Program Notes for February 11, 2023
written by RSO Principal Cellist Michael Beert
Olympic Fanfare & Theme
Work composed: 1984
First performance: June 12, 1984, with the Boston Pops, the composer conducting
Instrumentation: three flutes (one doubling on piccolo), three oboes, three clarinets (one doubling on bass clarinet), three bassoons (one doubling on contrabassoon), four horns, four trumpets, four trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, harp, piano, and strings
Estimated duration: 4:30
By the early 1980’s John Williams had received enough attention for his movie music, including music to such films as The Cowboys, Indiana Jones, Star Wars, and Superman. Williams considered it an honor to be asked to supply new music to the 1984 Olympics, to be held in Los Angeles, California. He also considered it a challenge as the music used for the Olympics in modern times was a well-known composition by Leo Arnaud called “Bugler’s Dream”. It was practically in the DNA of all Americans as it was used on television as well as at the opening, closing, and medal ceremonies reaching back to the 1960’s. Williams achieved success with this piece as it was similar enough to Arnoud’s classic but different in its use of contrasting material.
In William’s own words: “I’m not an avid sports fan and I have never been to an Olympics,” Williams told The New York Times. “But from watching Olympics competition on television, I gained a feeling that I aspired to make the theme of Fanfare. A wonderful thing about the Olympics is that young athletes strain their guts to find and produce their best efforts. The human spirit stretching to prove itself is also typical of what musicians attempt to achieve in a symphonic effort. It is difficult to describe how I feel about these athletes and their performances without sounding pretentious, but their struggle ennobles all of us. I hope I express that in this piece.”
HEDWIG’S THEME from HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE
Work Composed: 2001
Film Release: November 4, 2001
Instrumentation: three flutes (one doubling on piccolo), three oboes, three clarinets (one doubling on bass clarinet), three bassoons (one doubling on contrabassoon), four horns, four trumpets, four trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, harp, piano, and strings
Estimated duration: 5:30
John Williams was actually the second choice to compose music for this film as James Horner (Titanic, Avatar, Star Trek II and III) was originally approached. The film’s director Christopher Columbus had worked with John Williams previously (Home Alone and Home Alone II), so it was an easy sell to the producers and writer, J.K. Rowling, to get Williams on board the project.
In the series, Williams utilized techniques from previous movies, particularly the use of character themes or “leitmotifs” where a particular melody was easily identified with a character, object, or idea from the story. In this instance, Williams borrows the leitmotif idea from Richard Wagner’s operas or musical dramas from the nineteenth century. Hedwig’s Theme is used not only for Harry’s owl but is used as the connecting theme for the entire series of films. In John William’s words:
“The worldwide reception that these works have received added greatly to the sense of privilege that I felt when I was given the honor of composing the music for the film version of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.
The story’s imaginative array of wizards flying on broomsticks and mail-delivering owls, all occupy a wonderous world of magic, offered a unique canvas for music, and the project of sharing it with some part of the great army of readers who love these books is a great joy to me.”
THE MISSION THEME - THEME FOR NBC NEWS
Work composed: 1985
First performance: NBC Nightly News, September 9, 1985
Instrumentation: three flutes (one doubling on piccolo), three oboes, three clarinets (one doubling on bass clarinet), three bassoons (one doubling on contrabassoon), four horns, four trumpets, four trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, harp, piano, and strings
Estimated duration: 3:20
Williams was approached by the National Broadcast Corporation to compose new music for their different news segments (Nightly News, Today Show, and other television segments). Since the old Huntley-Brinkley newscasts of the 1960s, serious classical music had been used to lend an air of credibility and as an invitation to the audiences of the world to witness the momentous events of the day. In this new work, Williams stated: “I wanted to convey the concepts of nobility of purpose, consistency, and dignity.”
