David Story

Mando and Boba sound like a 60's Morricone aesthetic and orchestration over here, with Star Wars-Williams elements at more heroic moments. I think it's what Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni were hoping for since they approved a first draft. It works really well in this corner of the SWU. Excuse if others have recently pointed this out. The catchy sound design effects done with acoustic instruments is wonderful.

I loved the entire concert - brilliant performances from beginning to finale! First time I heard Montgomery, she's good. Fun, accessible, modern. I enjoyed the Concerto No. 2 on first listen. I agree the 2nd movement is a highlight, I also thought the orchestral effects and interplay in the 4th movement are a whole world to explore. It took a while for me to warm to the Concerto No.1, while this is one of William's strongest concerti, again on first listen. The Across The Stars encore is a new arrangement, a touch more dramatic. Quiet City is a much beloved work and this performance brought out the gentle grandeur. Firebird is genius from bar 1 and tonight's performance was exceptionally clear and evocative. A showpiece for a great orchestra. John Williams has worked with many of the greatest violinists of the past 6 decades. I hear more passion and virtuosity from Mutter today She's evolved into one of his historically important interpreters - and muses! Looking forward to seeing this live. A memorable premier.

Yes! It's nice to hear him speak about his love of modal transposition and reharmonization, now I hear his voice when I see the variations in the catalog With another 100+(!) minutes of score confirmed recorded we may find something from the prequels or TLJ. I'd love to hear his thoughts on Duel of the Fates, Battle of the Heroes or Anakin.

It's cool to transform a theme, and that really saved the Ren music for me. I remember JW saying that all the themes were recapped in TROS. Does anyone have a tally of how many are in the released score? (OST and FYC)

tchaikovsky Insightful essay that will also be true in 10 more years! Herrmann will be remembered by the Psycho torch. And because new composers are influenced by him. Sometimes artists can pass the torch Williams is extraordinary precisely because he is also popular in concert with all levels of ensembles. From student groups to community orchestras to major philharmonics. His practice of writing film cues that resemble concert music had a completely unintended side effect of making him the most performed living composer. The other composers about as gifted as John either don't write for hit films or don't do a lot of concertizing. So his career is unique for both the number of torch themes and the number of performances. Over time the concert performances will continue thanks to the appeal of characters like Superman, Harry Potter, Yoda, etc. And the quality of the music. Kids dig live to picture It's like if The Beatles had teamed up with Marvel, or Tchaikovsky with Shakespeare.

This is actually a unique achievement that deserves special recognition. A bit like the Ring cycle in music or Mount Rushmore in sculpture. It's not 9 separate films but one huge project that spans the decades.

@Alex The sheet music says “End Credits”, I believe. Indeed it does. It's the Main Theme first.

I feel them in 3 roughly equal groups: 1. ESB SW ROTS 2. ROTJ TPM TROS TFA 3. TLJ AOTC Basically the difference between **** and ***** I mean Williams doing Star Wars is in it's own class anyways. Anyone notice that currently TPM is both 4tn and 5th?

One of John Williams' great contributions to world culture is bringing live orchestral music back to movies. It was in danger of being replaced by electronics. The music is inspired and well-crafted so it works on almost any instrument ensemble. Loert shows that so well, I hope the sheet music is available some day

It's a real and distinctive motif onscreen. I hear the minor/#7 arp as part of the motif. And the 13th chords too. A very Sith sound! Thank you again for the amazingly accurate and useful Complete Catalogue !

True, with good reason. The Anthem theme is a straightforward development of the Emperor's theme. It's easiest to hear at the beginning because of the similar orchestration. If you're into notation you can see the intervallic structure is sequenced upwards. Appropriate for Evil itself, greater than one bad person. Nontechical English: There's a distinctive bit of the Emperor's theme that Williams is extending to make the Evil theme. It eventually becomes a fanfare for evil.

This is how music sounds in most films. I'm fond of it, but it's also my field and I'm used to it.

JW is among the most performed composers in the world, and the most performed living composer. If you count all concerts and not just the classical. Hundreds every year for decades. TROS will be amazing live-to-picture. That's where the growth is in orchestral concerts - live to picture and video game music. For concert suites we'll have to wait a few decades and see if a more complete suite becomes popular. Like the way The Nutcracker is played as a ballet, a suite, or as individual numbers. I understand trying to compare SW to LOTR or other films but live in concerts SW has so many more performances than any other film, TV, or game music. Aesthetically Star Wars is what they all are imitating if they're epic. And SW is the box office leader for a single-composer series. Looking at the 42 year perspective it's remarkable that an artist in their eighties can create thrilling, boisterous action music like Battle of the Resistance or Off The Waterfront. Consistency of excellence. Yet more dissonant and angular evolving with the times. Eg Approaching The Throne. This is a family film yet evokes dark evil! Over the years many people have pointed out that Star Wars is a series of individual films that interconnect. There's no source material like in Marvel or Sherlock Holmes. Yet the John Williams scores hold the whole thing together. Few films have so much transformative music. And over 9 films it's unique. I enjoy each on it's own merits and marvel at the global sweep of it's influence.

