Pawel P. 738 Posted November 19, 2020 Share Posted November 19, 2020 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/ Muad'Dib, crumbs, Sunshine Reger and 2 others 1 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mstrox 6,808 Posted November 19, 2020 Share Posted November 19, 2020 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Sunshine Reger 3,572 Posted November 19, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted November 19, 2020 Deserves its own thread. Thanks to @Pawel P. for the news https://www.berliner-philharmoniker.de/en/concerts/calendar/details/53181/ First the award, then the word about the Berlin concert, then the gala, now this... Johnny has a sense for timings! Falstaft, BuzzLightyear, crlbrg and 6 others 3 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor 8,101 Posted November 19, 2020 Share Posted November 19, 2020 Cool to have it confirmed....and a name! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smeltington 1,538 Posted November 19, 2020 Share Posted November 19, 2020 Percussive Planet! Imaginative name. I wanna hear this!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Score 772 Posted November 19, 2020 Share Posted November 19, 2020 Great news! Judging by the inventiveness of the percussion parts in pieces such as "Happy Birthday Variations", I have high expectations on this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve 608 Posted November 19, 2020 Share Posted November 19, 2020 So my guess in the other topic was right Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 38,810 Posted November 19, 2020 Share Posted November 19, 2020 Great, can't wait to hear it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kühni 484 Posted November 19, 2020 Share Posted November 19, 2020 I expect at least one "BOOOM-Tzzzz"! And in c-minor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TownerFan 4,998 Posted November 19, 2020 Share Posted November 19, 2020 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. mrbellamy, crlbrg, Score and 1 other 1 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lairdo 737 Posted November 19, 2020 Share Posted November 19, 2020 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crlbrg 382 Posted November 19, 2020 Share Posted November 19, 2020 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 ) 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? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 38,810 Posted November 19, 2020 Share Posted November 19, 2020 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. pete 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marian Schedenig 8,802 Posted November 19, 2020 Share Posted November 19, 2020 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TownerFan 4,998 Posted November 19, 2020 Share Posted November 19, 2020 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,801 Posted November 19, 2020 Share Posted November 19, 2020 2 hours ago, Smeltington said: Percussive Planet! Imaginative name. I wanna hear this!!! It's probably just a percussion arrangement of JW's Holst rip-off. Biodome 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor 8,101 Posted November 19, 2020 Share Posted November 19, 2020 Bummer. Talk about an anti-climax. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,801 Posted November 19, 2020 Share Posted November 19, 2020 Damn you, Grubinger! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smeltington 1,538 Posted November 19, 2020 Share Posted November 19, 2020 3 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said: It's probably just a percussion arrangement of JW's Holst rip-off. Well if Holst was so great why didn't HE think of that? Sunshine Reger and Jurassic Shark 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MovieMusicMaestro 33 Posted March 2, 2021 Share Posted March 2, 2021 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henry Sítrónu 513 Posted March 2, 2021 Share Posted March 2, 2021 interesting! https://www.digitalconcerthall.com/en/concert/53181 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marian Schedenig 8,802 Posted March 2, 2021 Share Posted March 2, 2021 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? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,801 Posted March 2, 2021 Share Posted March 2, 2021 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bayesian 1,422 Posted March 2, 2021 Share Posted March 2, 2021 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!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor 8,101 Posted March 2, 2021 Share Posted March 2, 2021 In lieu of a new percussion concerto, we'll always have things like IMAGES that come pretty close. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marian Schedenig 8,802 Posted March 2, 2021 Share Posted March 2, 2021 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. WilliamsStarShip2282 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom 4,956 Posted March 2, 2021 Share Posted March 2, 2021 It is peculiar that the program is not more clear. If it isn't a JW composition, the listing comes off as borderline disingenuous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Brausam 216 Posted March 3, 2021 Share Posted March 3, 2021 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? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricard 2,254 Posted March 3, 2021 Share Posted March 3, 2021 Has anyone tried asking Martin? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmarps 217 Posted March 3, 2021 Share Posted March 3, 2021 If it was a new piece it would have "world premiere" next to it in the programme listing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TownerFan 4,998 Posted March 3, 2021 Share Posted March 3, 2021 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. Miguel Andrade 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,801 Posted March 3, 2021 Share Posted March 3, 2021 That would indeed be nice, but doesn't sound like something JW would do. I don't mind being surprised, though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor 8,101 Posted March 3, 2021 Share Posted March 3, 2021 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricard 2,254 Posted March 3, 2021 Share Posted March 3, 2021 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TownerFan 4,998 Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 Grubinger confirms the piece is a suite of sorts of selections from JW film scores: https://www.facebook.com/BerlinPhil/videos/558066225601279 Ricard 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 38,810 Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 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? