NY Concert Review by JohnnyEcks

[Johnnyecks 33]

Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center

The New York Philharmonic, conducted by JOHN WILLIAMS

John Williams' ?The Art Of The Score?

Review by JohnnyEcks

Here I am again, gratefully, posting another review of another fanTABULOUS concert by Maestro Williams! Much like the dis-claimer on my last concert review I must mention that I am not a good writer. I am not the perfect speller. I don?t have perfect grammar and I have a tendency to ramble and write run-ons. I do apologize. I?m just a regular fan writing a rambled review! For those who read my Boston ?02 review, you know that I like adding in a back story. It adds depth to the review, I believe. However, should you just want to read the ?set list?, I have marked the pieces as bold. For those of you still here, thank you! Pop in a cd, open a can of soda or pour a glass of wine (Ren!) because here we go?..

Unlike my happenings at the concert in May of 2002, this trip had its setbacks. In fact, I almost did not make it there at all. I owe my experience of the show last night, to a ?1 post? member here by the name of MDB! I give my warmest regards and utmost, sincere thanks to this man who made it all possible! But I?ll get to that later on.

I had known about this concert for a long time, ever since it was reported here ?THE ONE AND ONLY PLACE FOR JOHN WILLIAMS NEWS?. This is the only site that I come to for Williams! I love all you peeps here, and I am grateful for everyone?s participation in breaking news reports, reviews, and the occasional squabble. But I digress ? moving on ..

I had seen and heard about this ?first? for Williams (first time conducting a concert in his home state, NY), for months and months... and did nothing about it to g purchase tickets. Then one day I decided to check on when tickets would be on sale, and to my absolute HORROR?. They were already sold out! You can imagine how heavy my heart was, and how cold my blood went. NO. This could not happen. He is conducting the NY Phil! I MUST go! That is, imo, one of the best orchestras in the world! But? ah.. the site says they're sold out. The box office says they?re sold out? oh man.. there is nothing I can do.

So I sulk, in my normal manner, and give up all hope.

Then about a month (or so) later, I notice this post: http://www.jwfan.net/index.php?name=PNphpB...ight=ny+concert. I decide I would try my luck and reply with a request as well. If ?manumartin? is reading this, I surely hope he was able to get tickets as well, and I hope he doesn?t think that I stepped on his toes. I just needed to see this show. I know he would understand! I wasn?t expecting much, except for what someone would sell a ticket for and I had my doubts that it would be reasonably priced. But here came ?MDB? advertising he had tickets available. I leapt with glee and joy. I emailed him immediately requesting a price! He responded with such a good deal, that I could not pass it up.

We agreed to meet before the show, exchange money for the ?goods? and we will both be happy! I told my, ever-loving and supportive, girlfriend that I was able to get tickets and she, in her loving be-mused way, said ?ok. When. Where?? See.. she isn?t a film score fan, she doesn?t understand why I like this music, but she is awesome enough to support it and go with me to these things (as a matter of fact, this is her second time seeing Williams. We saw him last June in Pittsburgh? sigh? no review for that one from me. Sorry)!

So we had it all planned out. I got ?MDB?s? cell number, gave him mine, and set a time and place.

Then the God?s stepped in and changed my life.

My father got into an accident going over the blasted George Washington Bridge, and practically totaled one of our business cars (for those who don?t know, I run a limousine company and am partners with my father). I thank the Lord that he was not hurt any more than he was. It was actually amazing that he wasn?t. See, he had ice fall on the windshield that blinded his view and by the time he reacted and reached for the wiper controls (all of what? two seconds?. One?) he had hit the concrete divider separating routes 95 and 87. He hit head first. He was not wearing his seatbelt and would?ve probably went out the windshield had he been going faster (he was going about 45). He flew forward and his head hit the rearview mirror, and then practically went through the windshield which splintered in its plastic way. From this, he broke his arm in two places, and lacerated the top of his head pretty badly. I still shudder when I imagine him going through that trauma. I got that phone call at 5am on Feb. 3rd (three days after his birthday). I immediately did what anyone would do, and cried. After that, I got myself together and farmed out the rest of the day?s rides, and headed into the city to meet him at the hospital. He?s ok, and he will be ok. His arm will take a long time to heal, and he will be out of work for a long time which puts me in total charge. I now went from working 6 hours or so a day, to 14-18 per day.. sometimes more. So, as you can imagine, it would be very hard now for me to schedule anything.. let alone being away for the majority of a night.

