I’m sorry, I’ve been so busy lately, and if I don’t get started on these posts first thing in the morning, it’s very hard for me to write anything of consequence that reads well. Generally speaking, the earlier I write, the better. Best is when it’s so early, I can’t even think. Just sit down with a cup of coffee and let those fingers go.
But life is such that I can’t always do that. Which is why, for Gustav Mahler’s birthday, here I am at 11:00 a.m., sharing a video of Yoda, Gandalf, and Voldemort conducting the “Resurrection” Symphony. Hey, don’t let it be said that I don’t do my part to popularize the classics.
And it’s not like it’s that farfetched. Dismiss the concept, if you’d like, as puerile nonsense, but it would take wizards of this magnitude to translate the work’s emotional grandeur into images worthy of its transcendent power, even if the music itself is more seismic, uplifting, and transformative than anything that could possibly be expressed on a motion picture screen.
Let me know which of the three you think has the best technique, if you’re so inclined, and happy birthday, Gustav Mahler.
Tag: Star Wars
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“Fantastic” Conductors Tackle Mahler’s “Resurrection”
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Grieving in Advance of Greiving “John Williams” Book Review
May the Fourth Be with You!
The original “Star Wars” opened on May 25, 1977. But if you think fandom would allow historical accuracy to get in the way of a good pun, you must be a stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking nerf-herder.
For this “Star Wars Day,” I had planned to share my observations concerning the recent John Williams biography by Tim Greiving (published by Oxford University Press in September, but I received my copy for Christmas) – which, providentially, I just happened to finish reading (it is, after all, 600 pages).
Alas, I’m still emerging from the fog of an illness that had me shivering through the weekend, so I’ll be holding off until ORTHODOX STAR WARS DAY, May 25th, the day fans should be celebrating anyway.
There’s a lot to hash over (as you can see from my double-sided notes in the photo), and not all of it is positive. For one thing, I’d be surprised if Oxford University Press even proofread the thing. But some of it is: for as much as I know about John Williams, I still learned a lot.
I’ll try my best to be kind, because it is quite an achievement, and if the guy loves John Williams, he’s a friend, but I’d be soft-peddling if I didn’t say the book is also teeth-gnashingly frustrating to read. It astonishes me that it doesn’t seem to have been the experience of a lot of other reviewers.
You have been forewarned… now anticipate!
In the meantime, try not to drink too much Bantha milk, fanboys. -
Star Wars Summer 1977 A Blast From The Past
Never mind May the 4th be with you! “Star Wars” opened on May 25, 1977. If you weren’t a kid in the summer of ’77, there’s no way you could possibly understand how good life could be. Long lines, sold-out theaters, enthusiastic audiences, eyepopping special effects, strange worlds, high adventure, and a dynamite soundtrack with the power to change lives. Although I was conscious of movie music well before “Star Wars” (I was a film junkie from the time I could watch TV), it was “Star Wars” that really introduced me to the power of the symphony orchestra. The rest, as they say, is history. Happy Orthodox Star Wars Day!
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David Cripps Star Wars Horn Hero
When sifting through the musical obituaries, my eyes usually settle on the composers, conductors, and star performers. Less glory is allotted to orchestra musicians, whose artistry often is not properly appreciated until it’s too late. I mean, their importance is understood, if perhaps a tad taken for granted, but wider fame and adulation usually elude them. This, despite the quality of their performances having such a profound impact on listeners.
It’s only days after I saw that David Cripps died that it finally registers who he was. Cripps served as principal horn of the London Symphony Orchestra during the halcyon years of 1974 to 1983. So it is Cripps’ horn that set me dreaming as an 11 year-old as I wore out the grooves on my original two-LP set of the soundtrack to “Star Wars.” That’s Cripps conjuring the romance of far horizons in “Princess Leia’s Theme” and the music for Tatooine’s binary sunset. As was often the case, John Williams tailored much of his music recorded with the orchestra during that era by drawing on his intimate working knowledge of the LSO’s principal performers.
During his time with the orchestra, Cripps also appeared as soloist in repertoire ranging from the Mozart and Strauss Horn Concertos to Benjamin Britten’s “Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings.” I assume that’s him in the slow movement of André Previn’s recording of Vaughan Williams’ “A London Symphony” and as principal horn at the other links provided below.
Cripps joined the LSO as a section player in 1970. Previn served as the orchestra’s principal conductor from 1968 to 1979. He was succeeded by Claudio Abbado, who held the post until 1988.
Cripps spent the latter part of his career in the U.S. He died in Tucson on Saturday. He was an unsung hero, in a way, having touched so many beyond the concert hall who never knew his name, thanks to the medium of the movies.
Cripps talks “Star Wars”
“Princess Leia’s Theme”
Binary sunset
Vaughan Williams, “A London Symphony,” Mov’t. II: Lento
Mendelssohn, Nocturne from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”
“André Previn’s Music Night”
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Star Wars Day John Williams on KWAX
Looking for a good start to your “Star Wars Day?” Meet your recommended daily allowance of John Williams’ music by joining me for no less than 12 selections from the principal feature films of the “Star Wars” saga.
The original “Star Wars” actually opened on May 25, 1977. But why let historical accuracy get in the way of a good pun? May the Fourth be with you!
Strap yourselves in – we’re ready to make the jump to “Sweetness and Light” speed, this Saturday morning at 11:00 EDT/8:00 EDT, exclusively on KWAX, the radio station of the University of Oregon!
Stream it, wherever you are, at the link:
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