John Williams Tribute in Washington; July 4, 2003

[Hector J. Guzman 1]

In case no one knew the annual PBS show "A Capitol's Fourth" will feature a tribute to composer John Williams, Erich Kunzel will be conducting the National Symphony Orchestra from Washington.

Click here for complete info

Also JWFan reported that Williams himself will tkae the podium for one selection.

Go here for more info

Goldsmith Fireworks

London Symphony Orchestra

Jerry Goldsmith

[JCM 1]

Wow, that was awesome!! And what an honor for Williams to be the first recipient of the National Artistic Achievement Award (or whatever it was called)!!

I'm sure that's a night he'll never forget!

And on a side note, probably a night that trumpet player will never forget after coming in a measure early during the Olympic Fanfare and Theme!!! Wow...can you imagine being THAT guy!!! Ouch!

-JCM

[WLW 0]

I saw (heard) that. I wonder how John felt about it.

[charlesk 0]

John Williams heard the impatient trumpeteer and made a fast gesture that shut him up. The orquestra seem not to have enought time to rehearse, they missed notes everywhere, the first part of the Homage, conducted by Kunzel was filled with rythms and syncronization errors. But still, while they played the famous themes of several movies, I couldn't help to notice how emotional this music is. Audience applauded their favorite themes (all of them), and the performance was ended with an standing ovation.

John Williams listened very proud and humble at the same time. He looked old, but when he was called to the stage he ran and jumped like a boy. He received a glass bowl as an award (which I guess he'll use to put fruit in it, hehe, joke!) and he made a fluent speech and after some rehearsed lines with Kunzel, he climbed to the podium to conduct (yes!) the 1984 Olympic theme, my favorite of the bunch. It was very emotional moment. I'm very proud of having followed this man's life and work.

[MattC 1]

What a great performance. Noticed the errors as well. I didnt like the orchestration of the ET portion, and the tempo seemed to slow. But Star Wars came through great!

Matt

[Eplicon 53]

I was there and just got back. I'm very hot, very tired, but had a good time. Baking in 90 degree all day just for that...

I'm not sure what kind of report I could give other than what everyone else saw on TV. But it's much cooler "live."

I couldn't make out his thank you speech, as The Mall isn't exactly the best place in the world for dynamics even when played out over large speakers. Since I was watching it live, I am going to assume that the TV feed provided a better sound mix. I also caught the horn player's accidental early intro for the Olympic Theme. Probably a case of nerves (after all, millions of people around the world are watching!)

I was technically on TV at certain points. Specifically, when they did the aerial wide angle view of the Capitol and all the denizens below. I was the grey and black dot near the far right.

All-in-all (I've been several of these 4th of July concerts in DC), I give it an overall OK rating, since so much of it is pop fodder.

[Lurker 5]

I was technically on TV at certain points. Specifically, when they did the aerial wide angle view of the Capitol and all the denizens below. I was the grey and black dot near the far right.

I thought that was you!

I taped this and I'll be putting it on CD at some point, screw-ups and all.

Neil

[Eplicon 53]

This was posted in the Washington Post a few days ago concerning the event.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artic...-2003Jun24.html

Below, I've omitted the irrelevant Williams bit from the article:

For Washingtonians, the best known is PBS's concert on the Mall. "A Capitol Fourth 2003," airing live at 8 p.m. on Friday, also offers a special tribute to composer John Williams.

'John is America's greatest living composer," said Jerry Colbert, the concert's executive producer. "He's one of those stars who isn't all self-important and full of himself. He likes to be out with people and play different selections.' To honor Williams, Colbert said, "we thought it would be fun to play some of his great movie themes, from 'Jaws,' 'Raiders of the Lost Ark,' the bicycle chase from 'E.T.,' 'Superman,' 'Star Wars,' and others, and then give him an award.' Williams also will conduct the National Symphony Orchestra in his Olympic fanfare from the 1984 Los Angeles Games. He also has written themes for the 1988, 1996 and 2002 Olympics.

Williams has scored the music for more than 90 films, including "Schindler's List," which won an Oscar and a Grammy. He has won five Oscars and 17 Grammys. His most recent musical scores can be heard in "Catch Me If You Can" and "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone."

Williams usually spends the Fourth of July participating in concerts in Boston or Los Angeles. Because he is being honored in Washington, he'll be here instead.

'It is my first time at this concert and I really look forward to it," he said.

'July Fourth renews the ongoing experiment that this country is, " Williams said. "We're still trying to define ourselves in terms of the world. I've always thought of our country as a metaphor for diverse groups managing themselves, and with all that's happened these last few years, the experiment is all the more important.' For the Fourth of July, Williams said, "these concerts are important all across the country. Of course there are fireworks and hot dogs, but it's the music which goes to the core and spirit of the country. And that's a thrill for me.'

[HPFAN 1]

I missed it! Damn family BBQs!

[Ray Barnsbury 8]

I loved it as well, mistakes and all (which didn't detract from it at all, IMO). I was surprised and elated to see him awarded like that. What an honor. He certainly deserves it! I'm glad I taped it.

Ray Barnsbury

[Eric Hester 0]

Hi everyone!

