John Williams 2023 Tanglewood concerts

[DangerMotif 884]

2 minutes ago, lairdo said:

Been listening since the beginning and as we approach a third encore (Imperial March - what else?), what can I say? Amazing as ever.

 

The chorus pieces were very interesting since it seemed their parts were push forward in the arrangements and performance at least on the radio stream. Did the balance of them seem to favor the chorus to those who were there?

Really happy he’s been doing Call to the champions, one of his best pieces. I didn’t attend tonight or the LA concerts this year but I wouldn’t say Duel Of The Fates sounded great from what i’ve heard from both.

[Jay 33,670]

Great concert, great night! 

 

[rpvee 681]

I can now say I’ve reminded John Williams which Star Wars film his music is from twice. Once at Carnegie Hall last year, and again tonight! 😂

 

Absolutely stunning night. Maybe my favorite concert of his I’ve been to. The program was perfect. The choir was epic and Duel of the Fates gave me chills as a dream I’d had since childhood came true. I was directly in front of Williams and had more interactions with him than I ever have before (including reminding him which Star Wars “The Asteroid Field” is from).

 

I’m glowing!

 

EDIT: Also, Duel of the Fates’ ending used the alternate version where the choir went up an octave mid-note. Someone here can probably explain it much better than me. Anakin’s Theme got reworked a bit, too!

My pics:

 

[Andy 3,214]

That was just glorious. What a gift! That program was just brilliant. I had a permanent smile and tears in my eyes. Bravo Maestro!

 

Nice to meet @Foxfan and  @SilverTrumpet !  Jay, I’m so sorry you didn’t get there in time for the meet up. 

[Foxfan 103]

Glad I was able to meet with fellow fans, and finish off the amazing evening in the 3rd row for a unique JWFan selfie!

[BB-8 2,605]

4 hours ago, Jay said:

Finally parked at 8:21, what a nightmare! 

 

Listening to Hooray For Hollywood as I walk from the absolute back depths of the Lion's Gate lot. Oh now David Newman is introducing himself. They must have delayed things 

 

OMG! The will call line is HUGE!! 

 

At least I can hear The Cowboys while I'm shuffling forward here.

 

Why are things so crazy here tonight? 

 

Finally got my ticket at 8:35

 

Queue of the Fates (with Cue)

[Pawel P. 727]

How I envy you! Duel of the Fates and Anakin's Theme in one concert! And The Asteroid Field! And some other rarities. 

 

I wonder about a few names mentioned in the program, especially Shawn Murphy as a live sound engineer. Please tell me this concert was professionally filmed.

 

[Marian Schedenig 7,198]

I was half a globe away myself, but I see at least some of my T-shirts where there. 

 

2 hours ago, Pawel P. said:

I wonder about a few names mentioned in the program, especially Shawn Murphy as a live sound engineer. Please tell me this concert was professionally filmed.

 

I suppose "live sound engineer" refers to the sound mix of the live amplification (especially the choir), and possibly a live radio broadcast or something.

 

I'd love to someday get a recording of Call of the Champions *without* Shawn Murphy…

[Pawel P. 727]

2 hours ago, Marian Schedenig said:

I suppose "live sound engineer" refers to the sound mix of the live amplification (especially the choir), and possibly a live radio broadcast or something.

 

But what about Laura Gibson (Video Editor) and Pam Smith (Lighting and Video)? Unless fragments of films were shown, e.g. during Duel of the Fates. Then of course we can forget about Blu-ray.

[Miguel Andrade 1,122]

Why would you expect a Blu-ray. Williams returns to Tanglewood every year and whenever there are plans for video recording, those are known in advance (like the 75th Tanglewood anniversary gala, the Bernstein centennial gala and Williams' Violin Concerto premiere). 

[Brando 1,373]

I would’ve liked to meet you guys but my phone service barely worked. Also, I was in the section right behind Shawn Murphy!! At first I saw the booth/monitors after seeing his name and was like “oh it’d be cool if I saw him”. And then, I saw the glasses. And the face. He has a very distinct side profile, and after seeing him in a lot of behind the scenes stuff, I knew it was him instantly. The concert was phenomenal! Hearing DOTF live was incredible! I can’t believe there were a lot of people that walked in after virtually every piece. Sorry to hear you had parking issues @Jay, it was a mess getting there for me too. When I was 7 minutes away Maps bumped it up to 28 minutes and I was confused. Then I hit the traffic. Leaving, I drove 20 minutes the wrong way and got to my hotel late. After the concert, I got to see John being driven off on a golf cart to his car, which was cool. I didn’t get any pics of that because by the time he was on the cart and I saw him he was driving behind a parked car and then away from me.

