John Williams and Anne-Sophie Mutter @ Heinz Hall (Pittsburgh, PA) - December 12, 2023

[Foxfan 128]

18 minutes ago, blondheim said:

I will be soon if you guys wanna grab a drink and toast the maestro 

Redbeards is it, everyone?

Ok settling up on dinner and heading to RedBeard’s. How do I recognize you?

[Lockdown 238]

were wearing our usernames on our shirts

[blondheim 1,157]

3 minutes ago, Foxfan said:

Ok settling up on dinner and heading to RedBeard’s.

I’m there but tis hard to find a seat at the bar

Just now, Lockdown said:

were wearing our usernames on our shirts

I’m the dork with the courtship of Princess Leia 

[Lockdown 238]

Haha, I'm actually inside Heinz Hall now.

[Foxfan 128]

2 hours ago, Toronto said:

I literally have one ticket that's going to go to waste tonight. My daughter could not come with me to see this concert. The ticket is in row j which is fairly close to the front.

 

If there's anybody reading this that wishes to be in this concert tonight and can meet me outside of Heinz Hall, I can sell it for a reduced price and in you go!

 

I will not have internet access once I leave my airbnb.   I will be here till about 5:00 p.m. then I'm starting to head over to Heinz Hall.  

 

Also here is some more promotion I found on the internet about the concert:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wtae.com/amp/article/john-williams-pittsburgh-symphony-orchestra/46098489

sent you a pm if you still have your ticket as I ran into somebody at RedBeard’s who is interested.

[blondheim 1,157]

I am sitting in my seat. Can’t wait!

There’s literally not a bad seat in Heinz Hall (I’ve sat in all the bleeders)

 

 I’m so excited. It looks like there’s a whole class of students next to me. I would have loved an experience like this! Beethoven and Williams together, rear them up right. Good for them.

[Lockdown 238]

[blondheim 1,157]

Just now, Lockdown said:

Jealous lol

[rpvee 805]

First Williams piece of the night is a first half encore of the Schindler’s List Theme by only Mutter, Ferrández (cello), and Bronfman (piano). No conductor for that one. Beautiful!

 

Intermission now. Almost Maestro time!

[Lockdown 238]

2 minutes ago, rpvee said:

First Williams piece of the night is a first half encore of the Schindler’s List Theme by only Mutter, Ferrández (cello), and Bronfman (piano). No conductor for that one. Beautiful!

 

Intermission now. Almost Maestro time!

I was wanting for John to walk out so bad!

[blondheim 1,157]

2 minutes ago, rpvee said:

First Williams piece of the night is a first half encore of the Schindler’s List Theme by only Mutter, Ferrández (cello), and Bronfman (piano). No conductor for that one. Beautiful!

 

Intermission now. Almost Maestro time!

It was beautiful. And an exciting surprise to add one more Williams piece to the concert. Loved the arrangement too

[Lockdown 238]

I was kind of confused as to why it was missing from the initial repertoire given the fact that the whole premise of the concert is to feature Williams' works with solo violin.

[rpvee 805]

The media sponsor for the concert is local classical radio station WQED 89.3, but any schedule on their website is for their TV counterpart. The program says PSO concerts are broadcast on Wednesdays and Sundays. I assume we’d know if tonight was planned to be broadcast in the future, right? There’s no concert scheduled for tomorrow, so wonder what they’ll play…

[Lockdown 238]

Well they do seem to have a lot of people with cameras recording.

[Tom 4,664]

33 minutes ago, rpvee said:

First Williams piece of the night is a first half encore of the Schindler’s List Theme by only Mutter, Ferrández (cello), and Bronfman (piano). No conductor for that one. Beautiful!

 

Intermission now. Almost Maestro time!

That must be the arrangement he did for Ma, Ax, and "the other guy," to repurpose Seinfeld.  Glad it is being performed.  

[Lockdown 238]

[Foxfan 128]

Here are some of mine! Love that Williams surprised Anne-Sophie with Happy Birthday at the end!

