John Williams 2023 Tanglewood concerts

[Foxfan 107]

22 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 don’t know if the video portion got saved anywhere (maybe some secret archive), but as for the sound mix, perhaps they record everything out of an abundance of caution so whatever turns out to be his final concert, a recording will exist ready to be released, just like Leonard Bernstein (whose August 1990 Tanglewood performance unexpectedly turned out to be his last)?  

10 hours 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? 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.

Not having kids certainly helps. But like many things in life, it’s about prioritizing what you really want to do and make the necessary sacrifices wherever possible to make it happen.

 

The first Williams concert I saw in Boston (and quite a few that followed) involved me taking the overnight Greyhound bus from Montreal to Boston and then taking the overnight bus home post-concert as well.

 

In Philly last year I used a free night certificate from a hotel chain for which I have a co-branded credit card.

 

My hotel stay last night was also covered by points, but living even further away now, I had to drive 15 hours round-trip this past weekend. Not many would willingly put themselves through the inconvenience, but a devoted fan might.

 

 

[Pawel P. 727]

1 hour ago, Foxfan said:

I don’t know if the video portion got saved anywhere (maybe some secret archive), but as for the sound mix, perhaps they record everything out of an abundance of caution so whatever turns out to be his final concert, a recording will exist ready to be released, just like Leonard Bernstein (whose August 1990 Tanglewood performance unexpectedly turned out to be his last)?  

 

 

I'm sure what they film at Tanglewood to show on video screens is preserved in the archives - that's not a problem, they don't need tape for that, just some space on a computer or a hard disc.

 

They may not be planning anything, but knowing that these recordings exist gives me hope that sooner or later they will be released. For example, last year's 'Tanglewood on Parade' was filmed by at least seven cameras - some moving. This is enough to assemble a concert to watch at home.

 

 

[Miguel Andrade 1,163]

3 hours ago, Foxfan said:

I don’t know if the video portion got saved anywhere (maybe some secret archive), but as for the sound mix, perhaps they record everything out of an abundance of caution so whatever turns out to be his final concert, a recording will exist ready to be released, just like Leonard Bernstein (whose August 1990 Tanglewood performance unexpectedly turned out to be his last)?  

Not having kids certainly helps. But like many things in life, it’s about prioritizing what you really want to do and make the necessary sacrifices wherever possible to make it happen.

 

The first Williams concert I saw in Boston (and quite a few that followed) involved me taking the overnight Greyhound bus from Montreal to Boston and then taking the overnight bus home post-concert as well.

 

In Philly last year I used a free night certificate from a hotel chain for which I have a co-branded credit card.

 

My hotel stay last night was also covered by points, but living even further away now, I had to drive 15 hours round-trip this past weekend. Not many would willingly put themselves through the inconvenience, but a devoted fan might.

 

 

 

The video is obviously archived, just like the audio. We get some video excerpts of many of these concerts on social media.

Regarding the Bernstein example:

a) Bernstein had everything recorded. The Tanglewood appearances were done in conjunction with WCRB, but only licensed for a single broadcast. The 2012 75 anniversary project, featuring 75 recordings from the BSO archives, most of them from radio broadcasts, included two Bernstein conducted performances that were available for just a couple of months, as the primary rights older is Deutsch Gammophone;

b) the 1990 concert wasn't an unexpected last concert, much the opposite. The premiere of the orchestral (with soloists) version of Arias and Barcarolles had to be conducted by then BSO assistant Carl St. Clair, with Bernstein conducting the Britten and Beethoven only. During the latter he stopped a few times as he lacked the strength but his beloved BSO kept on playing and the old conductor would pick up a few bars later... The Britten was a deliberate choice has he gave the US premiere decades earlier at Tanglewood of Peter Grimes, the opera from which derive the Four Sea Interludes. That early career premiere was a landmark for Bernstein and having this performed on what was feared to be his last Tanglewood appearance kind of made things come full circle,

c) Bernstein had been very ill for a few years and in 1990 everyone was well aware the end was very close, even though he was only 72. Bernstein lived a very busy life, with little rest and way too much smoking. Having special care with the program of that final concert was the result of a sad but very educated guess. As for having it recorded, for at least a decade, as mentioned above, his contract always demanded the performance to be recorded.

