John Williams

John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932) is an American

composer, conductor, pianist and trombonist. In a career that has
John Williams
spanned nearly seven decades, he has composed some of the most
popular, recognizable, and critically acclaimed film scores in
cinematic history. Williams has won 25 Grammy Awards, seven
British Academy Film Awards, five Academy Awards, and four
Golden Globe Awards. With 52 Academy Award nominations, he
is the second most-nominated individual, after Walt Disney. His
compositions are considered the epitome of film music.[1][2] In
2005, the American Film Institute selected Williams's score to
1977's Star Wars as the greatest film score of all time. The Library
of Congress also entered the Star Wars soundtrack into the
National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, or
aesthetically significant".[3]

Williams has composed music for many critically acclaimed and

popular movies, including the Star Wars saga, Jaws, Close
Encounters of the Third Kind, Superman, E.T. the Extra- John Williams at Avery Fisher Hall
Terrestrial, the first two Home Alone films, the Indiana Jones
in 2007
films, the first two Jurassic Park films, Schindler's List, and the
first three Harry Potter films.[4] Williams has also composed Background information
numerous classical concertos and other works for orchestral Born February 8,
ensembles and solo instruments. He served as the Boston Pops' 1932
principal conductor from 1980 to 1993 and is its laureate Queens, New
conductor.[5] He has been associated with director Steven
York, U.S.
Spielberg since 1974, composing music for all but five of his
feature films, and George Lucas, with whom he has worked on Genres Film music ·
both of his main franchises. Television score
· Contemporary
Other works by Williams include theme music for the 1984 classical music
Summer Olympic Games, NBC Sunday Night Football, "The
Mission" theme used by NBC News and Seven News in Occupation(s) Composer ·
Australia, the television series Lost in Space and Land of the conductor ·
Giants, and the incidental music for the first season of Gilligan's musician
[6]
Island. Williams was inducted into the Hollywood Bowl's Hall Instruments Piano ·
of Fame in 2000, and received a Kennedy Center Honor in 2004. trombone
His AFI Life Achievement Award in 2016 was the first to be
awarded outside of the acting and directing fields. He has Years active 1952–present
composed the score for nine of the top 25 highest-grossing films at Associated acts Steven Spielberg
the U.S. box office (adjusted for inflation).[7] His work has · George Lucas ·
influenced other composers of film, popular, and contemporary Boston Pops
classical music;[8] Norwegian composer Marcus Paus argues that
Williams's "satisfying way of embodying dissonance and avant-garde techniques within a larger tonal
framework" makes him "one of the great composers of any century".[9]
Contents
Early life and family
Early career
Film and television scoring
Conducting, performing, and other classical works
Legacy
Personal life
Honors and legacy
Charting hits (U.S., Billboard)
Concert works
Concertos
Other orchestral works
Chamber works
Discography
See also
References
Further reading
External links

Early life and family

John Towner Williams was born on February 8, 1932, in Flushing, Queens, New York City, to Esther (née
Towner) and Johnny Williams,[10] a jazz drummer and percussionist who played with the Raymond Scott
Quintet. Williams said of his lineage: "My father was a Maine man—we were very close. My mother was
from Boston. My father's parents ran a department store in Bangor, Maine, and my mother's father was a
cabinetmaker. [...] People with those roots are not inclined to be lazy."[11]

In 1948, the Williams family moved to Los Angeles where John attended North Hollywood High School,
graduating in 1950. He later attended the University of California, Los Angeles, and studied composition
privately with the Italian composer Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco.[12] Williams also attended Los Angeles
City College for one semester, as the school had a Studio Jazz Band.[13]

In 1951, Williams joined the U.S. Air Force, where he played the piano and brass and conducted and
arranged music for the U.S. Air Force Band as part of his assignments.[14][15] In a 2016 interview with the
U.S. Air Force Band, he recounted having attended basic Air Force training at Lackland Air Force Base,
after which he served as a pianist and brass player, with secondary duties of making arrangements for three
years. He also attended music courses at the University of Arizona as part of his service.[16][17]

In 1955, following his Air Force service, Williams moved to New York City and entered the Juilliard
School, where he studied piano with Rosina Lhévinne.[12] He was originally set on becoming a concert
pianist but after hearing contemporary pianists like John Browning and Van Cliburn perform, switched his
focus to composition.[18] During this time Williams worked as a jazz pianist in the city's many jazz clubs.

