"A Gathering of Friends" Williams / Yo Yo Ma album with Pablo Sainz-Villegas & Jessica Zhou

[Disco Stu 15,483]

I adore the version for trumpet and orchestra as much as I adore almost any music he's written.

[Jurassic Shark 10,686]

I'll give that another chance then.

[Disco Stu 15,483]

Thomas Hooten's tone is so beautifully pure on the studio recording.  But also this is my "home" John Williams sound, as in I consider myself most at home listening to "Long Road to Justice," "With Malice Toward None," "Omaha Beach", etc.  The Copland informed sound.  On the sheet music for "With Malice" he even used the same performance directive that Copland used for the opening of the Third Symphony: "With simple expression."  So you know... I'm predisposed.

 

In Copland's hand:

 

In Williams':

 

[Jurassic Shark 10,686]

Is that the same as don't be a show-off?

[Disco Stu 15,483]

Yeah a straightforward sound without embellishment.  And it goes hand in hand with the harmony being very spare and open.  Music that could sound very noble and homespun at the same time.  Which fits the mythos of Lincoln perfectly.

[BB-8 2,619]

1 hour ago, Jurassic Shark said:

Is that the same as don't be a show-off?

 

Like when Yo Yo goes Don Quixote:

[Tom 4,004]

3 hours ago, GerateWohl said:

I love the 1.5 minute piano solo version on the OST.

Apart from that I am absolutely with you.

The other orchestral versions, especially those two on the Spielberg collaboration album sound a little inflated to me without adding much interesting musically.

But this version is here is a nice extension.

 

The National Symphony Orchestra used to a have link to a concert (that I can no longer find--maybe someone here grabbed it).  Anyway, they performed the elegy, which segued right intro Malice.  It really transformed the latter as a sort of healing to the harshness of the elegy.  

[bollemanneke 3,071]

Finishing the album.

 

Schindler's list: cello is off in first movement, LSO recording is better. Second movement is amazing. I don't like the new key for the third movement, strings are too high and cello is great.

 

HIghwood's Ghost: some parts are really interesting, but I won't be returning to this one.

 

Lincoln and Munich: fantastic.

[BB-8 2,619]

I've also ticked the boxes.

[artguy360 1,776]

15 hours ago, GerateWohl said:

 

 

 

 

The view on Williams concert works is not most gracious around here.

I actually really enjoy JW's concert music. I also enjoy when he reworks his film music into concert pieces, including when he really does to town on them like with several pieces on the Across the Stars album. However, in the case of With Malice Towards None, the earnest simplicity of the original on the Lincoln OST works best for what the music is trying to evoke. 

 

[Bryant Burnette 595]

18 hours ago, GerateWohl said:

The view on Williams concert works is not most gracious around here.

 

Possibly related to that, I'm pretty sure I have more of this board's users on ignore than ones I don't.

[crocodile 7,552]

I really like Highwood's Ghost. It's almost like something from Prisoner of Azkaban.

 

Karol

[Remco 683]

Yeah I like to think of the Shrieking Shack!

 

Absolutely love the new quiet ending for the Cello concerto. Sooo much more poignant than the original loud ending which always seemed to be a bit out of place tbh.

 

So, I understand the bad compression is not because of Spotify but actually like that on CD……? Yikes.

[Jay 33,712]

New audio interview with Williams and Ma

 

https://www.npr.org/2022/05/24/1100996754/composer-john-williams-and-cellist-yo-yo-ma-bring-together-a-gathering-of-friend

 

"I'm told I should be counting in Celsius, which would make me 32" - that's a new one!

[BB-8 2,619]

 

YO-YO MA: Hello.

 

JOHN WILLIAMS: Oh, my dear. Oh.

 

MA: Ludwig. Ludwig.

 

WILLIAMS: Angel, we need a cello here today.

 

MA: You do?

 

WILLIAMS: Yes, we do.

 

MA: Well, there's a cello attached to me.

 

WILLIAMS: (Laughter) I know.