[BB-8 2,964]

15 hours ago, Guillaume said:

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. 

 

Just a quick question re the wooden (oaken?) rostrum seen so clearly on this picture:

 

I can remember seeing this model specifically with Andris Nelsons on tour through Europe (at the Gewandhaus Leipzig) several years ago. More recently I haven't seen it outside of Boston / Tanglewood.

 

Is this something that was custom built for Nelsons / for BSO or is that just coincidence and there are many similar models at various locations worldwide?

[thx99 1,691]

17 hours 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? 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.

 

Living in the Washington, DC area, I've been fortunate enough to see Williams conduct the US Marine Band twice (2008, 2023) at no cost ticket-wise; admission was free.  I've also seen him conduct the National Symphony Orchestra twice in full concerts and also attended his 90th Birthday Celebration concert conducted by Stéphane Denève (with Williams taking the baton for an encore).  All of these have been at the Kennedy Center which is around an hour's drive from my home, though my wife and I have turned some of these concert trips into a weekend getaway.  Prior to moving to this area from my home state of Florida, I had never had the opportunity to see him conduct live.

 

I'm married but have no kids, so my wife and I have a bit more freedom with doing things we enjoy.  I've also had the good fortune of being self-employed in the forensic audio/video field, which is relatively niche and has afforded me opportunities that I otherwise wouldn't have had.

 

I've also been lucky that my wife is supportive of my love of Williams' music, and she didn't balk when I proposed contributing to Tom Hooten's Kickstarter (to record the Trumpet Concerto and Suite from Born on the Fourth of July with Williams at the podium) at the level which allowed me to attend the recording sessions in-person.

[Jay 35,282]

OMG, that reminds me!  During "Superman", a montage of Williams at various recording sessions and other places was shown, and I swear I saw you in the video!  Did you interact with him in the recording booth for the Hooten recording?

[thx99 1,691]

13 minutes ago, Jay said:

OMG, that reminds me!  During "Superman", a montage of Williams at various recording sessions and other places was shown, and I swear I saw you in the video!  Did you interact with him in the recording booth for the Hooten recording?

 

LOL!!  Yes, very briefly at the end of the session, just as he walked back into the booth.  I interacted more with Shawn Murphy and Bob Wolff (music editor) in the booth throughout the session, opting not to be out on the recording stage during the session.  I felt more comfortable being near the recording/tech side of things, and I was able to hear everything going on with Williams and the musicians from the booth anyway.  Had I been on the recording stage, I wouldn't have been privy to what was going on in the booth.

 

BTW, I suspect that the film montage you saw was the same as the one I saw at the 90th Birthday Celebration concert at the Kennedy Center last June.  Sounds like the content was the same.

[Jay 35,282]

Yea, I'm sure it was the same.  How cool that you are immortalized forever through this video, that will surely be shown for years to come!

[BB-8 2,964]

2 hours ago, BB-8 said:

 

Just a quick question re the wooden (oaken?) rostrum seen so clearly on this picture:

 

I can remember seeing this model specifically with Andris Nelsons on tour through Europe (at the Gewandhaus Leipzig) several years ago. More recently I haven't seen it outside of Boston / Tanglewood.

 

Is this something that was custom built for Nelsons / for BSO or is that just coincidence and there are many similar models at various locations worldwide?

 

Looks like that rostrum is attached to BSO and has travelled around quite a bit...

Andris Nelsons leads the BSO in Leipzig on the 2016 European Tour. (Courtesy Gert Mothes)

[JTW 1,242]

On 6/8/2023 at 5:55 AM, 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:

 

Great photos! A question: Has JW lost weight? He looks thinner. Maybe it’s the white jacket, or that he’s not wearing glasses.

