Open Question: John Williams strikes again?

First, I'll applaud Pres. Obama (or his advisers?) for the decision to involve some amazing musicians in the ceremony yesterday. But I have to ask -- am I the only person who was somewhat underwhelmed by the John Williams piece itself? Yes, it had some wonderful moments (such as the first accompanied statement of the beginning of the Simple Gifts theme, and the musically boring but terrifically entertaining trading of runs between Ma and Perlman), and was beautifully performed (especially given the freezing temperatures!), but really...this piece came across as a novelty piece, nothing more. Harmonically static, and melodically unimaginative. I'm a bit disappointed that the Pittsburgh Symphony (and probably others to follow, I'd guess!) have raced to put this on their next program...alongside Brahms symphony #1. Can't we just have this "Air" as a cute little pièce d'occasion, and leave it at that? Am I the only one who feels this way? Thank goodness I'm not alone! I had just heard so many of my musician friends gushing over this piece last night and this morning, and I felt very much in the minority. mamianka -- I definitely agree that the music throughout was less-than-inspirational. I wasn't terribly bothered by the President's Own Marine Band during the ceremony -- I thought they did a fine job, particularly with the cold temperatures. But I could have done without the herald trumpets, too! :-) And I could have done without the irritating echo created by all the microphones, at least on the TV broadcast. And poor Aretha Franklin. I really felt bad for her. It's sad to see the talent of someone who used to be so AMAZING dwindle as the years pass. i. jones -- I also noticed the overtly PC selection of musicians in the Williams piece. Of course, it's hard to pick a better cello/violin pair than Ma/Perlman, and the other two were also excellent. But yes, it was an obvious "diversity" statement.