John Williams in Vienna 'confirmed as the biggest classical best-seller of 2020, with 100,000 CD sales and 150 million streams'

[Fabulin 3,510]

according to Norman Lebrecht

https://slippedisc.com/2020/12/anything-i-ever-said-about-john-williams-and-the-vienna-philharmonic/

 

cheers! 

[Jay 37,312]

100,000????

 

That's insane

[MrJosh 892]

whoa, that's awesome!

[Fabulin 3,510]

6 minutes ago, Jay said:

100,000????

 

That's insane

And that's despite all the COVID-related production and shipping limitations!

[Biodome 714]

According to Pressparty:

Quote

Now, Deutsche Grammophon/Universal Music Canada, the country's leading music company, is offering fans a new Live Edition, featuring six bonus tracks and on-stage commentary from the composer. The double‑CD is set for release on February 5, to coincide with Williams’ 89th birthday three days later.

 

[Fabulin 3,510]

25 minutes ago, Biodome said:

According to Pressparty:

 

What's intriguing is that they mention that Williams has won a "Record Academy Project Award from Japan’s Record Geijutsu magazine".

 

It would seem that it's a recent (01.12.2020) award given to this very recording.

https://www.universal-music.co.jp/john-williams/news/2020-12-01/

[Thor 7,477]

Hope it doesn't sell out.

 

I still haven't bought the BluRay. My BluRay player went under a few weeks back, and I need to get a new one (no point in ordering the DVD version). I've decided that I don't want the CD version, only the BluRay. It will be with mixed feelings, if and when I do acquire it, though. Thrill in seeing Williams live, aching jealousy and regret that I didn't get to be there myself.

[Jurassic Shark 12,033]

3 hours ago, Jay said:

100,000????

 

That's insane

 

That's bacause some people on this forum bought all the gazillion editions. 

 

1 minute ago, Thor said:

Hope it doesn't sell out.

 

I still haven't bought the BluRay. My BluRay player went under a few weeks back, and I need to get a new one (no point in ordering the DVD version). I've decided that I don't want the CD version, only the BluRay. It will be with mixed feelings, if and when I do acquire it, though. Thrill in seeing Williams live, aching jealousy and regret that I didn't get to be there myself.

 

The blu-ray comes with a CD as well.

[Thor 7,477]

7 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

The blu-ray comes with a CD as well.

 

Ah. I thought it was possible to maybe buy the BR separately, and for less money. But if it's a combo package, I'll deal with that.

[Jurassic Shark 12,033]

4 minutes ago, Thor said:

 

Ah. I thought it was possible to maybe buy the BR separately, and for less money. But if it's a combo package, I'll deal with that.

 

It is, but it's also possible it has been released as a blu-ray-only edition - I can't keep track of all the editions anymore.

 

It's back in stock, btw.

 

https://www.europadisc.co.uk/classical/148226/John_Williams_in_Vienna_(CD_+_Blu-ray_Audio).htm

 

https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8785414--john-williams-in-vienna-cd-blu-ray-video-edition

[Bryant Burnette 654]

150 million streams, my ass.  No chance.

[Jurassic Shark 12,033]

They probably added together numbers for all the individual tracks.

[crumbs 14,304]

Imagine how many sales they'd have if there was actually stock for people to buy!

 

I'm a diehard JW fan and I still haven't been able to buy a copy locally because there hasn't been stock in Australia for 5 months.

[Jurassic Shark 12,033]

Just now, crumbs said:

Imagine how many sales they'd have if there was actually stock for people to buy! I'm a diehard JW fan and there hasn't been stock in Australia for 5 months.

 

Better buy from abroad. I just posted two links to good online stores where it's currently in stock.

[Biodome 714]

38 minutes ago, Bryant Burnette said:

150 million streams, my ass.  No chance.

If people can stream single Ed Sheeran songs more than 2.5 billion times, I think that 150 million streams for an album by the most famous film composer is a perfectly achievable feat. Also, DG have been marketing and advertising the album like never before.

[Jurassic Shark 12,033]

If only Ed Sheeran had done a cameo in one of the tracks.

[Biodome 714]

33 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

If only Ed Sheeran had done a cameo in one of the tracks.

 

They could've done a collaboration album. I've always wanted to hear how that iconic music would sound like if it were set to lyrics that is considered to be profound by 13-year-olds.

[Jurassic Shark 12,033]

Yeah!

[King Mark 3,626]

Amazing, JW taking over the classical world. I always thought it would happen someday

[crumbs 14,304]

I'm glad it's proven such a lucrative concert for all parties. World-class orchestras will be falling over themselves convincing Williams to travel and conduct them, once international travel resumes safely.

 

The more concerts recorded and released, the better! Clearly there's a market for it.

