Semi OT: The maestro leaves his mark on college football

[Ragman2000]

As a John Williams fanboy, I can't tell you how excited I am to hear this!

John Williams Writes New Theme for ESPN College Football Championship (EXCLUSIVE)

Legendary composer John Williams has written an original theme for ESPN's College Football Playoff National Championship, airing Monday.

variety.com

To put in perspective what a musical genius he is, he's a modern day Beethoven and his themes will be remembered for hundreds of years. Among his greatest hits:
-Multiple Olympic themes
-NBC News theme
-9 Star Wars movies
-5 Indiana Jones movies
-Jaws
-Superman
-Harry Potter movies
-Close Encounters of the Third kind
-E.T.
-Home Alone
-Jurassic Park
-Schindlers List
-Saving Private Ryan
-Hook (also used as an unofficial Olympic theme in 1992)

And many more. It's unreal what this guy has done in his 90s. We're so lucky to be alive at the same time as an all-time great.

 

[Shrmdougluvr]

As a John Williams fanboy, I can't tell you how excited I am to hear this!

John Williams Writes New Theme for ESPN College Football Championship (EXCLUSIVE)

Legendary composer John Williams has written an original theme for ESPN's College Football Playoff National Championship, airing Monday.

variety.com

To put in perspective what a musical genius he is, he's a modern day Beethoven and his themes will be remembered for hundreds of years. Among his greatest hits:
-Multiple Olympic themes
-NBC News theme
-9 Star Wars movies
-5 Indiana Jones movies
-Jaws
-Superman
-Harry Potter movies
-Close Encounters of the Third kind
-E.T.
-Home Alone
-Jurassic Park
-Schindlers List
-Saving Private Ryan
-Hook (also used as an unofficial Olympic theme in 1992)

And many more. It's unreal what this guy has done in his 90s. We're so lucky to be alive at the same time as an all-time great.

I don't know where you live, but you should try to hit Tanglewood during the summer for film night. The Boston Pops play and they feature music from Williams' scores. It's a really excellent experience. I grew up falling asleep to soundtracks from Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Superman, and to hear it live, under the stars, after a couple or three glasses of wine, it really hits. Last August they celebrated Williams' 90th birthday. In addition to many of those you mention, they've also performed War of the Worlds, Memoirs of a Geisha, and Catch Me If You Can, to my recollection.

 

[Cusefan95]

I don't know where you live, but you should try to hit Tanglewood during the summer for film night. The Boston Pops play and they feature music from Williams' scores. It's a really excellent experience. I grew up falling asleep to soundtracks from Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Superman, and to hear it live, under the stars, after a couple or three glasses of wine, it really hits. Last August they celebrated Williams' 90th birthday. In addition to many of those you mention, they've also performed War of the Worlds, Memoirs of a Geisha, and Catch Me If You Can, to my recollection.

Tanglewood is great, I haven’t been able to go in two decades and didn’t know the Pops still did that.

If you’re a fan of John Williams, it’s worth checking out Gustav Holst: The Planets Suite. It’s from 1918, and you can hear how much it influenced Williams score for Star Wars. Charles Cornell does a great comparison on YouTube and picks out specific ways in which Williams was likely paying homage to Holst.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[FrancoPizza]

Williams’ produced his best, most original work in the 70s. Of course he has many other good titles to his name but his legacy was cemented during that iconic decade of moviemaking. You’d have to wonder if some of those 70s titles would have such lasting cultural stsying power without their scores.

On a different note, it’s interesting how similar many of those 70s blockbuster scores sound to the untrained ear. I can’t tell you how many people confuse Raiders with Star Wars and Superman.

 

[donniesyracuse]

Williams is the Hootie and the Blowfish of classical music.

 

[orangefog]

If that’s his real name.

 

[Ragman2000]

Tanglewood is great, I haven’t been able to go in two decades and didn’t know the Pops still did that.

If you’re a fan of John Williams, it’s worth checking out Gustav Holst: The Planets Suite. It’s from 1918, and you can hear how much it influenced Williams score for Star Wars. Charles Cornell does a great comparison on YouTube and picks out specific ways in which Williams was likely paying homage to Holst.

Indeed. Mars the Bringer of War is one of my all-time favorites.