[Pawel P. 727]

48 minutes ago, Miguel Andrade said:

Why would you expect a Blu-ray. Williams returns to Tanglewood every year and whenever there are plans for video recording, those are known in advance (like the 75th Tanglewood anniversary gala, the Bernstein centennial gala and Williams' Violin Concerto premiere). 

 

I know Williams returns to Tanglewood every year, and of course I have those three Blu-rays (In the first two, Williams' presence is very small.). I didn't know that an earlier announcement of the recording is always necessary, so I asked if there was a professional film recording.

 

The program  this year was so unique I'd kill for a Blu-ray like that.

[Andy 3,214]

 

1 hour ago, Brando said:

 After the concert, I got to see John being driven off on a golf cart to his car, which was cool. 

 

 

Scherzo for Golf Cart and Orchestra 

[SilverTrumpet 610]

10 hours ago, lairdo said:

Been listening since the beginning and as we approach a third encore (Imperial March - what else?), what can I say? Amazing as ever.

 

The chorus pieces were very interesting since it seemed their parts were push forward in the arrangements and performance at least on the radio stream. Did the balance of them seem to favor the chorus to those who were there?

I could barely hear the chorus in Duel of the Fates from where I was in the lawn right next to the shed on the left. Curious to hear a recording of the show for that reason alone. 
 

I’ll go over things more in depth later, but that was the most energetic I’ve EVER seen Williams live. He was constantly trying to get the orchestra to speed up and catch up with HIM.

[Miguel Andrade 1,122]

1 hour ago, Pawel P. said:

 

I know Williams returns to Tanglewood every year, and of course I have those three Blu-rays (In the first two, Williams' presence is very small.). I didn't know that an earlier announcement of the recording is always necessary, so I asked if there was a professional film recording.

 

The program  this year was so unique I'd kill for a Blu-ray like that.

 

Not necessary, but the usual practice with the BSO.

 

[rpvee 681]

2 hours ago, Brando said:

After the concert, I got to see John being driven off on a golf cart to his car, which was cool. I didn’t get any pics of that because by the time he was on the cart and I saw him he was driving behind a parked car and then away from me.

When/where did that happen? Jay and I waited for that with a big crowd on the right side of the shed by a sorta stage door, but then we were all told Williams went out another way.

[igger6 827]

Is it possible anyone captured the radio broadcast? 

[Tom 4,000]

2 hours ago, Andy said:

 

 

Scherzo for Golf Cart and Orchestra 

With John yelling "this is intolerable" over each bump.  

[SilverTrumpet 610]

14 hours ago, Jay said:

Great concert, great night! 

 

 

You weren't the other guy with the Star Wars font Music by John Williams shirt, were you?

[WilliamsStarShip2282 283]

6 hours ago, Miguel Andrade said:

Why would you expect a Blu-ray. Williams returns to Tanglewood every year and whenever there are plans for video recording, those are known in advance (like the 75th Tanglewood anniversary gala, the Bernstein centennial gala and Williams' Violin Concerto premiere). 

Yes, the sound and video people are there to run the videos and extra sound. Williams is king, so he gets literally whoever he wants, even if its Shawn Murphy doing something small. Not every Williams performance will make it to blue ray, and the amount of performances he has released already is shocking compared to everyone else. I think he has to be the only one in recent history to have it. Usually its a royalty problem and/ or not projected to make a profit over the expense to make it.

14 hours ago, rpvee said:

I can now say I’ve reminded John Williams which Star Wars film his music is from. Once at Carnegie Hall last year, and again tonight! 😂

 

Absolutely stunning night. Maybe my favorite concert of his I’ve been to. The program was perfect. The choir was epic and Duel of the Fates gave me chills as a dream I’d had since childhood came true. I was directly in front of Williams and had more interactions with him than I ever have before (including reminding him which Star Wars “The Asteroid Field” is from).

 

I’m glowing!

