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As I was watching the trailer that dropped tonight on YouTube for the upcoming 2024 documentary on the life and career of John Williams (AKA: the Greatest Film Composer of All Time!), I was suddenly struck with "an overwhelming sense of joyous nostalgia" about the very, very few... but very, very cherished... times that I was fortunate enough to see the Maestro perform live in concert... So I decided to come on here to ask if YOU have seen JW in concert... I KNOW some of you out there have DEFINITELY had the same privilege... I'd LOVE to hear any JW concert stories that you'd like to share (When, Where, What was performed, Anecdotes). So, to get the ball rolling here, let me tell you MY story...
The first time I saw John Williams was WAY BACK in 1986 at the Hollywood Bowl in California... I was 19-years-old and had JUST moved to Los Angeles to continue my College education. The FIRST day that I was there, I was seeing billboards all over the city promoting a JW concert to take place the VERY NEXT weekend!... Thankfully, there were still tickets available, so I purchased one immediately! As I didn't have a car, I had to catch all the connecting bus routes to get to the Bowl... lt was quite an adventure, too, riding the bus down the freeway, staring out the window and feasting my eyes upon the City of Angels! And so, 7 days after arriving in L.A. (far from home, and on my own), there I was, at the famed Hollywood Bowl, seeing my favorite composer and musical hero!
John Williams performed his music from Raiders of the Lost Ark, Superman, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T. the Extra-terrestrial, Jane Eyre, The Cowboys, and The Reivers (with special guest Burgess Meredith narrating the Reivers Suite... THAT was cool... seeing the Penguin himself!), as well as his Olympic Fanfare... and he also conducted John Barry's Out of Africa, which had JUST won the Oscar for Best Score that year (As John Barry is my 2nd favorite film composer after John Williams, you just KNOW I was thrilled!). It was an AMAZING concert and experience... Looking back now, it was SO SPECIAL, and I was SO LUCKY, to be able to see him at that EARLY PRIME TIME of his fame... What a TREAT! Needles to say, I absolutely LOVED it!
Well... I "ALMOST" absolutely loved it!...
SURPRISINGLY, he DID NOT perform ANY music from Star Wars that night, which, to be honest, kind of "bummed me out" (even though I had a BLAST), as Star Wars is both my favorite film score AND my favorite movie... I just COULDN'T BELIEVE that I was ACTUALLY getting to see JW live, and I was "robbed" of that pleasure! Who knew "IF" or "WHEN" I would EVER AGAIN get that opportunity!... As I rode the long bus ride back to my, as yet, still hardly furnished apartment that night, I whispered under my breath, "How could he NOT do STAR WARS? Oh, well"...
And as the countless years flew by, I NEVER DID get the chance to see him again (if ONLY to "rectify" that missed opportunity!)...
Happily, however...
31 LONG YEARS LATER...
I had the SURPRISE of my life (along with EVERYONE ELSE in attendance) when John Williams made a surprise appearance at the very end of the 40th Anniversary panel at Star Wars Celebration in Orlando, Florida, in 2017... Let me set the scene... Just when I thought that the event couldn't get ANY better, what with getting to see George Lucas, Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Billy Dee Williams, and everyone else that was at the panel... Well, at the end of the panel, there was a very touching tribute to Carrie Fisher (she had just passed away a few short months prior to this event) led by George Lucas and Fisher's daughter, Billie Lourd. THEN...
WELL... THEN IT HAPPENED...
At the VERY END of the tribute, the backstage curtains parted... and onstage, behind the curtains, there was JOHN WILLIAMS... along with the Orlando Philharmonic! Well, let me tell you, the audience just went ABSOLUTELY BALLISTIC when that happened, clapping and cheering like MANIACS... We could simply NOT BELIEVE our eyes... NO ONE had a CLUE that he would be there!... The Maestro turned to us with a BIG smile, and without saying a SINGLE word, simply raised his finger to his lips, mimicking a polite "Shhh"... Well, you'd be amazed how INSTANTANEOUSLY SILENT that room got, and there were 3000 of us packed in there!
