Marcus

Oh, David Ogden Stiers,most definitely! Interesting how so many of us immediately thought of him...Both men seem very polite, humble, scholarly,even professoral...I have never met Mr.Stiers, but I've met John Williams on a couple of occasions, and he is an incredibly modest, but very friendly man, just a true gentleman, almost too the point of seeming anachronistic... It was really wonderful to see such genuine humility in an artist of truly epic talent. John Williams is quietly impressive; wise and thoughtful, and always soft-spokenly eloquent, and I think David Ogden Stiers would be an absolutely marvellous choice!

Mr.Breathmask, I certainly agree that there are many composers who have written great scores, although I do detect a decline in Hollywood in terms of craftsmanship...One problem is the "MediaVentures"-tendency, which sometimes reduces the art of film scoring to mere sonic tapestry, which can be effective, and I'm certainly not one to disrespect Hans Zimmer and co., but the industry has changed, and so has its demands on composers, and subsequently the artform and the craft associated with being a film composer. But you are right, and, most importantly, the issue is to recognize the potency of film music, and the great contribution made by the many talented composers employed by the industry. By the way, whatever happened to Joel McNeely? Does anybody know? We all have our personal favorites as far as film scores go, and I never meant to imply that the greatest scores of the last 40 years were all penned by John Williams, but I do think one would be hard pressed to find anything less than musically excellent in his catalog.And among living composers, I can't think of anyone who would rival his mastery even in their most inspired moments, simply because their chops would likely not permit it. That is not to say that great, really great music cannot be written by other composers, even other living composers in Hollywood today. But compared to the Hollywood film music scene of the 40's through the 80's, todays scene, with the exception of John Williams' contributions, is generally lacking, from the perspective of compositional craft. Generally, not always... All best, Marcus

Greetings! What a fascinating thought, to have Williams' manuscript to study! I, too, have found what I believe must be mistakes and occasional forgetfulness on behalf of the publishers (or proof-readers) in the John Williams Signature Edition scores. Which is unfortunate,certainly, but also a little surprising: I learnt a while ago from my publisher that John Williams is reputed to be very careful with what he allows to be published, and, from what I understood, he even reads his own proofs! Which I hope isn't the case, as this is honestly the most desperately boring aspect of a composer's reality...Now, I would be very interested in studying Williams manuscripts, and also scores that aren't in the Signature series...And would gladly pay for this privelege. Is there anyway we could arrange this? Sincerely, Marcus

You Win!

Hi Stefancos! Ah, yes, I love the flute solo in that piece...And also the beautiful solo in the concert version of Leia's theme.The flute is one of Williams' favorite instruments, and it is a likely candidate for playful solos, as in "My Friend, The Brachiosaurus", or more elegiac pieces, whenever Williams assigns an instrument a solo...But I think that in "The Face of Pan", it is possible, especially considering Williams' love for mythology, that chose the flute for,well, the sake of being "archaically" truthful, too capture something of the mystery and magic of the mythological Pan, which we glimpse behind J.M. Barrie's eternally youthful creation, and, I think, also in "Hook", as we see the reflection of the young Peter Pan in the water...But again, it could easily be a purely musical choice, and certainly a very happy one. All best, Marcus

Greetings! Ah, it is so hard to decide...They are both marvellous themes, but vastly different in terms of style and purpose. I am tempted to chicken out and say that Luke's theme is the best Luke's theme there ever was, and a perfect musical emblem for the Star Wars saga, whereas the Force theme is the ideal musical depiction of the noble Jedi. I especially love how it seems to have an air of tremendous longing and nostalgia in episode 4, where it represents a lost ideal, a bygone era, a dignified past... But I will have to vote for the Force theme... Luke's theme is what I want to hear for a Star Wars overture. The Force theme is what I want to hear when I close my eyes for the very last time...

Greetings! I'm sure this could be the result of temp-tracking, and I know John Williams thinks highly of his older colleague, but I rather think this is a result of tapping into similar muso-mythological terrain, or sonic archetypes...The arpeggiated gentle I-VI progression is certainly iconic, and the silvan flute solo is equally established icon of Pan, albeit the Pan of mythology... Best, Marcus

Greetings everyone! The percussion instrument that produces the moaning glissando-like sound in "Parade of the Ewoks" (by the way, isn't this a miraculously charming piece?) is indeed a South American instrument, unfortunately I forget its name as I'm typing this (forgive me), but similar sounds can be produced by bongos and congas, and other "non-pitched" percussion instruments where you can adjust pitch while you play...A wooden instrument will resemble the "Parade of the Ewoks" sound more closely than ,say, timpani, as we're after a fairly "dry" sounding instrument that won't really resonate beyond the glissando or moan. Bass- recorders can also produce sounds that could resemble a low moan, but I think a clean and even gliss on a bass-recorder is relatively hard to perform, although I'm sure with the right performer, you can negotiate anything, even on a bass-recorder. Best, Marcus

Greetings everyone! First of all, let me just tell you how delightful it is to see that so many share the enthusiasm for John Williams' music, and enthusiasm I myself was smitten with many years ago! And I think it is truly wonderful that we all recognize the medium of film music, arguably the most culturally relevant form of symphonic music today. It is therefore all the more welcome when composers such as Maestro Williams contribute such outstanding music in its own right. Sadly, since the loss of Jerry Goldsmith over a year and a half ago, there aren't too many really great musicians left in Hollywood...Thankfully, we have the great privelege and pleasure of being sonically graced and adorned by Williams, who is perhaps the greatest talent ever to write for film. Yes, even though I absolutely love and adore the scores of such greats as Korngold, Rozsa, Herrmann and North, not to mention Goldsmith, I think Williams has grown to become simply one of the deepest and most sincere musical craftsmen known to me. I would rather like to compare him with Haydn, the historical figure whose life in music somehow resembles Williams' the most, as they both spent a lifetime serving an industry, and somehow through that servitude attained a level of mastery that is sublime and awesome. Please forgive me for making this a rather lengthy entry, but as this is my first post, I would like it to be a proper introduction. Let me quickly state that I am a composer, and one who has the great good fortune to enjoy a professional career. Now on to this thread, and what prompts my jwfan-debut: I really have to say that, from a purely musical point of view, Patrick Doyle (who is a fine film composer), or any other living composer known to me, for that matter, really will not stand comparison to any effort of Williams', as Doyle simply lacks the skill and depth of a composer of Williams' stature. I think the reality is, since Williams reached what we must deem his musical adulthood, which I guess in film would be ca. mid to late 1960's, and a little earlier, judging from his concert catalog, his work has far outshone most contributions made by his colleagues. Granted, we will all have certain personal favorites, but I don't think there is such a thing as a truly weak entry in his catalog, which is frankly quite astonishing, although I suppose this too stems from vast amounts of experience, the only thing which will render an artist a master. I realise there must be plenty of composers here, and would love to talk shop, and I guess the place to do it would be the composer's thread... I have studied and transcribed tons of Williams scores, and think I can humbly state that I have at this point a fairly thorough understanding of Williams' craft from a technical point of view, and would love to share my observations with anyone who'd be interested. Thank you for your attention, and hooray! for our mutual fascination with one of the greatest composers of all time! Sincerely, Marcus