[Score 770]

Fantastic news. I only wish he had started to do these things earlier...

[Joni Wiljami 1,206]

Anything I ever said about Norman Lebrect... 

(he is a moron) 

 

 

 

I don't take back. 

[TownerFan 4,983]

Selling 100k physical copies of anything in this day and age is kind of a miniature miracle. Kudos to DG for creating momentum among fans about this, but the success is not only due to marketing strategy—it speaks about the value of JW’s music and its place among a great amount of people across the globe. It’s one of the defining signs that JW’s music transcends the boundaries of soundtrack or even just movie fans. It’s just great music, plain and simple, that will live for centuries to come, just like the works of Bach, Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, Mahler, Shostakovich, Stravinsky, Prokofiev...

 

It may be look like I’m preaching to the choir here saying such things, but I honestly think we’ve been witnessing an historical moment in terms of change of perception of JW’s music.

[Fabulin 3,510]

1 hour ago, TownerFan said:

It may be look like I’m preaching to the choir here saying such things, but I honestly think we’ve been witnessing an historical moment in terms of change of perception of JW’s music.

When I saw the 150 million number, I thought "Johnny is certified immortal now" (by being in people's memories). I think a book should (and will!) be written at some point in the future about changing perceptions about John Williams. Just look at this quote:

Quote

“At different points in its history, the Vienna Philharmonic has been conducted by the most important composers of the day,” notes Michael Bladerer, CEO of the Vienna Philharmonic. “As one of the leading composers of our time, John Williams has continued this tradition, and I am very happy that his extraordinary concert will live on thanks to the recording made last January.”

Less than a year ago I would have thought that such words could realistically be expected to be said only by JWFan members.

 

5 hours ago, Biodome said:

If people can stream single Ed Sheeran songs more than 2.5 billion times, I think that 150 million streams for an album by the most famous film composer is a perfectly achievable feat. Also, DG have been marketing and advertising the album like never before.

Even being recognized by 1 out of 20 people who know about Ed Sheeran is actually quite an achievement for a classical composer, despite what snobs would tell you.

 

Defeating the ridiculously popular albums of Einaudi, Boccelli, Piano Guys and the like on one hand, and Beethoven's 250th anniversary or any other "highbrow" recordings on the other... that really exceeded my expectations. I never would have imagined such a success back in January, or even back in May or July.

[Jurassic Shark 12,033]

3 minutes ago, Fabulin said:

Less than a year ago I would have thought that such words could realistically be expected to be said only by JWFan members.

 

Well, he could hide behind any username here. Like that "@Smeltington".

 

5 minutes ago, Fabulin said:

Einaudi

 

What a hack.

[Smeltington 1,436]

I have no association with the Vienna Philharmonic. I'm only here to provide quality content for fans of John Williams. Like this great list of gifts for the holiday season:

https://www.wienerphilharmoniker.at/en/shop/list

[Jurassic Shark 12,033]

28 minutes ago, Smeltington said:

I have no association with the Vienna Philharmonic. I'm only here to provide quality content for fans of John Williams. Like this great list of gifts for the holiday season:

https://www.wienerphilharmoniker.at/en/shop/list

 

Is the JW-style turtleneck up yet?

[Smeltington 1,436]

Yes, along with boxes of our Limited Throwback Edition JW Classic Series premium cigars. John may have quit smoking them, but you don't have to.

[bigjimwilson 253]

8 hours ago, Thor said:

Hope it doesn't sell out.

 

I still haven't bought the BluRay. My BluRay player went under a few weeks back, and I need to get a new one (no point in ordering the DVD version). I've decided that I don't want the CD version, only the BluRay. It will be with mixed feelings, if and when I do acquire it, though. Thrill in seeing Williams live, aching jealousy and regret that I didn't get to be there myself.

 

I believe there's a blu-ray only version coming in Feb.  And.... there is no DVD version. So that should be easy to avoid!

[rough cut 1,714]

5 hours ago, Smeltington said:

Yes, along with boxes of our Limited Throwback Edition JW Classic Series premium cigars. John may have quit smoking them, but you don't have to.

It turns out that JW cigars do exist. 😂

 

 

[JohnnyD 1,221]

16 hours ago, Biodome said:

According to Pressparty:

 

That is phenomenal. God bless the Maestro and the Vienna Philharmonic. I may very well get the Two-CD Live Edition.

[Thor 7,477]

5 hours ago, bigjimwilson said:

 

I believe there's a blu-ray only version coming in Feb.  And.... there is no DVD version. So that should be easy to avoid!

 

Thanks!

 

I'm cool with that. Can easily wait untill February. Need to get a new BR player anyway.

[Bespin 8,480]

Great event, that almost failed to happen! 

