Description
“John Williams in Vienna” documents “one of the greatest honours” of composer’s life. Deutsche Grammophon releases Hollywood legend’s historic Wiener Philharmoniker debut concert in audio and video formats. Williams shares Musikverein stage with Anne-Sophie Mutter and world-famous orchestra to perform iconic themes from “Star Wars”, “Harry Potter”, “Indiana Jones” and “Jurassic Park”, among other cinematic landmarks.
John Williams has just added to an already incredibly long list of achievements by making his conducting debut with the Wiener Philharmoniker. Their two concerts at Vienna’s Musikverein on 18 and 19 January 2020 – which were also the first performances he had ever conducted in continental Europe – were produced by Deutsche Grammophon in partnership with the Wiener Philharmoniker and ServusTV and filmed by Bernhard Fleischer Moving Images (BFMI). John Williams in Vienna is now set for international release by the Yellow Label on 14 August 2020 and will be available on all relevant physical and digital mediums, including Bluray, CD, vinyl and eVideo, in both stereo and Dolby Atmos surround mixes. The film will be broadcast in Germany, Austria and Switzerland by ServusTV on Whit Monday 1 June 2020 at 10am and 10.15pm.
Before a single note had been played in the Musikverein, Maestro Williams received a standing ovation. The legendary American composer’s movie soundtracks are among the best-loved of all time and have earned countless prestigious awards, including five Oscars, five Emmys, four Golden Globes and twenty-five Grammys. As he thanked the audience for their welcome, however, he told them that the invitation to work with the Wiener Philharmoniker was “one of the greatest honours of my life”.
Williams and the orchestra were joined on stage for much of the first half by Anne-Sophie Mutter. For conductor and violinist this was a marvellous opportunity to continue an artistic partnership formed last year for Deutsche Grammophon’s album Across the Stars, featuring many new adaptations of the composer’s music for violin and orchestra.
“Anne-Sophie Mutter is many things,” Williams said, as he introduced her. “She is one of the world’s greatest violinists; she is a wonderful mother; she brings honour to her country. And in going to Australia, Asia, South America, North America, Europe, she’s indeed a very great world citizen.”
Mutter captivated the Musikverein audience with a series of the virtuosic adaptations written specially for her by Williams, including “Hedwig’s Theme” from the Harry Potter films, “Devil’s Dance” from The Witches of Eastwick and the Theme from Sabrina.
