John Williams' Piano Concerto for Emmanuel Ax - Premieres Saturday, July 26, 2025

[Jay 43,897]

I figured we should have a thread dedicated to Williams' upcoming piano concerto.

 

We learned about it's existence via this article, which states:

 

"In his next phase, he plans to focus more intensely on another passion: writing concert works, of which he has already produced several dozen. He has visions of another piece for a longtime collaborator, the cellist Yo-Yo Ma, and he is planning his first proper piano concerto."

 

I wonder how long we should expect it to be?  How many movements?  What other instruments might be involved?

[Disco Stu 15,514]

Considering he always writes his concerti for specific soloists, I wonder who he is planning this with.  The most obvious candidate is Gloria Cheng, but it could be Lang Lang or someone else I suppose.

[Tom 6,041]

It is interesting that the reporter uses the term "visions" for the Cello piece, but "planning" for the concerto.  It reads as if it is his next big project--presumably after he finishes Indy. 

 

I still think the scherzo and now prelude will be morphed into a larger concerto--the scherzo, in particular, plays as its own movement.  I am not heard the prelude, so I am less confident about that.

 

Either way, I think it will be a "big" concerto, along the lines of the recent one for violin.  A full half hour, generous use of the orchestra, impressionistic and dissonant at the edges but with a tonal center.  And, probably really, really difficult to play.   

[Jay 43,897]

1 minute ago, Tom said:

I still think the scherzo and now prelude will be morphed into a larger concerto

 

I was wondering about that too

 

 

1 minute ago, Tom said:

And, probably really, really difficult to play.   

 

You really think so?

[Antonb 124]

A bit premature don't you think. Could be next year !

[Jay 43,897]

What?

[Antonb 124]

It could be ages away, I would wait until we know when its coming out thats all.

[Jay 43,897]

...

[bruce marshall 1,911]

This is the first non- score I'm excited about!😁

[Bayesian 1,560]

3 hours ago, Tom said:

It is interesting that the reporter uses the term "visions" for the Cello piece, but "planning" for the concerto.  It reads as if it is his next big project--presumably after he finishes Indy. 

 

I still think the scherzo and now prelude will be morphed into a larger concerto--the scherzo, in particular, plays as its own movement.  I am not heard the prelude, so I am less confident about that.

 

Either way, I think it will be a "big" concerto, along the lines of the recent one for violin.  A full half hour, generous use of the orchestra, impressionistic and dissonant at the edges but with a tonal center.  And, probably really, really difficult to play.   

Agreed on all points. I would love if he also incorporated jazz elements into this concerto (jazz rhythms, progressions, colors…). Several of us here have hoped for awhile he would reach back into his jazz roots more often.

[pete 1,249]

5 hours ago, Jay said:

and he is planning his first proper piano concerto."

 

That sounds like he wrote an earlier one that was shit^

[p0llux 434]

I want a big romantic piano concerto like Tchaikovsky's, but I also want a jazz infused one that sounds like Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. I'm asking for too much.

[Disco Stu 15,514]

1 hour ago, p0llux said:

I want a big romantic piano concerto like Tchaikovsky's, but I also want a jazz infused one that sounds like Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. I'm asking for too much.

If you want a contemporary piano concerto that combines influences of both Russian romantic and Gershwin I highly recommend Michael Torke’s Three Manhattan Bridges

 

 

[Sunshine Reger 3,697]

2 hours ago, pete said:

That sounds like he wrote an earlier one that was shit^

or just leisurely in form

[BrotherSound 2,573]

9 hours ago, Jay said:

What other instruments might be involved?

 

 

Whether or not the Scherzo turns out to be part of this full concerto, or just a preliminary exercise of sorts, I hope timpani are featured prominently again. There’s a bit of a tradition for piano concertos with prominent timpani parts all the back to Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto, and including works like Richard Strauss’ Burleske:

 

 

[Maurizio 6,313]

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[BB-8 5,555]

Emanuel Ax would deserve a John Williams Piano Concerto. He's cut from the right stuff.

 

Emanuel Ax - Wikipedia

 

Emanuel Ax - The Complete RCA Album Collection (23 CDs) – jpc

[Disco Stu 15,514]

4 hours ago, TownerFan said:

I’d love something in which he could channel also his love for jazz.

