Williams' Most Personal Pieces

[Muad'Dib 1,852]

As the title says, a lot of times people diss Williams' because they consider him too complicated (musically, so to speak) and not personal enough... But we're gonna prove those folks wrong! In your opinion, what piece/s of him are the most personal? The ones you hear and you can hear Williams very own soul.

For me, is this one:

[media=]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqxrMa7eUAU

When I hear this, I can actually hear our dear own John Williams speaking to me, telling me about his life, his beliefs, his music... There's something so gorgeous about this particular piece of music that just connects with me, and probably lots of other people. This particular piece represents everything he talks about when he refers to movie music, particularly the Golden Age of Hollywood, charged with so much innocence and a lot of nostalgia.

What about you, what do you think?

[Sandor 840]

John Williams' most personal pieces are his concert works, especially those dealing with trees and nature.

[King Mark 3,679]

The Whomping Willow?

[MrJosh 895]

I wonder if John Williams has to fast-forward LOTR when saurumon is chopping all the trees down.

[indy4 155]

Jane Eyre

[Hlao-roo 389]

Lapti Nek

[indy4 155]

Dex's Diner

[Admiral Holdo 16]

Training Montage (SpaceCamp)

[Thor 8,200]

John Williams' most personal pieces are his concert works, especially those dealing with trees and nature.

I think so too. Or the violin concerto, which was dedicated to his late wife Barbara Ruick.

[JoeinAR 1,953]

For Celie and Shug.

[crumbs 14,698]

Escape from the Basket, Alternate II.

[Incanus 5,787]

I do believe that Williams expresses always something personal on some level in his film work as well but his concert works, uninhibited by the constraints of the celluloid and programmatic connotations outside the composer's own associations to poetry or nature or a soloist, seem to often speak with a clearer voice when it comes to his personal feelings and ways of expressing himself.

[tannhauser 101]

I wonder if John Williams has to fast-forward LOTR when saurumon is chopping all the trees down.

I bet he would have loved writing music for the ents and Fangorn. In fact, if he had scored LOTR, the main theme for the trilogy would have probably been dubbed "Treebeard's Theme".

[Incanus 5,787]

I wonder if John Williams has to fast-forward LOTR when saurumon is chopping all the trees down.

I bet he would have loved writing music for the ents and Fangorn. In fact, if he had scored LOTR, the main theme for the trilogy would have probably been dubbed "Treebeard's Theme".

You can bet his music for the Ents would have sounded very similar to his bassoon concerto.

[TownerFan 5,097]

Music critic Richard Dyer said it more eloquently than any other could:

"Even when he's being a ventriloquist, as he sometimes has to be as a film composer, I don't think he's ever written a dishonest note. Like everybody else, some things worked out better than other things did. But I don't think it's a mechanical process for him. He can write music of heroic resolve because he feels heroic resolve. He's drawing on his own inner life and creating additional dimensions in the movies. And that's what makes the concert music work too."

[Not Mr. Big 4,729]

John Goldfarb Please Come Home.

[Incanus 5,787]

Music critic Richard Dyer said it more eloquently than any other could:

"Even when he's being a ventriloquist, as he sometimes has to be as a film composer, I don't think he's ever written a dishonest note. Like everybody else, some things worked out better than other things did. But I don't think it's a mechanical process for him. He can write music of heroic resolve because he feels heroic resolve. He's drawing on his own inner life and creating additional dimensions in the movies. And that's what makes the concert music work too."

Well said indeed.

[MrJosh 895]

I don't think Williams will show us his most personal "pieces" until he's had a few drinks in him....

[Incanus 5,787]

Teheheee, you said "pieces".

[MSM 126]

As the title says, a lot of times people diss Williams' because they consider him too complicated (musically, so to speak) and not personal enough... But we're gonna prove those folks wrong! In your opinion, what piece/s of him are the most personal? The ones you hear and you can hear Williams very own soul.

For me, is this one:

[media=]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqxrMa7eUAU

When I hear this, I can actually hear our dear own John Williams speaking to me, telling me about his life, his beliefs, his music... There's something so gorgeous about this particular piece of music that just connects with me, and probably lots of other people. This particular piece represents everything he talks about when he refers to movie music, particularly the Golden Age of Hollywood, charged with so much innocence and a lot of nostalgia.

What about you, what do you think?

You picked my favorite JW piece of all time

[JWfangirl1992 18]

As the title says, a lot of times people diss Williams' because they consider him too complicated (musically, so to speak) and not personal enough... But we're gonna prove those folks wrong! In your opinion, what piece/s of him are the most personal? The ones you hear and you can hear Williams very own soul.

For me, is this one:

[media=]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqxrMa7eUAU

When I hear this, I can actually hear our dear own John Williams speaking to me, telling me about his life, his beliefs, his music... There's something so gorgeous about this particular piece of music that just connects with me, and probably lots of other people. This particular piece represents everything he talks about when he refers to movie music, particularly the Golden Age of Hollywood, charged with so much innocence and a lot of nostalgia.

What about you, what do you think?

You picked my favorite JW piece of all time

Agreed, this piece is by far my favorite. It just brings such a sense of calm and also a bit of happiness of young naive love like in the movie.

I'm kind of surprised Schindler's List has not been mentioned, there is no way someone can write such a powerful and genuinely moving score without it meaning something to him.