So, I regretfully wrote ?MDB? back and told him that I was not going to be able to make it, and told him why, and hoped that it wouldn?t be a problem and wished him well. He wrote me back saying that it wasn?t a big deal, but if I was able to make it then I should call him the day of the show. That gave me a few days to make arrangements.

The God?s stepped in again??

And allowed me to make those arrangements! I was able to schedule out rides, which is good because we?re also going to Lake George for the weekend which was already paid for. I was afraid that I was not going to get to see Williams AND loose $800 for the B+B in Lake George. But, thankfully, I was able to. And once more?.. I was off to see Williams for the FIRST TIME in NYC!!!! I was overjoyed.

Back-story over, now onto the show!

I had no idea how the seats were, but we got the second tier box sets, toward the rear of the theater. Now, I have to say.. the ?Avery Fisher Hall? is laid out very strangely. The box seats aren?t angled toward the stage, but angled so that if you were sitting correctly you would be facing the box seats on the left side of the auditorium. So, in order to view the stage, one had to keep their heads turned to the right, or have their bodies pivoted in to the right. It was a little uncomfortable, but it was neat to be in a box seat. It felt very private. Also, the view of the far right and rear of the stage was blocked by the box right next to us. So, I couldn?t see the Basses (which is one of my fav. Strings instruments). So, I was a little disappointed, but hey? I was here watching the man!

After a thundering amount of applause, he grabbed his baton, raised his hands and starting spreading his magic. Here, as follows, is what he played:

?Olympic Fanfare and Theme?

Much like Boston in ?02; he started the concert with a real opener. This was when I noticed a few things that made this concert not as good as previous ones. For one, from where I was sitting, the acoustics was not that great. Sure, it was easy to hear?but because of the wall right behind me, it felt as though most of the sound was coming through my right eat. It threw me off balance for a bit. Plus, it wasn?t as bassy as I wished it to be? but nonetheless, it?s a nice piece and a great opener. The crowd ate it up, as did I.

?Selections from Close Encounters Of The Third Kind?

Before he started conducting, Williams showed that he has utmost class and waited for the latecomers to take their seats. Once he got the thumbs up to from the ushers that they were all in, he started. Now, there are people rustling to get to seats, the hushed whispers of apologetic people asking for room to get to their seat in that row, and just low ambient noises taking place which interfered with the calm and low violins which start out this piece. A little distracting, but again.. no problem. I almost didn?t make it there, I was just happy to be there. Great piece, nice applause.

?Suite from JFK?

I really enjoy this concert arrangement. I was shocked when my girlfriend, Michele, said ? ?ohh.. I know this, it?s JFK?. I was impressed! She?s learning! Hahah?.

I have to say though; I enjoy the first half much more than the second half of the arrangement. But, overall, a very nice (if not a little too long) piece. Another disappointment of the evening was at several moments throughout the piece, the trumpets played a wrong note. I have heard wrong notes played before, but tonights really stood out.

Then he had a few words about the next piece, which at the mention of the name had a few people clapping (I imagine mostly JW fans, and little kids).

?Suite From the Harry Potter Films?

Hedwigs Theme

This is such a fantastic piece, nice to hear it live. Lots of applause

Fawkes, The Phoenix

My favorite piece, so far, from the Harry Potter films. Beautiful. Eyes watered a bit!

Nimbus 2000

Fun piece just for woodwinds, concert piece that doesn?t appear in the film or on the cds (as far as I know).

Harry?s Wondrous World

This is a nice surprise, and a great finisher to this suite. Surprisingly, he used the arrangement from the ending of ?Chamber Of Secrets?, which has, my opinion, is the better ending.

Then the intermission. Lots a applause. My hands hurt already.

A few moments of talk, and he was back. To one of the highlights of the evening?

Tribute to the Film Composer

This is the piece he wrote and performed last year at the Oscars. This is such a great piece; I wish it was available on cd. Chucklings and applause at Rocky, Jaws, Psycho, and The Pink Panther and lots of applause at ET and Star Wars, which was preluded by the ?20th Century Fox? opener.