 

[Shrmdougluvr]

Williams is the Hootie and the Blowfish of classical music.

You're one of those guys, huh?

 

[HoustonCuse]

Williams is the Hootie and the Blowfish of classical music.

I’m not entirely sure what this means or if it’s just a joke. I look at this way, a lot of classical music was written back in the day for their version of modern movies. So in that way, guys like Williams, Horner, Zimmer, etc are closer to being like those classical composers than it may seem. Much of the work from the greats of classical music has remained relevant long after whatever play or stage show they composed it for has been long forgotten. In our case, the films are recorded so they can be watched 100 years from now just as they were when brand new so they may not fade away in the same way, but the music is music and stands on its own as well.

 

[donniesyracuse]

I’m not entirely sure what this means or if it’s just a joke. I look at this way, a lot of classical music was written back in the day for their version of modern movies. So in that way, guys like Williams, Horner, Zimmer, etc are closer to being like those classical composers than it may seem. Much of the work from the greats of classical music has remained relevant long after whatever play it stage show they composed it for has been long forgotten. In our case, the films are recorded so they can be watched 100 years from now just as they were when brand new so they may not fade away in the same way, but the music is music and stands on its own as well.

By all means celebrate Williams. He composed many memorable tunes. I saw the word “Beethoven” and rolled my eyes. Beethoven is one of the most significant figures in the history of music. His influence and importance goes far beyond creating recognizable tunes. Williams is not a “modern day Beethoven.”

 

[HoustonCuse]

By all means celebrate Williams. He composed many memorable tunes. I saw the word “Beethoven” and rolled my eyes. Beethoven is one of the most significant figures in the history of music. His influence and importance goes far beyond creating recognizable tunes. Williams is not a “modern day Beethoven.”

Understand. I certainly don’t know enough about music to know the differences between their work or innovations or the like. Just saying it’s a somewhat similar model that these guys operate by today as some of the greats did a couple hundred years ago so we shouldn’t think their music is trashy solely because it was composed for a pop culture product like a blockbuster movie.

 

[donniesyracuse]

…we shouldn’t think their music is trashy solely because it was composed for a pop culture product like a blockbuster movie.

I agree with that.

 

[Ragman2000]

By all means celebrate Williams. He composed many memorable tunes. I saw the word “Beethoven” and rolled my eyes. Beethoven is one of the most significant figures in the history of music. His influence and importance goes far beyond creating recognizable tunes. Williams is not a “modern day Beethoven.”

You can have your opinion, I can have mine. I think the influence of Williams will be as everlasting and history will remember him in the same breath years from now.

 

[donniesyracuse]

You can have your opinion, I can have mine. I think the influence of Williams will be as everlasting and history will remember him in the same breath years from now.

You don’t believe Beethoven was more innovative and more important to the advancement of music than John Williams?

 

[Franz69]

 

[Ragman2000]

You don’t believe Beethoven was more innovative and more important to the advancement of music than John Williams?

I think this is an impossible argument given he is still alive and hasn't had hundreds of years of dissection and study the way that the greats from hundreds of years ago have. It is my opinion that he has advanced music in the same way and like Beethoven, moved beyond fans of music into the consciousness of young and old. His cadence and "memorable tunes" have become ubiquitous in such a way that people don't even realize the origin.

How many of his themes transcend the movies they are associated with and hold their own in concert as much as any of the greats? Too many to count.

Just because he is modern does not make his cultural impact any less great. We'll only be able to settle this argument long after we are dead, but I contest he'll be lumped with the greats in hundreds of years.

 

[donniesyracuse]

Just because he is modern does not make his cultural impact any less great.

It has nothing to do with him being modern.

 

[ECE '76]

If you're a big John Williams fan, I hate to do this, but you should not watch this video (there are many others about this topic as well):

Does John Williams Steal Music?

I grew up listening to a lot of the music mentioned in the video, so when I saw John Williams' films I was never that impressed.

That said, music is subjective and everyone can have their own opinion. There's no right or wrong answers about what someone likes. I would not put Williams in a category with Beethoven, Mozart, and Chopin for creative genius. People still put flowers at Chopin's grave in Paris. I'm pretty sure Williams earned far more wealth from his music than those guys though.

No matter what your opinion is of Williams, here is a moving video with his music.