[Tom 4,179]

On 06/08/2023 at 12:15 AM, 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 the first question is whether this is unusual for Murphy.  If he is part of film nights generally, then no reason to think anything. If this is not typical, then it might have significance in terms of a recording.  

[rpvee 690]

Not to add to speculation, but… 👀

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cvf_U3rpGrL/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

 

The company he’s part of works in documentaries.

 

For those without Instagram:

 

[DangerMotif 989]

13 minutes ago, rpvee said:

Not to add to speculation, but… 👀

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cvf_U3rpGrL/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

 

The company he’s part of works in documentaries.

 

For those without Instagram:

 

He’s the director of the JW’s documentary. They where supposed to record his NY concert but didn’t in the end, maybe they did this one.

[Andy 3,572]

Some random dust settling thoughts:

 

On the choir:

 Call of the Champions to my ears was done to perfection. There was nice balance between orchestra and choir, where with the recording on American Journey, the choir can be a bit jolting. 
 

Dry Your Tears Afrika sadly was the weakest of the 3 choral performances. Pity as I adore the recorded versions we have. But from my seat in the shed I just couldn’t hear the wonderful orchestral accents that compliment the choir.  Tempo was also too fast. 
 

Duel of the Fates sounded fantastic.  The choir maybe was a little weak, but to me that was fine because the orchestra was ferocious!  They really attacked it with gusto, and I appreciated that in a piece where the choir is so dominant. 
 

 

Walking out, I overheard a young lady my daughter’s age laughing to her friends and insinuating that the Maestro was either senile or ignorant.   John had given his anecdote about the genesis of Helena’s Theme and how it would be a Golden Age Warner Bros. sound.  This person interpreted  it as John Williams thought the film was produced by Warner Bros. , and poked fun of him to her friends that it’s obviously a Disney picture.  I guess I can’t be too angry at a young person who attended Tanglewood in the first place but still. 

[Jay 35,282]

Huh, that's too bad;  I knew exactly what JW meant there and didn't think he messed up any words at all.  Oh well

[Foxfan 107]

Yeah some young people can be incredibly ignorant with no respect for their elders.

 

Last time I was at Tanglewood four years ago I was eating lunch at the Café after the morning rehearsal. Overheard a small group of TMC students sitting the next table over, with one pretentious-looking Asian dude asking his friend if he was "going to the 'stupid' concert" that evening.

 

"Stupid concert?"

 

"Yeah yeah.. the FILM NIGHT" (with the contemptuous eye roll).

 

Felt like saying: You rich little sh*t.. NOTHING you'll ever compose will ever even come close to matching the work that Maestro Williams has done.

 

Still amazed of the level of anti-film-music snobbism that still exists in the classical music world, even in a location like Tanglewood where Williams' work (like Bernstein and Copland) played such an important role in the history of the place.

[Tom 4,179]

3 hours ago, rpvee said:

 

30 seconds prior: "John, we have heard that story a million times."  

[rpvee 690]

2 minutes ago, Tom said:

30 seconds prior: "John, we have heard that story a million times."  

“BUT THEY WERE ALL DEAD! HE REALLY SAID IT!”

[Foxfan 107]

7 hours ago, BB-8 said:

 

Looks like that rostrum is attached to BSO and has travelled around quite a bit...

Andris Nelsons leads the BSO in Leipzig on the 2016 European Tour. (Courtesy Gert Mothes)

 

Yeah unless they have duplicates, they must take the rostrum from Symphony Hall everywhere the orchestra goes. The railing, however, comes on/off based on the wishes of the conductor. Williams and Nelsons keep it, whereas Lockhart usually goes without it.

