticed before watching this video (maybe because piano and orchestra are not together. no, Jurassic Shark? )

 

My question is, does anyone know in which famous Williams concert pieces a piano is required according to the score?

Does the studio recording of "Imperial March" also feature a piano?

It must be a hard job supporting an orchestra on a piano when it's not a solo piano piece like "Sabrina".

[Matt S. 493]

I believe the vast majority of his concert works call for piano.  They're usually used for added instrumental color, mostly for the woodwind, harp or percussion lines.  The piano is usually placed at the back of the orchestra with the rest of the percussion.  And yes, The Imperial March Signature Edition score does call for a piano (alternating with a Celeste).  

[Marian Schedenig 8,178]

Speaking of ESB concert suites where you might not expect it, The Asteroid Field also has a piano.

 

15 minutes ago, Matt S. said:

The piano is usually placed at the back of the orchestra with the rest of the percussion.

 

Do you mean for album recordings, or also for live concerts? Because whenever I say an "orchestral" piano on stage, it's usually at the front of the orchestra, to the very left (next to the rear violins). For practical reasons if nothing else, I expect, since you can't easily move a concert grand to the elevated sections of the podium.

 

It was in that location for the Williams in Vienna concerts, too.

[Matt S. 493]

9 minutes ago, Marian Schedenig said:

Speaking of ESB concert suites where you might not expect it, The Asteroid Field also has a piano.

 

 

Do you mean for album recordings, or also for live concerts? Because whenever I say an "orchestral" piano on stage, it's usually at the front of the orchestra, to the very left (next to the rear violins). For practical reasons if nothing else, I expect, since you can't easily move a concert grand to the elevated sections of the podium.

 

It was in that location for the Williams in Vienna concerts, too.

 

It probably varies by orchestra, but the Boston Pops usually place it at the back.

 

There's a good shot of it at 2:30 in this video:

 

 

 

[bruce marshall 1,315]

" Across the Moon".

Obviously.😊

 

[Bespin 8,480]

Official published piano reductions of concert works are listed on my website.

 

http://www.goplanete.com/johnwilliams/arranger/index.htm

[Bayesian 1,359]

53 minutes ago, Matt S. said:

I believe the vast majority of his concert works call for piano.  They're usually used for added instrumental color, mostly for the woodwind, harp or percussion lines.  The piano is usually placed at the back of the orchestra with the rest of the percussion.

Fascinating to think about that. It’s hard for me to see the piano as an accompaniment instrument, considering how it’s been in the soloist limelight for centuries...

15 minutes ago, Bespin said:

Official published piano reductions of concert works are listed on my website.

 

http://www.goplanete.com/johnwilliams/arranger/index.htm

Piano reductions aren’t the topic here. Just sayin’.

[Marian Schedenig 8,178]

56 minutes ago, Bayesian said:

Fascinating to think about that. It’s hard for me to see the piano as an accompaniment instrument, considering how it’s been in the soloist limelight for centuries...

 

It's not unusual in "newer" music to have the piano as just another instrument of the orchestra. Or I guess not even with less "newer" music. It wasn't common in the concert hall (as far as I'm aware), but opera has used the harpsichord as a standard instrument right from the beginning. I'm currently ripping a Blu-ray of Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos which features a harmonium, a celesta, and a piano (in an orchestra of just about 40 instruments altogether).

 

Even more fun stuff happens when the piano is used more as a percussion instrument than for melody or harmony. The Hunt from The Lost World is awesome in that way.

[Drew 590]

Theme from Angela's Ashes

 

The Book Thief end credits

[Marian Schedenig 8,178]

1 hour ago, Bayesian said:

Piano reductions aren’t the topic here. Just sayin’.

 

The chinaman is not the issue here!

[Docteur Qui 1,544]

2 hours ago, Bayesian said:

Fascinating to think about that. It’s hard for me to see the piano as an accompaniment instrument, considering how it’s been in the soloist limelight for centuries...

 

It's a wonderful colour for the orchestra, especially when doubling harp flourishes or low percussive strings. I use it quite a bit for the latter in my own compositions, the low registers of the piano have a great growling timbre when played at a loud dynamic (for JW examples see The Hunt, Battle of Hoth, Ultimate War, Shark Cage Fugue etc).

[Datameister 2,037]

Yeah, you're gonna find a piano part in virtually any big Williams composition. Usually it's barely audible in recordings, but he likes to use it for color, as others have said.

[BrotherSound 2,242]

Even two pianos isn't particularly unusual in JW film scores, even cues where piano isn't very prominent. There's 2 piano parts all throughout "Imperial Attack" from ANH, for instance.

 

His general practice tends to be two keyboard parts of some kind, various combinations of piano, celeste, synthesizer, etc.

[Steve 590]

12 hours ago, Marian Schedenig said:

It was in that location for the Williams in Vienna concerts, too.

Do you remember on which titles the piano was being played in Vienna?

[Jurassic Shark 12,033]

15 hours ago, Steve said:

Or here in "Out to Sea / Shark Cage Fugue", which I never noticed before watching this video (maybe because piano and orchestra are not together. no, Jurassic Shark? )

 

Huh, I've always been aware of the piano in this piece, perhaps because I play the piano myself. At least the orchestra is more together in this performance than in the one from Vienna.

 

12 hours ago, Bespin said:

Official published piano reductions of concert works are listed on my website.

 

http://www.goplanete.com/johnwilliams/arranger/index.htm

 

Here's a much more complete overview, courtesy of @The Lost Folio.

 

12 hours ago, Bayesian said:

Fascinating to think about that. It’s hard for me to see the piano as an accompaniment instrument, considering how it’s been in the soloist limelight for centuries...

 

Just think about all the duo pieces written for solo instrument and piano accompanienment over the centuries!

[Steve 590]

1 hour ago, Jurassic Shark said:

At least the orchestra is more together in this performance than in the one from Vienna.

Finally, the offical troll confirmation 

[Jurassic Shark 12,033]

Still, you don't hear what you don't want to hear.

[Marian Schedenig 8,178]

2 hours ago, Steve said:

Do you remember on which titles the piano was being played in Vienna?

 

No, because it was hard to see it and as it's mostly just used for colour, often hard to even consciously hear it. But obviously it played on Luke and Leia and The Imperial March. And probably not on the Raiders March (as that definitely doesn't have a piano part in the Signature Edition). Aside from that, presumably everything that also used a piano in its original film version.

[TownerFan 4,983]

I just published a podcast interview with session pianist Ralph Grierson, who performed on many John's scores in LA:

 

https://thelegacyofjohnwilliams.com/2020/08/26/ralph-grierson-podcast

 

He also talks about the use of piano in JW scores.

[BrotherSound 2,242]

2 hours ago, Marian Schedenig said:

And probably not on the Raiders March (as that definitely doesn't have a piano part in the Signature Edition).

 

It doesn’t play a lot, but there’s definitely some piano in the Raiders March signature edition:

[Faleel 5,342]

Snowy's Theme?

[Marian Schedenig 8,178]

2 hours ago, BrotherSound said:

 

It doesn’t play a lot, but there’s definitely some piano in the Raiders March signature edition:

 

Yes, I checked the lineup in the Signature Edition before posting and still managed to miss the piano listed there.