Williams raised his baton, and the Orlando Philharmonic performed Princess Leia's Theme... And believe me when I say that there wasn't a DRY EYE in the house (you could HEAR the joyous sobbing!). After a thunderous standing ovation, he then performed the Star Wars Main Title... and we all went INSANE again! George Lucas then came back onto the stage and introduced Williams as "The secret sauce of Star Wars" and "The greatest composer in the Universe", and Williams wrapped up the "surprise mini-concert" with the Imperial March from The Empire Strikes Back... I couldn't believe it... I was FINALLY seeing and hearing John Williams conduct Star Wars with MY VERY OWN eyes and ears... AT LAST, after 31 YEARS... After being "disappointed" way back in 1986... I finally felt COMPLETE... I kiddingly mused to myself that SOMEHOW HE KNEW of "the emotional hole that I needed filled", and that he had appeared from behind those curtains that day JUST FOR ME... I guess it was KISMET... It was just MEANT to be!
If YOU have seen John Williams live in concert and would like to share your story (or stories), I'd LOVE to hear them... and I'm sure that every other JW fan out there would love to hear them as well... Thank you for reading this, and thank you for your participation!
PS: I can't wait to see the documentary "Music by John Williams" in November!
LISTEN TO THE REIVERS SUITE (NARRATOR: BURGESS MEREDITH) https://youtu.be/bSNjNvcqZ4U
WATCH JOHN WILLIAMS LIVE AT STAR WARS CELEBRATION 2017 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16x4K2lymoY&t=1216s
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Posted: |
Oct 2, 2024 - 1:37 AM
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By: |
Thor
(Member)
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Like Alain, I also have three live experiences with Williams -- should have been four, but his appearance at the Royal Albert Hall in 2018 was cancelled at the last minute. Went ahead anyway, with Dirk Brossé as conductor. Here's my write-up of that:
https://celluloidtunes.no/a-celebration-of-john-williams-london-symphony-orchestra-conducted-by-dirk-brosse/
But to the actual concerts with the man himself. By the early 2010s, I was frustrated -- after 20+ years of fandom -- that I hadn't seen Williams live even once, and since his return to Europe was highly unlikely at that time, I realized I had to go the USA to see him. So in 2012 I went off to LA, to see him at the Hollywood Bowl. Sadly, the leadup to the concert was not ideal. I thought I had lost both my cell phone and my camera earlier in the day, and was in a dour mood (my cell phone eventually turned up at the hotel reception later on, while I found the camera at the restaurant I had eaten at prior to the concert -- but I didn't know that at the time, I thought they were lost forever). Also, our seats were waaaaay in the back, so not a lot of stage proximity. Despite all of that, it was still my first encounter with Williams live, so it managed to counterweigh the circumstances somewhat. Here's my write-up of the actual concert, written in Norwegian, but run through Google Translate:
https://montages-no.translate.goog/2012/09/musikalsk-mote-med-john-williams-i-hollywood/?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=no&_x_tr_pto=wapp
Two years later, in 2014, I returned to the US, this time the east coast, to see Williams in Boston. This time, the leadup was much smoother, and I even had a seat just 2 meters from the podium. To the side, sure, but with perfect proximity. I consider this one of the best concert experiences I've had in my life. It also contains my only "interaction" with the man - at the end of the concert, when everyone applauded, I gave him a thumbs up. We locked eyes for a second, and he returned the thumbs up. That was neat.
Unbelievably, I didn't do a writeup of that concert, which I regret to this day. You have to write these things while the experience is fresh.
The third - and last - concert was Berlin, with the Berliner Philharmoniker, in 2021. In the midst of covid, so everyone had to wear masks all the time. By that time, he had already returned to Europe a couple of times, so it was not so farfetched anymore. For this concert, I had secured seats in the choir, which isn't ideal, sonically, but it allowed me to see the man conduct from the front. That was very rewarding. Here's my writeup of that:
https://celluloidtunes.no/john-williams-the-berliner-philharmoniker/
I know that there's talk of Williams returning to Europe after his health issues, and I really want to go again. But money problems prevent me from travelling at the moment, even within my own country. And Williams is not getting any younger. So there's every chance Berlin was the last. But if that turns out to be the case, I feel fortunate to have seen him live three times. Might not sound much to you lucky Americans, who have easy access all the time, but for a poor Norwegian guy, it's not bad.
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I'd need to check the old programs in the loft, cos I've genuinely lost count of the times I saw him live in concert, in London, during the 80s and 90s.
The first time was a Filmharmonic concert at the Royal Albert Hall, early to mid 80s (I think he conducted one half of the programme and John Scott or Stanley Black may have done the other?).
Then, he seemed to visit every other year (not really, but it felt like it)* and I attended EVERY CONCERT he did in London during the 80s and 90s and 2000s (if they reached that far?).
