John Williams

[Stempel]

[Stempel]

 

LOS ANGELES—At 81 years old, legendary composer John Williams is busier than ever, as he scores JJ Abrams’ “Star Wars: Episode VII” and is raring to work on Steven Spielberg’s “Indiana Jones 5.” John quipped that he expects to be working until he’s 100 and beyond. The Oscar and Golden Globe awardee’s credit list is staggering as it stands: all six “Star Wars” films, the first three “Harry Potter” films, the “Indiana Jones” films, “E.T., The Extra-Terrestrial,” “Jaws,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and “Schindler’s List,” just to mention a few.

The man, whose career spans six decades, is responsible for some of the most memorable movie-music passages. Most of that hummable cinematic music is from his 40-year collaboration with Steven.

“I met Steven when he was very young, over 40 years ago, when he asked me to do the music for his first feature film, ‘Sugarland Express,’” said John in a recent interview.

“I’m quite a bit older than he,” John said of Steven, his frequent artistic partner. “It’s been, for whatever reason, always a wonderful relationship. Since he is younger than I am, I will try to keep up with him, do the music for ‘Indiana Jones 5.’ I will try to keep up with the other gentlemen, including JJ Abrams, who’s doing ‘Star Wars VII,’ and we will see how long my eyesight will hold out. —That’s the present state of things.”

“I have a little theory about Steven Spielberg, whose father, Arnold, is a most wonderful man,” said the Boston Pops’ Laureate Conductor. “Arnold is well into his 90s. He was always working. I think every man and woman thinks, if your father was working at 90, that’s also what you will do. So, I think Steven expects to be directing 25 years from now—and he fully expects me to be with him. I will be over 100 years old then, so I will do my best.”

Themes

John latest work is Brian Percival’s adaptation of Markus Zusak’s novel, “The Book Thief,” a World War II drama where music is a critical element in establishing the story’s themes and characters. Brian, a longtime fan of John’s, said in the film’s production notes, “John saw this film as a departure from some of the work he has done in the past, including the huge, fanfare scores for which he is best-known. His score for ‘The Book Thief’ is a very emotional one.”

 

When we asked him for at least three film scores that he’d like to be remembered for, one of John’s picks was a surprise.

“I always remember certain passages in ‘Close Encounters…’ that I particularly enjoy playing with orchestras, away from film, so that may be indicative of something.”

He added, “And several movements of ‘Star Wars’ I also continue to have interest in as a performer. I did a television version of ‘Jane Eyre’ years ago (1970), directed by Delbert Mann. I wrote that new score in London many years ago. I have continued to enjoy revisiting that. So, in my case, that’s been a good measure of what I like that I have done in the past. If I don’t pick it out of the library and don’t want to perform it, it means that I don’t particularly want to return to it.”

Asked how he goes about creating those memorable scores, John, who’s also the artist-in-residence at Tanglewood, replied, “I used to smoke a cigar, but I don’t anymore. Of course, a composer needs to be alone, and he needs to be in a quiet place. And I have a magnificent Steinway that’s been part of my life for so many years.

“The process begins with me writing a passage and rejecting it, writing another passage and liking some part of it and trying to keep that. It becomes a process in my mind, like sculpting, you keep cutting on something and, eventually, it reveals itself to you. The most difficult part of scoring films isn’t actually doing the scenes but creating the material for the film and its themes. Even if they’re a simple tune like ‘Indiana Jones,’ I find those very hard to uncover!

“Sometimes, it takes weeks of changing things and moving them around, and a few simple notes, to eventually guide it into a state of inevitability, where the ear doesn’t have any argument any longer about the path we’ve taken melodically.”

Still useful

Not surprisingly, John still composes the traditional way. “I am slow,” he stressed. “I don’t have a computer. I only have paper and a pencil, very antiquated tools, but still useful. So, I write every note. Therefore, I can’t quite keep the schedules like my younger colleagues would be able to do who use synthesizers—because if they’re going to write a 32-note scale this way, they can play it on their keyboard, and it’s done! I have to write 32 notes and the harmonization we need, as well.”

John has three children with his first wife, actress Barbara Ruick, who died in 1974. He remarried in 1980 to Samantha Winslow. “My children are grown,” he said. With a grin, he quipped, “They don’t have to put up with it (his music-playing and composing) any longer. My wife is brilliant. She’s not very interested in music. I think it’s a good relationship. She doesn’t go to concerts, so I go alone or with my daughter. It’s very interesting.”

On whether he listens to popular music like rock, country or rap, John answered, “No, I don’t—but, I probably should. There’s a lot to listen to in music. I haven’t even heard all of the Haydn symphonies yet—and time is limited. You probably know the famous quotation of Rachmaninoff who said, ‘Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music.’”

