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The Lord of the Rings Symphony - The London Philharmonic Orchestra - Royal Festival Hall - May 23 2004


borutz

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The London Philharmonic Orchestra performs the Lord of the Rings Symphony at the Royal Festival Hall

Sun 23 May 2004 at 3 pm

Howard Shore conductor

Please tell me if anybody have more inforrmation on that concert will there be a choir,singers as they will be in concert in antwerpen-belgium

In my opinion this concert will be better as the one in antwerpen

since it will be performed by original orchestra that was performing music in all the LOTR soundtracks.

What do you think?

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Well, according to all the articles I've read there will be a choir and combined with the orchestra you're looking at 200 - 300 performers. They'll perform cues from nearly all the tracks on the soundtracks, but for some reason not Minas Tirith, one of my favourite cues on RotK...

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Well this is a symphony afterall, so I suppose Shore has presented the music from FOTR, TTT and ROTK in a cronological order.

Minas Tirith is a cue comprised of about 4 short cues in the actual film.

Offcourse I believe his program for Antwerpen does include a track called the Riders Of Rohan, which was also a combination of 4 different cues in the film.

I suppose we will just have to wait and see.

Still curious what exactly that The Old Forest cue is supposed to be?

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hy

I was trying to buy two tickets for this concert but it is almost sold out.4 months before all tickets are gone.how is that possible ???

the only available seats are in area boxes/annexe

has anybody already been at any concerts in this hall?

is from boxes/annexe visable all stage or not?

thank you very much for any information

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Well this is a symphony afterall, so I suppose Shore has presented the music from FOTR, TTT and ROTK in a cronological order.

If anything, I'd imagine the term "symphony" means that Shore re-arranged the cues in NON-chronological order, to something that approximates the classical form of the symphony... Sonata-movement, slow movement, etc.

Marian - wondering what the LOTR symphony really is like.

:music: Arena Concerto (Ennio Morricone)

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The tracklist seems to indicate that it will be in a (semi) cronological order.

What I wanna know is if these are the same (often truncated) arrangements as on the CD's, or has Shore adapted them in any way?

We will see i guess...

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I was trying to buy two tickets for this concert but it is almost sold out.4 months before all tickets are gone.how is that possible ???  

I don't believe it has sold out yet.

I tried to buy online at the Royal Festival Hall's website (www.rfh.org.uk) and they had all but sold out, two days after going on sale!. I called their Box Office the following day and the folks there told me that the RFH's allocation of tickets had all but sold out but that their allocation was small.

The London Philharmonic Orchestra receives and sells a separate allocation of better quality seats and I believe that you can still buy online from their website (www.lpo.co.uk).

I hope you're successful.

Andrew

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hi ;)

Yes I got the two tickets on the balcony

When I tell my friends in the wind orchestra where I was going

9 more are comming to see the show.I was lucky to get them tickets at boxes/annexes.it will be fine as long as they are there to hear this orchestra.

well we will see you there :sigh:

bye :wave:

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  • 3 months later...

hi

just come back from london where was concert lord of ther rings with howard shore.

I was expecting more of this concert.

the choir was very good and orchestra was good to, but the conductor howard shore was bad.

this guy does not know how to conduct.

the orchestra lead him insted shore leading the orchestra.

it was looking like one caricatur from muppet show dancing on the stage.I could not belive it.

I am positive that concert would be so much better if someone else would conduct.

the conductor should communicate with orhestra,show a more energy in the playing.at the end of first round he didn't even turn infront of audience.he just rush off the stage,like he was emberesing.

for guy who wrote music for LORT I would expect more.

what about his previously concerts?

was there the same story?

lucky you guys in america because some of the concert will not be conduct by howard shore.I can tell you,you dont have to be disappointed.believe me you dont want to see him on a stage infront of the orchestra

I will have to came back in london in 2005 to see John Williams in action conducting LSO.

that will be a concert :mrgreen: I cant wait

l

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The guy can't conduct. He just waves his arms in time to the music. You only have to watch the music segments on the LOTR expanded DVDs to see that. I play violin in 2 orchestras at present, and if ever we get a conductor like that we learn how to listen to each other and play well in spite of the joker on the podium. Shore never even makes eye contact with his players, he just keeps his head buried in the score. This is a SIN in conducting.

He's a crap composer too, but that's off topic. My abhorance of Shore's music has nothing to do with my disgust for his conducting "ability". They are two wonderfully seperate areas of dislike I have for Shore's musicality.

Go see Williams! He is much more interesting to watch. Also, although he's not a "great" conductor, he is at least a very competent one. He is expressive, communicative (with both orchestra AND audience!), and solid in his ability. I promise a fun evening with Williams. You won't be disappointed.

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I don't know what concert you went to in London but from most of the reports I have heard, people are pretty positive about Howard Shore's conducting technique.

