Jump to content

Is John Williams the John Williams of his time?


Oomoog the Ecstatic

Recommended Posts

I find it quite interesting that after beeing a very successful film composer over the last five decades that it took so long that John Williams seems to get within the last ten years the attention as musical artist and composer that he deserves even though when he is getting now honors, medals, prizes people keep mentioning not his most recent works, but his successes from the past. Weird in a way.

But somehow that's how feuilleton works. When you open the arts section in the newspaper about 50% of the articles is about paying tribute to artists that just died, and often it is the first time they are mentioned in the paper.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

56 minutes ago, GerateWohl said:

I find it quite interesting that after beeing a very successful film composer over the last five decades that it took so long that John Williams seems to get within the last ten years the attention as musical artist and composer that he deserves even though when he is getting now honors, medals, prizes people keep mentioning not his most recent works, but his successes from the past. Weird in a way.

 

Williams was already a legend when I became a fan in the early 90s. So it's not some new phenomenon. But obviously, new forms of media have increased his exposure.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

35 minutes ago, Thor said:

 

Williams was already a legend when I became a fan in the early 90s. So it's not some new phenomenon. But obviously, new forms of media have increased his exposure.

I mean, he probably became a superstar with the star Wars soundtrack. But being a legend as a film composer or being an acknowledged artist also by critics and the classical music purists are still two different cups of tea.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

While the imagery of the films themselves over time becomes more and more just a memory of quaint entertainment, whenever I hear the music from the 1970s and 1980s, it is so apparent to me that Williams was the titular "A New Hope".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Oomoog the Ecstatic said:

 

So who's the John Williams of his time? New thread maybe?

 

Korngold? North? Herrmann? Rósza? There's a lot of candidates for the post of John Williams of John Willams' formative years.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, Steve said:

 I think that is more important than critics writing good reviews about his works.

Associated Press to critic: we are going to need a negative review of John Williams.

Critic to AP: then you are going to need a better critic than me.
AP to critic: I know, but they are all dead.  

 

Happy Thanksgiving.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, Steve said:

What I find interesting is that Johnny is respected more among classical musicians/conductors than among classical music critics. Some of the most famous soloists and conductors have performed his music and have appreciated it. I think that is more important than critics writing good reviews about his works.


This is 100% true and it shows how detached these ‘critics’ are from reality.

 

And they’re part of the reason that we have difficulty filling the concert hall while the younger generation of musicians feel like they can’t do anything outside of the box because they’ve always been told what’s right and what’s not. Until you get very famous, so I’m happy for all the classical superstars that have played JW’s work.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Guidelines.