Jump to content

John Williams with Yo-Yo Ma in Philadelphia, Tuesday Feb 20, 2024


Jay

Recommended Posts

1 hour ago, rpvee said:

Intermission! Schindler’s was indeed the first half encore. Williams came out before and after the piece to wave to the audience and take a bow.
 

IMG_5209.jpeg

Really keeping us on our feet haha

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank 

6 minutes ago, rpvee said:

A magical evening with the Maestro! I’m sooooo glad he did the second half of the concert instead - hearing him introduce his own iconic pieces and conduct them himself just can’t be beat! Williams was in great form, telling the usual funny stories with even greater humor and joy than usual (and noting that Empire is when he “put the clothes on Darth Vader and Yoda” when telling the Luke-Leia-love-them story before Leia’s Theme). He also seemed more spry than the last time I saw him, walking much more quickly and easily and even bending down multiple times to pick up his massive score books. At one point, his baton even fell to the ground and he was about to pick it up himself before a cellist did for him.

 

Needless to say, Yo-Yo Ma was brilliant during the Concerto and Schindler’s List Theme in the first half, but the second half with Williams himself stole the show, and the energy of the audience alone demonstrated that. The second half encores were Helena’s Theme, Star Wars Main Title Suite, and Imperial March. So, no surprises this time, but still a wonderful concert full of classics and amazing energy from both Williams and his audience.

 

My only “critiques” would be that beyond Williams coming out before and after Schindler’s to bow with Yo-Yo Ma, there was no other interaction between them, and you’d have expected Williams to conduct Yo-Yo at some point given their double headline spots in the concert. And additionally, Williams’ security needs to chill a bit. A kid who couldn’t have been older than 14 walked up to the stage with a CD and sharpie in hand towards the end of the concert when Williams was exiting, and a security guard standing stage right began motioning to the kid to leave and ultimately came down and I tell him to go away. Let’s not forget Williams used to come out the stage door after Boston shows and greet everyone. I know eBay scalpers ruined that, and now Williams is up in age, but for security to get on a kid’s ass just because he was holding a CD was sad. Not necessarily Williams’ fault, of course, and also not surprising since Williams hasn’t signed for people in years, but it definitely showed how times have changed.

 

Anyway, looking forward to experiencing this wonderful program again at the legendary Carnegie Hall in a couple days! Hopefully Williams does the second half there, too. It really enhanced the entire evening. Tonight was my 30th time seeing him conduct live, and I certainly hope there will be many more ahead!

 

My pics from the evening:

 

IMG_5211.jpeg

 

IMG_5217.jpeg


IMG_5225.jpeg

 

IMG_5213.jpeg

 

 

thank you for all this! What an amazing experience. Going to be there on Thursday. It’s just so odd that Ma and Williams don’t share the stage at all. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah that is surprising and a bit disappointing -- but still outweighed in my view by the fact that we will (I hope) get to hear JW talk between pieces, etc. I was worried we wouldn't hear him speak much (if at all) if he only did the first half!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I hope no one yelled “Episode II !!” to “help him out” this time. That’s the most annoying and ridiculous thing people do lately.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, JTW said:

I hope no one yelled “Episode II !!” to “help him out” this time. 


It’s a fun memory and a cute moment. Get over it. 🥰

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, rpvee said:


It’s a fun memory and a cute moment. Get over it. 🥰

No it’s not. Get over it. ;)

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, JTW said:

No it’s not. Get over it. ;)

 


Williams, the audience, the radio commentators, and online reviews thought otherwise. Try finding joy in funny little moments instead of annoyance. And stop derailing this thread with attitude - your initial comment was uncalled for.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, rpvee said:

Williams, the audience, the radio commentators, and online reviews thought otherwise.

Williams was JOKING, and everyone got it, except you. He’s done this shtick several times. You can’t be THAT naive to think that John Williams doesn’t remember what film the piece he is about perform and has rehearsed, is from. I mean seriously, even presuming it is an insult to the Maestro’s intellect.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Jay said:

So was the Mark Graham piece not for tonight?

 

They moved Williams's bit to the second half of the concert and the piece picked up "in a rush" still wasn't ready in time? :sarcasm:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

But it does seem odd that JW didn't conduct the cello concerto and Schindler's himself, following that Sony release and interview between Yo-Yo and JW. Perhaps Yo-Yo was afraid that JW would repeat the "all-dead" joke and he would burst out in laughter.

 

 

10 hours ago, DangerMotif said:

Massive, hope it’s the same for NY also

 Carnegie still has it the other way round:

image.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Marian Schedenig said:

 

They moved Williams's bit to the second half of the concert and the piece picked up "in a rush" still wasn't ready in time? :sarcasm:

JW: "Well that is too bad.  Mark told me that it was the best fugue morphing into a scherzo that he had ever seen.  I will take this as a sign to never, ever perform it." 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The bottom of the main program page with the listed of pieces states:

 

“Philadelphia Orchestra concerts are broadcast on WRTI 90.1 FM on Sunday: afternoons at 1 PM and are repeated on Monday evenings at 7 PM on WRTI HD 2.

Visit www.wrti.org to listen live or for more details.”

 

I can’t find anything on their site specifying what concert would be broadcast this coming Sunday and Monday, but maybe it’s a proper recording of this performance?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

23 hours ago, rpvee said:

Relatively major plot twist! Interesting that Williams and Yo-Yo wouldn’t share the stage together, but Williams conducting the second half’s contents sounds way more fun, so no complaints from me!

 

EDIT: Seems two others already reported the news, haha, but here’s a pic of the insert!

 

IMG_5204.jpeg

 

so he didn't conduct the cello concerto?

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 hours ago, WilliamsStarShip2282 said:

so he didn't conduct the cello concerto?

 

Williams conducted the second half of the program and the final encores:

 

Quote

 

CONCERT PROGRAM


Conducted by Stéphane Denève

  • Just Down West Street … on the left 
    First Philadelphia Orchestra performance
  • Concerto for Cello and Orchestra *
    I. Theme and Cadenza
    II. Blues
    III. Scherzo
    IV. Song

ENCORE

  • Theme from Schindler’s List *
     

* Yo-Yo Ma, cello

 

INTERMISSION


Conducted by John Williams

  • Olympic Fanfare and Theme
  • Excerpts from The Book Thief
  • Scherzo for Motorcycle and Orchestra, from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
    First Philadelphia Orchestra performance
  • Marion’s Theme from Raiders of the Lost Ark
  • The Raiders March from Raiders of the Lost Ark
  • Princess Leia’s Theme from Star Wars
  • Adventures on Earth from E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

ENCORES

  • Helena’s Theme from Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
  • Main Title from Star Wars
  • The Imperial March from The Empire Strikes Back

 

 

https://jwfan.com/?p=15881

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How was The Book Thief?  Did he talk about it at all?  I find the full suite to be great--I love the 7-8 minutes suites he put together in that timeframe (warhorse, BFG, etc).  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Quote

 

Conducted by Stéphane Denève

  • Just Down West Street … on the left *
     

* Yo-Yo Ma, cello

 

 

 

Does Just Down West Street have a solo cello part?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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 account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Guidelines.