Memoirs CD press release, album cover and tracklisting!

[Sandor 459]

from: http://michelleyeoh.info/Movie/memoirsofageisha.html

(10/25/05) Sony Classical issued a Press Release officially annoucing the release of the Memoirs of a Geisha soundtrack (on November 22. Album Cover), which features John Williams, Yo-Yo Ma, and Itzhak Perlman. This part isn't really news. However, the press release also said that Memoirs of a Geisha will open in theaters NATIONWIDE December 9, 2005.

The article quoted Yo-Yo Ma who described John Williams' score for the film as "poetic and mysterious". Itzhak Perlman said the music for Geisha is "in sync with the contents of the film to such an extent that you cannot have one without the other."

press release

album cover:

tracklisting:

1. Sayuri's Theme

2. The Journey To The Hanamachi

3. Going To School

4. Brush On Silk

5. Chiyo's Prayer

6. Becoming A Geisha

7. Finding Satsu

8. The Chairman's Waltz

9. The Rooftops Of The Hanamachi

10. The Garden Meeting

11. Dr. Crab's Prize

12. Destiny's Path

13. A New Name... A New Life

14. The Fire Scene And The Coming of War

15. As The Water...

16. Confluence

17. A Dream Discarded

18. Sayuri's Theme And End Credits

(thanks nightscape and King Mark)

[Incanus 5,519]

Great album cover! I was hoping something in those lines.

This is not one of your dirty little tricks Roald is it? This really is the actual album cover for Memoirs of a Geisha?

[Sandor 459]

.....Maybe....

[Orson 1]

Orson has a weakness for Asian women.

[Sandor 459]

Orson has a weakness for Asian women. Smile

You're not alone.

[King Mark 2,924]

When they say " solos by",it sounds like the soloists composed their respective solos.

K.M.

[Romão 1,931]

Well, Seven Years in Tibet, actually has Ma's name next to Williams' on the side of the cd.

[Hitch 55]

Orson has a weakness for Asian women.    

You have a weakness for anything with tits.

[Orson 1]

Huh, you should talk.... blondie.

[Hlao-roo 388]

Hardly flattering words from Mr. Perlman, who is apparently suggesting that John Williams's scores cannot stand alone from the films for which they were written as their own works of art.

[Kendal_Ozzel 32]

Man, that is one wicked watermark they put on that picture.

[Adam 1]

Hardly flattering words from Mr. Perlman, who is apparently suggesting that John Williams's scores cannot stand alone from the films for which they were written as their own works of art.

I'd say at worst it was a clumsy attempt at a compliment on his part. Seems like he's just acknowledging JW’s gift at taking on the personality musically of his films. So without the film we would never have had the exact colorings of his particular scores. I wouldn’t word it quite like Perlman but I’ve often had the reaction that hearing his music with the movie is to hear the music in its most complete form. Its not that it doesn't hold up on its own, its just the nature of the craft that he's trying to be one piece of a larger product, so if he's doing his job, dialog becomes part of the score and the visuals "help" the music though the reverse is the point obviously.

I remember being disappointed when I finally had the unreleased music to the final Vader-Luke confrontation on CD from RotJ. Its not that its not good music on its own, its very good, but it didn't live up to the power of hearing it in the context of the film, with the cinematography, clashing sabers, etc. Lots of examples like that where I think its that ability of Williams to get the right marriagae of music with the visuals that Perlman might be alluding to. Or another way of looking at it would be if Perlman was insulting Williams, that's a really bad press release and they need to work on their marketing. ( :

- Adam

[Romão 1,931]

The Dark Side Beckopns, with or without the music, is always overwhelimg to listen to.

[nightscape94 965]

For the record, JW was very clear in interviews that he is obsessive over his music, especially for solo instruments. He writes every note. The "Solo By" credit simply indicates the person playing the solo, note composing it. I remember someone even saying the same thing about Catch Me If You Can music, that a lot of sounds improvised. But that's not the case. Every note is intentionally written for a reason. The liner notes for the Cello Concerto say the same thing. He obsesses over what he has on the staff paper, and no one is going to write a solo in his work that doesn't come from his own hand.

