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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
- 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...
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- George Chrysostomou
- Career Longevity. It's hard to deny that John Williams has enjoyed a much longer career than most. Considering his work has spanned five decades and contained some truly memorable pieces of music, there's no surprise he is considered one of the best cinema composers of all time.
- Impact Of Star Wars. The documentary, Empire Of Dreams, currently available on Disney+, is a great retrospective look at what really made the Star Wars franchise successful.
- Iconic Scores. Asides from the endless number of Star Wars themes that have come to populate the galaxy far far away, Williams is also responsible for several other iconic scores.
- Building Up Franchises. Music is really a language. While a movie will translate something to an audience visually, the score will continue to build that message through sound.
John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932) is an American composer and conductor. In a ... His work has influenced other composers of film, popular, and ...
- John Towner Williams, February 8, 1932 (age 91), New York City, U.S.
- Order of the British Empire
- 1952–present
- 3, including Joseph
Apr 17, 2024 · John Williams composed the score for all nine of the primary Star Wars films, spanning three trilogies from 1977 to 2019, among many other Star Wars projects. In honor of Star Wars Day on May 4 (may the fourth be with you), we’ll explore how John Williams and his music became such an essential aspect of the beloved franchise.
Jul 21, 2020 · The Force Is Still Strong with John Williams. By Alex Ross. July 21, 2020. At the age of eighty-eight, the self-effacing composer reflects on his extraordinary career. Photograph by Chad Batka ...
Jan 11, 2016 · Korngold's music for the 1942 film "Kings Row" inspired the main Star Wars theme. Lucas asked Williams to write a score that drew from films like "The Adventures of Robin Hood" and "The Sea Hawk ...