THE ASTEROID FIELD from STAR WARS Episode V, THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
Work composed: November 1979
Film release: May 21, 1980
Instrumentation: three flutes (one doubling on piccolo), three oboes, three clarinets (one doubling on bass clarinet), three bassoons (one doubling on contrabassoon), four horns, four trumpets, four trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, harp, piano, and strings
Estimated duration: 4:30
This selection from The Empire Strikes Back depicts the scene where the crew of the Millennium Falcon escapes the Imperial Force and is chased through an asteroid field. Han Solo is able to find a hiding place on a larger asteroid in what he thinks is a cave......
John Williams notes on the music from Star Wars are as follows: “When composing the music for the first Star Wars epic, I had no idea that there would be many more films to come. At that time, I couldn’t anticipate the extent of George Lucas’ creativity, but as each film was added to the collection, I was given a unique opportunity to develop new themes as the stories required.
This (music)…evokes much nostalgia for me, as well as an ongoing delight that young people... now across generations...continue to be captivated by the Force of George Lucas’s imagination.”
EXCERPTS FROM CLOSE ENCOUNTERS
Work composed: June 1976
Film release: November 16, 1977
Instrumentation: three flutes (one doubling on piccolo), three oboes, three clarinets (one doubling on bass clarinet), three bassoons (one doubling on contrabassoon), four horns, four trumpets, four trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, harp, piano, and strings
Estimated duration: 8:00
This film about Earth’s first encounter with alien life forms is an exciting lesson in communication that has been followed up by other directors and films. The main questions asked are: “How do we start that communication?” and “With what means do we start that communication?” In this film, communication is grounded in the mathematics of sound. In the famous scene where it finally happens, a five-note motive is heard that is accepted (wildly) by the aliens. What is interesting is John Williams gave Steven Spielberg over 300 different five-note motives from which to choose from before selecting the one used in the film!
John William’s comments are about as complete as could be regarding this movie about a “first contact” with extra-terrestrials:
“Over the years, Close Encounters of the Third Kind has remained one of my favorite Steven Spielberg films.
With its depiction of the long-awaited visit of the beautiful and loving extraterrestrials, the fascinating premonitions of the little boy, and the five-note musical motif used to communicate with our other worldly guests, the film offered a rich and unusual canvas on which to present the music.
I’m indebted to Mr. Spielberg for the opportunity he offered me through this film and am delighted to share this concert edition with those who may remember this exceptional film as fondly as I do.”
ADVENTURES ON EARTH from E.T. THE EXTRA TERRESTRIAL
Work composed: December 1981-January 1982
Film premiere: Cannes Film Festival May 26, 1982
Instrumentation: three flutes (one doubling on piccolo), three oboes, three clarinets (one doubling on bass clarinet), three bassoons (one doubling on contrabassoon), four horns, four trumpets, four trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, harp, piano, and strings
Estimated duration: 9:42
John Williams worked again with Steven Spielberg on this film that eventually was a bigger success than the previous films Williams had written (Superman, Indiana Jones, and the two Star Wars movies to that date). Spielberg used every theme that Williams gave him for this movie. Williams’s score for E.T. is one of the most daring and experimental to this point, using more accepted classical techniques, particularly regarding harmony. Williams included polytonality (multiple scales used at once) and the use of modes (older church scales that are different from our traditional Do, Re, Mi), especially the Lydian mode. Think of a major scale with a raised fourth degree of the scale.
This experimentation is used ingeniously to create the sense of the two worlds: humanity and extraterrestrial coexisting. Earlier composers had used these harmonic techniques to express the strange, the bizarre, or the other-worldly. This sophisticated score also makes references to previous movies Williams was involved in, as in the Halloween Scene where E.T. sees a child dressed as Yoda from the Star Wars movies. Yoda’s Theme is used briefly as an “Easter Egg” reference at this moment!
John Williams’s preface to the score states: “The music was designed to accompany the bicycle chase near the end of the film and as the young cyclists reach escape velocity, E.T.’s theme is heard as the “Fly over the moon.” The music ends with timpani and brass fanfares, bringing the music and the film to a close."