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,801 Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 I suspect very much the latter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marian Schedenig 8,802 Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,801 Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 Grubie's clearly speculating in being as vague as possible, to make people think it's a new work by JW and maximize the attention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post lairdo 737 Posted June 26, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted June 26, 2021 So, just watched Martin Grubinger‘s John Williams: The Special Edition piece live on the Berlin Phil’s digital concert hall platform. A bit of.a glitchy flow on my brand new AppleTV which was annoying (hopefully my audio recording on my PC captured it cleanly). Overall, my impression is pretty much what this thread feared - the whole piece was an awkward mash up of themes which were generally well played but transitioned in and out of mostly orchestral moments with the various percussion instruments overlaying or taking over. The suite started with a relatively large chunk of Star Wars themes from a New Hope up to through sequel trilogy. I loved that a theme from Temple of Doom followed after that, and, not surprisingly, there was a big chunk of Catch Me If You Can (since Martin played on that piece for the Spielberg/Williams III album). Various other themes such as Saving Private Ryan and Harry Potter (with a nice piano intro) were heard. The suite closed with a relatively big rendition 1984’s Olympic Fanfare. Clearly, some of the John Williams themes lend themselves to extensive percussive elements, and when these argument the brass (which sounded great to me - always wonderful to see Sarah Willis blasting out JW notes), they combine quite naturally. I found the results less satisfying when the Percussive Planet band just took over completely from the orchestra. The playing was great - and from the sweat dripping off Martin’s nose clearly they were playing all out. I just found it hard to follow the theme variations and feel connected to the original music in a way that the variations should illuminate the original music. There was one long session that just seemed like percussion riffing. Nothing wrong with this, but given JW’s jazz background, I thought that Martin might take a clearer arrangement path than he did. I think back to Stan Kenton’s work (with whom John Williams collaborated in the 60’s) and what he did with things like West Side Story and even Richard Wagner. Subsequent listenings to this piece, however, might make some of the intention clearer to me. The piece is close to 30 minutes in length which is pretty amazing in itself. The Berlin Phil always sounds wonderful, and I happen to love conductor Wayne Marshall. I’ve seen him play the organ live with the Seattle Symphony, but alas COVID cancelled a follow up Gershwin concert he was going to lead from the piano (as he is doing now in the 2nd half of this concert as I type this). I have a number of his conducted and performed recordings. As always, having John Williams so prominently featured with an orchestra like the Berlin Phil is a treat. Simon Rattle conducted his music a few years ago, and that was fun. And of course, we know the JW is leading the orchestra himself in the fall. Plus, I love the indirect statement of having Bernstein, Gershwin and JW in a concert together. I wish they had programmed a Copland piece too for the perfect American Quartet. Overall though, not a bad American Trio. In summary, I would say that the Grubinger arranged piece was “fine.” At times, quite enjoyable for the treatment of classic themes and at times somewhat lost in the countryside around the Waldbühne. ——— One additional note now that the concert has ended. (The encores were Bernstein’s Candide Overture and the always final piece Paul Lincke's Berliner Luft). I noticed in the credits that EuroArts had done the filming and owned the copyright. My guess is that the concert will be made available outside of the Digital Concert Hall platform either in other streaming services such as the Apple video store or even on Blu-Ray. This has been done for other concerts they produce from this venue with the Berlin Phil. MrJosh, Cerebral Cortex, Ricard and 2 others 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor 8,101 Posted June 26, 2021 Share Posted June 26, 2021 Much ado about nothing, then. Thanks for the report! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,801 Posted June 26, 2021 Share Posted June 26, 2021 Are you referring to the Branagh adaptation? MikeH 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marian Schedenig 8,802 Posted June 26, 2021 Share Posted June 26, 2021 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. Miguel Andrade 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miguel Andrade 1,325 Posted June 26, 2021 Share Posted June 26, 2021 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. Marian Schedenig and Henry Sítrónu 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lairdo 737 Posted June 26, 2021 Share Posted June 26, 2021 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? Marian Schedenig 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marian Schedenig 8,802 Posted June 26, 2021 Share Posted June 26, 2021 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. lairdo and Miguel Andrade 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crlbrg 382 Posted June 29, 2021 Share Posted June 29, 2021 Pawel P., aj_vader and Sunshine Reger 1 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,801 Posted June 29, 2021 Share Posted June 29, 2021 Embarassing. I'm surbrised that Grubie got to play this with the BPO. aj_vader 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Ricard 2,254 Posted June 29, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted June 29, 2021 After hearing this my mind was so scrambled that it asked me to listen to an hour of Meco Monardo to make up for it. Miguel Andrade, aj_vader and Jay 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom 4,956 Posted June 29, 2021 Share Posted June 29, 2021 That would make for an okay Youtube video made by some high-schooler in the basement, but the BPO? My goodness. aj_vader 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now