Tim

[nightscape94 965]

The following look promising based on title:

Sayuri's Theme

Chiyo's Prayer

Becoming A Geisha

The Chairman's Waltz

The Garden Meeting

Destiny's Path

A New Name... A New Life

The Fire Scene And The Coming of War

Confluence

Tim

[Adam 1]

The Dark Side Beckopns, with or without the music, is always overwhelimg to listen to.

You mean with or without the movie, I assume? Its a highlight of the album, I'm not disparging it. But its a very compelling scene visually and I think that was what dictated his approach to a certain extent. So the combination in this case makes for something more powerful than when I just hear the music. But its the same music either way. Just a personal reaction I have when I hear the music in the context of the purpose it was written for.

- Adam

[King Mark 2,924]

Are these track titles,where do they come from?

K.M.

[nightscape94 965]

Go to the first link Roald provided and scole passed the "post production" credits and cast pictures. You will see the news posted for the track titles...

There are 18 in all.

Tim

[King Mark 2,924]

1. Sayuri's Theme

2. The Journey To The Hanamachi

3. Going To School

4. Brush On Silk

5. Chiyo's Prayer

6. Becoming A Geisha

7. Finding Satsu

8. The Chairman's Waltz

9. The Rooftops Of The Hanamachi

10. The Garden Meeting

11. Dr. Crab's Prize

12. Destiny's Path

13. A New Name... A New Life

14. The Fire Scene And The Coming of War

15. As The Water...

16. Confluence

17. A Dream Discarded

18. Sayuri's Theme And End Credits

Looks similar to my made up track titles

K.M.

[nightscape94 965]

Yes, yes, it's all about you...

Tim

[King Mark 2,924]

What,isn't this the King Mark Message board?

K.M.

[nightscape94 965]

KMFan.net

Tim, a supporter

[David Vincent 8]

The album is listed on amazon and you can download a large cover without any text on it.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,765]

The Memoirs cover is much nicer than the Angela's Ashes cover.

[King Mark 2,924]

It had that weird looking kid on it,pretty easy to beat.

K.M.

[nightscape94 965]

Weird looking kid, Ziyi Zhang, weird looking kid, Ziyi Zhang, weird looking kid, Ziyi Zhang

:balances the two on his hands:

hmmmm....

Tim,

[Unlucky Bastard 7,765]

The question is irrelevant.

[MSM 85]

Hardly flattering words from Mr. Perlman, who is apparently suggesting that John Williams's scores cannot stand alone from the films for which they were written as their own works of art.

Well, he is just talking about the present movie. It could also mean that the score indeed isn't that convincing on it's own compared to Perlman's earlier Williams project (SL).

[Sandor 459]

Clearly, Perlman is attempting to compliment Williams, not to critisize him as a composer or the score. I think what he really wants to say is that the films are better with the score.

[Sandor 459]

It would have been nice if the cover had read the following:

m u s i c c o m p o s e d a n d c o n d u c t e d b y

J o h n W i l l i a m s

c e l l o s o l o s b y

Y o - Y o M a a n d S t e v e E r d o d y

v i o l i n s o l o s b y

I t z h a k P e r l m a n

e r h u s o l o s b y

K a r e n H a n

k o t o s o l o s b y

M a s a y o I s h i g u r e

S h a k u h a c h i s o l o s b y

M a s a k a z u Y o s h i z a w a

But then with spaces in between the words/names (doesn't work for some reason)

[Incanus 5,519]

It would have been nice if the cover had read the following:

m u s i c    c o m p o s e d    a n d    c o n d u c t e d    b y

J o h n    W i l l i a m s

c e l l o   s o l o s   b y  

Y o - Y o    M a    a n d    S t e v e    E r d o d y

v i o l i  n    s o l o s    b y  

I t z h a k    P e r l m a n

e r h u    s o l o s    b y  

K a r e n     H a n

k o t o    s o l o s    b y  

M a s a y o    I s h i g u r e

S h a k u h a c h i    s o l o s    b y  

M a s a k a z u   Y o s h i z a w a

But then with spaces in between the words/names (doesn't work for some reason)

Yep. The cover would have been shock full of those names and besides erhu, koto and shakuhachi soloists are not that famous and thus do not make for good advertisement on the cover. I think they should have been included for their contributions (which are extensive if few reviews are to be believed) but who ever made the cover did not.

