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John Williams and Berliner Philharmoniker: The Berlin Concert
ByIn 2020, John Williams was honored by conducting the Wiener Philharmoniker (Vienna Philharmonic) at the Golden Hall of the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria, where a soloist was the renowned violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter. They performed a selection of his music themes, and that performance was released as John Williams In Vienna. A year later, Williams took the baton again for a fine selection of compositions from his oeuvre, but this time for a series of concerts with the Berliner Philharmoniker.
Although the ambiance between Berlin and Vienna is similar as both are live recordings, still, the program doesn't overlap apart from very few themes. The recording opens with a bang: the "Olympic Fanfare and Theme" that was written for the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984. The piece starts triumphantly with brass and percussion and then the tone becomes mellow with the strings. But as the music progresses, it ends up exploding in a triumph of brass and strings. What follows this explosive opening theme are excerpts and suites of some of the most famous blockbuster films in the history of moving pictures. The setlist touches upon many of Williams classic scores and it's like he is cherry-picking the music from these film titles: Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Harry Potter, Superman, E.T., Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Far and Away and Jurassic Park. The music is so interlocked with these films that one cannot hear this work without those images rolling on the silver screen of one's mind.
At the age of 90, Williams is still touring/performing internationally. This concert is 2 hours in length and yet, he is at the top of the game and delivering a mesmerizing performance from this orchestra. The composer closes the program with the Star Wars "Imperial March," which by now, 40 years since he started writing the music for these films, has been a part of the repertoire of some of the most renowned orchestras in the world. It is a suiting finale.
The Berlin Concert is both a celebration of some of the best soundtracks to some of the finest films ever and a tribute to the decades of impressive achievements of one of the world's prestigious composers.
Track Listing
Olympic Fanfare and Theme (from the 1984 Olympic Games); Close Encounters of the Third Kind: Suite; Far and Away: Suite; Hedwig's Theme (from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone); Nimbus 2000 (from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone); Harry’s Wondrous World (from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone); Jurassic Park: Theme; Superman MarchScherzo for Motorcycle and Orchestra (from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade); Marion's Theme (from Raiders of the Lost Ark); Raiders March (from Raiders of the Lost Ark); Elegy for Cello and Orchestra; The Adventures of Han (from Solo: A Star Wars Story); Yoda's Theme (from Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back); Throne Room and Finale (from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope); Princess Leia's Theme (from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope); Flying Theme (from E.T. The Extra- Terrestrial); Imperial March: Darth Vader's Theme (from Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back).
Personnel
Additional Instrumentation
John Williams: conductor, composer; Berliner Philharmoniker.
Album information
Title: The Berlin Concert | Year Released: 2022 | Record Label: Deutsche Grammophon
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