John Williams’ annual visit to the Hollywood Bowl will take place this year on Friday, August 31 and Saturday, September 1. Violinist Gil Shaham will join him and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra in a program featuring “some of Williams’ biggest and best loved movie hits”. More details soon at the Hollywood Bowl website.
Williams Surpasses Alfred Newman’s Record
Film music history was made as John Williams surpassed Alfred Newman’s all-time music-nominations record when the 84th annual Oscar nominations were announced today by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. – Full article at The Film Music Society
2012 ACADEMY AWARDS: JOHN WILLIAMS NOMINATED FOR ‘WAR HORSE’ AND ‘TINTIN’!
John Williams’ War Horse and The Adventures of Tintin have been nominated for the 84th Academy Awards in the Original Score category, along with Ludovic Bource’s The Artist, Howard Shore’s Hugo and Alberto Iglesias’ Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. These are Mr. Williams’ 46th and 47th nominations for the Academy Awards. Congratulations, Maestro!
FULL LIST OF NOMINEES:
Continue reading ‘2012 ACADEMY AWARDS: JOHN WILLIAMS NOMINATED FOR ‘WAR HORSE’ AND ‘TINTIN’!’ »
Sony to Release ‘Happy Birthday Variations’ on New Williams Compilation (Track List Updated)
On February 28, Sony Classical will release the compilation album John Williams: A Celebration! An 80th Birthday Tribute (not to be confused with Decca’s compilation to be released on the same month), which includes the premiere release of Variations on Happy Birthday. Here’s the track list of the CD (not yet available on Amazon’s page):
NBC Debuts Updated Versions of Williams’ Themes (Video Now Available)
NBC’s “The Today Show” and “Meet the Press” debuted updated versions of their respective opening themes on Monday, January 16. According to a recent article at the Wall Street Journal, last year the network hired Williams to “freshen up” the two compositions, which he originally wrote in 1985 as part of a TV news music package entitled “The Mission”.
You can listen to the updated version of The Today Show opener below.
Williams Already Working on ‘Lincoln’
According to his personal assistant, John Williams “has just commenced composing a major new film score (Lincoln), which will keep him fully occupied for the next 6 months.” Williams said in a recent interview published in the LA Times that “he has begun consulting with a musicologist about Lincoln, and plans to rely on the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for the score, to evoke the sounds of the 16th president’s home state of Illinois”.
Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln wrapped production last month, and is expected to be released in December 2012.
‘War Horse’ Score Nominated for the BAFTAs
John Williams’ score for War Horse has been nominated for the 2012 Orange British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) in the Best Original Music category. Also nominated are The Artist (Ludovic Bource), The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo (Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross), Hugo (Howard Shore) and Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy (Alberto Iglesias). The winners will be announced on February 12 at London’s Royal Opera House. - Full list of nominees
Review: ‘Tintin’ and ‘War Horse’ Concert Premiere
January 15, 2012, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles
The Young Musicians Foundation’s Debut Orchestra Conducted by Richard Kaufman, Teddy Abrams, Michael Tilson Thomas, Joey Newman and JOHN WILLIAMS
“57th Anniversary Gala Concert and Dinner”
Continue reading ‘Review: ‘Tintin’ and ‘War Horse’ Concert Premiere’ »
Steven Spielberg: ‘John Williams makes me look good’
“John is the most important collaborator I’ve ever had in my career. He makes me look good, he makes my films look better. I get a lot of credit that should be going to John. But I’ve kept the people who have been in my career who I feel are my family.” - Full article at Digital Spy
Decca Re-releases Williams/Boston Pops Compilation
“Released to mark the 80th birthday of John Williams, the much-lauded American composer, conductor and pianist. This two CD compilation presents almost 2 ½ hours of memorable tunes in magnificent arrangements performed with tremendous verve and panache by John Williams & the Boston Pops Orchestra.” - John Williams & The Boston Pops Orchestra: A Celebration
The CD is a straight reissue of the John Williams/Boston Pops compilation Encore.
