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Martin Grubinger's 'John Williams: The Special Edition' - New arrangements for percussion and orchestra performed by the Berlin Philharmonic


alawill75

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Take a look at this!

 

New concert piece, Percussive Planet, written for Martin Grubinger? It looks like it :)  Some time ago there were rumors that Williams could write something for him and it happened.  The premiere will take place on June 26! Of course with the Berliner Philharmoniker!

 

https://www.berliner-philharmoniker.de/en/concerts/calendar/details/53181/

Percussive.jpg

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Shocking if true, given the state of things right now.  Of course, if a vaccine time table goes according to some estimates, it's possible that we'll be cloooose to "back to normal," or at least the new normal, by next fall.

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Hmm... I don't think this is going to be a full-on new Concerto, but rather a symphonic adaptation of his own (Williams-approved) film themes medley that Grubinger already performed last year at the Schleswig-Holstein Festival with his own Percussive Planet ensemble:

 

 

On his website, Grubinger is listing the Berlin piece as "WILLIAMS: Suite Special Edition". If it was a world premiere of sorts, it would have been surely noted.

 

 

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Wow, that's great. And even more so, the Berlin Phil's digital concert stage is wonderful. Concerts are live and then posted shortly after for streaming. It's a membership service, but really has great classical musical. There are a few other Williams pieces on there.

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And directed by Wayne Marshall! (Who lives on the same island as I do so I'm probably going to end up with a restraining order when I go knock on his door everyday for him to show me the score :lol:)

 

I'm afraid you might be right - although I hope you're not.

8 minutes ago, TownerFan said:

Hmm... I don't think this is going to be a full-on new Concerto, but rather a symphonic adaptation of his own (Williams-approved) film themes medley that Grubinger already performed last year at the Schleswig-Holstein Festival with his own Percussive Planet ensemble:

 

 

On his website, Grubinger is listing the Berlin piece as "WILLIAMS: Suite Special Edition". If it was a world premiere of sorts, it would have been surely noted.

 

 

Why would he name the piece after Grubinger's ensemble otherwise?

 

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54 minutes ago, TownerFan said:

Hmm... I don't think this is going to be a full-on new Concerto, but rather a symphonic adaptation of his own (Williams-approved) film themes medley that Grubinger already performed last year at the Schleswig-Holstein Festival with his own Percussive Planet ensemble

 

Oh.

 

My Disappointment Is Immeasurable And My Day Is Ruined | Know Your Meme

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6 minutes ago, carlborg said:

Why would he name the piece after Grubinger's ensemble otherwise?

 

Do we know that's actually the name of a new piece? Or just an odd/incorrect way of crediting them on the concert announcement page? Perhaps the name of whatever work they're going to perform has not yet been decided. Or perhaps it's just the same horrible mess of Williams arrangements Grubinger performed last time.

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25 minutes ago, Marian Schedenig said:

 

Do we know that's actually the name of a new piece? Or just an odd/incorrect way of crediting them on the concert announcement page? Perhaps the name of whatever work they're going to perform has not yet been decided. Or perhaps it's just the same horrible mess of Williams arrangements Grubinger performed last time.

 

On his website, Grubinger is listing it as "JOHN WILLIAMS: Suite Special Edition". It doesn't mention it being a world premiere or a Concerto of sorts.

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  • 3 months later...

It seems that JW has written a new concerto: "Percussive Planet". The premiere (?) will be at Berlin's prestigious open-air venue "Waldbühne", just a few steps off the Olympic Stadium, on June 26, 2021. The Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra will be conducted by Wayne Marshall; soloist: Martin Grubinger. 

 

https://www.digitalconcerthall.com/en/concert/53181

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Still so little actual information. Did Williams really write a new piece and name it after Grubinger's ensemble? Or is the title not yet known, and they just put the ensemble instead? Or is it not an original Williams piece after all, but once again an arrangement of Williams stuff, by Grubinger or somebody else?

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2 hours ago, MovieMusicMaestro said:

It seems that JW has written a new concerto: "Percussive Planet". The premiere (?) will be at Berlin's prestigious open-air venue "Waldbühne", just a few steps off the Olympic Stadium, on June 26, 2021. The Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra will be conducted by Wayne Marshall; soloist: Martin Grubinger. 

 

https://www.digitalconcerthall.com/en/concert/53181

Halfway up the page on this thread it was already determined this is NOT an original JW composition. Alack and alas. 
 

It seems to me that a percussion concerto would be right up JW’s alley, though. He could explore a near endless range of timbres and harmonies and write something really avant garde. Maybe we’ll get one if Grubinger pesters JW enough. (It seems that’s what it takes to wring a concerto from the man—endless pleadings from highly interested soloists!)

