Deadline's December 31st Article on John Williams

[Faleel 5,354]

Not sure if it is new, or if it's here somewhere else I didn't see, but...

 

https://deadline.com/2023/12/composer-john-williams-not-retiring-aged-91-open-mind-1235683976/

[Ricard 2,245]

Quote

If Williams is planning to score movies a little less, and compose his own material a little more, his diary is already full for 2024. He will conduct his own Second Violin Concerto with London’s Philharmonic Orchestra in January, and also conduct in Vienna. And he already has a conducting booking in Berlin for 2025.

 

 

[Thor 7,508]

Amazing news. I thought I had completed my John Williams concert tour with three editions (Hollywood Bowl, Boston & Berlin), but maybe I have to make another trip now. The stamina on that guy.....

[JTN 2,030]

Berlin, 2025. 
The Maestro not only walked back his retirement plans, but also his dying plans. It’s like he was 51, not 91. I wish I had his optimism and confidence. At his age, you can die any second, let alone booking concerts two years ahead. Incredible.

[Thor 7,508]

I like what he said in an interview about at least trying to surpass Steven's dad Arnold Spielberg, who was active in various capacities until his death at 103. He seems to be serious about it.

 

Meanwhile, there are many other older film composers around that he can stretch towards, the oldest being Johnny Pate at 100.

[Damien F 1,742]

2 minutes ago, JTW said:

Berlin, 2025. 
The Maestro not only walked back his retirement plans, but also his dying plans. It’s like he was 51, not 91. I wish I had his optimism and confidence. At his age, you can die any second, let alone booking concerts two years ahead. Incredible.

 

If I'm lucky enough to reach his age in good health, I won't be sitting around waiting to die. It seems JW has the same outlook.

[Marian Schedenig 8,200]

London Phil in January, without prior notice? That's quite sudden. Now I'm already starting to worry that he'll indeed come back to Vienna and I'll miss it due to scheduling problems.

[GerateWohl 4,370]

22 minutes ago, Thor said:

Amazing news. I thought I had completed my John Williams concert tour with three editions (Hollywood Bowl, Boston & Berlin), but maybe I have to make another trip now. The stamina on that guy.....

Looking forward to meet you again in Berlin then.

 

[GlastoEls 563]

Wait.. WHAT? January? London?

[Marian Schedenig 8,200]

The other curiosity is… is he really coming to London to conduct the Phil (nothing wrong with them) - and skipping the LSO?

[St0rMl0rD 155]

Haha, funny seeing the familiar faces jump on this forum as soon as that was posted  

1 minute ago, Marian Schedenig said:

The other curiosity is… is he really coming to London to conduct the Phil (nothing wrong with them) - and skipping the LSO?

 

Yeah this seems strange to me as well...January is very sudden indeed, it's tomorrow

[GlastoEls 563]

My whole household - here in London - has just jumped to red alert! 🤣

[APBez 11]

https://lpo.org.uk/event/mutter-plays-john-williams/
 

Not listed as conducting.

[Thor 7,508]

Are we sure the London thing is a concert and not just a recording? And could the London Philharmonic be on tour in the US or something? Either way, I echo those who are perplexed by the omission of LSO -- once again!

[Marian Schedenig 8,200]

1 minute ago, APBez said:

https://lpo.org.uk/event/mutter-plays-john-williams/
 

Not listed as conducting.

 

I was just about to post that. Maybe the Deadline article is in error?

 

That concert is on my birthday, by the way - and I can't go because I've already invited friends to a party. Would be annoying to miss Williams himself because of that, on my birthday of all things…

[Mr. Hooper 1,792]

Who else hears Williams' voice in their head when reading his quotes? It's just automatic.

[Marian Schedenig 8,200]

The LPO have posted about the 13 January concert on Twitter three days ago, with no mention or hint that Williams himself might be conducting:

 

[Alex 2,835]

Jonathon Heyward is listed as conductor. No mention of JW’s presence at all.

[APBez 11]

Whilst I haven’t been able to access the original Times article on which the Deadline story is based, Google previews of it suggest the LPO are merely playing his music and he won’t be there. The LPO website and Twitter feed, quoted above, seem to suggest as much. I’m calling “false alarm” sadly.