[rpvee 805]

A truly magnificent evening! The Maestro was in top form and still sharp as a nail (except only a couple self-described “senior moments”, and during one I helped him remember Sean Connery’s name!). The new version of “Scherzo” was great fun and very much tailored for Anne-Sophie’s style, but the bigger highlight for me was the new version of “Anakin’s Theme” that was also done for her. It took the changes from the version debuted at Tanglewood this past summer and greatly expanded on them, ending on a haunting harp rendition of the Imperial March very similar to what’s played when the character dies at the end of Return of the Jedi - a truly unexpected and chill-inducing callback!

 

My photos:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Ian Stouffer 17]

The concert was an incredible concert. The Beethoven Triple Concerto was played very well. I really loved the Schindler's List Trio (that as far as I'm aware was a world premiere). Anne-Sophie Mutter is amazing as always, and the anecdote about violins in space was interesting. Scherzo for Violin and Motorcycle was a lot of fun, as was Across the Stars. My second John Williams concert was awesome, just like the one from April of last year.

[Toronto 3]

What a great concert that was everybody. One of the best I think I've seen in a long time where his energy was alive the entire time....

 

It was sad to see it come to an end. But I'm also optimistic that he definitely has the energy to keep going and produce more concerts.

[Tom 4,664]

2 hours ago, Lockdown said:

I was kind of confused as to why it was missing from the initial repertoire given the fact that the whole premise of the concert is to feature Williams' works with solo violin.

first half encore.  The fun of encores is their unannounced nature.  

[Thor 7,512]

5 hours ago, rpvee said:

A truly magnificent evening! The Maestro was in top form and still sharp as a nail (except only a couple self-described “senior moments”, and during one I helped him remember Sean Connery’s name!).

 

I think that is a "schtick" of his rather than a senior moment. He conveniently "forgets" Connery's name in most concerts, making the audience get involved. I think it's very deliberate (as opposed to certain other faux passes, which may be down to foggy memory).

 

In either case, thanks for all the reports and pictures. Looks wonderful, and not envious at all, LOL! Any pics of the social get-togethers, if there were any?

[Pawel P. 738]

Great photos and reports, thanks! I'll definitely watch it on Stage+, hopefully it will be released on Blu-ray.

 

Was there any encore played at the end, after "The Imperial March"? (Unlikely, of course)

[BB-8 3,479]

Heinz Zimmer

[blondheim 1,157]

3 hours ago, Pawel P. said:

Great photos and reports, thanks! I'll definitely watch it on Stage+, hopefully it will be released on Blu-ray.

 

Was there any encore played at the end, after "The Imperial March"? (Unlikely, of course)

Hedwig’s Theme for Violin and Orchestra and it was marvelous!

[Naïve Old Fart 9,544]

Any of these pictures could be added to the Caption Competition thread.

[Taikomochi 1,136]

5 hours ago, Thor said:

 

I think that is a "schtick" of his rather than a senior moment. He conveniently "forgets" Connery's name in most concerts, making the audience get involved. I think it's very deliberate (as opposed to certain other faux passes, which may be down to foggy memory).

 

In either case, thanks for all the reports and pictures. Looks wonderful, and not envious at all, LOL! Any pics of the social get-togethers, if there were any?

This has always been my interpretation, that he leans into his cute “old man” persona. Take him “forgetting” which Star Wars “Across the Stars” was from three nights in a row in the April 2022 concerts. 

[blondheim 1,157]

1 hour ago, Taikomochi said:

This has always been my interpretation, that he leans into his cute “old man” persona. Take him “forgetting” which Star Wars “Across the Stars” was from three nights in a row in the April 2022 concerts. 

He forgot it last night too.