They were all FANTASTIC experiences (well, the one with the Tuba Concerto was a bit...less fantastic) and I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to see him live on many occasions.
I'm sure other fans will have better memories/dates than me.
* this was at a time when the likes of Maurice Jarre, Elmer Bernstein and Jerry Goldsmith were also performing concerts quite regularly at various venues in London (Goldsmith even did one in Nottingham).
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I wish there was a database or wiki page that listed ALL the concerts John Williams has performed/conducted HIMSELF, in the various countries he has done them in.
I think there is a Ennio Morricone concert listing on wiki?
Williams needs one too (plus, it would save me a trip to the loft cave).
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"...you can't even remember dates and circumstances!"
-----------------------
Haha...dates = sketchy, but I can remember circumstances.
One of the events was a two-night gig, wherein JW did different concerts for each show (I'd guess late 90s/early 00s).
One of our party got sick (hungover) and bailed on the 2nd night concert (stayed in the hotel watching a BIG LIVE World Cup game instead) and when we got back, with some peeps moaning it wasn't as great as the previous night concert cos the Tuba Concerto was a bit...dull, he said the GAME was GREAT!!
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I'd need to check the old programs in the loft, cos I've genuinely lost count of the times I saw him live in concert, in London, during the 80s and 90s.
The first time was a Filmharmonic concert at the Royal Albert Hall, early to mid 80s (I think he conducted one half of the programme and John Scott or Stanley Black may have done the other?).
Then, he seemed to visit every other year (not really, but it felt like it)* and I attended EVERY CONCERT he did in London during the 80s and 90s and 2000s (if they reached that far?).
They were all FANTASTIC experiences (well, the one with the Tuba Concerto was a bit...less fantastic) and I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to see him live on many occasions.
I'm sure other fans will have better memories/dates than me.
These are the John Williams' London performances that I know of:
October 30th, 1976 at Royal Albert Hall - FILMHARMONIC '76 - JW conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in medleys of his film scores including Fitzwilly, Heidi, The Reivers, Cinderella Liberty, The Eiger Sanction, Fiddler On The Roof (2nd half of the concert)
Feburary 16, 1978 at Royal Albert Hall - THE LSO IN SPACE - JW conducting the London Symphony in the Suite from Star Wars, CE3K excerpts and Strauss' Also Sprach Zarathustra intro aka 2001 A Space Odyssey. Selections from The Planets were conducted by David Atherton.
October 18th, 1980 at Royal Albert Hall - FILMHARMONIC '80 - JW conducting the National Phiharmonic Orchestra in selections from CE3K, Dracula, Jaws 2, The Empire Strikes Back, Superman, 1941
August 8 and 9, 1982 at Barbican Centre (outdoor concert) - JW conducting the LSO in an open-air concert featuring selections from his major film scores.
November 16th, 1985 at Royal Albert Hall - FILMHARMONIC '85 - JW conducting the LSO in selections from Raiders of the Lost Ark and the Star Wars Trilogy (2nd half)
June 21, 1996 at Royal Academy of Music - JW conducting the Royal Academy of Music Orchestra in a selections from his film scores and the European premiere of his Bassoon Concerto
June 26, 28, 30, 1996 at Barbican Hall - JOHN WILLIAMS FILM MUSIC - JW conducting the LSO in selections from film scores incl. the world premiere performance of "Summon The Heroes"
July 1-4, 1998 at Barbican Hall - INVENTING AMERICA: JOHN WILLIAMS FILM MUSIC - JW conducting the LSO in selections from his film scores. July 1 and 2 featured music from Far And Away, CE3K, Born on the 4th of July, The Witches of Eastwick, The Lost World, Sabrina, Star Wars, E.T., Sleepers; program of July 3-4 featured the Tuba Concerto, Celebrate Discovery, JFK suite, The Reivers, Olympic Fanfare
---
The October 26 2018 concert at the Royal Albert Hall with the LSO that Williams was supposed to conduct would've been his first in 30 years. The LSO tried to book him a few times in the intervening years, especially when JW was in town to record film scores for either Star Wars or Harry Potter, but sadly his schedule was always too busy.
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I attended concerts on 30th June 1996 and 1st & 4th July 1998, all with the LSO at London's Barbican. Like Hurdy Gurdy, my programmes are in the loft, along with several hundred theatre programmes, but I found the pieces he performed listed online. All I remember is being very entertained. I can't even remember whether I was bored by the Tuba Concerto. I do recall being surprised by how many empty seats there were in the hall for the last of these concerts, but at that point he had been in residence for four nights in a row. I also recall having my good mood dampened by the two young people who discussed at length how boring the concert had been as they left the hall (luckily, it seems, they hadn't paid for their tickets).
