John Williams

More than half a century has passed since John Williams' career began. The merits he earned along the way made him the most successful American film composer. His art, it is said, is perfected. But not only in cinemas, he is also one of the greats in concert halls. He served as music director of the Boston Pops Orchestra, a particularly esteemed musical institution in the country, and is now its Conductor Laureate. He also collaborates with leading international orchestras, such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The many prestigious awards he has received are almost too numerous to list, including the National Medal of Arts, the Kennedy Center Honors, and the Olympic Order, as well as multiple Oscars, Grammys, Emmys, and Golden Globes. Exclusive interviews with John Williams Watch on STAGE+ In short: John Williams is a man of superlatives. He composed music for more than 100 films – films everyone knows. His 45-year artistic partnership with Steven Spielberg alone produced a multitude of celebrated Hollywood productions: “Schindler's List,” “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,” “Jaws,” “Jurassic Park,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” the “Indiana Jones” films, “Saving Private Ryan,” “Amistad,” “Munich,” “Hook,” “Catch Me If You Can,” “Minority Report,” “A.I. Artificial Intelligence,” “Empire of the Sun,” “The Adventures of Tintin,” “War Horse,” “The BFG,” and “Lincoln.” Their most recent project, “The Post,” was released in December 2017. Williams composed the music for all the “Star Wars” films, the first three “Harry Potter” films, and for “Superman,” “JFK,” “Born on the Fourth of July,” “Memoirs of a Geisha,” “Far and Away,” “The Reivers,” “Home Alone,” “Nixon,” “The Patriot,” “Angela's Ashes,” “Seven Years in Tibet,” “The Witches of Eastwick,” “Rosewood,” “Sleepers,” “Sabrina,” “Presumed Innocent,” “The Cowboys,” “The Reivers,” and “Goodbye, Mr. Chips.” The legends among directors chose his work, be it Alfred Hitchcock, William Wyler, or Robert Altman, but also classical stars. In 1971, Williams adapted the music of “Fiddler on the Roof” for the film version of the musical and composed new violin cadenzas for the famous virtuoso Isaac Stern. As a pianist and conductor, he made recordings with Itzhak Perlman, Joshua Bell, and Jessye Norman, among others. It is no surprise that he also received the most important honors: Williams has won five Oscars and received 52 Oscar nominations – making him the most nominated living artist and the second most nominated in the history of the Oscars overall. His most recent nomination was for the film “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.” He also received seven British Academy Awards (BAFTA), 25 Grammys, four Golden Globes, five Emmys, and numerous gold and platinum records. John Williams grew up in New York and moved with his family to Los Angeles in 1948, where he studied composition with Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco. After serving in the Air Force, he returned to New York and studied piano at the Juilliard School of Music with Rosina Lhevinne. At the same time, he worked as a jazz pianist in the clubs of the metropolis. Back in Los Angeles, his career in the film industry began, as did his collaboration with outstanding composers such as Bernard Herrmann, Alfred Newman, and Franz Waxman. Williams wrote the music for more than 200 television films in the groundbreaking early anthology series “Alcoa Theatre,” “Kraft Television Theatre,” “Chrysler Theatre,” and “Playhouse 90.” Later, he also composed the well-known theme for “NBC Nightly News” (“The Mission”), the theme for the NBC program “Meet the Press” (the longest-running series in television history), and a new theme for the high-profile PBS series “Great Performances.” In addition to his work for film and television, John Williams has composed many works for the concert hall, including two symphonies and concertos for flute, violin, clarinet, viola, oboe, and tuba. His Cello Concerto was commissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra and premiered by Yo-Yo Ma in Tanglewood in 1994. Williams has written commissioned works for leading orchestras, including a Bassoon Concerto titled “The Five Sacred Trees” for the New York Philharmonic, a Trumpet Concerto for the Cleveland Orchestra, and a Horn Concerto for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. In 1998, the Boston Symphony Orchestra premiered “Seven for Luck” in Tanglewood, a seven-part song cycle for soprano and orchestra set to texts by Rita Dove (1993–95 Poet Laureate of the United States), and at the beginning of the 2009/10 season, Williams’ new concerto for harp and orchestra titled “On Willows and Birches” with James Levine conducting. In January 1980, John Williams was appointed the 19th music director of the Boston Pops Orchestra, succeeding the legendary Arthur Fiedler. When he retired in December 1993 after 14 highly successful seasons, he became the orchestra's Conductor Laureate. He is also Artist-in-Residence at Tanglewood. As an unmistakably American artist, John Williams has composed music for significant cultural events and commemorations in his country. “Liberty Fanfare” was created for the rededication of the Statue of Liberty in 1986. “American Journey,” written to celebrate the new millennium and to accompany Steven Spielberg's retrospective film “The Unfinished Journey,” premiered on New Year's Eve 1999 as part of the “America's Millennium” concert in Washington, D.C. The orchestral work “Soundings” was performed at the grand opening of the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. For the world of sports, he has contributed musical themes to the 1984, 1988, and 1996 Summer Olympics, the 2002 Winter Olympics, and the 1987 Special Olympics Summer Games. In 2006, he composed the theme for the presentation of NFL Football on NBC. John Williams holds honorary doctorates from 22 American universities, including Harvard University, The Juilliard School, Boston College, Northeastern University, Tufts University, Boston University, the New England Conservatory of Music, the University of Massachusetts in Boston, The Eastman School of Music, the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and the University of Southern California. In 2009, he received the National Medal of Arts, the highest award given to artists by the U.S. government. In 2016, he was awarded the 44th AFI Life Achievement Award – the first composer ever to receive it. In 2003, he received the Olympic Order, the highest award of the IOC, for his contributions to the Olympic movement. He was Grand Marshal of the Rose Parade in Pasadena in 2004 and received the Kennedy Center Honors in December of the same year. In 2009, he was inducted into the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, and in January of that same year, he composed and arranged “Air and Simple Gifts” for the celebrations of President Barack Obama's first inauguration. In 2018, he received the Trustees Award from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. January 2020