Most important film soundtracks by John Williams
The influence of John Williams on film soundtracks current It is evident since the conception of music as a fundamental part of films changed, composing the soundtracks of most of Steven Spielberg's films since the 80s.
This fact made him a popular icon, and allowed him to obtain five statuettes from the Hollywood Oscar Awards, in addition to 51 nominations. He is the living person with the most nominations for these awards and they say that he “transferred the spirit of the Viennese symphonic tradition to the greatest hits of Hollywood.” For these reasons, we are going to analyze the John Williams' most important film soundtracks, in addition to his style and his enormous influence on today's film music.
How were John Williams' beginnings in film music?
John Williams was born in Floral Park, New York, on February 8, 1932. At the age of five, he entered the Juilliard School, where he studied music theory and piano, although he also experimented with other instruments such as the trombone, the trumpet, the clarinet, bassoon or percussion, before becoming a professional pianist.
Due to his father's work reasons, the family moved to Los Angeles, when Johnny Williams (father) accepts a job as a studio musician with the 20th Fox Orchestra. In Los Angeles, John Towner Williams spent his adolescence at North Hollywood High School, studied composition and piano at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and attended orchestration classes at Los Angeles City College.
In 1951 he began his military service playing the piano in the air force orchestra (USAF). In '54, after military service, he returned to New York and perfected his piano skills, again at the Juilliard School. After that stage He works as a studio pianist and makes his film debut in 1958 with Daddy-O., a B-movie.
As a studio pianist, he records the music from very popular films of the second half of the 50s and early 60s, like Peter Gunn (1958) by Henry Mancini, The Magnificent Seven (1960) or To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), by Elmer Bernstein.
Musical style and influences of John Williams
Williams comes from a family of musicians, His father's influence is evident, and he paved the way for Hollywood soundtracks. in the twilight of the golden age. Johnny Williams, was a percussionist for the Raymond Scott Quintet and they still remember him in George Gershwin's apartment, where he used to participate in fascinating jam sessions.
His son's studies at Juilliard, They allowed him to serve as director, in 1952, of the armed forces orchestra and he composed several pieces for it, with the piano, always, as his strong point. His musical style, seen from today, is considered a form of neo-romanticism, mainly with influences from German Romantic composers such as Richard Wagner, Max Steiner and Erich Wolfgang Korngold. Likewise, the use of the leitmotiv characterizes him.
During his time in Los Angeles he studied in parallel and privately with the composer Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, who caused a strong influence on him. Later, back in New York, while continuing his studies, he had minor jobs as a jazz pianist in nightclubs. In his beginnings, John Towner Williams showed a superior virtuality, which united him with Jerry Goldsmith and was protected by Raymond Scott and Carl Stalling, an architect paid by Warner Bros and Walt Disney. Some time later, he would surpass Alfred Newman, who had won 45 Oscar nominations and won the award nine times. During his time in Los Angeles he learned from Newman himself, from Bernard Herrmann and Franz Waxman.
Most important awards and nominations you have received
Williams received her first Oscar for his adaptation of the music for the film 'Fiddler on the Roof' (1972), and achieved four more for 'Jaws' (1976), 'Star Wars' (1978), ET the Extra-Terrestrial (1983) and 'Schindler's List' (1994). A total of five Oscars and 50 nominations throughout his extensive career.
His first award came with a live-action adaptation of the story of 'Heidi' (1968) for NBC, whose soundtrack earned him an Emmy Award. In total he has won 21 Grammy Awards and 4 Golden Globes.
Williams' best-known soundtracks
In 1974, Steven Spielberg contacted John Williams to compose the soundtrack for his film 'Crazy Escape'. Although Williams was already an established musician who had won an Oscar, he must have seen something in this unknown young director, because he agreed to work with him. That was the beginning of one of the best collaborations in the history of cinema.
Since its appearance in 1975, the main theme from the movie 'Jaws' It became a popular culture phenomenon around the world. Its incredible simplicity, with which it manages to achieve a feeling of atavistic primitivism, and its ease of being hummed, have made it one of the most recognizable pieces in the history of cinema.
Williams himself mentions how “the idea of characterization of the shark musically, these low notes, with ostinato beats in the bass, were the result of a very simple idea I had, in which the shark should be presented by something in the sound or music; but it must have been more likely in music, since there is no sound underwater.”
Outside of the Williams-Spielberg collaboration, in 1978 came the 'Superman' soundtrack. It is difficult to decide which of these soundtracks has had the most influence on our culture. With only 5 minutes and 29 seconds, the composer's main piece was placed at the top, not only of music associated with superheroes, but also in particular, of what has been done in this field in the history of cinema. It makes very clear the power of harmony and melody, and how it manages to identify with the very essence of the characters.
On the other hand, the Indiana Jones soundtrack 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' (1981) is one of the most iconic songs of all time. After the success of 'Star Wars', George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and John Williams embarked on a light story, which reminded them of the adventure serials of their childhood, with director Lawrence Kasdan. There emerged the score of an absolute masterpiece, and the example of the high level that Williams' compositions can reach. The song 'Raiders march' was originally two separate songs, but Spielberg liked both so much that they decided to unite them into one to become the 'Leitmotiv' of the film.
