That must have been a real treat! I would have spent some good coin to see him. Am curious what you thought of the acoustics.
Nick,
I was late buying ticket so we had only balcony seats. I usually have season tickets in the same hall (Copley Hall in SD) in the orchestra section to the far right of the stage. I must say that the acoustics up in the balcony were much better than my usual seats! I could hear more instrument detail up there but of course the sound was more diffused. Lush sound. I would have liked to have paid more for front row center seats to get more layering and a more immediate sound, but I have
never heard any stereo sound like that!
I don't know how many times John Williams has conducted the SD Symphony in the past or how long they practiced but he was able to coax out a better sound than the associate conductor who conducted the first part of the concert. The players simply played more dynamically, were more responsive, and tighter as a whole.
First time for me to hear a celesta live. For the past 20 plus years, what I had thought to be a glockenspiel or a marimba on the 3rd track from the OST of ET, the extraterrestrial (ET and me or Stargazers) turned out to be a celesta!
I didn't know the instrument figured so prominently in Williams' scores.
Paul