[Tom Guernsey 1,965]

Semi connected visual gag… I bet this would send the Sony Classical marketing department into meltdown…

[BB-8 2,619]

36 minutes ago, Tom Guernsey said:

Semi connected visual gag… I bet this would send the Sony Classical marketing department into meltdown…

[Will 2,157]

The biggest change I noticed to the Cello Concerto is the new soft ending, replacing the much more abrupt ending in earlier versions. I like both endings; the new one is probably the most satisfying, since it calls back to the beautifully contemplative theme introduced earlier in the final movement.

 

It's interesting that this sort of soft ending is becoming almost a sort of cliche in Williams concert works involving a solo violinist or cellist. If my memory serves me correctly, ALL of the following pieces end in this manner:

 

- Highwood's Ghost

- Markings

- Violin Concerto No. 2 

- Cello Concerto (2021 Revision)

- Han Solo and the Princess (Mutter version)

 

In all of the above cases, the violin or cello reaches up to impossibly high pitches -- and sustains them for a very long time -- over a bed of calming strings and harp plucks. It's a very peaceful way to conclude, and seems to have become a Williams trademark.

[Tom 4,004]

I have a new appreciation for the concerto--a piece I already really liked.  One gripe I have about some of Williams concertos is the lack of thematic developement.  The concerto is four movements of variation on the same theme, and each variation is interesting and different.  Even if it does not have the transcendent heights of, say Elgar's concerto, it is really good, showcase cello writing.  

[Jay 33,712]

I finally listened to this album today.  I avoided the digital release and waited until my physical CD copy arrived, which I just finished spinning.

 

Overall, I liked the album a lot!  It really felt like I was spending time with a small group of friends gathered to share a love of music, instead of some contractual Radio Friendly Unit Shifter.

The revised Cello Concerto is a great way to start, because it puts you in the right mood to enjoy an album of different music from the usual hits, and it's a varied and pretty interesting piece.  The Schindler's List trio was about as lovely as this stuff always is.

 

The highlight for me was definitely Highwood's Ghost, I liked that a lot!  With Malice Towards None I am not sure what to say about yet.  I love the Lincoln score so much, and love this theme so much, that any arrangement different than all the ones recorded at the original session always through me for a loop and take me a while to decide how I feel about it.  I think overall I like it just fine, but still prefer the more intimate original recordings over any subsequent revisits JW has done.

 

A Prayer For Peace is an awesome final track, I liked it a lot!  It reminded me I really need to revisit Munich, I have not listened to that album that many times.

 

So yes, overall, a wonder addition to William's Sony run!

[WilliamsStarShip2282 283]

On 25/05/2022 at 12:22 AM, Remco said:

Yeah I like to think of the Shrieking Shack!

 

Absolutely love the new quiet ending for the Cello concerto. Sooo much more poignant than the original loud ending which always seemed to be a bit out of place tbh.

 

So, I understand the bad compression is not because of Spotify but actually like that on CD……? Yikes.

 

Is there a specific track you are referring to? Thanks!

[Jay 33,712]

The discussion about the mastering issue starts here.

[Obi 396]

Sorry for the shit photo, but i'm simply happy to found it at last !

 

[Bespin 7,566]

I think there's someone behind that CD...

[BB-8 2,619]

9 minutes ago, Bespin said:

I think there's someone behind that CD...

Maybe Highwood's Ghost?

[Bespin 7,566]

1 minute ago, BB-8 said:

Maybe Highwood's Ghost?

 

That's a ghost with good taste!

[Holko 8,627]

You know what, there might be a few problematic mastering spots but this is still a great album! The cello concerto is still great, this revision accentuating very different elements for me (only knew the 2002 version), Schindler's interesting with such a different solo timbre and rhythmic elements. Highwood's ghost is a lovely piece reminding me of HP's less classically HPey elements (dementory strings, Hedwig for Harp) - I remember liking the piece in the first bootleg of the live recording we got and I still love it. Malice is very good and Munich is a wonderful cherry on top. Nice looking release with good notes.

[Bespin 7,566]

These albums tend to be a bit "overproduced", but ehhh... people are always complaining... they are not happy with live takes and not happy with studio albums too... It's hard to please everybody.  I think we just have to allow each recording to have its own "colour".

[Holko 8,627]

Don't misrepresent the issue.

[Toillion 128]

B&N vinyl release came in today 

[JohnTheBaptist 52]

Did anyone with the CD run it through MAAT? I see a lot of mastering talk but no DR numbers.