SHARK THEME from JAWS SUITE
Work composed: 1975
Film release: June 20, 1975
Instrumentation: three flutes (one doubling on piccolo), three oboes, three clarinets (one doubling on bass clarinet), three bassoons (one doubling on contrabassoon), four horns, four trumpets, four trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, harp, piano, and strings
Estimated duration: 2:47
The music to Jaws was John Williams’ second Oscar Award and he credits the film as “jump-starting” his career. This was the second film that Williams worked with Steven Spielberg (the first being Sugarland Express), and the success of the film rides a lot on the two-note motive of E-F in the tuba and low strings. It creates an immediate sense of tension that is felt from early in the movie and throughout the film. As in any good horror film, this motive not only represents the shark but also the tension of not knowing when it will appear. Williams describes the motive as “grinding away at you, just as the shark would do, instinctual, relentless, unstoppable.”
John Williams' notes on the film score are as follows:
“When I first saw Jaws, I thought it was a great movie in the best time-honored tradition of adventure films. It was thrilling, at times terrifying, and always tremendously enjoyable to watch.
The film plumbed the depths of our fear of the deep and offered an opportunity for the basses and celli of the orchestra to sound the alarm. As the small boat, the Orca, set out to do battle with the great white shark, the orchestra provided a fugue to underscore the epic struggle between man and beast.
Jaws was the director Steven Spielberg’s first great popular success, and the role that the music played in the film is something that always elicits a broad smile from me, and what I hope is a permissible small measure of pride.”
HYMN TO THE FALLEN from SAVING PRIVATE RYAN
Work composed: 1998
Film release: July 21, 1998
Instrumentation: three flutes (one doubling on piccolo), three oboes, three clarinets (one doubling on bass clarinet), three bassoons (one doubling on contrabassoon), four horns, four trumpets, four trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, harp, piano, strings, and choir
Estimated duration: 6:20
This was another collaboration between director Spielberg and composer Williams. Spielberg required that Williams not write music for much of the movie, asking Williams to find appropriate scenes in the film where music would enhance the action. Throughout, Spielberg wanted the sounds of war to be the backdrop. Williams supplied approximately 55 minutes of music and recorded the music with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Symphony Hall, Boston. Spielberg wanted to use the Boston Symphony because the film deals with a "company of soldiers" and the orchestra was an "experienced company of musicians." Spielberg also wanted to record in Symphony Hall in Boston because of the "rich, warm sound off the walls and ceiling."
John Williams notes in the score are more extensive than others, describing:
“Saving Private Ryan is certainly one of Steven Spielberg’s most powerful films. The accumulative effect of his great photography and the splendid performances contained in the film combine to produce a jolting emotional impact, particularly in the closing moments of the movie.
Preparing the music for the portion of the film presented a particular challenge in that the music needed to be effectively reverent in tone while still being quiet and simple enough so as not to intrude on the private reflections of each viewer. It occurred to me that the music could be vocal, at least to the extent that it featured a choral texture but without relying on a written text that might present a distraction for the audience.
In writing the music, the fallen heroes shown in the film were constantly in my mind and it is to the memory of the real-life heroes portrayed so convincingly in the film that I have the privilege of dedicating this music.”
RAIDERS MARCH from INDIANA JONES AND RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK
Work composed: 1981
Film release: June 12, 1981
Instrumentation: three flutes (one doubling on piccolo), three oboes, three clarinets (one doubling on bass clarinet), three bassoons (one doubling on contrabassoon), four horns, four trumpets, four trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, harp, piano, and strings
Estimated duration: 5:20
Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark is a film directed again by Steven Spielberg based on a story by George Lucas. It takes place in 1936 before the Second World War. The opening scene depicts the hero, Indiana Jones, discovering an ancient golden artifact in a lost Peruvian cave. Jones is caught and almost killed by a rival archeologist and his indigenous helpers but narrowly escapes through the jungle. It is during this escape scene that we hear the initial statement of the Raiders March. It sets the character and mood for every future adventure in which the hero becomes involved. Williams said that the music required of him was meant to be excessive and theatrical!