[SilverTrumpet 628]

2 hours ago, Andy said:

Duel of the Fates sounded fantastic.  The choir maybe was a little weak, but to me that was fine because the orchestra was ferocious!  They really attacked it with gusto, and I appreciated that in a piece where the choir is so dominant. 
 

 

Walking out, I overheard a young lady my daughter’s age laughing to her friends and insinuating that the Maestro was either senile or ignorant.   John had given his anecdote about the genesis of Helena’s Theme and how it would be a Golden Age Warner Bros. sound.  This person interpreted  it as John Williams thought the film was produced by Warner Bros. , and poked fun of him to her friends that it’s obviously a Disney picture.  I guess I can’t be too angry at a young person who attended Tanglewood in the first place but still. 

 

Yeah, the orchestra was on freaking fire during DotF. Definitely a few musicians that grew up with Phantom Menace in there. 

 

I will say, the one cute old man thing he did that my wife got a kick out of was when he was introducing Helena's Theme, it was like he ran out of things to say about it so after a slight pause he just goes "......okay......" and turns around to start the piece. 

 

 

[Jay 35,282]

Oh man, yeah, thanks for reminding me of that.  It was so interesting watch him ramble about Phoebe and her theme from a few feet away, and then yep, he really just kinda petered out and it was so funny watching him go "OK..." and put the mic down and then like immediately start the piece.  I even said out loud quickly to either@Foxfan or @Smeltington whoever was next to me at the time "wow, he really ran out of steam there"

[Andy 3,572]

My favorite was Johnny getting verbose before the encore of E.T., in which he grabbed the mic and simply said, “E.T.!” 

[Jay 35,282]

Yes!  That was funny to see in person!

[Brando 1,641]

2 hours ago, Andy said:

My favorite was Johnny getting verbose before the encore of E.T., in which he grabbed the mic and simply said, “E.T.!” 

I was just about to bring this up, this was probably the funniest thing he said that night

[DangerMotif 989]

I assume they don’t have any of the JW swag this year?

[mrbellamy 5,997]

4 hours ago, SilverTrumpet said:

I will say, the one cute old man thing he did that my wife got a kick out of was when he was introducing Helena's Theme, it was like he ran out of things to say about it so after a slight pause he just goes "......okay......" and turns around to start the piece. 

 

 

This year at the CSO, he did his entire preamble to "The Duel" without his mic which is probably the most "old man" thing I've seen him do

[Smeltington 1,311]

This was such a fun show!! Williams was in fine form and seemed to be enjoying himself. I haven't sat that close up in a while, so it was cool to hear different instruments surrounding me, making it easier to pick out separate parts, mainly in the string section since that's what's right in front of your face. But it's a great way to focus in on little orchestral details you'd never notice in the familiar recordings. I also got a huge kick out of the facial expressions of some of the players. One violinist just to the right of Williams had the most intense look on her face while playing, then between pieces and during the ovations she kept beaming at Williams. Seemed like the right reactions to me... extreme concentration trying to get the music right, balanced with happiness to be performing with him! There was also a very blasé looking cellist who acted like he was "over it" through the entire show, but during the ovations Williams warmly put a hand on his shoulder and he turned and looked very surprised by the sudden nice gesture, lol. I'd like to think Williams melted his heart.

 

Duel of the Fates was the biggest highlight of the program for me. Agree the choir was a bit quiet, but I could hear them fine. But hearing the piece come alive in front of me was like hearing it for the first time. Think back to 1999, the intensity, I would even describe it as savagery, it was an amazing piece. I haven't gotten tired of the recording like I know some people have, but it's so ingrained that you don't always get those feelings from it like you did when it first came out, so it was great to rediscover that. It's a dynamic piece and I felt like the players rose to the challenge and really gave it their all, you could feel the electricity.

 

Going in, I was excited for Anakin's Theme too, but it's really NOT assertive compared to DotF and I wasn't quite ready to focus my attention hard enough to catch all the nuances there, so it would be nice to hear that one again in concert sometime later.