Once again, the unbeatable Spielberg Williams tandem came together in a magical film that marked a generation, 'ET the Extraterrestrial' (1982). Its masterful soundtrack determined the end of the film, since Spielberg asked Williams to direct the final fifteen minutes. They are a piece of music without pause; He asked him, without using the montage of the film on the studio screen, to compose with the orchestra, following the tempos and flow that he considered perfect for that piece of music. With that music recorded, Spielberg modified the montage. The filmmaker manages to express something very special in his films, and the greatest expressiveness in that passion and emotion comes from the Williams music.
The composer says that when Spielberg showed him the first cut of 'Schindler's List' (1993), he needed several minutes alone to compose himself and gain strength. He told Spielberg that he was going to need a better composer, to which the director replied that it could be, but that they were all dead. Now, we can't imagine the film without the New Yorker's music. He violin by Itzhak Perlman It glides smoothly over Williams' orchestration offering a complete sense of deep pain. It evokes the suffering and torment of what happened in those years.
Williams also explains that his approach to 'Jurassic Park' soundtrack (1993), was very similar to the one he took with 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' (1977). It consisted of using music to “capture a sense of wonder and fascination,” as the film was about “the immense happiness and exaltation” one would feel upon encountering real dinosaurs. Thus, it managed to impress like few other cinematographic compositions.
In 2016, on the occasion of the lifetime achievement award given to him by the American Film Institute, Spielberg would define the Williams style like this: “Without it, bicycles wouldn't really fly, any more than brooms at Quidditch matches or men with red capes. The Force would not exist, dinosaurs would not walk the Earth, we would not be fascinated, we would not cry, we would not believe.”
Star Wars: the most iconic soundtrack
The most emblematic soundtrack, perhaps, of American cinema, follows the same temp tracks that Kubrick used in the final version of '2001: A Space Odyssey', but what Williams does is take these mechanisms to another level. He followed the idea of a leitmotif, popularized by Richard Wagner in his operas, a very clearly defined melody to represent something, from an object to a character. This element was used by the pioneers of music in cinema and, later, squeezed by Williams to define his music. He uses it, for example, with the character of Luke Skywalker, representing the hero, and it still continues to play every time the character is talked about in the rest of the films.
Another fundamental characteristic is that Williams takes elements from other compositions or directly paraphrases them. Jeremy Orosz, professor of music at the University of Memphis, explains that “when Williams paraphrases music from other sources, it is not a flaw in his work, because film music is intended to sound familiar within a world of well-known conventions.” and clichés.” A cliché is precisely the relationship between a large character, like Jabba, with a tuba solo, something that characterized the Soviet composer Prokofiev in works like 'Peter and the Wolf'.
Without a doubt, the melody that comes to mind when we talk about 'Star Wars' is the 'Imperial March', which is linked to Holst's 'Mars, Bringer of War'. It offers tension and suspense, although Williams adds more instruments to achieve a more heroic sound, reminiscent of Wagner's 'Ride of the Valkyries', one of the war works par excellence, which Coppola used in Apocalypse Now.
The 'Star Wars' soundtrack It is also influenced by Mahler, Tchaikovsky, and of course, Chopin's 'Funeral March'. The root of the work done by Williams on 'Star Wars' comes from the recommendation that Spielberg made to his friend George Lucas, to work with the New York composer.
The FSO's tribute to John Williams
As a tribute to Williams' incredible work, Constantino Martínez-Orts and the Film Symphony Orchestra recorded a special CD. A quadruple CD that collects the best music of the composer, and has become the greatest tribute ever dedicated to this musical creator. More than 40 soundtracks performed by the leading film music orchestra; so you can listen to your soundtracks wherever you are… and may the FSO be with you!
Usually, during FSO tours, we can enjoy the John Williams soundtracks. During 2019, the orchestra directed by Martínez-Orts dedicated a tour to the New York composer and has never stopped playing his songs live. Their set-list has always been Jaws, Memoirs of a Geisha, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Hook, ET the Extra-Terrestrial, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Jurassic Park, Schindler's List, Fiddler on the Roof, Indiana Jones, Superman and Star Wars IV: A New Hope.
John Williams is responsible for allowing us to imagine cinema without opening our eyes and, although some do not know his name or do not relate it to his musical legacy, we all achieve a personal bond with his most successful works. Who has not immersed themselves in the famous motif of 'Jaws', the glorious saga of 'Star Wars' or the vigorous melody of 'Indiana Jones'?
All of them are already part and essence of pop culture, like the Beatles, and have made many of these films a resounding success with audiences and critics. Pianists like Andrés Valverde call him a “living legend”; Deutsche Grammophon musicians, such as Leticia Moreno, highlight his “special devotion to the violin” and his lyricism; and the guest conductor of the Teatro Real in Madrid and principal of the Orchestra of St. Luke's in New York, Pablo Heras-Casado describes him as a “complete composer” and a “reference of quality.”
And of course, the FSO director Constantino Martínez-Orts, also has has shown on multiple occasions his opinion about Williams: "Listening to John Williams' music allows you to take a very fair tour of the history of cinema." To which he adds, "John Williams is the Mozart of our century."
If you want to discover the most curious facts about John Williams, keep reading our blog.