THUNDEROUS applause. We ate that piece up!

Selections from Far And Away

I had never heard this one performed live, and it was a real treat. I love this score, especially the finale. Great fun. Lots of applause.

Then the introduction of Dan Higgins, Christopher Lamb, and Mike Valerio for the performance of:

Escapades for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra (Music from Catch Me If You Can)

This is also a favorite of mine. Just a fun fun fun piece to hear live. And, a joy to hear Dan Higgins and Mike Valerio live for they are the performers on the cd. This piece was played exceptionally well!

Theme from Schindler?s List

Williams mentioned that the solo violinist?s (Glenn Dicterow) father used to be a member of the London Philharmonic and that Williams got to play with him a few times and has known Glenn since Glenn was about twelve or so. Nice little introduction. However, I have heard this piece played better. Glenn was great, but I hold this piece to very high standards because it was very moving and wonderful during the Boston concert, that nothing has compared since. Beautifully played however, just not my favorite performance.

Then onto the biggest disappointment of the evening?.

?Adventures On Earth? from E.T the Extra-Terrestrial

This is my favorite score of Williams. My favorite movie of all time, and my favorite score of all time. This is my favorite track. I have heard this played at all of the concerts I have attended, and I am sorry to say but this was the worst performance of it that I have ever heard. It started out wonderfully, but then the trumpet section all played a wrong note. They all hit the wrong chord. They all were harmonizing the wrong chord (or so it sounded) it was so glaringly bad that Michele (who doesn?t know music) even picked up on it. Worse yet, then the trombones (who play off of the same note as the trumpets but in a different measure) hit the same wrong note. It was like a double shock. I even saw Williams minutely shake his head. It put a bad feeling in the air and didn?t allow the music to touch me as it always has. There were also moments where they played s l o w. And the part at the end when the orchestra stops playing (when E.T. says "I'll Be Right Here") before swelling up again... I heard that several violins still playing and then quickly stopping. Very alarming and distracting, but still a nice finish. The audience was very kind, and they clapped the loudest for this.

But, he made up for everything (at least for me personally) with the encores?.

To Lenny, To Lenny

He mentioned what the circumstances were as to why he wrote this piece, and where it?s material came from (based on ?New York New York? by Bernstein. Written for his birthday gala). Great piece. He mentioned that he has never performed this live to a concert-audience before, but decided it would fit since it was his first time conducting a concert in New York. I ate it up. I love the feeling of this piece. Lots of fun.

Star Wars

The audience EXPLODED (as always) with this piece. He didn?t include, rightfully so, the ?20th Century Fox? opener which he did during Tribute to the Film Composer. Still, the audience went MAD! I loved every minute of it.

I was hoping for Indiana Jones next, but got:

The Mission Theme

I am used to him playing this last, for it?s the third time I?ve heard it in the 4 concerts that I?ve been to. He mentioned ?In case you get home too late for the news?.? This got some people chuckling, but got most of them giggling during the recognizable NBC Theme bit.

All in all, it was a great show (minus the few wrong notes). It was wonderful to see him again, and I cannot wait till I can see him again (hopefully back in Boston this May). Not my favorite show of his (Boston is held in high regard? rightfully so), but still a wonderful show and a great experience to be there for his premier concert with the NYP in Lincoln Center.

I hope you enjoyed my review. If not, I?m sorry.

Keep those cd?s spinning, and keep on humming. We all love Williams, and last night you were able to see it in the audiences? faces.

All the best,

JohnnyEcks

[Hector J. Guzman 1]

Cool review. I wish I could have been there. I was planning to, but you know.... money.

[Hector J. Guzman 1]

Escapades for Alto Savophone and Orchestra (Music from Catch Me If You Can)  

This is also a favorite of mine. Just a fun fun fun piece to hear live. And, a joy to hear Dan Higgins and Mike Valerio live for they are the performers on the cd. This piece was played exceptionally well!

I absolutely loved the concert version. I wish I could hear it again.