In John Williams' notes from the score, he states:
"I created the march as an ‘adventure’ theme to be associated with Indiana Jones, the colorful hero of the film, played so brilliantly by actor Harrison Ford.
The success of this wonderful movie led to two sequels: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. These films forged a trilogy which became one of the most successful action-film series in cinema history and we used the march as the central musical theme for all three episodes. The music was introduced in the beginning of the first film when Indiana Jones made his initial escape from the pursuing villains and it was subsequently used as the musical accompaniment for all of his daring exploits."
ESCAPADES FOR ALTO SAX AND ORCHESTRA from CATCH ME IF YOU CAN
I. Closing In
II. Reflections
III. Joy Ride
Work composed: 2002
Film release: December 18, 2002
Instrumentation: solo saxophone, solo vibraphone, solo double bass, three flutes (one doubling on piccolo), three oboes, three clarinets (one doubling on bass clarinet), three bassoons (one doubling on contrabassoon), four horns, four trumpets, four trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, harp, piano, and strings
Estimated duration: 16:00
The 2002 film, starring Leonard DiCaprio and Tom Hanks was directed by Steven Spielberg and was based on an "autobiography" by writer Frank Abagnale. The story tells of a young adventurer/scoundrel in the 1960s who claims to be an airplane pilot, doctor, and prosecutor, bilking millions of dollars in various cons. DiCaprio plays the con man. Tom Hanks plays the FBI agent in search of DiCaprio and the movie is a mad race between the hunter and hunted with DiCaprio seemingly always one step ahead of Hanks.
As Williams writes: "The film is set in the now nostalgically tinged 1960s, and so it seemed to me that I might evoke the atmosphere of that time by writing a sort of impressionistic memoir of the Progressive Jazz movement that was then so popular. The alto saxophone seemed the ideal vehicle for this expression and the three movements of this are the result.
In "Closing In", we have music that relates to the often humorous sleuthing which took place in the story, followed by "Reflection," which refers to the fragile relationships in Abagnale's broken family. Finally, in "Joy Ride," we have the music that accompanied Frank's wild flights of fantasy that took him all around the world before the law finally reigned him in."
The reader needs to remember that John, or Johnny Williams, as he was known in the ‘50s and ‘60s when he was a jazz pianist, was well versed in the Progressive Jazz movement, with such jazz giants as Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Stan Kenton, Dizzy Gillespie, and others. It is possible that the movie score held a sense of nostalgia for Williams, as well as the audiences that saw this rare gem of a film! The score features a virtuoso alto saxophone part as well as vibraphone and string bass parts.
MAIN TITLE, STAR WARS SUITE
Work composed: 1977
Film release: May 25, 1977
Instrumentation: three flutes (one doubling on piccolo), three oboes, three clarinets (one doubling on bass clarinet), three bassoons (one doubling on contrabassoon), four horns, four trumpets, four trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, harp, piano, and strings
Estimated duration: 6:15
In George Lucas's first film of the series, he hired John Williams first as a music consultant as Lucas wanted to use previously composed music. This was Lucas's way of relating the film to music and films from the 1940s. Williams was to write a few pieces to bridge scenes but eventually, Williams was able to convince Lucas that to unify the movie, a complete score would be necessary. That's not to say that the older film scores did not influence Williams, they did. The Title credits or Main Title music is greatly influenced by Erich Korngold's music to the 1942 movie Kings Row. The music to the Main Title was meant not only to introduce the film but also as music for the character Luke Skywalker.
John Williams writes that "I have always felt privileged to have had the opportunity to compose music for these landmark films, and the ongoing interest in the films and their music has continued to be one of my greatest joys."