Composer John Williams turns 93 on Feb. 8. To celebrate, enjoy an encore of a special Minnesota Orchestra concert in tribute to the iconic composer. And Saturday Cinema host Lynne Warfel has compiled the Ultimate John Williams Playlist for your pleasure. Listen now!
Minnesota Orchestra pays tribute
In early November, the Minnesota Orchestra performed a concert under the direction of Sarah Hicks to celebrate the music of Williams. Listen to an encore of this special event, with hosts Melissa Ousley and Lynne Warfel, by using the player above. (This on-demand audio will be available until March 8.)
Playlist
Superman: March
Jurassic Park: Theme
Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark: “Marion’s Theme”
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone: “Hedwig’s Theme”
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: “Scherzo for Motorcycle”
Hook: “Flight to Neverland”
Far and Away: Suite
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back: “Imperial March”
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial: “Adventures on Earth”
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: “Fawkes the Phoenix”
Jaws: Theme
Across the Stars
Star Wars: The Force Awakens: “Jedi Steps and Finale”
Bonus: Violin Concerto: Movements 2 and 3 — performed by James Ehnes and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Stéphane Denève (Pentatone 5187148)
Ultimate John Williams Playlist: On the Rise (1950s-60s)
During his stint in a U.S. Air Force Band stationed in Newfoundland in the early 1950s, Johnny Williams, as he was called then, got his first film gig doing music for You Are Welcome, a German company's documentary on the maritime provinces. After his discharge, he returned home to Los Angeles, studied with Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, went to Julliard and studied piano with Rosina Lhévinne. In fact, he began professionally as a studio pianist working under distinguished musicians such as Henry Mancini, Alfred Newman, Elmer Bernstein and Andre Previn, whom he credits as his mentor.
One of those associations led to his breakthrough as the pianist on Mancini's immortal theme to Peter Gunn. He went on to play piano on the opening of the Main Theme of To Kill a Mockingbird and more.
An association with prominent producer Irwin Allen led to his hiring as the composer for the TV shows Lost in Space, Time Tunnel and Land of the Giants. Allen went on to hire Williams for some of his big-budget disaster films in the late 1960s: Earthquake, The Towering Inferno and The Poseidon Adventure.
Williams considered his first big break with a big-time director to be How to Steal a Million for legendary filmmaker William Wyler.
His mentoring by Previn led to his collaboration with Andre and Dory Previn on Valley of the Dolls, for which he received his first Oscar nomination.
The Reivers, with Steve McQueen, and the John Wayne offbeat western The Cowboys solidified his reputation in Hollywood, and it also got the attention of a young hopeful named Steven Spielberg. Spielberg, a self-proclaimed movie-score nerd says that when he heard both those scores, he decided that whenever he got his big break, he was "going to hire this John Williams guy." And so he did.
Playlist
Peter Gunn: Theme
Lost in Space: Theme (Season 3)
Time Tunnel: Theme
How to Steal a Million: Theme
Valley of the Dolls: Theme
The Poseidon Adventure: Main Title
The Towering Inferno: Main Title
The Reivers: Main Title
The Cowboys: Overture
Ultimate John Williams Playlist: With Spielberg
Cut to the scene where Spielberg has his first major film in preproduction, Sugarland Express. He schedules a Beverly Hills lunch with Williams, who by now is well-established in L.A. Still enamored with Williams' music for The Reivers, The Cowboys and also a modernist score that Williams did for director Robert Altman’s Images — Williams said that if he had not entered into big orchestral film composition, he might have leaned more toward composing concert hall works in that same modernist style — they sit down to chat.
At that now-historic lunch, Williams was stunned by Spielberg's youth but impressed by his expertise and passion for classic film scores by the likes of Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Miklós Rózsa and Franz Waxman. He also knew a lot about Williams' music. Williams said he felt as if Spielberg knew his music better than he did. He agreed to do Sugarland Express, and one of Hollywood's greatest composer-director partnerships was born.
Williams proceeded to give Spielberg a highly unusual score for Sugarland Express, a small-scale, intimate score using jazz harmonica player Toots Thielemans. Chris Martin of the rock band Coldplay said in the documentary Music by John Williams that "when Johnny and Steven get together, they are a band,” meaning they work symbiotically to tell the story.
In that same documentary, Spielberg says, "There have been many times when I change the way I see my own film because of what Johnny has written. Sometimes, I start seeing my film the way he sees it."
It's unusual and noteworthy that three pieces by Williams made the Billboard charts in the 1970s: the Main Theme from Jaws in 1975, the Main Theme from Star Wars in 1977 and the Main Theme from Close Encounters of the Third Kind in 1978. A humble, self-effacing, classy and quiet man, Williams says he isn't happy 100 percent with any of his scores in their entirety but that he is proud of Close Encounters.
Spielberg has, as you might expect, many stories of his collaborations with Williams, but memorable ones include:
When Spielberg came to Williams' house to hear sketches of the score to Jaws, Williams sat at his old Steinway piano and played the opening two repetitive notes on the far reaches of the lowest octave of the keyboard. Spielberg was bemused, listened a bit longer, then looking perplexed, laughed and said, "What are ya gonna do with that, Johnny?" Apparently, he thought the whole score of the opening scene was going to be those now-famous notes only on solo piano.
When Williams presented Spielberg with the first draft of the Main Theme to Schindler's List, Kate Capshaw, Spielberg's wife, was present. Williams played the opening bars on that same piano. Capshaw said she looked over and her husband was in tears, as was she — and, eventually, Williams. Itzhak Perlman, who played on the soundtrack, said that theme is the most requested music when he tours around the world.