[nightscape94 965]

Don't underestimate typical middle class suburban American household, we were waiting for Masakazu Yoshizawa to come around again....

Okay, nevermind...feel free to underestimate all you want.

Tim

[David Vincent 8]

Does anyone have the full size cover on NewsCom site ?

They have the picture in this FORMAT: 9.0" x 8.9" @ 300 DPI (2700 x 2681 Color JPEG), DOC SIZE: 819K.

[Hlao-roo 388]

It would have been nice if the cover had read, "Orchestrations by John Neufeld and Conrad Pope."

[Incanus 5,519]

It would have been nice if the cover had read, "Orchestrations by John Neufeld and Conrad Pope."

Yeah. Why not include the whole recording staff to the list along with the orchestra members and the janitor of the scoring studios. That should just about cover it all (the cover that is)

It is strange Williams hardly ever credits his orchestrators. Are they just music copyists (meaning that his orchestral scetches are very complete and need little further orchestration) or why doesn't he give them the credit ( there are few exceptions)?

[Lurker 5]

why doesn't he give them the credit ( there are few exceptions)?

To make us think it's all done by Williams, perhaps?

Neil

[Incanus 5,519]

why doesn't he give them the credit ( there are few exceptions)?

To make us think it's all done by Williams, perhaps?

Neil

Could be. Possibly. Mayhaps. Perchance. Perhaps. Maybe. That could be the case. As many other composers credit orchestrators why shouldn't Williams. How selfish of him.

But he is Dominus atque Deus so he can do what ever he likes and I will forgive him

[Luke Skywalker 1,285]

Composers who credit their orchestrators dont do the amount of work Williams does.

SOme even do not conduct their scores.

[Sandor 459]

The Dutch film magazine Score! stated very clearly that the orchestrators do not add ANYTHING to Williams sketches.

[Luke Skywalker 1,285]

[Trumpeteer 243]

Roald, I'm sure the other soloists will be well featured on the inside covers.

The cover art practically screams "Oscar." The best film composer in the world. The best violin player in the world (sorry Hilary and Jason). The best cellist in the world (unparalleled). How can this score go wrong?

Jeff -- salivating -- over the score possibilities. Ziyi isn't too bad, either.

[deimos 0]

After the GoF letdown this is really good news. If the music is as appealing as the cover...

I just can't wait to get my hands on this.

[nightscape94 965]

Besides, I would think that John Neufeld and Conrad Pope, who've done quite a few JW orchestrations, are only there as time savers. JW couldn't possibly write all that stuff out because of the time frame he has to compose the music. He can't do both.

But when he does a concert work, like a concerto, he does all the orchestrations, so don't make it sound like Williams couldn't do it if he so desired...

Tim

[JoeinAR 1,759]

those are not the correct track titles

1. Ping

2. Ding

3. Ping Ding

4. Ping Ding Ping

5. Ding Ping Dind

6. Ding Ping

7. Ding, reprise.

[Hlao-roo 388]

The Dutch film magazine Score! stated very clearly that the orchestrators do not add ANYTHING to Williams sketches.

Really? Then why are they credited as orchestrators in the film credits, then? Why aren't they credited as "assistants" or something to that effect?

And why was Neufeld credited for the orchestrations in the Nixon liner notes?

An interesting comparison is that Goldsmith, also known for his complete sketches, always credited his orchestrators.

[scissorhands 16]

those are not the correct track titles

1. Ping

2. Ding

3. Ping Ding

4. Ping Ding Ping

5. Ding Ping Dind

6. Ding Ping

7. Ding, reprise.

That sounds like chinese. Japanese words never end in consonant, except "-n".

[Ray Barnsbury 8]

He means that's what the music will sound like.

Ray Barnsbury - who's optimistic that that will not be the case

[SturgisPodmore 0]

I thought Williams always did his own orchestrations.

~Sturgis

[Hlao-roo 388]

I thought Williams always did his own orchestrations.

Wrong, because if he did, his covers would read, "Music Composed, Orchestrated, and Conducted by" as Ennio Morricone's and Howard Shore's do.

[Justin 2]

That what "the man" wants you to think, man!

Justin