 

The Superman video was just as good this time as the other time I saw it. Brilliant editing!

 

And of course a massive highlight was getting the chance to talk, even though all too briefly, with so many members of this board! I won't list all the names just because I don't want to accidentally leave anyone out. Other than to say it was fun sitting in the same row with @Jay, and thank you so much @Foxfan for taking and sharing that great selfie!!!! Also shout out to @Andy for setting up a small meetup that I sadly missed... I had fun talking to you on one of the Zoom calls and would have really liked to meet you! And @SilverTrumpet it would have been good to chat with you too! But it was a lot of JWFans in one place, a great vibe for enjoying the show, and I'm happy for everyone who made it, especially from far away, and got to enjoy this wonderful evening together.

 

@Marian Schedenig Dude I wish you could hear the never ending compliments people give me when I wear that shirt!! I usually respond by telling them it was only available for one day haha. Highly collectible. You really should try and put it back up somewhere... I'd give people the link left and right. I was hanging out in Stockbridge and people there kept coming up to me... one guy even wanted a picture. I also had a nice convo with another guy who was a composer, plus a whole bunch of others, all because of this shirt.

 

 

 

 

[SilverTrumpet 628]

4 hours ago, Andy said:

My favorite was Johnny getting verbose before the encore of E.T., in which he grabbed the mic and simply said, “E.T.!” 

 

Yes! That was the other thing we were cracking up at. 

 

I felt like by the encores he was super tired but he was also having such a good time he wanted to do all three of them (I have to upload my pictures from the old digital camera we brought. Imperial March actually had the words "if needed" or something like that on it. 

 

Also, what the hell are you going to say about ET at this point that hasn't already been said?

 

 

 

 

13 minutes ago, Smeltington said:

Going in, I was excited for Anakin's Theme too, but it's really NOT assertive compared to DotF and I wasn't quite ready to focus my attention hard enough to catch all the nuances there, so it would be nice to hear that one again in concert sometime later.

 

And of course a massive highlight was getting the chance to talk, even though all too briefly, with so many members of this board! I won't list all the names just because I don't want to accidentally leave anyone out. Other than to say it was fun sitting in the same row with @Jay, and thank you so much @Foxfan for taking and sharing that great selfie!!!! Also shout out to @Andy for setting up a small meetup that I sadly missed... I had fun talking to you on one of the Zoom calls and would have really liked to meet you! And @SilverTrumpet it would have been good to chat with you too! But it was a lot of JWFans in one place, a great vibe for enjoying the show, and I'm happy for everyone who made it, especially from far away, and got to enjoy this wonderful evening together.

 

My wife was so happy to hear Anakin's Theme, and she really hates Star Wars. It was such a nice thing to hear too, since it's one of the more ignored fully fleshed out Star Wars themes. When they got to Imperial March at the end, my wife leans over to me and says "...they played the nice version earlier." 

 

Maybe we can get something planned a little better next year so we can have more than three of us together at a time.

[Brando 1,641]

32 minutes ago, DangerMotif said:

I assume they don’t have any of the JW swag this year?

Sadly, no, I looked before and after the concert. Was really hoping for a T-shirt maybe

[Andy 3,572]

Am I the only idiot who bought a Tanglewood baton from the gift shop?

[rpvee 690]

1 hour ago, DangerMotif said:

I assume they don’t have any of the JW swag this year?

Nope, only last year because of his birthday.

[igger6 847]

The recording quality of the broadcast is stellar!  I'm noticing little orchestral details left and right in arrangements I though I knew by heart!

[Foxfan 107]

1 hour ago, Andy said:

My favorite was Johnny getting verbose before the encore of E.T., in which he grabbed the mic and simply said, “E.T.!” 

 

Yes!! By now, that masterpiece needs no introduction. The crowd went wild. And the performance of the fanfare at the end was absolutely spot on!