[Smeltington 1,436]

1 hour ago, rough cut said:

It turns out that JW cigars do exist. 😂

 

 

 

Have you tried them?

[Tom 4,640]

17 hours ago, Smeltington said:

 

Have you tried them?

The older ones tend to knock your socks off with their bold, direct flavor and big punch.  The more recent ones are more subtle and sometimes even whimsical.

[Matt S. 493]

On 12/8/2020 at 7:42 AM, Score said:

Fantastic news. I only wish he had started to do these things earlier...

 

If you mean conducting a world-class orchestra in concerts of his music and releasing albums, he has been doing "these things" since at least 1980.

 

The success of this project only makes me wish Sony Classical did as good a job of marketing and promoting JW as Deutsche Grammophone is doing in the past few years, with the Across the Stars albums, plus the Dudamel concert album.  It's as if Williams has suddenly become a composer to be taken seriously, now that he's worked with Anne-Sophie Mutter and the Vienna Phil (I suppose the likes of Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Gil Shaham, etc. weren't good enough).  I'll freely admit that the Vienna Phil is probably the pinnacle of the classical music world, but he's spent decades conducting the Boston Symphony, and has guest conducted virtually every other major American orchestra, not to mention the London Symphony.  If only Sony Classical had put out programs like this, with concert videos, etc, maybe this kind of success would have come earlier.  I'm sure the BSO organization is sitting on mountains of video of him conducting the Pops.  Spielberg/Williams III is a great album, but Sony's distribution of it was complete and utter shit.  It's only available (in the US at least) in the 3-CD set or the huge 20-CD Conductor box.  

 

This isn't to say that John Williams in Vienna doesn't deserve the success or the accolades.  It certainly does, and it makes me look back at what "might have been."

 

[Smeltington 1,436]

I did my part, by the way, when I spent $1.99 on Devil's Dance.

[Fabulin 3,510]

On 12/9/2020 at 3:11 PM, Matt S. said:

 

If you mean conducting a world-class orchestra in concerts of his music and releasing albums, he has been doing "these things" since at least 1980.

 

The success of this project only makes me wish Sony Classical did as good a job of marketing and promoting JW as Deutsche Grammophone is doing in the past few years, with the Across the Stars albums, plus the Dudamel concert album.  It's as if Williams has suddenly become a composer to be taken seriously, now that he's worked with Anne-Sophie Mutter and the Vienna Phil (I suppose the likes of Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Gil Shaham, etc. weren't good enough).  I'll freely admit that the Vienna Phil is probably the pinnacle of the classical music world, but he's spent decades conducting the Boston Symphony, and has guest conducted virtually every other major American orchestra, not to mention the London Symphony.  If only Sony Classical had put out programs like this, with concert videos, etc, maybe this kind of success would have come earlier.  I'm sure the BSO organization is sitting on mountains of video of him conducting the Pops.  Spielberg/Williams III is a great album, but Sony's distribution of it was complete and utter shit.  It's only available (in the US at least) in the 3-CD set or the huge 20-CD Conductor box.  

 

This isn't to say that John Williams in Vienna doesn't deserve the success or the accolades.  It certainly does, and it makes me look back at what "might have been."

 

For snobs:

1) American orchestras don't project nearly as much fame points as major continental European ones, neither to snobs in Europe, nor to snobs in the US...

2) LSO is a commercialized orchestra doing soundtracks, nothing special about them either for a snob

 

For normies:

1) The collaborations with Perlman, Shaham, and Yo-Yo

I) did not involve Star Wars and Harry Potter,

II) were not as long and not as hammering the point home as with Mutter,

2) Vienna Phil has the image of a warm, plush, tourist-friendly "New Year's Concert" orchestra that combines gravitas with a magnetic nostalgic draw

 

For both cohorts:

1) social media advertising has really developed over the years

2) the product being offered is new, not a recording from years ago

[InTheCity 140]

This is a garbage recording - I am shocked at DG - so many errors - what a lazy effort

[JohnnyD 1,221]

Just revisited the concert via the Blu-Ray; the fact that this release has had so much success is not surprising at all, while it is most welcomed and well-earned. Well done to Maestro John Williams and the Vienna Philharmonic for this historic collaboration.

[InTheCity 140]

Garbage:

Listen to the image/volume of the orchestra on Star Wars at at 4:58 - what is the engineer thinking?

 

Also tons of wrong notes in the horns 

 

:36 on ET  Bb?

whats going on Jurassic park at five minutes in the horns?

 

also the engineer decided to leave the close microphone on for the first violin for the entire album - so lazy

 

i mean on star wars what is this shit edit near 20 seconds? they added an eighth note 

 

terrible album

 

 

 

 

[Jay 37,312]

You must be fun at parties

[JohnnyD 1,221]

Honestly, you would be out of your mind if you even thought this was terrible. I don't understand; I'm sorry you feel that way and I pity you for what I can only describe as nothing short of invalid criticisms and nitpicks.

