Posted on 02/08/2015 12:49:37 PM PST by EveningStar
Today marks the 83rd birthday of the great film composer John Williams, whose scores have garnered numerous wins and nominations for Academy Awards, BAFTA Awards, Emmy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, and Grammy Awards.
Wikipedia
IMDb
John Williiams Fan Network
The John Williams Collection
He was indeed.
the Coolest.
:)
I met Arthur Fiedler when I was a Girl Scout, and my troop visited Symphony Hall in Boston. We were invited into his office, and even as a young girl, I was aware of -— and in awe of -—— this great man.
It was one of those moments that can still be recalled in detail.
I attribute my “coolness” to his profound influence on my life!
Sailor, photographer, patriot, music lover, carpenter, electrician, pipefitter, house builder, theologian, audiophile, movie projectionist, classic movie aficionado, gourmet cook, arctic survival expert, Gilbert & Sullivan fan, Boston Pops fanatic, and American history Buff.
Not to mention Life guard, Survival, First Aid, and lifesaving Trainer for the Red Cross, Presidential Telephone security adviser, and trainer of the Shah of Iran’s Telephone Engineers. He also helped develop modern CPR and taught The red cross lifeguards how to do it for certification.
Dad to 6, Knight of Columbus, Navy Vet of WW2 and Korea, and devoted husband.
he was a democrat...but democrats were a little different back then. I know he voted for Reagan!
I like the score he wrote for “Family Plot,” an Alfred Hitchcock film. I love the harpsichord, harp and woodwind instruments used.
I am not familiar with that one - thanks for the feedback.
Brings to mind Dave Brubeck's "Take Five" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tT9Eh8wNMkw) though admittedly it wasn't written as film music.
First I must qualify that I am probably older than everyone who commented back on this (67). Second, music preference is like pizza preference, i.e., personal taste. I thought John Williams did an okay job on the first Star Wars and the first Indiana JOnes movies and Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind- he lost me on ET forward.
Here are my favorite instrumental soundtracks in no particular order based on memorability, emotion, complexity, fit for the scene (qualified that I am no music expert):
Dr. Zhivago (Maurice Jarre)
Crouching Tiger - Hidden Dragon (Han Dun)
Rocky (Bill Conti)
Chariots of Fire (Vangelis)
Last of the Mohicans (Trevor Jones/Randy Edelman)
Ben Hur (Miklos Rosza)
The Mission (Ennio Morrocone)
Born the same year as I was.
.
Who could forget this movie! But John Williams hand nothing to do with its soundtrack.
No. I have a good impression of him, from what I know. The guy is prolific, and I'm sure I'd positively recognize a lot of his work if I heard it, even if it doesn't immediately come to mind.
But, I liked his work on the Harry Potter films, and most of all I really liked his compositions for the Home Alone movies back in the 90's. Beautiful stuff.
Movie music is by its nature episodic and repetitive, so we shouldn't expect deep and intricate composition - but for the kind of sweeping melodies and emotional punctuation movie music can deliver, Williams is one of the best, like his Fawkes the Phoenix from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets......
I love “Take Five”.
Another cool 5/4 piece is “The Witch of Endor”, by the NYC street musician Moondog.
More memorable ones (to me):
Vertigo (Bernard Hermann)
The Queen & The Painted Veil (Alexandre Desplat)
Hannibal (Hans Zimmer)
To Kill a Mockingbird (Elmer Bernstein)
The Duchess (Rachel Portman)
The Omen (Jerry Goldsmith)
By coincidence just today I received the ‘15-’16 season program for the Philadelphia Orchestra, which will feature Principal Guest Conductor Stephane Deneve in “a two-week John Williams celebration”, including Yo Yo Ma playing Williams’ Cello Concerto and a performance the following week of his Violin Concerto with James Ehnes. The same week on May 6 2016 Williams himself will conduct an evening of selections from his motion picture scores. I predict that the Kimmel Center’s Verizon Hall will be filled to capacity and beyond, as was the Mann Center one summer evening a few years back when I was lucky enough to attend a similar concert of his music conducted by Williams - how bad could he be????......
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.