I've recorded the John Williams portion of the concert tonight. Does anyone have any server space to spare so that we could put them up for everyone to enjoy? I can't spare the space or the bandwidth on my server. They are about 16.5 Mb in total. I've broken it down to 4 tracks:

1. Introduction

2. A Tribute To The Music Of John Williams

3. The National Artistic Avchievement Award & Reception Speech

4. The 1984 Olympic Theme - Cond. John Williams

I recorded clean from my digital cable feed directly into a 24 bit Pro Tools session...so the quality is the best it's going to get.

If we can't get them up for people to grab for free, I'd be open to trade. There are still some J.W. things missing in my collection!

Best,

Eric Hester

[Hector J. Guzman 1]

My heart was racing since the time I saw some girls where giving him a lap dance and then clapping along to "The Chieftains".

But the absolute best part is when they presented him with the recognition, and asked to conduct his Olympic Fanfare. Very thrilling moments. The (stereo) sound was bad as every year on TV, but I don´t care the most important thing is to have seen it. Lovely.

Williams Olympic Fanfare and Theme

U.S. Army Herald Trumpets

National Symphony Orchestra

John Williams

[EvanED 1]

Eric, I can host the first and third clips. I don't think I will host either of the others because of copyright concerns. Email me at eed132@psu.edu. I can probably recieve them as attachments directly, but if not, maybe you could put them on your server tempararily and send me the url.

[tpigeon 3]

It was a nice tribute. I just love to see the shots of the crowd applauding and even giving a standing ovation for him at certain instances. The tribute itself was ptretty good, though I didn't like Jaws. It sounded nothing like the actual score, though the idea of mixing the two themes was neat. It ultimately didn't work for me, especially while watching the clips from the film. Everything else was good, and I loved the eruptions from the crowd for pices like Superman and Indiana Jones and then the huge applause for Star Wars when it came on, which I thought was the best performed piece because it carried so much energy.

Williams looked deeply gratified when accepting his award and looked genuinely moved, as even his voice began to get a little emotional. And his conducting of the Olympics theme was a treat of course, as is any ocasion in which he conducts something live and in front of so many people. It really is a wonder watching the man work his magic right there before your very eyes. I hope that many people came to the realization, just as I did once again as I have countless times before... that this man is a living legend.

Ted

[Eplicon 53]

I had the feeling that a good many of the audience "didn't" know who John Williams was until they started playing his music. About a half hour before the show went on the air, Barry Bostwick gave us a warm-up of what to expect, to make sure everyone looked happy and excited (as the cameras could be focusing on them at any given moment). And when he rattled off the names of the artists on the venue, John Williams seemed to get some polite response, while Dolly Parton garnered the biggest reaction! I felt the same thing happened yet again when the names were formally introduced on TV.

Yet that didn't really matter in the end. Williams' music generated the biggest response of all.

[Adam 1]

I was disappointed by the performances and not just the trumpet guy messing up. The version of Jaws that was played might have been an arrangement from Jaws 3 or 4 - it was really bad. Poor Williams, he was probably wondering if the tribute was some kind of sick joke when he first heard this. The other selections were less tampered with but seemed incomplete as though a good portion of the orchestra wasn't there. It makes you realize how important the orchestra and the conductor can be to make everything come off right. But, as stated, the audience seemed to enjoy themselves. Luckily, they aren't pedantic fanatics like many of us.

Actually, I'm used to being disappointed by other conductor's and orchestra's performances. Something about JW's music - I don't think its just me - there's a small margin for error. The music can be so good and then so bad if the balance in the orchestra isn't right, its too slow, too fast, etc. etc. I understand why its so important to JW to conduct his own music.

- Adam, who considers HPCOS one of the few exceptions to this (though I suspect I higher degree of oversight by JW than usual)

[King Mark 3,631]

The Nashville Symphony played Summon the Heroes on A and E,which was an OK performance but not great,with a proeminent solo tuba for the bass notes.I think they got confused in the atonal part before the finale of the piece.

all of those Williams fanfares,when played on a too small orchestra,suond like they are played from a marching band.

Anyways I taped that on MD too.

and there was also the Boston Pops FireworksSpectacular on CBS,but they didn't play Williams,and when the fireworks came on the Pops were not playing anymore and they played pre-recorded film music(which is odd at a live fireworks concert and I'd be upset if I paid to see that),with excerts of Amistad and MidwayMarch i think,and the commercial lead in music was Liberty Fanfare

K.M.

[Ted 0]

and there was also the Boston Pops FireworksSpectacular on CBS,but they didn't play Williams,and when the fireworks came on the Pops were not playing anymore and they played pre-recorded film music(which is odd at a live fireworks concert and I'd be upset if I paid to see that),with excerts of Amistad and MidwayMarch i think,and the commercial lead in music was Liberty Fanfare

Yea it was too bad they didn't play any JW music. Actually, this was the first year it was on a big network. Usually, it is broadcast here in Boston on one of the local channels, and simultaneously on A&E. This year, it started at about 8 or 8:30 on a local station. Local coverage ended with the 1812 Overture (which in previous years had been the finale). CBS picked up the national coverage at 10:00 (and their into featured the freshly recorded highlight of the 1812 -- good quick editing job by CBS).

I guess it would have been nice if the Pops continued through the fireworks. I think part of the reason is that everyone leaves the Esplanade and heads as close to the river as possible, and away from the stage. Also, with the recorded music, the engineers are able to sync it up with the fireworks--something that couldn't be done with live music.

And it is a free event :-)

-Ted

[King Mark 3,631]

If you listen to Williams speech,what's interesting is he makes it clear he's not planning on retiring anytime soon.

K.M.