 

Anyway, I think Maurizio's comment sums it up best:

On 12/8/2020 at 8:36 AM, TownerFan said:

Selling 100k physical copies of anything in this day and age is kind of a miniature miracle. Kudos to DG for creating momentum among fans about this, but the success is not only due to marketing strategy—it speaks about the value of JW’s music and its place among a great amount of people across the globe. It’s one of the defining signs that JW’s music transcends the boundaries of soundtrack or even just movie fans. It’s just great music, plain and simple, that will live for centuries to come, just like the works of Bach, Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, Mahler, Shostakovich, Stravinsky, Prokofiev...

 

[InTheCity 140]

With all of these problems it seems like a slight towards Williams and Film Music as a whole. This wouldn't be the case with a Beethoven 9 with _______ (a serious classical conductor).  Turning off the violin 1 close mic takes minimal effort, but its almost as if they couldn't be bothered to rebounce the mix or to hire a score reader for the session.  ITs as if the music itself doesn't warrant the serious attnetion as other DG projects.  Very dissapointing album.

 

The album has many many issues, and I invite any serious listener to listen to some of them which I mentioned.

 

 

[JohnnyD 1,221]

I'm a serious listener, and I've noticed none of these supposed "problems" or "issues" you keep complaining about. Why not simply enjoy the album and concert for what it is and more? Why the negative attitude for an entire concert because of supposed "issues" that aren't even there or have little significance? There is no point.

 

I quote Leighton Jones' review of the album from "The Classic Review":

 

"Taken live in January 2020 at the great acoustics of the Musikverein, the recording captures the excitement and the balance is superb. This album proves the sophistication and universal appeal of Williams’ music, marvelously played by some of the world’s finest orchestral musicians."

 

I could quote other reviews that share similar praise, but that would take up quite a bit of space.

 

Like I said, I don't understand your complaints; it's not worth it.

 

I feel Mikko also summed it up best with his thoughts:

 

"While the program is quite typical for a John Williams concert and there are not quite so many eureka moments for seasoned fans (exception perhaps being the delightful Devil’s Dance arrangement), one of the bigger draws of this type of release is to hear Williams’ works interpreted by such a distinguished institution of the classical music world as the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, especially when they are not known for performing film music, and to hear how they respond to the composer’s music under his direction. I am glad to say that the answer is a positive one. The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra’s performance is as skillful, energetic and beautiful as one can expect from an ensemble of their caliber, with nary a flub or mistake to be heard under Williams’ assured baton. A live performance also always adds its own special energy to the music with a living breathing audience in the same space with the musicians, both reacting to each other, and I feel that some of that energy can be felt in this live recording as well. In addition to the fine playing, the music is also well complemented by the Musikverein concert hall, which lends broad, warm and opulent acoustics to the recording that work especially well for the flashier and grander of Williams’ concert pieces like Hook, E.T. or Star Wars that positively shake the room at louder levels.

But the bottom line is that this is world class music performed by a world class orchestra and musical stars like Williams and Mutter, which is something to be cherished and you can hear the enthusiasm and admiration of these music makers towards John Williams and his music loud and clear on this disc. A celebration of a life in music indeed."

[InTheCity 140]

i mean if you can't hear it you can't hear it - doesn't matter how long a paragraph you gonna write.

 

36 sounds in ET the fourth horn plays a Bb instead of Bnatural, a written F#.It sounds completely alien to me but it may sound fine to you.

[Faleel 5,340]

33 minutes ago, InTheCity said:

 ET ...sounds completely alien

Hehehe

[Steve 590]

I watched the concert again yesterday and I very much enjoyed it. Yes, 4 pieces include some errors. I'm glad they didn't overdub them. It makes the album more authentic. It is called a "live album", ok?  What p*sses me off here is that the nitpickers only complain about the few errors in 4 pieces but don't mention the flawless performances of the other 15 titles. They don't accept that many do enjoy this album a lot.

[InTheCity 140]

let me tell you a secret - no live concert album is ever live. I don't have the video version. the album version has endings with out applause, this tells you recordings were made ahead of time.
all rehersals are recorded too.

as evidence you can hear a clear poorly executed edit at 4:36.5  the left channel pops - no "live" take would have such a blemish 
 

 

its the second most sloppy DG i've ever heard after Yundi Li Ravel G major. 

I just feel the maestro deserves the full attention of the DG staff - believe me they hear these things too - but didnt gaf 

 

[Jurassic Shark 12,033]

Indeed a sloppy job by the DG producers.