Dallas Winds John Williams At The Movies Hybrid Stereo SACD

Spectacular Wind Band Recording on 5.1 Stereo SACD!
2019 Grammy Award Nominee:
• Best Engineered Album, Classical
• Best Classical Compendium
TAS Rated 4/5 Music, 5/5 Sonics in the December 2018 Issue of The Absolute Sound!
The American composer and conductor John Williams came of age at a time when the separation between "serious" and "entertaining" music was still strictly valid. The child of an orchestral musician, he learned to read music at an early age and later studied composition at the University of California. He became known as a composer for film and television productions, among others in close and frequent collaboration with Steven Spielberg. He created the music for hit films such as Jaws, Star Wars, Schindler's List, Jurassic Parc and the Indiana Jones series. This compilation by the Dallas Winds Orchestra under the direction of Jerry Junkin with trumpeter Christopher Martin presents a cross-section of his oeuvre, recorded by "Prof." Keith Johnson.
John Williams is a game changer. Early in his career he crossed the lines between music that was "art" and music that was "commercial," and never looked back. He is one of the best known, most awarded and most successful composers in US history, and his name is inextricably connected to outstanding music for films. He has written scores for over 100 films, and his massive list of awards includes 51 Academy Award nominations and five wins, as well as 24 GRAMMY® awards. A less-known fact is his fondness for writing, arranging and conducting wind band music. This collection of his film music includes favorites from Star Wars, Superman, JFK, ET and many more, arranged for concert performance by top-level wind ensemble.
Brilliant performances by the Dallas Winds, have been captured in spectacular audiophile sound by Reference Recordings' own award-winning engineering team: Keith O. Johnson and Sean Royce Martin. John Williams At The Movies features soloist Christopher Martin, principal trumpet of the New York Philharmonic. The recording was made in Dallas Texas, in the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, one of the world's greatest concert halls, and the site of an annual Dallas Winds concert featuring the film music of John Williams.
John Williams At The Movies is our first wind band recording to be released as a hybrid SACD. The disc contains stereo SACD, 5.1 Surround SACD and a stereo compact disc layer encoded with HDCD. This is our 18th album with The Dallas Winds, and is a project of which we are extremely proud, that was years in the making.
The Dallas Winds is the leading professional civilian wind band in the United States today. In his 25th season as Artistic Director and Conductor of the Dallas Winds, Jerry Junkin is recognized as one of the world's most highly regarded wind conductors. He has also served as Music Director and Conductor of the Hong Kong Wind Philharmonia since 2003, and Principal Guest Conductor of the Senzoku Gakuen College of Music Wind Symphony in Tokyo since 2007. Additionally, 2017-18 marks his 30th year on the faculty of The University of Texas at Austin, where he holds the Vincent R. and Jane D. DiNino Chair for the Director of Bands.
"a must for movie fans and audiophiles alike." - Dan Morgan, MusicWeb International
"Reference always seem to find the perfect balance between clarity and power, and always produce pristine sonics that can still thump your chest when required." - Jean-Yves Duperron, Classical Music Sentinel
"the performances by the Dallas Wind Band under Jerry Junkin are so vivid and color-saturated that RR has chosen them for their first hybrid high-resolution wind-band SACD. The recording makes no apologies for the brightness of brass, the clatter of 24" Sabian Artisan cymbals, or the pounding of timpani and even larger percussion. With three or four dozen wind players, nine percussionists, two bassists, two harpists, and others on piano/celesta and organ, this all-out effort" - Jason Serinus, Stereophile
"Each new release from the Reference Recordings label is anticipated with a tingle of excitement, promising not just an aural treat for audiophiles but also high musical values, and this latest sonic spectacular featuring the film music of John Williams is no exception.... A future award winner? Without doubt." - Graham Williams, HRAudio.net
"Those listeners not totally convinced by the change in sonority from a full symphony orchestra including a substantial string section and a wind band should give this spectacular recording a serious audition. The principal reason for the recording's success is that Williams composed so effectively for brass and percussion. The sonority here is frequently very different from the original orchestrations, but in most cases it works very well. Much of this is predictable. For example, the Olympic Fanfare, Superman March, and Imperial march are primarily scored for brass that is extremely effective... nearly all of the arrangements are spectacular, including the lengthy excerpts from Star Wars, Close Encounter of the Third Kind, and E.T. Much of the album's success is also due to the amazing sound. Keith Johnson is the engineer, and the wide-open airiness, bass impact, and high frequency presence are immediately apparent. The musical selections with this kind of sound make this SACD special for both Williams fans and audiophiles." - Arthur Lintgen, The Absolute Sound, December 2018
"If for nothing else, you'll want to hear this for the spectacular sound. The SACD has a 'big hall' sound and reverberation that enhances the music. The High Definition Super Audio frequency range is wide, the bass is sufficient to throw you out of your seat, the surround sound is excellent, and the dynamic range goes form super-quiet to incredibly loud. There is no compression at all; what you get is the musical performance and dynamics exactly as the conductor intended, so you should avoid adjusting the volume at all. The regular two-channel stereo sound is also striking, but can't compare with the spaciousness of SACD. This is the most enjoyable John Williams disc I've heard in some time." - American Record Guide

Features:

• Super Audio CD
• SACD Stereo SACD Layer
• This Hybrid SACD contains a Super HDCD 24 Bit encoded Stereo CD layer which is playable on most conventional CD Players!

Musicians:

• Dallas Winds
• Jerry Junkin, music director
• Christopher Martin, trumpet

Selections:

1. Olympic Fanfare And Theme
2. The Cowboys Overture
3. Superman March
4. Excerpts From Close Encounters Of The Third Kind
5. With Malice Toward None - From Lincoln
6. Star Wars (Main Title)
7. Imperial March - From The Empire Strikes Back
8. Scherzo For X Wings - From Star Wars: The Force Awakens
9. The Jedi Steps And Finale - From Star Wars: The Force Awakens
10. Theme From J.F.K.
11. Adventures On Earth - From E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial
12. March - From 1941
13. The Star-Spangled Banner

Recorded July 15-17, 2016 at Meyerson Symphony Center, Dallas, Texas