Star Wars: The Story in Music (2023 concert debuts new live pieces)

[Chen G. 3,950]

4 minutes ago, Tom said:

At least it is reprised in The Last Jedi.  

 

Sorta.

 

4 minutes ago, Tom said:

So, there is no Throne Room in this concert--that seems like a problem.  

 

Williams is so fond of that theme: it closes the entire Star Wars cycle! Listen to the very end of the Rise of Skywalker credits.

[pete 907]

Han Solo and the Princess is sad it wasn't included.

 

[DangerMotif 1,038]

20 minutes ago, pete said:

Han Solo and the Princess is sad it wasn't included.

 

That and the Emperor’s theme where the biggest omissions theme wise, they even cut it out of Asteroid Field.

would have loved to hear Immolation Theme also. Still a great concert.

[Jay 37,373]

Falcon Flight would have been a way to get a choir-free Emperor's Theme in

[Matt S. 493]

I’m really looking forward to seeing this in Boston next month!  On one hand I’m disappointed there are so many shortened pieces (which I usually find very irritating!) but I totally understand why they needed to do that in order to get in as much material as they can.

 

To be fair, each trilogy should have its own full-length concert.  That would be incredible!  One can dream…

[Fabulin 3,514]

The gates that prevented random Star Wars tracks as heard in the films from being played in concert begin to crack.

[oierem 152]

1 hour ago, Fabulin said:

The gates that prevented random Star Wars tracks as heard in the films from being played in concert begin to crack.

 

And they need to crack a lot more!

I'd much rather hear actual cues from the films than the concert suites (a lot of which have been played to death, and are much more boring -and less "story-driven"- than the actual cues). 

At the very least they should play the end credit suites! That way, you'd get most of the themes in one continuous musical piece, which flows much better than 3-minute concert suites!

[Falstaft 2,132]

13 hours ago, DangerMotif said:

That and the Emperor’s theme where the biggest omissions theme wise

 

It does appear in the program, in this admittedly understated form: 

 

 

[Chen G. 3,950]

4 hours ago, oierem said:

I'd much rather hear actual cues from the films than the concert suites (a lot of which have been played to death, and are much more boring -and less "story-driven"- than the actual cues). 

 

I was thinking this. If you really presume to tell the story in music - which I think is perfectly achievable - you can't facilitate that through the playing of concert suites: you have to play film cues.

[oierem 152]

1 hour ago, Chen G. said:

 

I was thinking this. If you really presume to tell the story in music - which I think is perfectly achievable - you can't facilitate that through the playing of concert suites: you have to play film cues.

 

Agreed. Even if a reworking/combination of different cues would probably be the most effective way to tell the whole story, you could  select 3-4 cues from each film to represent the different sections of the story.

 

For example, if I had to choose a handful of cues from Empire Strikes Back, I would select:

-The Asteroid Chase (which features both the Imperial March and the Love Theme, and reflects the action of the first act of the film)

-Yoda and the Force (which features Luke's theme in minor mode, The Force theme, Yoda's theme and the Imperial March, and represents the more introspective middle act of the film)

-The Clash of Lightsabers (which features a brutal rendition of the Imperial March, an action driven Yoda's theme, the Cloud City March and a dramatic version of the Love Theme, and represents the dramatic third act)

-The Rebel Fleet & End Credits

 

There you have it: a 19-minute selection of cues representing the story of the film, which feature different variations of the main themes.

[Chen G. 3,950]

Of course, that's for one film, whereas this attempts to tell the story of all nine! 

 

But I think there are ways to do it. It just won't be as easy a listening experience: it'll be less a medley and more a kind of Lisztian tone poem.

[Brónach 1,302]

how do end credits suites help tell the story? they're great but they stop the story right in its tracks for this

[Chen G. 3,950]

13 hours ago, Brónach said:

how do end credits suites help tell the story?

They usually sum up the story of the entry by reprising all of the themes. There are passages in The Ring that do exactly that, too. Its kind of essential when you're telling a story in music over such a long time.

[Brónach 1,302]

but they occupy the length of time that film cues that actually accompany the events could fill

[Chen G. 3,950]

I'm just in favour of telling the story in music. That can be facilitated through film cues, but it can also be done via orchestral passages. You just have the pick the right ones for that purpose.

[BSOinsider 42]

On 23/08/2023 at 6:12 PM, Tom said:

I see there are doing Harry Potter 1 LTP in a couple days too--anyone going to that?

 

The Ma/Ax/Kavakos trio is doing its Beethoven concert too--this is the same trio that premiered the new Schindler's List arrangement. I wonder if they will perform it as an encore (seems like Williams is hanging out there until Japan).  

 

For those keeping track at home, they did perform the Schindler's List arrangement as an encore.