 

We could tell by his face that he was definitely exhausted by the time Imperial March was done. The second part of the program was quite long in comparison to other split-podium concerts I've attended in the past few years.

 

In Philadelphia he stopped after ET and saved his energy for the next day's concert at Carnegie Hall.

1 hour ago, Andy said:

Am I the only idiot who bought a Tanglewood baton from the gift shop?

 

Don't worry. We've all done it at some point.

[Mr. Hooper 853]

2 hours ago, Andy said:

Am I the only idiot who bought a Tanglewood baton from the gift shop?

I held it in my hands, thought about it, then put it back. My air conducting days are behind me! 😄

 

So did you get the one with the bulbous end, or slender end? Dying to know... 😂

 

 

3 hours ago, Smeltington said:

There was also a very blasé looking cellist who acted like he was "over it" through the entire show...

And here he is, looking like he'd rather be someplace else! I thought his dour expression was hilarious. Although I did see him share a smile with another cellist when playing the Superman March...

 

rpvee, those are your hands applauding!

[Mr. Hooper 853]

[BB-8 2,964]

9 hours ago, Jay said:

Oh man, yeah, thanks for reminding me of that.  It was so interesting watch him ramble about Phoebe and her theme from a few feet away, and then yep, he really just kinda petered out and it was so funny watching him go "OK..." and put the mic down and then like immediately start the piece.  I even said out loud quickly to either@Foxfan or @Smeltington whoever was next to me at the time "wow, he really ran out of steam there"

 

Perhaps he was thinking of Daisy while rambling about Phoebe.

[MSM 116]

Marvelous concert and wonderful to see the Maestro in such excellent condition!

Loved the “wounded pride of the film composer” joke now being told with “Asteroid Field”. I am not so active on the board anymore but great to see so many of us made it to this concert🤗

 

Here’s a playlist:

 

[Smeltington 1,311]

4 hours ago, BB-8 said:

Perhaps he was thinking of Daisy while rambling about Phoebe.

 

That thought actually occurred to me lol. I wouldn't be surprised if he mixed up their names in a future concert intro.

 

10 hours ago, SilverTrumpet said:

Maybe we can get something planned a little better next year so we can have more than three of us together at a time.

 

We really should! If we all planned to arrive right when the gates open, we'd have a good bit of time to chat before the concert starts.

 

Anybody going to Tanglewood on Parade today, other than me and @rpvee?

[JTW 1,242]

Reading all these nice reports makes me wish that the Maestro would have many more concerts, so that all these people who attend them can remain enthusiastic and happy to be there. Reading these reports always makes me smile. I hope it never ends.

[DangerMotif 989]

wow, nicest Williams photo i’ve seen in a while

[Marian Schedenig 7,520]

13 hours ago, Smeltington said:

@Marian Schedenig Dude I wish you could hear the never ending compliments people give me when I wear that shirt!! I usually respond by telling them it was only available for one day haha. Highly collectible. You really should try and put it back up somewhere... I'd give people the link left and right. I was hanging out in Stockbridge and people there kept coming up to me... one guy even wanted a picture. I also had a nice convo with another guy who was a composer, plus a whole bunch of others, all because of this shirt.

 

Ha! At least Joe Kraemer should have one.  I guess I'll try and see if I find a new host to make a new edition… but first I have to decide on a film/font for a Goldsmith version.

[rpvee 690]

Just realized I forgot to post this selfie from before the concert! Was so fun sharing the experience with fellow JW Fan’ers!

 

[Tom 4,179]

Looks like a negative of a Blue Man group photo.  

[Mr. Hooper 853]

Feeling refreshed today and recovered from the sleepless overnight bus back from Albany, and now able to collect my thoughts on the concert...

 

In a word: magic.

 

My first 'pinch me' moment was actually in the morning while taking in the rehearsal on the lawn.

 

I checked ticket availability, looking to upgrade, and chanced upon a front row, center seat, alongside Guillaume and rpvee (as seen in the picture above!). Could not believe my luck.