[risingforce10 0]

I guess I was in denial until I heard your review of the Williams concert last night. I enjoyed the performance very much and it was a real treat to see him conducting his works. As a trumpet player I did pick up the trumpet/trombone problems(JFK/ET). In addition, I think John was not getting what he wanted from the strings on several occasions. I really think the philiharmonic had a hard time playing up to his music. Not there normal venue I suppose, I see them 6-8 times a year playing up to perfection.

Dan

[tpigeon 3]

Great review, John. I couldn't have put it any better myself. You beat me to it. I noticed more of the brass problems during E.T. than I did during JFK. There was one part during E.T. that was nothing like it should have been. But it was a small segment, nothing to dwell on. And I agree completely, Dan, about the strings section. it was definitely softer than it should have been at times, and based on the motions he made, it seemed like he wanted more out of them. I noticed this during Close Encounter especially. And during the Tribute to the Film Composer, which was one of the highlights of the evening, I felt the part from Psycho was very weak. And I think just the main theme from JFK would have worked fine. I've heard the other two in concert before, and though I like them immensely, I would have rather heard something else expanded on or just other entries on the program like Jurassic Park or Superman.

I don't want to make it sound like I'm complaining though; it was an amazing concert. The audience was really involved throughout the whole time, and the applauses got bigger and bigger as the night went on. I think he was becoming more embraced with each piece he played. By the end, the crowd was downright fanatic, at least where I was. I myself even took part in much of the loud applauses, and there must have been at least four standing ovations, all near the end. My hands were starting to hurt too by the end, but hey, this is John Williams, he deserved every bit! What a concert.

Ted

[Donnelly24 0]

Sounds awsome...he sure knows how to put on a kick ass concert! Well to questions about the Schindlers List thing...is Glenn Dicterow the principal violinist or was he a guest artist and who was playing it in Boston? Did Tamara play it or was it a guest artist?

[Johnnyecks 33]

Thanks for your comments guys! I like hearing from others who attended the concerts, at least I know I wasn't hearing things with ET/JFK! I also noticed that during some pieces (I can only remember ET right now, but there were others) the orchestra played rather slowly. But I hate to dweal on the negative cause what Tpigeon said "hey, this is John Williams"! I understand several people weren't able to see this, or see him live at all so I don't want to sound as though I was not satisfied with this cause I was. It was a great show, just some problems. I guess RisingForce is right, that they weren't used to playing his music!

To answer your question Donnelly. I believe (and I may be wrong...several know that as a fact), that Glenn is their resident lead violinist. In the concert that I saw in Boston, yes Tamara was the soloist (on Schindler's List and Fiddler On The Roof) and she did an AMAZING job! I hold her performance above all that I have seen so far. It makes me wish I got to see Perlman perform this....ahh I quiver with glee at the thought!

[Donnelly24 0]

I completely disagree with RisingForce about how the Philharmonic couldn't play UP to his music...the NY Philharmonic is the best ochestra in the world, simple enough...There is no way they could play just about anything with perfection and not play UP to Williams...I love his music and it is incredable, but I mean, his music isn't to challenging for a professional orchestra...maybe its a lack of playing film music...I dont know how they could not play up to Williams...and those mistakes in those songs, those would have to be either misprints or a lack of rehersal. These guys are way to good to not notice a key change or just forget...that should not happen without a mistake in the music.

[Ren 75]

i really think we need to start carrying signs or something so when we go to these concerts, jw knows we exist.

[Hector J. Guzman 1]

I completly agree with you Donnelly24. My guess is that people become so obsessed with the way music sounds in a record, that any kind of performance where you note an instrument that you did not know was there or some other kind of thing that results in the music sounding different, and they become desatisfied, and thus never able to enjoy the music being performed again.

I'm sorry for those people, really.

[Johnnyecks 33]

Hector, I hope that wasn't directed to me for I didn't hear a different instrument that I never noticed before. I heard instruments playing the wrong notes. I wasn't dissatisfied with anything else in the performance except for those instances (JFK, ET). I didn't care that some things were played slower than usual, because I understand that performances will vary from performance to performance.

[Hector J. Guzman 1]

Absolutely not, I was talking about other people that never seem to be satisfied when a new recording is released, and I do not recall screen names, and it has been discussed many times and some people are really so closed in themselves that the soundtrack recording is the one and only way the music should sound. Of course, they will be very disapointed if they go to a live concert.