[Miguel Andrade 1,263]

16 hours ago, rpvee said:

The media sponsor for the concert is local classical radio station WQED 89.3, but any schedule on their website is for their TV counterpart. The program says PSO concerts are broadcast on Wednesdays and Sundays. I assume we’d know if tonight was planned to be broadcast in the future, right? There’s no concert scheduled for tomorrow, so wonder what they’ll play…

 

The concert will be streamed December 30 on Stage+

14 hours ago, Ian Stouffer said:

The concert was an incredible concert. The Beethoven Triple Concerto was played very well. I really loved the Schindler's List Trio (that as far as I'm aware was a world premiere). Anne-Sophie Mutter is amazing as always, and the anecdote about violins in space was interesting. Scherzo for Violin and Motorcycle was a lot of fun, as was Across the Stars. My second John Williams concert was awesome, just like the one from April of last year.

 

The trio version of Schindler's List as been performed at least twice before.

[WilliamsStarShip2282 308]

On 14/12/2023 at 2:01 AM, Miguel Andrade said:

 

The concert will be streamed December 30 on Stage+

 

The trio version of Schindler's List as been performed at least twice before.

 

very much looking forward to seeing it.

[pete 907]

After each concert, I always imagine Williams returning home after perhaps a few days of not doing much writing or none at all and returning to his piano with renewed enthusiam. Would love to know what his schedule is like leading up to a concert. Exactly how much time does he spend preparing beyond the usual rehearsals? 

 

And regarding the new Scherzo of Mortorcycle and Violin, I recently made a list of long long list of peices that Williams could possibly arrange for violin and orchestra. I never considered that a possibility. 

[Amer 2,110]

It would be awesome if this was issued as a cd or blu ray. The two new pieces premiered are incredibly good! I want them.

[Miguel Andrade 1,263]

Still regarding the Schindler's List trio...

World premiere: https://www.instagram.com/p/CoDIJfeOMdS/

 

I do recall that Mutter also performed it, maybe with Martha Argerich. I'm pretty sure of seeing a short video of it taken from the audience view point, but can't find it anymore.

[Marian Schedenig 8,200]

3 hours ago, Miguel Andrade said:

Still regarding the Schindler's List trio...

World premiere: https://www.instagram.com/p/CoDIJfeOMdS/?igshid=ZWQ3ODFjY2VlOQ==

 

I do recall that Mutter also performed it, maybe with Martha Argerich. I'm pretty sure of seeing a short video of it taken from the audience view point, but can't find it anymore.

 

Argerich? I don't recall being aware of her ever performing Williams. That would be something.

[Jay 37,369]

We do have a short thread for the trio arrangement, if a video of the Pitsburgh performance shows up it should be posted in it

 

https://www.jwfan.com/forums/index.php?/topic/35208-theme-from-”schindler’s-list”-1993-arranged-for-pianocelloviolin-trio-by-john-williams/

[Miguel Andrade 1,263]

23 minutes ago, Marian Schedenig said:

 

Argerich? I don't recall being aware of her ever performing Williams. That would be something.

 

Yeah, that's why the name stuck with me. They had some trio shows earlier in the year, the performance of the Williams was an encore... I'll look further for that.

Found it:

 

Argerich, Mutter and Maisky... So much talent playing Williams!

 

 

[Marian Schedenig 8,200]

Oh wow.

[igger6 894]

Wait, so Scherzo for Motorcycle and Anakin's Theme now exist in violin arrangements?  This is headline news!  When's the studio session?  And when were these written?  In the same flurry of cookie-inspired creativity, or later?  Is there still hope for Jazz Autographs for Violin and Orchestra?

[Amer 2,110]

I'd love a proper studio recording of these.!!

 

In retrospect, I feel Williams penchant for securing more versions of his themes in this format ie violin and orchestra is something very important.  After having successfully established film music in the concert hall as well as live to film format It now seems to me he has now entering a new movement of bringing a more sophisticated sound to the concert hall so as to have a more prominent binding position of film music influence.

 

Once a highly snubbed genre is now a thriving platform in the classical arena. So kudos to Williams in helping this grand achievement. 