Of course when jazz has been an acknowledged reference point in his concert works in the past, it’s always in a very oblique or metaphorical way.  I’d similarly love for it to be a bit more explicit for once.

[GerateWohl 6,194]

I am expecting something like Conversations but with the orchestra in addition illustrating the environment of the conversations.

[Disco Stu 15,514]

That’s definitely one of the concert works I had in mind where jazz influence is acknowledged but quite obscure in the music itself.

 

Edit: Just to be clear, I’m not saying jazz influence being obscure is a weakness of or detriment to works like Conversations or Violin Concerto No. 2 (3 actually, if you please).  I’m only saying that it would be awesome to have a Williams concert work where that part of his musical foundation was made more explicit.

[Jurassic Shark 15,564]

18 hours ago, Jay said:

"In his next phase, he plans to focus more intensely on another passion: writing concert works, of which he has already produced several dozen. He has visions of another piece for a longtime collaborator, the cellist Yo-Yo Ma, and he is planning his first proper piano concerto."

 

A piano concerto for Yo-Yo Ma would be fun.

[BB-8 5,555]

Or a piano duet for Harrison Ford:

 

 

[Thor 9,323]

Just a few years ago, I remember waiting impatiently for Williams to write that piano piece, since he seemed to write concerti for every other instrument except the one he was specialized in, which was kinda frustrating. After all, nobody had heard his early piano sonata (and nobody ever will, probably). Then came both "Conversations" and "Scherzo for Piano and Orchestra". I'm not totally in love with either, but they have grown on me. I still dream of a new piano piece that is more lyrical in tone, and slightly less aleatoric/experimental/impressionistic (choose whichever term you want). Maybe this will be it.

[Jurassic Shark 15,564]

Agreed.

[BrotherSound 2,573]

4 minutes ago, Thor said:

After all, nobody had heard his early piano sonata (and nobody ever will, probably).

 

If the manuscript is still extant and in his possession, it should be possible to at least have a look at it someday at the Juilliard library.

[Thor 9,323]

7 minutes ago, BrotherSound said:

If the manuscript is still extant and in his possession, it should be possible to at least have a look at it someday at the Juilliard library.

 

We can always hope! If my deduction is correct, it was only performed once -- as an exam concert on the UCLA campus in the early summer of 1951. So maybe UCLA has it in some archive.

[Disco Stu 15,514]

I bet it's super derivative, just a technical exercise.  Copland's piano sonata he wrote as the capstone to his studies with Rubin Goldmark, just before moving to France to study with Mme. Boulanger, was like that.  Just to demonstrate a grasp of sonata form, counterpoint, harmonic structure, etc.

 

Copland's sonata was eventually recorded after he died, something he probably would've been embarrassed of had he been alive lol

[Thor 9,323]

1 minute ago, Disco Stu said:

I bet it's super derivative, just a technical exercise.  Copland's piano sonata he wrote as the capstone to his studies with Rubin Goldmark, just before moving to France to study with Mme. Boulanger, was like that.  Just to demonstrate a grasp of sonata form, counterpoint, harmonic structure, etc.

 

Probably, yeah.

[Jurassic Shark 15,564]

Perhaps Herrmann heard the sonata and dissed it.

[GerateWohl 6,194]

24 minutes ago, Thor said:

 I still dream of a new piano piece that is more lyrical in tone, and slightly less aleatoric/experimental/impressionistic (choose whichever term you want). Maybe this will be it.

I love impressionistic music.

[BrotherSound 2,573]

13 hours ago, TownerFan said:

The piano is indeed also a percussive instrument so it makes sense 🙂 The Scherzo has some very interesting percussion breaks dialoguing with the piano.

 

Which reminds me: I still hope there ends up being something to that rumor about a percussion concerto for Martin Grubinger, but I haven't heard any stirrings in a while.

[Jay 43,897]

The rumors were always wrong, it was a garbled idea of what "John Williams: The Special Edition" actually is.

[BB-8 5,555]

I've found a potential slow movement.

 

 

17 hours ago, Jay said:

The rumors were always wrong, it was a garbled idea of what "John Williams: The Special Edition" actually is.

 

Wasn't Grubinger about to retire?