[Damien F 1,742]

I wonder did the writer of that article hear about that London concert by the LPO and just assumed Williams is to conduct?

[bollemanneke 3,349]

WAIT LONDON WHAT LONDON WHERE TICKETS LONDON WHEN... AAAAHHH!!

Yeah wait a minute...

 

Movies In Concert - film music live in concert (soundtrack, score, event, ticket, filmmusik, konzert, karte)

[Miguel Andrade 1,263]

This is just like the article from a year or so ago, stating appearances in Lisbon and Singapore (or somewhere else in the far east). The former was just a live to projection of Return of the Jedi (which I attended), the result of very poor researching. The later was the same situation.

I'm sure this is likely the same. But the suggestion of future bookings in Vienna and Berlin do sound more plausible. 

[Damien F 1,742]

Now I'm skeptical that he's going to Vienna

[Miguel Andrade 1,263]

Just now, Damien F said:

Now I'm skeptical that he's going to Vienna

If it's something later in 2024, it's natural that we still don't have any further info on dates.

[MaxTheHouseelf 324]

3 minutes ago, Miguel Andrade said:

But the suggestion of future bookings in Vienna and Berlin do sound more plausible. 

 

3 minutes ago, Damien F said:

Now I'm skeptical that he's going to Vienna

ASM said in another Instagram post: "Can’t wait to see them all on tour in Europe in 2024."  https://www.instagram.com/p/C063-jns1zy/?img_index=1

[APBez 11]

Is there a byline in the Times article? If so, it might be possible to contact the journalist who wrote it/did the interview directly and get clarity.

[Marian Schedenig 8,200]

The Vienna "announcement" might be a fluke, too - Fabio Luisi is conducting ASM and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in Vienna in June:

https://www.anne-sophie-mutter.de/konzert/2024/06/07-06-2023-john-williams-violin-concerto-no-2-2-2-2-2-2/

[King Mark 3,631]

Wow he's still planning to work in 2025 . 

 

I think he looked a lot more healthy in the latest Pittsburg concert than the one in Japan earlier this year

[Miguel Andrade 1,263]

15 minutes ago, Marian Schedenig said:

The Vienna "announcement" might be a fluke, too - Fabio Luisi is conducting ASM and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in Vienna in June:

https://www.anne-sophie-mutter.de/konzert/2024/06/07-06-2023-john-williams-violin-concerto-no-2-2-2-2-2-2/

 

I wouldn't mind using that as an excuse to visit Vienna again 

[Giftheck 916]

2022: "Indiana Jones is my last film score, I'm retiring from film scoring"

 

2023: Lucasfilm announces the Daisy Ridley film

 

Also 2023: "When I said I was retiring, I didn't mean I was retiring"

 

Coincidence? 🤔

[JTN 2,030]

Maybe he’ll only

conduct the violin concerto?…

[MSM 126]

All of the above might be true. Don’t forget he enjoys surprise guest conducting…or he might step in at the last moment. Its difficult to keep up w the Maestro😅

[GlastoEls 563]

Just read The Times article: no mention of Williams conducting in London (just references the ASM concert) but interestingly does say “starry guest-conducting gigs in Vienna next year and Berlin in 2025”.

[King Mark 3,631]

55 minutes ago, Miguel Andrade said:

 

I wouldn't mind using that as an excuse to visit Vienna again 

 And record Fanfare for Vienna Ball

[Tom 4,661]

3 hours ago, JTW said:

The Maestro not only walked back his retirement plans, but also his dying plans. 

 

[Alex 2,835]

People can save this post and remind me about it when he completes a two hour score for the Rey movie, but I very much doubt JW scores another movie again.

 

(I probably said this after TROS as well)

[KK 3,307]

Quote

Home Alone can’t be in the same idiom as Saving Private Ryan or Jurassic Park, but perhaps we all have many parts to our characters. Somewhere in all of my film scores there must be some kind of ‘me’. But I leave that to others to identify.”

 

What a class act.

[Foxfan 128]

1 hour ago, Alex said:

People can save this post and remind me about it when he completes a two hour score for the Rey movie, but I very much doubt JW scores another movie again.