 

Quelle: http://entertainment.inquirer.net/121095/john-williams-looks-forward-to-scoring-new-star-wars-indiana-jones

Bearbeitet 16. November 2013 von Souchak

[Souchak]

 

and we will see how long my eyesight will hold out.

 

Oh.

[Stempel]

Heißt das er verliert vielleicht demnächst sein Augenlicht? Das wäre natürlich bitter.

[Stempel]

http://www.clevelandorchestra.com/event-detail/2013-Dec-18-Celebrity.aspx

Home Alone mit Live-Music, gespielt vom berühmten Cleveland Orchestra.

[Gast]

Heißt das er verliert vielleicht demnächst sein Augenlicht? Das wäre natürlich bitter.

 

Ich würde da nicht gleich den Worst Case annehmen.

Insgesamt aber ein schöner Bericht, der zeigt, dass er offensichtlich noch motiviert wie Bolle ist. Schön zu lesen. 

[Souchak]

Heißt das er verliert vielleicht demnächst sein Augenlicht? Das wäre natürlich bitter.

 

Vielleicht ist das ja auch nur Senioren-Ironie, so als ob Du irgendwo erklären würdest: "Ich steh auch in 20 Jahren noch auf der Bühne, wenn das künstliche Hüftgelenk dann mitmacht."

 

Klingt aber schon etwas ... besorgniserregend.

[Stempel]

Wollen wir hoffen das es nur Ironie war.

[sami]

Das 81-jährige Männer mit schwindender Sehkraft zu kämpfen haben, finde ich nicht besorgniserregend als solches. Die Frage ist eher, ob lange Arbeitstage und nervenraubende Zeitpläne mit sowas problemfrei vereinbar sind.

[Stempel]

Wirklich?

http://music.cbc.ca/#/blogs/2012/2/John-Williams-five-things-you-probably-dont-know-about-the-great-film-composer

[Stempel]

Gerade diese Suite entdeckt.

Wer immer noch nicht dieses frühe Meisterwerk kennt, hat hier nun die Gelegenheit sich mal schnell einen Überblick zu verschaffen.

Es lohnt sich!

 

[JuergenH]

Lukas Kendall im FSM-Forum über ein Williams Früüüühhh-Werk:

 

The first ever John Williams score (c. 1954)!

 

Longtime FSM reader and friend Thomas Uschtrin sent me a link to John Williams's first film project, a 21-travel travel documentary "You Are Welcome," done when J.W. 22, in the army and stationed in Canada. Watch it if you dare!

http://fpdownload.adobe.com/strobe/FlashMediaPlayback.swf?src=http://collections.mun.ca/videos/extension/image/2603.mp4

Lukas

 

Quelle: http://filmscoremonthly.com/board/posts.cfm?threadID=100763&forumID=1&archive=0

[Stempel]

Neues Buch über den Maestro ab Juni:

http://www.amazon.com/John-Williamss-Film-Music-Classical/dp/0299297349/ref=sr_1_55?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1387855738&sr=1-55

[BVBFan]

Neues Buch über den Maestro ab Juni:

http://www.amazon.com/John-Williamss-Film-Music-Classical/dp/0299297349/ref=sr_1_55?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1387855738&sr=1-55

Ist gekauft

[sami]

Es mag am Subjekt selber liegen, aber irgendwie klingt die Beschreibung so spannend wie eine Kurzbio im Promomaterial von Sony Classical. Man kann über Williams natürlich keine tell-it-all-Skandalbio schreiben, aber wenn man den allseits bekannten key facts keine bedeutenden biografischen Erkenntnisse hinzufügen kann, die einem über Allgemeinplätze hinausgehenden Erkenntnisgewinn dienlich wären, reicht ein Forenbeitrag bei JWfan.com eigentlich auch. 

[Stempel]

Vielleicht lesen aber hier nicht alle die Beiträge auf JWfan.

[sami]

Das war auch eher auf den Autor bezogen.

[Stempel]

Achso. :-)

Na warten wir ab was es wirklich zum Inhalt hat.

[Sebastian Schwittay]

Williams-Bücher haben wir doch jetzt ein paar, da wäre mir was zu einem anderen Komponisten, dessen Werk wissenschaftlich weniger gut erschlossen ist, lieber. 

[Stempel]

Ganz besondere Sammlerstücke aus dem Archiv des JoAnn Kane Music Service!

 

 

[BVBFan]

Ganz besondere Sammlerstücke aus dem Archiv des JoAnn Kane Music Service!

 

 

Warst du dort?

[horner1980]

Warst du dort?

 

Das Bild genau wie meins im Goldsmith Thread postete gerade JoAnne Kane Music Service auf Facebook

[BVBFan]

Achsooooooo...na dann....

[Soundtrack Composer]

Irgendwie doch ganz cool:

[Stempel]

Irgendwie doch ganz cool:

 

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