Playlist
Sugarland Express: Theme
Jaws: Main Theme, “Barrel Chase” and “Shark Cage Fugue”
Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark: “Raiders March”
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial: “Flying Theme”
Close Encounters of the Third Kind: Suite
Jurassic Park: Theme
Amistad: “Dry Your Tears, Afrika”
Empire of the Sun: “Exsultate Justi”
Hook: “Flight to Neverland”
War Horse: “Dartmoor, 1912”
Catch Me If You Can!: Theme
Schindler’s List: Theme
Saving Private Ryan: “Hymn to the Fallen”
Ultimate John Williams Playlist: ‘Star Wars’
By the late 1970s, Williams was considering taking work on a film called A Bridge Too Far, a World War II epic with a huge international cast. He felt that he'd have a grand time coming up with his signature leitmotifs for all those characters. Spielberg had previously introduced Williams to his friend George Lucas and was nudging the composer toward doing a little movie called Star Wars. Williams reportedly vacillated for a bit, then acquiesced to his old friend and said simply, "OK, I'll do Star Wars."“ And the rest is — well you know.
Williams once said in an interview that Yoda's theme was one of the most autobiographical pieces he's written. But then he adds that that's all he's willing to say. And he smiles.
Lucas, a notoriously noncommunicative individual, revealed little about the story, sequels and characters. Rather in the dark about it all, Williams set to work on his many leitmotifs for the characters, assuming Luke and Leia would be romantically involved, which is how he wrote the theme for them — a big, romantic, sweeping melody. Only later did he find out that they were siblings.
"Duel of the Fates," the most downloaded piece of Star Wars music, is based on fragments of an old Welsh poem and sung in Sanskrit. It is perhaps the pinnacle of Williams' working with a full symphony orchestra and chorus.
Playlist
A New Hope: Main Theme
The Empire Strikes Back: “Yoda’s Theme”
Return of the Jedi: “Luke and Leia”
A New Hope: “Leia’s Theme”
Return of the Jedi: “Parade of the Ewoks”
The Empire Strikes Back: “Imperial March”
A New Hope: “Throne Room and Finale”
The Phantom Menace: “Duel of the Fates”
Ultimate John Williams Playlist: Other Films
Williams worked on Hitchcock's final film, Family Plot. He truly wanted to work with the famous director, although he wasn't particularly enamored with the script. Hitch didn't want anything "overly dramatic," William recalls. Hitch added, "Remember, murder can be fun!"
Director Richard Donner, on hearing the March from Superman for the first time asked Williams, "Are there lyrics here? That opening melody, I hear the word "Su-per-man! Ta da da-da daaahh?"
Williams smiled a bit and said, "You are right. There are words."
Far and Away, a Ron Howard film, did not do well with critics mostly due to Tom Cruise getting less than stellar reviews, but it is considered by many to be one of Williams' best scores. Having the low strings create the opening of "The Donnybrook" is brilliant writing for double basses.
The Harry Potter franchise got original music by Williams in only the first three installments. But it was so powerful in its leitmotifs of Hogwarts, and especially “Hedwig's Theme,” that it is used over and over by the succeeding composers, Nicholas Hooper, Alexandre Desplat and Patrick Doyle. It's hard to top perfection.
Catch Me if You Can boasts a jazzy score, so much so that when saxophonist Brandon Marsalis saw the movie, he immediately contacted Williams’ office asking if he would arrange it as a saxophone concerto. He got a call back saying he'd have it in six weeks.
The Book Thief in 2013 was directed by Brian Percival and was Williams' first non-Spielberg-directed film since 2005. A box-office success, it earned Williams received yet another Oscar nomination for his score, which was recorded on the Alfred Newman Sound Stage at 20th Century Fox Studios.
Williams worked on Home Alone, giving it its Oscar-nominated score, and the song "Somewhere in My Memory," with lyrics by Leslie Bricusse, also was nominated. The composer says the track "Holiday Flight" was inspired by “Trepak” from Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker. It's OK to admit your were inspired by others!
Playlist
Cinderella Liberty: “Nice to Be Around”
Family Plot: Finale
Far and Away: Suite
Dracula: “Night Journeys”
Memoirs of a Geisha: “Sayuri’s Theme”
The Fury: Main Title
The Accidental Tourist: Main Title
The Book Thief: Main Title
Home Alone: “Somewhere in My Memory” and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas/End Title”
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone: “Hedwig’s Theme” and “Harry’s Wondrous World”
Ultimate John Williams Playlist: Concert Hall
Many of Williams' works for the concert hall are surprising, beautiful and unexpected. He has written chamber music, concerti and fanfares.
His first wife, actress Barbara Ruick, died unexpectedly at 41 while on location for a film in Nevada. Williams was devastated and left to be the single father of three teenagers. He stopped writing music almost entirely for two years. He felt he was finished.
Then he reported feeling as if Ruick was suddenly present with him, guiding him. He says he still feels her presence when he works.
He wrote his First Violin Concerto in her memory. Her father was a violinist, and she loved the instrument. He said he had never written anything for her while she was alive and so dedicated this gorgeous concerto "to BRW."
(Another example of show-business serendipity is that Williams was the piano sideman working for Alfred Newman on Carousel and his soon-to-be wife, Barbara, played Carrie in that film. They also were classmates and knew each other at North Hollywood High School but never dated then.)
Playlist
Olympic Fanfare
Elegy for Cello and Orchestra
Violin Concerto: Third Movement
Air and Simple Gifts
Trumpet Concerto: Third Movement
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