 

Soloist retires 'exhausted' at 40 - Slipped DiscSlipped Disc | The inside track on classical music and related cultures, by Norman Lebrecht (slippedisc.com)

[Marian Schedenig 10,833]

21 hours ago, Jay said:

The rumors were always wrong, it was a garbled idea of what "John Williams: The Special Edition" actually is.

 

Wasn't there one instance of Williams himself indicating that he was writing *something* for Mr "Grublinger"? Or am I just mixing that up with his comments on him from the third Spielberg/Williams album?

[Jay 43,897]

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Jurassic Shark 15,564]

18 hours ago, BB-8 said:

Wasn't Grubinger about to retire?

 

Soloist retires 'exhausted' at 40 - Slipped DiscSlipped Disc | The inside track on classical music and related cultures, by Norman Lebrecht (slippedisc.com)

 

Well, it takes a lot of energy to pretend that JW has written a new piece for you.

[BB-8 5,555]

JW - Catch him while you can

[Jurassic Shark 15,564]

Quote

Grubinger’s proudest moment was coming on as the interval act in the Eurovision Song Contest.

 

Such a populist.

[BB-8 5,555]

Grubinger has been announced to feature in this year's Tanglewood-JW@90-do.

 

Catch me if you can ensemble - what else?

 

An appearance like in Berlin last year (Waldbühne) would be utter blasphemy.

[Jay 43,897]

An update:

 

While there are no more features on Williams’ docket, he’s still writing music. He is planning a concerto for pianist Emanuel Ax, which he plans to start “almost immediately”

 

 

https://variety.com/2023/artisans/news/indiana-jones-5-john-williams-score-1235534772/

[Thor 9,323]

I had completely forgotten about this. Hope it comes to pass.

[karelm 3,236]

On 24/02/2023 at 11:25 AM, Jay said:

An update:

 

While there are no more features on Williams’ docket, he’s still writing music. He is planning a concerto for pianist Emanuel Ax, which he plans to start “almost immediately”

 

 

https://variety.com/2023/artisans/news/indiana-jones-5-john-williams-score-1235534772/

 

He also said he was open to future film scoring.  So come on Spielberg!  Make two and three films at the same time just like you did in the '90's.

[Tom 6,041]

22 minutes ago, karelm said:

 

He also said he was open to future film scoring.  So come on Spielberg!  Make two and three films at the same time just like you did in the '90's.

All Williams has to do is to commit to a SW movie, and Spielberg will make sure he has a film that needs to be scored at the exact same time.  

[Muad'Dib 1,997]

I'm guessing he could make the main titles (and maybe provide a couple of themes) for the Napoleon series Spielberg is trying to make.

[filmmusic 2,763]

4 hours ago, Muad'Dib said:

I'm guessing he could make the main titles (and maybe provide a couple of themes) for the Napoleon series Spielberg is trying to make.

Why not compose the music for the whole thing?

It would be the first TV mini series he would compose the score for, wouldn't it?

 

As a non-fan of his concert work, I'd prefer it if he was assigned film scoring work.

[ThePenitentMan1 1,381]

5 minutes ago, filmmusic said:

Why not compose the music for the whole thing?

It would be the first TV mini series he would compose the score for, wouldn't it?

 

As a non-fan of his concert work, I'd prefer it if he was assigned film scoring work.

 

But what if...  and hear me out on this....

 

JW didn't want to be assigned to any more film work?

 

Not a whole lot could be done about it at that point.

[filmmusic 2,763]

10 minutes ago, ThePenitentMan1 said:

 

But what if...  and hear me out on this....

 

JW didn't want to be assigned to any more film work?

Ok, of course he can do whatever he likes.

I just mentioned it because @karelm said 

Quote

He also said he was open to future film scoring

 

[Jurassic Shark 15,564]

1 hour ago, ThePenitentMan1 said:

But what if...  and hear me out on this....

 

JW didn't want to be assigned to any more film work?

 

Send him cookies until he agrees to do it.

[Tom 6,041]

2 hours ago, filmmusic said:

As a non-fan of his 

As yes, the sister site:  JWNONFAN.com.     

[Muad'Dib 1,997]

2 hours ago, filmmusic said:

Why not compose the music for the whole thing?

It would be the first TV mini series he would compose the score for, wouldn't it?

 

I don't know if Williams would want to commit to scoring a 8-hour film at this point in his career. Even if it had a short score.