LA Times Interviews Williams and Spielberg
“At the time of this interview, Williams was polishing a quartet for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, which will celebrate his birthday this year with performances of his music by artists including cellist Yo-Yo Ma and opera singer Jessye Norman; he had just finished updating themes for the Today show and Meet the Press; in a few months, he’ll begin composing for Spielberg’s next film, Lincoln.” - ‘John Williams and Steven Spielberg Mark 40 years of Collaboration’ (Los Angeles Times)
‘Tintin’ Oscar Promo Includes Unreleased Music (Confirmed)
JWFan has confirmed that the official ‘For Your Consideration’ promotional release of The Adventures of Tintin contains a total of 8 minutes of music not included in the original soundtrack album. A complete breakdown of all the music on the promo CD can be found below:
THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN – ‘For Your Consideration’ Promotional CD
Track-by-track breakdown
by Jason LeBlanc
Continue reading ‘‘Tintin’ Oscar Promo Includes Unreleased Music (Confirmed)’ »
‘War Horse’ and ‘Tintin’ World Premiere Performances – Press Release
John Williams Debuts Movie Score Selections from The Adventures of Tintin and War Horse at Young Musicians Foundation Gala Concert
Jan 04, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Young Musicians Foundation:
WHAT: Famed composer John Williams has selected the Young Musicians Foundation’s Annual Gala Concert for the orchestral premiere of pieces from his recent film scores for: The Adventures of Tintin and War Horse, both directed by Steven Spielberg and opening in theaters this Christmas. This performance by YMF’s Debut Orchestra will be the first time these film score selections have been played outside of the recording studio!
Continue reading ‘‘War Horse’ and ‘Tintin’ World Premiere Performances – Press Release’ »
Sony Classical to Reissue ‘The Phantom Menace’ Soundtrack (UPDATED)
JWFan sources have revealed that Sony Classical will reissue the original soundtrack of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace coinciding with next month’s 3D re-release of the film. Our sources have confirmed that the album is a straight reissue of the original 74-minute CD, featuring the poster for the 3D version as the new cover (click to enlarge). UPDATE: The new release will include “Duel of the Fates” (Dialogue Version) as a bonus track
Continue reading ‘Sony Classical to Reissue ‘The Phantom Menace’ Soundtrack (UPDATED)’ »
‘War Horse’ Album: Chronological Order and Unreleased Music
By Jason LeBlanc
The album is in chronological order with 2 exceptions:
06 Plowing should go before 05 Seeding, and Horse Vs Car (something that should have been obvious when the track list first leaked – can’t seed a field until you have plowed it!) and 13 No Man’s Land, the dissonant first half takes place after the action-based second half.
As far as unreleased music goes, early reports that the film was wall-to-wall score were just plain completely wrong. The OST is a VERY good summation of the score as a whole. In addition to the 65 minutes there, there were about 5, maybe 6 short cues in the film that aren’t on the OST, that total maybe 8-10 minutes at the most.
Continue reading ‘‘War Horse’ Album: Chronological Order and Unreleased Music’ »
‘Steven Spielberg and John Williams’s Top 5 Movie Score Collaborations’
“Fish and chips. Chalk and cheese. Apples and oranges. Spielberg and Williams. When it comes to natural pairings nobody gets close to Steven Spielberg and John Williams when it comes to creating memorable movie scores. Their exclusive partnership stretches all the way back to 1974′s The Sugarland Express, and War Horse marks the 25th time Williams has scored a movie for Spielberg.” – Full article at Digital Spy
List of ‘War Horse’ and ‘Tintin’ Score Nominations (Updated Jan. 24)
What follows is a list of awards for which War Horse and The Adventures of Tintin have been nominated in the Best Score or Best Music category:
Continue reading ‘List of ‘War Horse’ and ‘Tintin’ Score Nominations (Updated Jan. 24)’ »
New Photos from Williams’ ‘Over the Rainbow’ Recording
New photos from John Williams’ recording of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” are available at ScoringSessions.com. As reported last Summer, Williams recorded a new version of the song for the upcoming album ‘They Are Why We Sing’, a compilation of themes about peace produced by the HEARTBeats Foundation (See also the official photo gallery and a video of the recording session).
John Williams Photo & Audio Gallery on CBSNews.com
From CBSNews.com:
The composer of Jaws, Star Wars and Schindler’s List debuts two new film scores this week: The Adventures of Tintin and War Horse; Check out our photo gallery with audio clips of his greatest works”
‘The Last Movie Maestro’ (WSJ Article & Video)
“For decades, John Williams has been the go-to composer for swelling orchestral compositions. Now, younger, cheaper and edgier musicians are changing the score.” – FULL ARTICLE AT THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
“John Williams, composer of the iconic movie scores for Indiana Jones, Jaws, Star Wars and Superman has two new films, both directed by Steven Spielberg, opening this month. But the business of making movie scores has begun to change dramatically around him. John Jurgensen has details on Lunch Break.” (Watch video below)