 

Though new to posting here, it was great meeting with some of you. Met MSM at the gift shop, and Foxfan and I could hear a trombonist practicing the Imperial March and Duel of the Fates in a little wooden hut near the shed. Check out the video below.

 

rpvee said that John interacts with people in the front rows, and I was hoping for a little my way. Sure enough, when he first took the rostrum, he pointed at my 'Music by John Williams' shirt with a smile!

 

The shirt got a lot of compliments and people were asking where I got it, so if anyone's interested, check out Last Exit To Nowhere. It was perfect for me because it has the font from the Jaws credits, and Jaws was my introduction to JW.

 

The concert was great in that it was a real retrospective going back to The Cowboys, when his career really began to take off, all the way to today (Helena's Theme)—with a nod to his work outside of film (Call of the Champions) along the way.

 

When I saw Schindler's List in the program, it struck me that I was sitting directly in front of the soloist, Elita Kang. What a treat to watch her—and John's interaction with her—up close like that.

 

I'll repeat what everyone's saying: Duel of the Fates was EPIC. 

 

Yeah, I could quibble that the chorus was weak in spots, but man, the orchestra was thunderous! I was head-banging to it! 🤘

 

E.T. did break me a little and I got a tear in my eye. I was 7 when it came out, so yeah, that final fanfare struck me right in the feels...

 

You know how sometimes you go see a band live and they change up the songs and you just wished they played it like you remember it?

 

That's how I felt a little about The Asteroid Field and Anakin's Theme.

 

I should've expected that they'd be reworked for a concert setting, but I found myself listening critically. I'll have to listen to them again to see how I feel about them.

 

The Imperial March was the cherry on top, and I'll be forever glad and grateful he had the energy to perform that final encore. 🍒

 

It was said here that it was virtually impossible to see and have a brief interaction with John after the show...so over the loud applause at the end, I yelled "Thank you, John" (on behalf of fans everywhere) and hoped he would hear me.

 

He did, and acknowledged it with a nod and smile.

 

It was such a perfect evening, on a perfect summer's day...

 

"What could be better?," as the Maestro himself remarked at the start.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Steve 539]

Where can I get to listen to the broadcast? All the reviews make me want to listen to it

[rpvee 690]

4 hours ago, Mr. Hooper said:

...so over the loud applause at the end, I yelled "Thank you, John" (on behalf of fans everywhere) and hoped he would hear me.

 

He did, and acknowledged it with a nod and smile.

Great review! I had a similar interaction (in addition to the Asteroid Field introduction moment). During the standing ovation for DOTF, I called out “thank you!!”, and he looked at me with a nod and said “thank you” back. Chills!

 

-

 

I’m already at Tanglewood, program is the same as online. No surprises like this past Saturday. Williams isn’t doing 1812, just his own three pieces.

[Mr. Hooper 853]

You had the best interaction with the Episode V reminder. You beat me to it!

 

Wow, you're back at Tanglewood! Now that I'm back home, it all seems so far away...

 

Well, have a blast! (1812 overture cannon pun intended)

[Andy 3,572]

If anyone is interested, here is where we went Sunday after Tanglewood.  Warning: nerd overload ahead. 
 

Star Trek Set Tour

[Mr. Hooper 853]

2 hours ago, Andy said:

If anyone is interested, here is where we went Sunday after Tanglewood.  Warning: nerd overload ahead. 
 

Star Trek Set Tour

That definitely beats the dairy farm I visited near my inn. 😆

 

I'm not a 'Trekker,' but I've got a soft spot for the original series, and Shatner's my homeboy from Montreal!

 

That tour looks pretty cool though, and would definitely bring out my Shatner impression...which is more an impression of Kevin Pollak doing an impression of him.

 

 

[Andy 3,572]

The guide told us when Shatner visited, he broke a lot of stuff manhandling it, and said “That’s what happened on the show too!”