John Williams in Tokyo [2 LP]

by John Williams, Saito Kinen Orchestra, Stephane Deneve

Overview

This 2024 release followed on the recorded concerts nonagenarian John Williams conducted in Berlin and Vienna, cementing his worldwide recognition as one of the greats. In a way, it completes a trilogy in this vein, but this recording also has an added function. Williams' ensemble here, in a pair of concerts, is the Saito Kinen Orchestra, formed by conductor Seiji Ozawa in 1984. The recording commemorates several aspects of the relationship between Williams and Ozawa, which dates back to Ozawa's tenure as conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and it represents the fulfillment of a long-held dream on Ozawa's part to have Williams conduct his hand-picked group. Moreover, given Ozawa's death in February of 2024, the album takes on a memorial quality, and it includes at the end a performance, conducted by Stéphane Denève, of Williams' classical composition Tributes! (for Seiji), written in 1999 to mark Ozawa's 25th anniversary as conductor of the Boston Symphony. The recording thus has a great deal of symbolic significance. As for the rest of the program? For this audience, Williams stuck to the classics, with really no rarities: it is mostly Star Wars, Harry Potter, and Indiana Jones, with the perennially popular Superman March to start things off. The orchestra takes easily to Williams' music, and any audience might enjoy this album simply as a collection of Williams' greatest hits. ~ James Manheim

Product Details

Release Date:	08/16/2024
Label:	Deutsche Gram France
UPC:	0602465112108

Album Credits

Performance Credits

John Williams   Primary Artist,Conductor
Saito Kinen Orchestra   Primary Artist,Orchestra
Stephane Deneve   Primary Artist,Conductor
Naoko Yoshino   Harp
Yasushi Toyoshima   Violin

Technical Credits

Naoshi Fujikura   Executive Producer
Clemens Trautmann   Executive Producer
Mika Matsunoshita   Product Manager
Mikiko Uochi   Assistant Engineer
Nozomi Matsumoto   Marketing
John Williams   Composer,Liner Notes
Akira Fukada   Editing,Engineer,Producer,Mastering,Recording,Mixing Engineer,Mastering Engineer
Ute Fesquet   Producer
Hidekuni Maejima   Liner Notes
Ruri Fujita   Design
Michiharu Okubo   Photography
Uzuki Kakinuma   Product Manager
Hajime Isogai   Product Manager
Rachel Tregenza   Marketing
Victor Orive-Martin   Marketing