I also attended over twice as many Goldsmith concerts in London over the years without hearing anyone complain (except me, who got utterly sick of the various incarnations of his "Star Trek" theme at one of his Barbican sci-fi concerts).
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I do recall being surprised by how many empty seats there were in the hall for the last of these concerts, but at that point he had been in residence for four nights in a row.
It was really another era. Sue Mallet (LSO Planning Director since the mid-1970s) once told me that it was hard to sell tickets for film music concerts back then and the Feburary 1978 Star Wars concert wasn't selling well until they figured to bring in characters in costume and do a big promotion on newspapers.
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Posted: |
Oct 2, 2024 - 5:43 AM
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By: |
neelyre
(Member)
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Got to see him three times.
First was September '89. I lucked out in that I was in LA with my Dad for a few days and we drove by hollywood bowl with sign that he was performing the next day. My Dad suggested early next morning we 'try' to see if tix still available and we drove to bowl box office. Not only did we get gen admission tix, we could hear him rehearsing with LA philharmonic already. We were told my ticket agent we could walk over to where we could see him and it was a neat teaser to see him conduct for a moment, speak with the sound guy;etc. The night of event, he did the 'Liberty Fanfare', 'Cowboys Overture', and finished show with 'E.T.' Was super grateful and my Dad was great about the whole thing (not a film score junkie like me, but was a real sport)
Second, we summer '98 - again LA Philharmonic at Hollywood Bowl. I decided to spend a few weeks in California (live on East coast), staying in hostels, driving from LA to SF to San Diego ending up on Vegas. The trip was centered around his summer annual concert show. Again, great show with music from 'Amistad' (children's choir from soundtrack recording was present and got standing ovation). Williams also took a moment to translate the Mende lyrics from the title music which was fascinating. Also did 'Lost World', 'Parade of Charioteers' from Ben-Hur, 'Sugarland Express' and finished with 'Star wars' (orchestra actually played a wrong note in if I recall).
The real surprise was after the show, as most folks exited to the right of the bowl, I thought I might avoid the crowd if I could go left. In doing so, I am across a crowd hanging around the left side of the stage hoping that Williams would walk by and give an autograph. Many parents with their teenage kids each with their favorite CD soundtrack of his work. Lukas Kendall and Jeff Bond (and his wife. Nice lady) were also there and I struck up a conversation with them. Sure enough, Williams walked by and some lady yells at him (politely) asking him if he could meet & autograph for a few of his fans. He looked surprised and came over standing behind a fence asking if anyone had anything they wanted signed. the teenagers immediately formed a line and Williams security politely directed them safely to Mr. Willams one at a time and gave him a sharpie to sign. A lady even pushed me out of the way because I was apperantly blocking a photo op of her son standig by Williams holding his 'Raiders of the Lost Ark" CD (I didn't mind). In the excitement, I didn't have a CD of his work on hand, BUT I did have the program of the show still, so I quickly turned to the bio page of him and got in line. When It was my turn, a nice old lady in front of me started talking (pretty much rambled) how much his music touced her and Williams kept thanking her all the while signing whatever was brought in front of him (incuding my program). Grateful to get his autograph, and wanted to verbally thank him, but the lady kept rambling and had his attention and I didn't want to interrupt or be rude. The last thing I noticed was Lukas Kendall mentioning to him that FSM had just released his 'Poseidon Adventure' score on CD and Williams' reaction was polite and supportive, which surprised me. Maybe he was just tired or something else- I guess I expected a bit more enthusiasm from him.
Finally, flash forward to 2010 - Williams & Spielberg are doing their film music fundraising tour cross country. He did one night only with Atlanta Symphoy orchestra, and I wsa fortunate to get a heads up from some friends with are ASO supporters (supporters get info about special shows that are not publicly advertised). I had to call box office directly to confirm and buy tix. Tried to get as many pairs of tix possible as I know any folks who would have loved to come, but they only had two left together. Took my girlfriend (now wife) to show, nervous to be late for anything, but she was a real sport. When he came on stage, the audience ROARED in applause and standing ovation. He did the famous film music montage to a movie screen, Sugarland Express, Star Wars, Far and Away (real treat), Jaws (his intro music for Spielberg), Harry Potter (which my wife loved, being a Harry Potter nut), many of these had movie screen visual accompaniment, including a demonstration of movie scene with / without music form Indy Jones/Last Crusade. The concert officially ended with the last 10 minutes of E.T, (NOT the edited concert piece, but the entire goodbye from 'Advnrture on Earth'). a real treat.