 

EDIT: Also, Duel of the Fates’ ending used the alternate version where the choir went up an octave mid-note. Someone here can probably explain it much better than me. Anakin’s Theme got reworked a bit, too!

My pics:

 

 

The black and white of his back to the audience needs to be on an album or something, absolutely love that picture

[Jay 33,670]

16 hours ago, lairdo said:

The chorus pieces were very interesting since it seemed their parts were push forward in the arrangements and performance at least on the radio stream. Did the balance of them seem to favor the chorus to those who were there?

Holy cow, no - the EXACT opposite.  I don't know if it's because where I was sitting (third row, dead center), and other areas might have sounded completely different (especially if you were only hearing the mixed/amplified version).  But from where I was, I found the chorus to be almost inaudible whenever they were performing the same time as the orchestra was doing a lot.  So when the orchestral accompaniment was on the quiet side, it was fine.  But for, say, most of Duel of the Fates, I struggle to hear the choir, and I believe WIlliams did too, because he put his hand up to his ear once as if to indicate to them to be louder, and he gestured similarly with his hands a few times too.

[Tydirium 1,013]

Man, Williams himself conducting Duel of the Fates! And Anakin’s Theme! I so wish I could have gone. I can’t help but wonder, what sort of careers/situations do people have that allow them to go to so many JW concerts anyways? I’ve only seen him once, in Philly back in 2018, and I felt like I was lucky to just get to see him conduct in real life, period! I could only dream of getting to see him at the Hollywood Bowl or Tanglewood (let alone Europe). I’d love to go see him once more before it’s too late.

[Jay 33,670]

14 hours ago, rpvee said:

I can now say I’ve reminded John Williams which Star Wars film his music is from. Once at Carnegie Hall last year, and again tonight! 😂

 

It's funny, when it happened last night, I thought to myself wait, didn't he do the same at Carnegie Hall?  And I was right!

 

14 hours ago, rpvee said:

Also, Duel of the Fates’ ending used the alternate version where the choir went up an octave mid-note. Someone here can probably explain it much better than me.

 

Hmmm, I didn't notice that!  This has been performed this way before?  Under Williams' baton?

 

13 hours ago, Andy said:

Nice to meet @Foxfan and  @SilverTrumpet !  Jay, I’m so sorry you didn’t get there in time for the meet up. 

 

Ugh, I am so annoyed that I missed not only the beginning of the concert, but the chance just to be there early and take in the atmosphere of the place before the show, but MOST especially that I couldn't meet up with you guys before hand!  I really thought arriving at 7 would give me ample time for all that, and maybe it would have, but I never would have guessed that when google said I'd arrive at 7, that I'd actually be finally parked at 8:20.  In retrospect, I should have aimed to be there at 6 instead of 7.  Live and learn!

 

 

10 hours ago, Marian Schedenig said:

I was half a globe away myself, but I see at least some of my T-shirts where there. 

Which shirts have you seen that were your designs?  And why not share a link now to where more people can get them!

[rpvee 681]

37 minutes ago, Jay said:

 

It's funny, when it happened last night, I thought to myself wait, didn't he do the same at Carnegie Hall?  And I was right!

 

 

Hmmm, I didn't notice that!  This has been performed this way before?  Under Williams' baton?

 

hahaha, yeahhhh. Still can't believe it happened again!

 

Re: Duel of the Fates, last night it was done the same way as this alternate take from 3:57-3:59 (which I’ve always thought was a badass sounding difference). Can't speak to if it's been performed that way before outside of the TPM sessions, but it sure was epic and unexpected to hear that variation live on top of seeing the piece conducted by him in the first place:

 

 

[Marian Schedenig 7,198]

23 minutes ago, Jay said:

Which shirts have you seen that were your designs?

 

These:

13 hours ago, Foxfan said:

 

 

Of course, it's not a particularly original idea, and I think someone else has since replicated them and sold them online… Maybe mine weren't even the first, but at least I hadn't seen them before, and I did the research for the right font and colour myself.

 

23 minutes ago, Jay said:

And why not share a link now to where more people can get them!