We're all lucky to be alive when this unique work of art is new. You can be a fan of this 20 hours+ duration opus and be secure there will be fans 100 years from now that will agree with you. Musicians, historians, and Disney will make sure of that. There's so much to like and too much for most to grasp as a whole. The 2019 FYC is a small excerpt of the whole and already has fans for some pieces and even themes. I hope most of us can enjoy the excitement of first hearing this new, exciting, beautiful crafted music. It will take years to figure out what it all means and discover the hidden gems. Personally I'm noticing the signature sounds that certain cues have. A sign that close listening will reveal more.

Excellent transcription and mockup! Indy appreciates your helping him find The Ark of the Covenant. In 20 years the folks replacing live musicians with mockups will themselves be replaced by AI composing tools in the hands of talented young businessmen. Only composers who use live players and cool programing will make a career as an artist

Sure thing. Maybe I should have said the old magic. When I said he changed with times I really meant it. Today's brilliance or 1990's is different from the 70s, as they should be Yes, this makes all the difference! Agreed. Few projects get this kind of attention. The concert versions are a chance to follow the musical lines a bit longer than the edit may allow

The magic is back! If you like film, the films are summed up and glorified. If you like music, it soars to heights and explores depths that culminate the neoromantic era. If you like performance this dazzles with live energy and charm. Dracula is probably the darkest thing he's done on a concert album. And the leggiero eloquence in Hedwig and Luke and Liea blooms into classic Williams. He really has changed with the times, but remembers the old wisdom.

John spent decades elevating fantasies with inspired themes that took their subjects seriously. Yet the films were not serious dramas and the music could not dwell in the realm of the thoughtful and profound for long. He can create that kind of art also, but the famous melodies are usually from lighter fare. The CD is 75% from fantasy/comedy, as you might expect of a hits compilation. Yet the Neoromantic virtuoso arrangements allow the composer to treat these magical themes a touch more seriously, give us a glimpse of where they might have gone in a different kind of story. I haven't heard the whole album, just enough to see what some have described as dark or melancholy is part of the vision. It's not time or distance in my view. John is showing the potential of these great themes in a way that just wasn't possible before. Along with sweet references to the original context

The Galaxy Edge music seems very Star Warsian - the rhythm, melody, harmony, and orchestration are all in the familiar style. A bit more 21st century than ANH. Yet that could be because he's portraying a theme park experience, and the simpler textures are better suited for families running around than enhancing on screen drama. The main theme is pretty catchy, especially the 8 note motif that recurs. John Williams probably spent a few days on this cue, it's not a character theme that has to be very specific. But there's lots of room for variations. Maybe the general lite adventure quality makes it reminiscent of other scores. I love the performance from the LSO, they're in fine form. Brilliant tone and ensemble play. At least that's what I hear

I've read that in 1977 there was a concert with music from Star Wars given in London, prior to the film's release. Is there any truth to that?

Thanks! HTTYD has a great melody with phrases, so is Assassin's Tango. The others I've heard are brilliant themes that repeat. A-B-C contrasting with A-A-A''. Or a succession of phrases that don't repeat, A-B-C-D-E-etc The main Star Wars melodies have 3 or 4 contrasting phrases that form a classic melody. There's also themes or motifs for secondary or less developed characters that are similar to what most composers today do. I think JP will do a great score for the Solo movie, now.

What's a good long-form theme by John Powell? Thanks!

Agreed! JW is the spirit of Star Wars and is probably the only A list composer who can write a Golden Age theme. All the firings are evidence of how tricky this universe is to navigate. I like JP scores a lot, but JP, Desplat or anyone else they might actually hire are probably going to write a more effective score with guidance from JW. There are artists who can create in the Hollywood Romantic idiom, but they aren't in style...

Yes, they all work in the film and they all have strong concert suites. And they all get better over time. I love TPM and TFA, somehow TLJ is a little more consistently enjoyable to me, for now. ROTS has more highlights, but TPM has the DNA of all the following films. TFA is at it's best in the FYC version, but that isn't as high quality sound. Best to love them all.

In this film, John Williams is free to score in his classic style. The details are back, and the high energy. The performances and recording are at the LSO/Anvil level. (Which I believe are timeless and transcendent.) The score is the best thing in The Last Jedi, a movie many, many people love. It can't be the worst by objective measures. The film may divide the audience but the music is unifying. I agree with Williams, the Star Wars scores are all part of one extended project. Meaning the individual scores are very tricky to judge without the passage of time and appreciating how they fit together. The glossary of themes is large enough that there's more than a dozen in The Last Jedi. That's plenty of material that he develops with brilliance in addition to scene specific inventions. Every Williams score has great moments, especially in SW, and elevate the film. In attempting to order them, I looked at consistency, imagination, storytelling, frequency of genius, and sonic quality. TLJ is in the 4-6 range out of 8. Pretty good, considering all the scores are assured a place in music and film history. They all reward repeat listening. And are exciting and inspiring! Each new score motivates me to listen to the whole series with fresh enthusiasm. What an accomplishment!