John Towner Williams was born on February 8, 1932. His career spans over six decades and he has composed some of the most popular and recognizable
film scores in cinematic history, to many of the highest-grossing
films of all time, including
Jaws, the
Star Wars series,
Superman,
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, the
Indiana Jones series,
Jurassic Park,
Schindler's List, the first two
Home Alone movies, and the first three
Harry Potter films.
Williams's style has been described as a form of
neoromanticism, inspired by the late 19th century's large-scale orchestral music, in the style of
Tchaikovsky or
Richard Wagner compositions and their
concept of
leitmotif,
that inspired his film music predecessors. He composed music for
various television programs in the 1960s: the pilot episode of
Gilligan's Island,
Bachelor Father (1959-1960), the
Kraft Suspense Theatre,
Lost in Space (1965–68),
The Time Tunnel (1966–67), and
Land of the Giants (the last three created by
TV producer,
Irwin Allen).
Williams has written many concert pieces, including a symphony; a
Concerto for Horn written for Dale Clevenger, the Principal Hornist for the
Chicago Symphony Orchestra; a
Concerto for Clarinet written for
Michele Zukovsky (the Principal Clarinetist for the
Los Angeles Philharmonic) in 1991; a sinfonietta for wind ensemble; a cello concerto premiered by
Yo-Yo Ma and the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood in 1994; concertos for the flute and violin recorded by the
London Symphony Orchestra; and a trumpet concerto, which was premiered by
The Cleveland Orchestra and their principal trumpet player, Michael Sachs, in September 1996.
His bassoon concerto,
The Five Sacred Trees, which was premiered by the
New York Philharmonic and principal bassoon player
Judith LeClair
in 1995, was recorded for Sony Classical by Williams with LeClair and
the London Symphony Orchestra. Williams was the subject of an hour-long
documentary for the
BBC in 1980, and was featured in a report on
20/20 in 1983.
From 1980–93, Williams succeeded
Arthur Fiedler as the
Boston Pops Orchestra's
Principal Conductor. His arrival as the Pops' new leader in the spring
of 1980 allowed him to devote part of the Pops' first PBS broadcast of
the season to presenting his new compositions for
The Empire Strikes Back.
Williams almost ended his tenure with the Pops in 1984. Some players hissed while
sight-reading a new Williams composition in rehearsal; Williams abruptly
left the session and turned in his resignation. He initially cited
mounting conflicts with his film composing schedule, but later admitted a
perceived lack of discipline in, and respect from, the Pops' ranks,
culminating in this latest instance. After entreaties by the management
and personal apologies from the musicians, Williams withdrew his
resignation and continued as principal conductor for nine more years. In 1995, he was succeeded by
Keith Lockhart, the former associate conductor of the
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and
Cincinnati Pops Orchestra.
Williams is now the Pops' Laureate Conductor, thus maintaining his affiliation with its parent, the
Boston Symphony Orchestra
(BSO). Williams leads the Pops on several occasions each year,
particularly during their Holiday Pops season and typically for a week
of concerts in May. He conducts an annual Film Night at both Boston
Symphony Hall and
Tanglewood.
John Williams Net links:
Website
Discography
Concert works
Awards
YouTube links:
Concerto for Horn
Concerto for Clarinet
Cello Concerto
Concerto For Flute And Violin
Concerto for Trumpet
Sinfonietta for Wind Ensemble
The Five Sacred Trees