 

I did that, back then. There's a thread somewhere on the forum where I posted the link. A few people bought them, and I think I still have a few Euros in my Spreadshirt account from those sales (I picked the lowest percentage that wasn't 0). But a few days later I got an email from Spreadshirt that the design was taken down for supposedly violating naming rights. I never did figure out if merely putting the name of a celebrity on a T-shirt and selling that went beyond fair use, so I didn't try to dispute it or anything. Although every time I see someone putting up a similar design (or the same concept for Jerry Goldsmith, which would have been my next step), I get slightly annoyed that I never put them up somewhere else.

 

I remember seeing that shirt when we met at Tanglewood back in 2019. I think that was right after I'd put it online (I'm pretty sure I originally made it for that occasion). Seeing this photos makes me think that there's probably a good chance of Williams being at least indirectly aware of my existence by having seen them in the audience of some of his concerts.

[WilliamsStarShip2282 283]

1 hour ago, Jay said:

Holy cow, no - the EXACT opposite.  I don't know if it's because where I was sitting (third row, dead center), and other areas might have sounded completely different (especially if you were only hearing the mixed/amplified version).  But from where I was, I found the chorus to be almost inaudible whenever they were performing the same time as the orchestra was doing a lot.  So when the orchestral accompiament was on the quiet side, it was fine.  But for, say, most of Duel of the Fates, I struggle to hear the choir, and I believe WIlliams did too, because he put his hand up to his ear once as if to indicate to them to be louder, and he gestured similarly with his hands a few times too.

 

I think usually its the Tanglewood Festival Chorus that does this,  which is much bigger and I would call them non-career professionals. This time it was the high school kids from the institute (there are two tanglewood schools) and they were less in numbers, so not surprisingly they were a bit weaker. Williams did make a couple of signs to them once to be louder but, even though it cut out still nice to hear those pieces.

[Jay 33,670]

6 hours ago, Brando said:

I would’ve liked to meet you guys but my phone service barely worked.

 

 

Yeah, that was kind of crazy too.  By the time I got stuck in a line of barely moving cars 2 miles away, I was unable to get a working signal most of the time (often it said I had LTE, but then nothing would go through).  In the grounds it was basically the same, and the public wifi they had their clearly got overtaxed and just died

 

6 hours ago, Brando said:

After the concert, I got to see John being driven off on a golf cart to his car, which was cool. I didn’t get any pics of that because by the time he was on the cart and I saw him he was driving behind a parked car and then away from me.

 

Ha!  @rpvee let me to a spot where he'd seen Williams exit before.  Eventually s security guard came out and said that since covid Williams cannot do any meet and greets any more (not that he ever did at Tanglewood anyway, that I've heard about) and had us all move back, off the grass, to the nearby pavement.  Then a long time later, he came out again and said Williams left via another exit lol

 

1 hour ago, SilverTrumpet said:

You weren't the other guy with the Star Wars font Music by John Williams shirt, were you?

 

I was wearing an Orville tshirt!

 

In this selfie @Foxfan took:

 

 

That's me, then @Foxfan, then @Smeltington, in the third row, during the encores. 

 

The back of @rpvee, @Guillaume, and @Mr. Hooper can be seen in the front row there - the guys not wearing a baseball cap at a concert.

[Tom 4,000]

10 hours ago, Marian Schedenig said:

I'd love to someday get a recording of Call of the Champions *without* Shawn Murphy…

While Murphy is probably the engineer, remember that there is a recording with the LSO Williams did at the beginning of the AToC sessions.  Maybe one day we'll get to hear it.  

[SilverTrumpet 610]

Yah, I met Foxfan, and I was about to say hi to Smeltington since we were wearing the same shirt, but someone pushed me out of the way with everyone rushing to take pictures up there.  Sorry I missed you!

[Jay 33,670]

56 minutes ago, Tydirium said:

I can’t help but wonder, what sort of careers/situations do people have that allow them to go to so many JW concerts anyways?

 

Well I can't speak for anybody else, but for me, I've seen him so many times because he frequently comes to Massachusetts for concerts, and that's where I live.  Symphony Hall is about 1 hour from my house, and Tanglewood is about 1 hour, 40 minutes. 

 

I also live about a 3 1/2 hour drive from New York City, so it was also easy to see him at Carnegie Hall there (and turn that opportunity into a fun weekend of doing stuff in NYC with the wife)

 

Additionally, we've turned international concerts of his into opportunities to vacation in places we were planning on going to eventually anyway.  So we planned a London vacation to include the night he was supposed to conduct there (that's the one he got sick and got replaced day-of), and an Italian vacation that included seeing him conduct in Milan.