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17 minutes ago, Bayesian said:

Halfway up the page on this thread it was already determined this is NOT an original JW composition. Alack and alas.

 

Has it? It doesn't look like we ever had solid information of what it actually *is*, although it still seems likely that it's just a version of that horrible mashup Grubinger already premiered a while ago.

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It is peculiar that the program is not more clear.  If it isn't a JW composition, the listing comes off as borderline disingenuous.  

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The way its credited on the program makes it seem as if its an original composition?  The piece is credited in the same manner as everything else on that program, and lists Grubinger as a soloist.  Am I missing something?

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6 hours ago, Ricard said:

Has anyone tried asking Martin?

 

On his website, Grubinger is listing the Berlin piece as "JOHN WILLIAMS: Suite Special Edition". If it was a new commission or a world premiere of sorts, it would have been surely noted. I still believe this is going to be an orchestral version of the medley he did a few years ago. What remains to be seen is if JW contributed something new for the piece.

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1 hour ago, TownerFan said:

 

On his website, Grubinger is listing the Berlin piece as "JOHN WILLIAMS: Suite Special Edition". If it was a new commission or a world premiere of sorts, it would have been surely noted. I still believe this is going to be an orchestral version of the medley he did a few years ago. What remains to be seen is if JW contributed something new for the piece.

 

Indeed. Seems fairly obvious to me.

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4 hours ago, TownerFan said:

On his website, Grubinger is listing the Berlin piece as "JOHN WILLIAMS: Suite Special Edition". If it was a new commission or a world premiere of sorts, it would have been surely noted. I still believe this is going to be an orchestral version of the medley he did a few years ago. What remains to be seen is if JW contributed something new for the piece.

 

Indeed. That's why I'm asking if anyone even tried to contact him in order to know what exactly the piece is about.

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  • 3 months later...

Was Williams involved in any way with deciding which parts were used, or make any new new arrangements or orchestrations for any of those parts?

 

Or is this just entirely Grubinger doing his own thing with no input from Williams at all?

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For most of his statement it sounds like that same (horrible) open air thing he did two (?) years ago, except at the end he say it'll be the first performance. In any case, it very much seems like the whole percussion concert rumour might just come from Grub(l)inger asking Williams to write one for him, and Williams instead suggesting a set of his film scores that could be re-arranged for percussion instruments, instead of writing anything himself.

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On 6/26/2021 at 3:36 PM, lairdo said:

Plus, I love the indirect statement of having Bernstein, Gershwin and JW in a concert together.

 

I'm not sure that's much of a statement. If you're going to programme Williams at all, pairing him with "popular, 'light' American composers" like Bernstein and Gershwin is probably the "safest" bet you have. Pairing Williams with a Haydn, Beethoven, or Brahms symphony - now that would be a statement.

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2 minutes ago, Marian Schedenig said:

 

I'm not sure that's much of a statement. If you're going to programme Williams at all, pairing him with "popular, 'light' American composers" like Bernstein and Gershwin is probably the "safest" bet you have. Pairing Williams with a Haydn, Beethoven, or Brahms symphony - now that would be a statement.

I've heard Beethoven's 5th paired with Williams' Escapades.

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31 minutes ago, Marian Schedenig said:

 

I'm not sure that's much of a statement. If you're going to programme Williams at all, pairing him with "popular, 'light' American composers" like Bernstein and Gershwin is probably the "safest" bet you have. Pairing Williams with a Haydn, Beethoven, or Brahms symphony - now that would be a statement.

 

Fair point. I too have seen him paired (Schindler’s List for example) with other purely classical composers (vs. Bernstein/Gershwin who had a lot of fame through broadway). 

 

Digressing I guess specifically to this thread, but I suspect the pairing of Violin Concert No. 2 with a Beethoven overture and Bartok’s concerto for orchestra to kick off the BSO 2021-2 Season is a bigger statement then?

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11 minutes ago, lairdo said:

Digressing I guess specifically to this thread, but I suspect the pairing of Violin Concert No. 2 with a Beethoven overture and Bartok’s concerto for orchestra to kick off the BSO 2021-2 Season is a bigger statement then?

 

I nearly commented on that in the other thread when it was announced. Funny enough, you could argue that the Beethoven piece is the "popular", "easy" piece in that programme, because it was commissioned for the inauguration of Vienna's Theater in der Josefstadt. In that regard, it has much in common with Williams concert fanfares, although the Beethoven piece is more of a processional and not an actual fanfare (but it is technically march, and it does contain a fanfare). And I don't mean to imply that this is planned as a slight - I don't think Beethoven's piece would be lumped in the same (unfair) category as Williams "pops" fanfares. In any case, it's definitely a cool programme.

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