I do understand what you said about the brass, and from what I've heard in live recordings and such, the brass, especially the trumpets, always hit a note that sounds out of tune (or more than a note, hehheh).

Live music is unpredictable

[WLW 0]

I attended the concert too, and definitely noticed the "trouble" with JFK and E.T. in the brass parts. Also at times it truely felt as though the orchestra was having difficulty with the material. In Star Wars, they started the piece off brilliantly, but later on around the middle of the piece (I think) there was a solid bar or two where they just seemed completely out of sync, the harmony was wrong, it was as if parts of the orchestra were missing bits of music and either ahead of or behind the score.

Throughout the concert Maestro Williams, on several occasions seemed to really be trying to push the string section to give more sound, and sometimes the woodwinds and brass were giving too much sound. I think they may not have had enough time to rehearse.

I did love the concert though, and according to the people sitting next to me, I was in one of the best areas of the hall for acoustics.

My favorite performances that night were the Harry Potter suite and the CMIYC suite.

Overall, as with other live performances, I enjoyed being able to hear some of the counterpoint and other parts that were less outstanding in the recordings.

[Hector J. Guzman 1]

I wish they had broadcast this concert throught their Live from Lincoln Center series.

[Donnelly24 0]

Yes, that would have been cool....it seems that everyone is having a hard time getting over the "wrong notes"...makes me think that if everyone here wasn't huge Williams fans, that you probably wouldn't have liked the concert. I am sure that there were people there that weren't much of Williams fans at all, so I wonder if that ruined their concert experience...Hopefully a little thing like that didn't ruin their experience w/ one of the most outstanding Conductors/Composers of our time!

[vincehardy 0]

I was at the "Art of Score" concert in New York. I could write a review but I don't have much to add to JohnnyEcks' piece. So I thought you'd a least be interested in a picture. This shot was taken between "Catch Me If You Can" and "Schindler's List" when the Maestro was explaining his emotional reaction to the first screening of "Schindler's List" and told Speilberg "You need a better composer than I am" to which Speilberg replied "I know, but they're all dead!" The 3 guys moving to the left of John Williams are in the process of removing the setup for Dan Higgins and Mike Valerio.

Click on the picture to view a larger version.

[A24 4,338]

Wow, who took that picture? It's beautiful!

[vincehardy 0]

I did and thank you! :oops:

[Donnelly24 0]

NICE WORK VINCE HARDY! Avery Fisher Hall is a very beauitful place and the cooler in that picture is just incredable!

[Johnnyecks 33]

Absolutely not, I was talking about other people that never seem to be satisfied when a new recording is released, and I do not recall screen names, and it has been discussed many times and some people are really so closed in themselves that the soundtrack recording is the one and only way the music should sound. Of course, they will be very disapointed if they go to a live concert.

Oh, ok. I can see what you're saying. I actually love live recordings, I enjoy hearing different arrangements. You can quickly get boxed to listening to the same versions that they can become, dare I say, moot and boring? It's nice to hear the same piece played slightly different.

But when some pieces are played at a different tempo, as some were that night, it can get a little distracting.

Still, an awesome show. I wouldn't of traded it for anything else!

Yes, that would have been cool....it seems that everyone is having a hard time getting over the "wrong notes"...makes me think that if everyone here wasn't huge Williams fans, that you probably wouldn't have liked the concert.  I am sure that there were people there that weren't much of Williams fans at all, so I wonder if that ruined their concert experience...Hopefully a little thing like that didn't ruin their experience w/ one of the most outstanding Conductors/Composers of our time!

There was this man who was able to buy the other ticket that "MDB" was selling right before the show that was sitting right next to Michele and I, I don't think he was there for any of Williams' music. There was a point when Michele and him were talking during the intermission and he asked her 'what other movies did he write the music to'. My guess was that he was just there for 'something to do'. He seemed to of enjoyed the show, and didn't remark on the wrong notes when I spoke to him afterwards. I mentioned them, because he asked how I liked it so I explained everything that I liked about it, and what I didn't. He didn't react when I said something about them. Now that I think about it, he actually seemed very distant. Maybe he was on something. LOL