 

As for the career, I'm a software engineer, my wife's a project manager, and we don't have kids, so tickets to concerts of this nature do not really break the bank.

 

56 minutes ago, Tydirium said:

I’ve only seen him once, in Philly back in 2018, and I felt like I was lucky to just get to see him conduct in real life, period! I could only dream of getting to see him at the Hollywood Bowl or Tanglewood (let alone Europe). I’d love to go see him once more before it’s too late.

 

This is an attainable goal.  Just start pricing out what a weekend getaway to LA (for example) would be, set aside money for that trip, buy the ticket and travel accommodations, take the time off from work, and go!

[Guillaume 9]

What a concert !! We were so Lucky to be in front of the maestro and interact with him. 

And duel of the fates was just perfect.

So happy to have meet jw fans friends. 

[Jay 33,670]

39 minutes ago, rpvee said:

Re: Duel of the Fates, last night it was done the same way as this alternate take from 3:57-3:59 (which I’ve always thought was a badass sounding difference). Can't speak to if it's been performed that way before outside of the TPM sessions, but it sure was epic and unexpected to hear that variation live on top of seeing the piece conducted by him in the first place:

 

Wow, thanks for that!  I dunno why I didn't notice that change live, but it's interesting!  I don't know if I've ever listened to a live recording of DOTF in concert before to know if the published sheet music they use for this has always been that way, or if - for some reason - JW recently changed it.  That will be interesting to get to the bottom of

 

 

37 minutes ago, Marian Schedenig said:

These:

 

Of course, it's not a particularly original idea, and I think someone else has since replicated them and sold them online… Maybe mine weren't even the first, but at least I hadn't seen them before, and I did the research for the right font and colour myself.

 

Cool!  I think they are really cools shirts!

 

37 minutes ago, Marian Schedenig said:

I did that, back then. There's a thread somewhere on the forum where I posted the link. A few people bought them, and I think I still have a few Euros in my Spreadshirt account from those sales (I picked the lowest percentage that wasn't 0). But a few days later I got an email from Spreadshirt that the design was taken down for supposedly violating naming rights. I never did figure out if merely putting the name of a celebrity on a T-shirt and selling that went beyond fair use, so I didn't try to dispute it or anything. Although every time I see someone putting up a similar design (or the same concept for Jerry Goldsmith, which would have been my next step), I get slightly annoyed that I never put them up somewhere else.

 

Now's the time to try again!

[Marian Schedenig 7,198]

37 minutes ago, Marian Schedenig said:

I remember seeing that shirt when we met at Tanglewood back in 2019. I think that was right after I'd put it online (I'm pretty sure I originally made it for that occasion).

 

Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure I originally designed the shirt for when The Force Awakens came out, so it wasn't really new in 2019. But I can't remember if I put them online right away or later.

[Guillaume 9]

[Jay 33,670]

Vertical video!?!?!?!

[DangerMotif 884]

Call of the champions> Olympic Fanfare

[Jay 33,670]

Here's the pics I took!  I only took out my phone during encores

 

[rpvee 681]

31 minutes ago, Jay said:

 

Wow, thanks for that!  I dunno why I didn't notice that change live, but it's interesting!  I don't know if I've ever listened to a live recording of DOTF in concert before to know if the published sheet music they use for this has always been that way, or if - for some reason - JW recently changed it.  That will be interesting to get to the bottom of

I'm definitely curious too! Do we know if he’s ever actually conducted DOTF with a choir before ever? The only other live one at a concert of his I’ve ever heard of is an old 1999-one that’s orchestra only, and this year’s Hollywood Bowl conducted by Newman (I just watched a video of that one again and can confirm the variation was there, too).

[Jay 33,670]

Wow, maybe he hasn't conducted it in concert with a choir before? I dunno! 

[Pawel P. 727]

He conducted it at Hollywood Bowl in 2012. Also 'Call of the Champions' and 'Dry Your Tears, Afrika' as part of 'Three Selections for Chorus and Orchestra'.

 

 

 

I think it has happened a couple more times.

 

[Jay 33,670]

Ah, that makes sense!