 

(I probably said this after TROS as well)

 

If it involves Daisy Ridley, he is on record saying he would be very jealous if someone else were to write the music for her, so I'm willing to bet he WILL score New Jedi Order.

[Tom 4,661]

I think it will have less to do with the movie and more to do with the comfort level with the director.  Spielberg, yes, various SW directors, probably not.  

[mrbellamy 6,287]

Still sounds like a combination of film scoring genuinely being way lower on his priority list and that he actually just can't predict anymore what time or interest he will have for a film project. I feel like there's a touch of defensiveness from some of these quotes since turning 90. The answer's legitimately both yes and no.

 

For decades, the odds that he would score Spielberg's next film were as close to 100% as possible. I would still place good odds but probably more like 75% now. Everything else is a total wildcard. 

[crumbs 14,317]

10 minutes ago, mrbellamy said:

For decades, the odds that he would score Spielberg's next film were as close to 100% as possible. I would still place good odds but probably more like 75% now. Everything else is a total wildcard. 

 

Depends what Spielberg's going for stylistically with Bullitt, but I don't see that needing a huge orchestral score. It might suit Williams if it's smaller scale.

 

The idea of more European concerts is tantalizing though! I'd definitely fly across to Berlin if that happened again.

[Bayesian 1,363]

I couldn’t afford to attend any of JW’s European concerts (and even if I could have, getting tickets would’ve been impossible), but if he really does intend to revisit the hallowed halls of classical music, I’ll need to figure out a way to make my in-person attendance a reality. I will not miss out a second time. 

[Foxfan 128]

11 hours ago, Miguel Andrade said:

 

I wouldn't mind using that as an excuse to visit Vienna again 

 

Yeah I saw the VPO at the Musikverein in 2014 so I'd be due for another visit. If Williams does embark on a European tour he really should schedule a concert at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam as that place is truly the world's best-sounding hall.

[artguy360 1,843]

2 hours ago, crumbs said:

 

Depends what Spielberg's going for stylistically with Bullitt, but I don't see that needing a huge orchestral score. It might suit Williams if it's smaller scale.

 

The idea of more European concerts is tantalizing though! I'd definitely fly across to Berlin if that happened again.

The idea of JW writing a short, punchy, action driven score with a bit of an edge to it is very exciting to me. However, in his late era, little of JW's action music has been very distinct. I fear we would get more copy and pasting of his past action music with a few changes thrown in.

[crumbs 14,317]

7 minutes ago, artguy360 said:

The idea of JW writing a short, punchy, action driven score with a bit of an edge to it is very exciting to me. However, in his late era, little of JW's action music has been very distinct. I fear we would get more copy and pasting of his past action music with a few changes thrown in.

 

I could definitely see Williams channeling his inner Lalo Schifrin and writing something jazzy and 70s for the action sequences, a bit like what Ross did in DoD (presumably under his direction).

 

Maybe even something like Eiger Sanction. Lots of potential depending on whether Spielberg goes period.

[artguy360 1,843]

2 minutes ago, crumbs said:

 

I could definitely see Williams channeling his inner Lalo Schifrin and writing something jazzy and 70s for the action sequences, a bit like what Ross did in DoD (presumably under his direction).

 

Maybe even something like Eiger Sanction. Lots of potential depending on whether Spielberg goes period.

I would love JW going in either direction. As long as it is distinct and not simply derivative of his previous action music. I'll take anything from JW since I never expected him to still be so active at his current age. Something lean with a period touch would be cool.

[Tom 4,661]

7 hours ago, artguy360 said:

I fear we would get more copy and pasting of his past action music with a few changes thrown in.

The same could be said about the action scenes themselves.   

[QuartalHarmony 543]

14 hours ago, crumbs said:

Depends what Spielberg's going for stylistically with Bullitt, but I don't see that needing a huge orchestral score. It might suit Williams if it's smaller scale.

Oh, please let it be a chance for JW to revisit his jazz film style. It’s been far too long…

 

Mark

[JNHFan2000 2,966]

If Williams comes to Berlin in 2025 I hope I might be able to see him there live for the first time. It's the closest he'll ever be to where I am

[BB-8 3,479]

Vienna and Berlin re-appearances are possibly connected to the in-prep piano concerto for Ax?