[Tom 4,671]

1 hour ago, BSOinsider said:

 

For those keeping track at home, they did perform the Schindler's List arrangement as an encore.

Thank you for the update.  I forgot to check in on this. Do you know if there was a broadcast?  Was Williams still around?  

[BSOinsider 42]

Just now, Tom said:

Thank you for the update.  I forgot to check in on this. Do you know if there was a broadcast?  Was Williams still around?  

 

No broadcast, and JW had left Tanglewood by that point and was not around. 

[King Mark 3,631]

On 27/08/2023 at 9:57 PM, BSOinsider said:

 

Quite a few cuts were used to keep the concert close to the 2 hour mark. The specific cuts are listed by another user earlier in this discussion.

 

Speeder Chase was HL Signature, with a sizable cut from 61-114. Yes, measure 61 in HL corresponds to just about 1:45 on track 5.

 

Farewell (Rey and Ben) was just the opening 15 bars of the 70 bar piece. 

 

Rise of Skywalker was also cut short with an added transition as you describe. I anticipate that that specific transition spot will be reworked before the Boston and Japan performances. 

 

 

 

so basically most of these new arrangements are downgrades to the OST versions?

[BSOinsider 42]

12 minutes ago, King Mark said:

 

 

so basically most of these new arrangements are downgrades to the OST versions?

 

The selections I mentioned (Speeder Chase, Farewell, Rise of Skywalker) were performed in a cut (shortened) version compared to their printed Hal Leonard version. The HL Rise of Skywalker suite as printed is much closer to the OST than the "Story in Music" version of each of the pieces. I hope that makes sense. 

[Score 770]

On 23/08/2023 at 7:26 PM, michael_grig said:

A small breakdown of the changes that were necessary, probably to tighten up the dramaturgy a bit:

 

Main Title – HL SE (till bar 73)

 

Flag Parade – HL SE (bar 9-56 cut, bar 95-104 cut, bar 132-139cut)

Anakin’s Theme – JKMS Typeset (w/ JW fixes 07/25/23)

Duel Of The Fates – HL SE (bar 21-85cut, bar 104-137 cut)

 

Across The Stars – HL SE

 

General Grievous (BPO Edited Version – July 2023)

Enter Lord Vader (BPO Edited Version – July 2023)

 

 

 

Leia’s Theme – HL SE

Binary Sunset (BPO Edited Version – July 2023)

Cantina Band (Sid Ramin Boston Pops Arrangement) - HL

 

Asteroid Field – HL SE (bar 69-136 cut)

Yoda’s Theme – HL SE

Imperial March – HL SE

 

Jabba The Hutt – Short version for SW: The Story in Music [23bars]

Luke & Leia – SW Musical Journey 2009

Parade of the Ewoks – HL SE

Forest Battle – HL SE (bar 3-14cut, bar 137-153 cut)

 

 

 

March of the Resistance – HL SE

Rey's Theme – HL SE

Scherzo for X-Wings – HL SE

The Jedi Steps – HL SE

 

Chrome Dome (BPO Edited Version – July 2023)

Rebellion – HL SE (bar56-99 cut)

 

Speeder Chase – [unreleased] HL SE (bar 62-114 cut)

Rey and Ben – [unreleased] HL SE (unitll bar 15)

The Rise of Skywalker – [unreleased] HL SE (only until bar 104 –

attaca to “Throne Room & End Title” – HL SE (from bar 107 to end))

 

 

I'm learning right now from this thread that the legendary Sid Ramin did an arrangement of Cantina Band! And it's surely an old story - is there a recording of that version?

 

 

 

[DangerMotif 1,038]

12 minutes ago, Score said:

 

 

I'm learning right now from this thread that the legendary Sid Ramin did an arrangement of Cantina Band! And it's surely an old story - is there a recording of that version?

 

 

 

It may be my favorite version 

https://youtu.be/rp2CILkGsDw?feature=shared

[Miguel Andrade 1,263]

The Ramin arrangement has been the Boston Pops repertoire for ages.

[JWilliamsFan1999 47]

Does anyone here love the Gerdhardt Star Wars compositions albums he did? If so, which one do you love? I would love to hear your thoughts. 

[Bespin 8,484]

9 hours ago, JWilliamsFan1999 said:

Does anyone here love the Gerdhardt Star Wars compositions albums he did? If so, which one do you love? I would love to hear your thoughts. 

 

Empire is a classic!

[Ricard 2,245]

On 17/09/2023 at 4:01 AM, JWilliamsFan1999 said:

Does anyone here love the Gerdhardt Star Wars compositions albums he did? If so, which one do you love? I would love to hear your thoughts. 

 

Yes, I believe most of us greatly enjoy these recordings: