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May 4, 2023 · ‘Star Wars’ truly was visionary in a visual sense, but John Williams’ score for ‘Episode IV: A New Hope’ was the beginning of the modern American film score. While Williams’ grand ...
- Jason Zumwalt
- A Trend-Setting Throwback
- Wagner: The Original Franchise King
- Tchaikovsky: Instrumental Color
- Holst: Journey Into Space
- Korngold: Movie Master
- Stravinsky: Uncanny Rite
- Orff: Sing A Song of Sith
- Elgar: A New Hope and Glory
- An Original Alchemy
One of the reasons Star Wars made such an impact was that in a decade marked by stark, intellectually ambitious science fiction films—including George Lucas's own THX-1138 (1971)—Star Warswas a shamelessly sweeping throwback to space operas in the Buck Rogers mode. Part and parcel of Lucas's approach was to commission a grand symphonic score, rathe...
The ultimate influence on Williams's vision for Star Wars was Richard Wagner, whose Ringcycle combines a wealth of musical ideas that would inform Williams's work. Daringly dissonant and boldly dramatic for its time, Wagner's four-opera cycle was the original "cinematic" composition, its lurid Romantic vocabulary providing the basic toolbox for a c...
You don't necessarily think Nutcracker Suite when you think Star Wars—but it's more appropriate than you might realize that The Force Awakenswas released during the Christmas season. Tchaikovsky was a master of orchestral color, and when you listen to his score for the "coffee" interlude next to Williams's Jawa theme, you're reminded that Clara's m...
Other than the composers shot into orbit by Stanley Kubrick in 2001 (Ligeti, Khachaturian, both of the Strausses)—and the composers literally shot into orbit on Voyager II (Bach, Mozart, Beethoven)—there's no composer in the classical repertoire who's more closely associated with outer space than Gustav Holst. The Planets has been mined for any num...
Of all Williams's borrowings, there's none more notorious than his nod to Erich Korngold—right out of the gate, no less. As many listeners have noted, the main Star Wars theme (technically, Luke Skywalker's theme) bears more than a passing resemblance to Korngold's theme for Kings Row(1942). Whether you'd go so far as to call this a "cinematic swip...
Stravinsky's influence on Star Wars might have come by way of Fantasia, where his instantly infamous Rite of Springwas used to soundtrack a desiccated landscape where dinosaurs marched to their deaths. As C-3PO and R2-D2 survey the barren sands of Tatooine, classical music fans must have wondered when a young Twi'lek was going to dance herself to d...
Believe it or not, when it came time to score the Star Wars prequels, there was one classical monster hit that just about every film composer except for Williams had plundered. That's Carl Orff's Carmina Burana, whose O Fortuna choir has been cribbed for seemingly every movie that culminates in a supernatural apocalypse. When it came time for Qui-G...
The theme that soundtracks the Throne Room procession (sorry for the spoiler) in the original Star Wars movie is a perfect example of Williams's special talent for creating music that's simultaneously new and old. Thanks to Williams's gift for melody and tone, you probably don't think about your high school graduation when Luke and Han are walking ...
Although Williams owes debts to all these composers—and many more—every composer stands on the shoulders of giants. Williams's homages may have been a bit more direct than some other composers', but the bottom line is that his mastery of melody and deftness of tone make the Star Wars scores a signal achievement in the history of cinema. Just as Luc...
1 day ago · One of the throughlines of all things “Star Wars” has been the over 18 hours of soundtrack by a composer who should have his own day — the legendary John Williams. WABE music contributor Dr. Scott Stewart joins Lois Reitzes on “City Lights” to celebrate the “ Star Wars” musical landscape and this remarkable creative artist.
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Sep 24, 2023 · Having worked with Williams twice by then, Spielberg knew just the chap for the job. "Steven said, 'I worked with this guy and he's great!'". Lucas recalled. That was all it took. Shortly after ...
- Sandy Schaefer
Apr 24, 2024 · Deutsche Grammophon - John Williams (Apr. 19, 2024) John Williams (born February 8, 1932, Queens, New York, U.S.) is an American composer who created some of the most iconic film scores of all time. He scored more than a hundred movies, many of which were directed by Steven Spielberg. Williams is also known for his work on numerous Star Wars films.
- Alison Eldridge
The Force of Chart Success: “Star Wars Score” by John Williams. The “Star Wars Main Theme,” composed by the legendary John Williams, became an iconic piece of music for generations of fans since its release. Initially composed for the 1977 film Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, the theme garnered immense popularity and chart success.
Mar 7, 2024 · Review: ‘Star Wars’ #44 – ‘Star Wars’ Turns Into a Fun Law Procedural in ‘The Trial of Lando Calrissian’ → Sydney Watsek When she isn't watching her friends and family's eyes glaze over at the mention of The Clone Wars, she's at the park with her dog, Melvin, or on the couch with a book in one hand and a drink in the other.