[pete 907]

3 hours ago, igger6 said:

And when were these written?  In the same flurry of cookie-inspired creativity, or later?

 

Later I'm sure. There was no mention of these earlier, and we did know that Han Solo and the Princess was one of the first batch despite not making it to the first album - also the Witches of Eastwick which she didn't have time to get ready for the reocrding.

 

And just before Indy 5 was released Ann-Sophie said that Williams was writing more arrengements. We got Helena's Theme soon after, and she did imply there was more than one new arrangement in the works. Hopefully there are more as well as plans to record. Fingers crossed!

[crumbs 14,317]

On 13/12/2023 at 7:53 AM, Jay said:

None of the Rise of Skywalker concert arrangements (there's 4 of them) have actually been conducted in a concert by Williams himself yet!

 

Why?  Who knows...

 

 

 

[rough cut 1,714]

I hope they dust of Yes, Giorgio for any new studio sessions. That’d be great in an arrangement for Anne-Sophie!

[Tom 4,664]

Ordinarily, I would say unlikely, but given that Williams seems like he was fairly involved with the 20 cd set, maybe he saw some pieces that he had not thought about in a while.  

[JTN 2,030]

On 13/12/2023 at 10:04 AM, Thor said:

I think that is a "schtick" of his rather than a senior moment. He conveniently "forgets" Connery's name in most concerts, making the audience get involved. I think it's very deliberate

THIS! I just wish people understood it finally that he does it on purpose, like he always “forgets” the name of Attack of the Clones. I wish overzealous people would stop correcting the Maestro at every concert, it’s becoming annoying and cringeworthy.

 

 

On 16/12/2023 at 6:55 AM, Amer said:

 

I'd love a proper studio recording of these.!!

 

In retrospect, I feel Williams penchant for securing more versions of his themes in this format ie violin and orchestra is something very important.  After having successfully established film music in the concert hall as well as live to film format It now seems to me he has now entering a new movement of bringing a more sophisticated sound to the concert hall so as to have a more prominent binding position of film music influence.

 

He’s turning film music into classical music. He should do this with every score of his, releasing album after album of arrangements for solo instrument and orchestra. 

[rough cut 1,714]

3 hours ago, Tom said:

Ordinarily, I would say unlikely, but given that Williams seems like he was fairly involved with the 20 cd set, maybe he saw some pieces that he had not thought about in a while.  

I dunno. I had the impression that Anne-Sophie takes a lot input in which songs to put forward to John from her son, who is a movie music fan. Maybe he’s even a reader of the forum! 
 

Abd there were some “obscurities”

on Across The Stars. As for the violin concerto CD. So why not for the third time around? 

[Tom 4,664]

3 hours ago, rough cut said:

I dunno. I had the impression that Anne-Sophie takes a lot input in which songs to put forward to John from her son, who is a movie music fan. Maybe he’s even a reader of the forum! 

Is he the dude that makes cat cakes?  

[JTN 2,030]

11 hours ago, rough cut said:

I had the impression that Anne-Sophie takes a lot input in which songs to put forward to John from her son, who is a movie music fan. Maybe he’s even a reader of the forum! 

So Richard Wunderlich is behind everything. 🤔

[Tom 4,664]

19 hours ago, rough cut said:

I dunno. I had the impression that Anne-Sophie takes a lot input in which songs to put forward to John from her son, who is a movie music fan. Maybe he’s even a reader of the forum! 

Has she ever mentioned this in an interview or is this speculation?  

[rough cut 1,714]

Yes, but for the life of me, I can’t recall where I read it. Maybe even an Instagram post?

[WilliamsStarShip2282 308]

I would guess her son probably is involved, my guess is really that she isn't the giant Williams fan she says she is, and her knowledge of his music is probably quite small in reality. Seeing as Andre suggested CL and Dracula, I don't think shes going to remember other pieces besides Hedwig and the more famous bits of Star Wars. Funny she will occasionally bring up Rey's theme, but I think they only played it the one time at Tanglewood?