So "he waves his arms in time to the music." Have you considered that the music may be in time because he is "waving his arms?" Probably not. Whichever way round it actually is, the orchestra seems to be able to cope pretty well.

As for his rushing off at the interval I think that he'd probably not want to have too much of an ovation since it was the middle of the performance.

He has been conducting for quite a while and conducts most (if not all) of his scores so he has the experience (although he has only recently stopped using a baton when conducting - maybe he was waving his arms so much it just flew out of his hand, never to be seen again?)

"Let's have a heated debate..."

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I'd have to see Shore conduct to say anything, but even if I wasn't a big fan of Lord of the Rings, I like the guy, and his Ed Wood music was right on for that movie.

About Shore conducting, to my knowledge he did not study conducting, maybe some clinics, I don't know, enough to get him by. From my knowledge, Williams also did not study conducting, but he learnt a lot conducting the Pops, and with plenty of friends like Seiji Ozawa, although by that time he only needed to perfect his tecniques.

Williams is a very charismatic conductor, and can communicate very well the "feeling" of the music, from what I've seen.

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I agree with Hector, when I saw Williams in Chicago his conducting style was appropiate for each piece and his energy would rise and fall with the various parts of each piece, and from my own experience of being under a conductor I'd say he's very very very good at it.

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If I were to describe Williams' conducting in three words, they'd be:

Elegance, grace and humor.

;) Williams Hedwig's Theme

Cincinnati Pops Orchestra

Erich Kunzel

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Williams doesn't visit Sydney, Shore does. That gives him a notch up as a conductor in my book. ;)

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So "he waves his arms in time to the music." Have you considered that the music may be in time because he is "waving his arms?" Probably not. Whichever way round it actually is, the orchestra seems to be able to cope pretty well.

Trust me, there is more to conducting than keeping time. If you get a chance check out videos of Bernstein, Solti, or Levine. I can particularly recommend Bernstein's performance of Mahler 9. It's available on "The Unanswered Question" set. I know Shore is not a professional conductor so it's hardly a fair comparison, I just want to make the point that he's not very good. Williams has a fairly wide repertoir and knows enough to be able to conduct various styles and composers. Shore on the other hand looks very awkward on the podium and seems to be barely holding his own simplistic compositions together.

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If you get a chance check out videos of Bernstein, Solti, or Levine. I can particularly recommend Bernstein's performance of Mahler 9.

I'll certainly keep an eye out for other conductor's styles to get a better idea of the range of styles that are around.

Wasn't Bernard Herrmann frequently accused of being a terrible conductor?

I can't help but think that if they were so bad these composers who conduct their own music wouldn't keep getting the conducting assignments and would be encouraged to pass the baton (obviously not Shore as he doesn't use a batton) on to a "professional" conductor.

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I also play in a professional orchestra and can say that a conductor who can't conduct is

a real moral zapper. Leading a symphony orchestra is many times easier than writing

an album, not to mention 3 great ones like Shore did. It can only be frustrating when

he gets up on the podium and he can't express the emotional content of the music. Pixie

is somewhat right when you can ignore it and play together with the group, but

the performance will suffer, even if you are the LSO. I won't even mention the

asthetic appeal to the audience.

I remember working with Andre Previn at Tanglewood, he was the most boring conductor

I have ever been associated with. The orchestra had to drag him along, sure it

was a great performance but Previn had nothing to do with it.

I have also played under Seiji, and he is hard to watch too,but what comes out of his

mouth in rehearsals is priceless, afterall, that is what matters.....you HOPE that

a guy can beat time with his hands,but that is very little if nothing, of conducting.

I found Williams awkward, but very few conductors have his experience in front

of orchestras. He writes the music is such a way that you know what to do, you

don't need guidance from who ever has the stick that afternoon.

I think that if you closed your eyes at a concert and music didn't sound great that THAT

would be the true crime, for all we know Shore might communicate the music in

other ways, and perhaps is great at rehearsals, afterall any professional group can

play together no matter what sins are going on in front of the orchestra. I think his

excellent music warrants giving him benifit of the doubt.

DHP

@<

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The fact that you hate Shore does not make you are very credible source IMO.

I didn't say I hate Shore. I'm sure he's a lovely guy. My problems with him lie entirely in his composition and conducting. I honestly think the guy's a bit of a hack. It's an opinion only, but a fairly educated one. I am clearly in a minority, as his two oscars prove. I will confess I like the "history" motive that opens the first LOTR movie. I just don't like overly simple melodies that are basically a five-finger pieno tune with a chordal accompaniment (the "fellowship" theme and the "rohan" theme are two good examples). I feel that this is a more poppy approach that offers little beyond the initial hearing. In Williams' music I often find myself hearing developmental material based on themes which is not always apparent on first hearing, which makes the music a little more sophisticated. With the LOTR scores I hear everything instantly, and find it lacking.