 

So that 2012 version also features that rising octave part, so I guess it's always been that way live

 

And now that I'm thinking about it more, didn't we learn that the final OST version of Duel of the Fates replaced a few sections with music tracked in from elsewhere in the cue?  Maybe that happened to that part too.

[rpvee 681]

15 minutes ago, Jay said:

And now that I'm thinking about it more, didn't we learn that the final OST version of Duel of the Fates replaced a few sections with music tracked in from elsewhere in the cue?  Maybe that happened to that part too.

Haven’t heard that before, but could be. The video description of the alt I linked says that it’s an early take with orchestra and choir combined before they were recorded separately, not sure if that’s true.

 

Regardless, the alternate/live ending is way more epic in my opinion!

[DangerMotif 884]

28 minutes ago, Jay said:

And now that I'm thinking about it more, didn't we learn that the final OST version of Duel of the Fates replaced a few sections with music tracked in from elsewhere in the cue?  Maybe that happened to that part too.

I remember hearing that DOTF’s concert version was the one in the film not the original music

[Jay 33,670]

What? 

[ricsim88 239]

Looks like you guys had an amazing evening. Those of you who went.
I’m already starting to plan our trip to next year’s Film night. I’m positive the maestro will be in great shape!

[Will 2,157]

Lovely concert -- wonderful to hear the broadcast! Program is terrific.

 

Wish he'd brought a program like this to New York in May (where he surprisingly only conducted encores and inexplicably didn't even include Helena's theme, unlike every other concert this year). Bad luck, but such is life I guess!

 

Call of the Champions sounds really nice in this version -- great to hear that performed.

[Tom 4,000]

I am glad everyone had a great time.  Hearing about the Asteroid Field makes me jealous. I was in Tanglewood in 06 when he did the Memoirs suite and an abbreviated Star Wars Musical Journey.  The Asteroid Field was on the original program, but dropped the night of the concert.  I think I am a still bitter, as it is one of my favorite pieces of all time.  He did do Parade of the Ewoks, which I had never liked until hearing it live. It really is a fun, underrated little march.

 

 

[Foxfan 103]

5 hours ago, Jay said:

Here's the pics I took!  I only took out my phone during encores

 

 

Aww so awesome that you got those!! 🤩 I did the "sleepy" sign back to him and he pointed back and mouthed "Oh.. you too!?" 😄

[rpvee 681]

32 minutes ago, Foxfan said:

 

Aww so awesome that you got those!! 🤩 I did the "sleepy" sign back to him and he pointed back and mouthed "Oh.. you too!?" 😄

I was wondering who he did that with! Love that!

[Brando 1,373]

13 hours ago, Andy said:

 

 

Scherzo for Golf Cart and Orchestra 

No joke, it was literally just like the shot in Crusade where Indy and dad burst out of the box on the motorcycle. Because there was a black car where one attendant in a suit had a white suite on a hanger that he placed in the trunk, naturally we assumed he’d be leaving in this vehicle. But no, golf cart had backed up way behind it and he got on where we couldn’t see/didn’t even know he was outside.

12 hours ago, rpvee said:

When/where did that happen? Jay and I waited for that with a big crowd on the right side of the shed by a sorta stage door, but then we were all told Williams went out another way.

 

7 hours ago, Jay said:

 

Ha!  @rpvee let me to a spot where he'd seen Williams exit before.  Eventually s security guard came out and said that since covid Williams cannot do any meet and greets any more (not that he ever did at Tanglewood anyway, that I've heard about) and had us all move back, off the grass, to the nearby pavement.  Then a long time later, he came out again and said Williams left via another exit lol

So if you were facing the stage/auditorium, it was the back left corner. At first, I walked over there to use the bathroom then saw a small crowd so I walked over and saw the nice fancy cars and was like maybe I’ll wait for the bathroom. Plus, it was either wait outside or in my car trying to leave the parking lot. I believe this is where everyone who performed exited, because I got to see some choir girls and a couple orchestra members leave and hang out in this area for a bit. Also, the security guard there had told us the same thing-“oh he’s on another part of the campus”. I almost left but I decided just to wait and see. Then when we saw the white suit being placed in the trunk I knew it’d be worth it. Kind of strange, because if I was crazy and wanted to, I could’ve ran off after the golf cart, because it drove right into the front parking lot that was right there. There wasn’t a whole lot of security, which was a little strange.