When show ended, everyone started getting up and I told my girlfriend to wait since he's known for encores, he came back and did Imperial March and Raiders March, which crowds LOVED, and finished out with Stars & stripes forever. Then he stood with Spielberg for a few moments then walked off stage. I was so in awe I forgot to get a pic (got a pic of their legs at edge of stage as they disappeared. DOH!)
Grateful for all three experiences and the bonus autograph. Also grateful to you if you read all of this 
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Posted: |
Oct 2, 2024 - 5:46 AM
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By: |
Thor
(Member)
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Thanks for the rundown of London concerts, Maurizio!
October 30th, 1976 at Royal Albert Hall - FILMHARMONIC '76 - JW conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in medleys of his film scores including Fitzwilly, Heidi, The Reivers, Cinderella Liberty, The Eiger Sanction, Fiddler On The Roof (2nd half of the concert)
Whoa, what a programme! With the exception of FIDDLER, which I've never really cared for, the rest sounds pretty close to my dream programme. Did anyone of our resident veterans here attend this concert, one year before I was born?
July 1-4, 1998 at Barbican Hall - INVENTING AMERICA: JOHN WILLIAMS FILM MUSIC - JW conducting the LSO in selections from his film scores. July 1 and 2 featured music from Far And Away, CE3K, Born on the 4th of July, The Witches of Eastwick, The Lost World, Sabrina, Star Wars, E.T., Sleepers; program of July 3-4 featured the Tuba Concerto, Celebrate Discovery, JFK suite, The Reivers, Olympic Fanfare
This one also sounds amazing. I do actually remember this, even if I wasn't there. In 1998, I was 21 years old, in the army, and had never really travelled abroad alone before. But I was a subscriber to FSM, the messageboard was running, had some e-mail contact with folks who DID attend. I remember I got a postcard from some fellow FSMers attending, signed by everyone, which was thoughtful, but it also made me MORE envious that I couldn't attend myself.
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Whoa, what a programme! With the exception of FIDDLER, which I've never really cared for, the rest sounds pretty close to my dream programme. Did anyone of our resident veterans here attend this concert, one year before I was born?
Our mutual friend Dave Norris was there. The concert was also filmed and then televised a few days later on Thames Television.
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I am not a big Williams fan, but I have actually seen a concert of his music, without the man himself of course.
The concert was with a symphony orchestra here in my hometown some years ago.
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I do recall being surprised by how many empty seats there were in the hall for the last of these concerts, but at that point he had been in residence for four nights in a row.
It was really another era. Sue Mallet (LSO Planning Director since the mid-1970s) once told me that it was hard to sell tickets for film music concerts back then and the Feburary 1978 Star Wars concert wasn't selling well until they figured to bring in characters in costume and do a big promotion on newspapers.
Very true. I was at an Elmer Bernstein concert at the Royal Festival Hall in October 1997 that was so poorly attended that those of us who had paid for cheap seats in the balcony were moved to the top-priced front stalls... and the hall still seemed barely occupied. Yet only a few years later, in 2001, Bernstein sold out his BBC Prom (as far as I can tell from the footage). I guess it's a question of context.
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Btw, here is my list of John Williams-conducted concerts I attended:
Chicago, November 26 & 29, 2005 / with the Chicago Symphony
Chicago, November 23, 24, 25, 2007 / with the Chicago Symphony, two different programs (25th was a repeat of the 23rd)
Chicago, November 9 and 10, 2013 / with the Chicago Symphony feat. Gil Shaham
Boston, May 31/June 1st, 2017 / with the Boston Pops (Keith Lockhart conducted the 1st half)
Vienna, January 19th, 2020 / with the Wiener Philharmoniker
Berlin, October 15-17, 2020 / with the Berliner Philharmoniker
Vienna, March 12, 2022 / with the Wiener Philharmoniker and Anne-Sophie Mutter
Milan, December 12th, 2022 / with the Filarmonica della Scala
I have many treasured memories of every one of them, as they were all great shows. You can never be blasé for seeing John Williams live in concert. It scares me to realize that it's almost 20 years now from my very first one, but how lucky I am to have seen him performing so many times since then and also having the opportunity to meet him backstage on a few of those occasions.
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