Darth Horn Player, I bow to your experience! When did you get the opportunity to work with all these legends???? I'm surprised Previn was a boring conductor. I always imagined he would be fun to play under. I think he would be a good Boston Pops conductor, except that he has too good of a thing going at the moment!

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I was at Tanglewood for two years and got to work with some amazing conductors, including a

memorable Tannhauser overture with Abaddo...who speaks little to no English but said

everything with his hands. You can imagine what what an experince it was to be on stage

playing in the opening quartet in front of thousands of people led my Claudio. That one

moment was worth the entire summer!

I also worked with Tilson Thomas for a year down in Miami, he is truly a visionary and you

can hear it in his recordings. Sure he is a bit of a diva and likes to re-bar pieces so they

look cooler to conduct but they guy has amazing ideas, plus he is a performer and a great

pianist.

Perhaps Previn was having a bad week, but heck if you can't get into Shostakovich 5

you have to be dead!

I met John Williams after a concert, our group had just done the Schoenberg wind quintent

and he came back stage to say how much he liked it. What a great guy. He signed autographs

for a bunch of the fellows too!

DHP

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Perhaps Previn was having a bad week, but heck if you can't get into Shostakovich 5  

you have to be dead

Wow! That's one of those pieces that you can't fail to get buzzed by! I am nowhere near as experienced as you performing-wise, but I recently played with the Tuscarawas Philharmonic in a performance of Shosta 5. The 3rd movement is one of the high points in all music I think! You can hear the pain and desolation in every note! My composition teacher once tried to transcribe this movement for organ but had to give up about 7 minutes into the movement as there was just too much going on for two hands and two feet! There was nothing that could be omitted without comromising the music.

You are a great new addition to the JWfan onliners! Welcome!

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I saw Shore doing LOTR in Montreal a few months ago and I also find his conducting to be boring. There were some highly energetic parts where he could have moved a lot more. I like conductors when they are expressive, such as Salolen, Lockhart, or Kunzel. Shore also appeared to be kind of a snobby stuck-up.

To the violinist and the hornist: have any of you two ever played under Charles Dutoit? He was conductor of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra for a long time but the musicians' union forced him to resign because he was apparently "too mean" to the musicians. Was he like that with you?

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And compared to me, they are still nothing.

:wave:ROTFLMAOROTFLMAOROTFLMAO

Who gives a damn what the conducter looks like while conducting the music. I'm more interested in listening to the music than anything.

I think a majority of the people seem to enjoy Shore's music to the LOTR films.

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Yes the slow movement of the 5th is amazing, and the students did an amazing job...I can say

this because the horns are tacet in that movement so I had a front row seat! The Russians

are an amazing bunch. I find 20th century Russia facinating. How ironic is it that

Stalin and Prokofiev died on the same day?? The news of Stalin's death was so huge that

Prokofiev's announcment didn't appear in the papers in Russia until 3 days later!

I never have seen Dutoit, he doesn't get around much like some of the other conductor's, the

situation in Montreal is a bit weird, too bad they chased him away.

I worked with Gerard Schwartz this past summer and it was great, his stick technique takes

a while to get used to but the energy is there. One of my favorite conductors is James

Conlon, he conducts in Paris I believe, did an amazing Mahler 6 with him.

DHP

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"......is dealt three blows, the third of which fells him like a tree"

I think the third hammer blow is critical, funny that Mahler actually

crossed it out of the score because he didn't want it to sound

too "hollywood" preceeding the funeral section. I have been lucky to

play the 6th twice and in both performances the conductor wanted

3.

Have you checked out the San Francisco Mahler 6 recorded right after

9/11?.........Amazing

DHP

@<

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Sweet! I've been listening to a lot of Mahler lately. His third has to be one of the greatest romantic symphonies. Darth Horn, have you played that? The opening must surely be a horn player's dream!

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Um...I may be asking for a lashing...but....Williams' conducting is not that great at all.

Not even really all that good.

True, he is a powerful presence...but I've learned a lot about conducting over the years...and you can tell the orchestra doesn't follow Williams...he follows the orchestra. In most of the quiet parts of concert pieces, he is waving his arms around like a madman...keeping beat...conductors do NOT have to keep beat all the time...and they surely shouldn't be waving their arms like crazy ever!

Plus, there is a little frantic flick move that Williams does which is a huge no-no...he does this thing where he shakes his baton during the movement of a beat...which would confuse the HELL out of an ensemble that was actually following him. His beat pattern is near indestinguishable.

Yes...he is very powerful...and his conducting abilities do not reflect my opinions of his music at all...but he is clearly a composer put in a conducting role. He has had no real training in conducting, and it is clear to see. And I can guarentee you that while Williams concerts are going on...the orchestra is watching the music...and listening to themselves...not watching the maestro. Sorry to burst anybody's bubbles. But it's true. He's not the worst conductor to ever get the chance to stand in front of a wonderful group...he's just not good.

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