Early career
After his studies at Juilliard and the Eastman School of Music, Williams returned to Los Angeles, where he
began working as an orchestrator at film studios. Among other composers, Williams worked with Franz
Waxman, Bernard Herrmann, and Alfred Newman, and also with his fellow orchestrators Conrad Salinger
and Bob Franklyn.[19]

Williams was also a studio pianist and session musician, performing on film scores by composers such as
Jerry Goldsmith, Elmer Bernstein, Leonard Bernstein, and Henry Mancini. With Mancini he recorded the
scores of 1959's Peter Gunn, 1962's Days of Wine and Roses, and 1963's Charade. With Elmer Bernstein,
he performed on the score of Hecht-Hill-Lancaster Productions' Sweet Smell of Success. Williams plays the
piano part of the guitar-piano ostinato in the famous Mancini Peter Gunn title theme.[20][21] On the Peter
Gunn soundtrack, he collaborated with guitarist Bob Bain, bassist Rolly Bundock, and drummer Jack
Sperling, many of whom were also featured on the Mr. Lucky television series. Williams was the pianist for
the soundtrack for the adaptation of Leonard Bernstein's musical, the 1961 West Side Story,[22] and the
1960 film, The Apartment.

Williams during this time period was known as Johnny Williams, and under this name, released several jazz
albums, including World on a String and The John Towner Touch.[22]

Williams also served as music arranger and bandleader for a series of popular music albums with the singers
Ray Vasquez and Frankie Laine.[23][24]

Film and television scoring

Although skilled in a variety of 20th-century compositional idioms,
Williams's most familiar style may be described as a form of
neoromanticism,[25] which was inspired by the late 19th century's
large-scale orchestral music—in the style of Pyotr Ilyich
Tchaikovsky or Richard Wagner and their concept of leitmotif—that
inspired his film music predecessors.[26]

Williams's first film composition was for You Are Welcome—a

promotional film for the tourist information office of Newfoundland,
created in 1954 when Williams was stationed at Pepperrell Air Force
Base.[15] Williams's first feature film composition was in 1958 for
the B movie Daddy-O, and his first screen credit came two years
later in Because They're Young. Williams at the Boston Symphony
Hall after conducting the Boston
Williams also composed music for various television programs in the Pops, May 2006
same time period including the pilot episode of Gilligan's Island,[27]
Bachelor Father (1959–60), the Kraft Suspense Theatre, Lost in
Space (1965–68), The Time Tunnel (1966–67), and Land of the Giants (the last three created by the prolific
TV producer Irwin Allen)[28] He also worked on several episodes of M Squad.[29][30]

He soon gained notice in Hollywood for his versatility in composing jazz, piano, and symphonic music.
Williams received his first Academy Award nomination for his score for 1967's Valley of the Dolls, and was
nominated again for his score for 1969's Goodbye, Mr. Chips. He won his first Academy Award for his
score adaptation for the 1971 film Fiddler on the Roof. In 1972, he composed the score for the Robert
Altman-directed psychological thriller Images (recorded in collaboration with noted percussionist Stomu
Yamashta), which earned him another nomination in the category Best Music, Original Dramatic Score at
the 1973 Academy Awards.[31]
Williams's prominence grew in the early 1970s thanks to his work for now-film producer Irwin Allen's
disaster films. He wrote the scores for 1972's The Poseidon Adventure and 1974's The Towering Inferno.
He also scored Universal's 1974 film Earthquake for director Mark Robson, completing a "trinity" of
scores for the decade's highest-grossing "disaster films", and the 1972 film The Cowboys, a western starring
John Wayne and directed by Mark Rydell.[32]

In 1974, director Steven Spielberg approached Williams to compose the music for his feature directorial
debut, The Sugarland Express. They teamed up again a year later for Spielberg's second film, Jaws. Widely
considered a classic suspense film, its score's ominous, two-note ostinato has become synonymous with
sharks and approaching danger. The score earned Williams his second Academy Award, his first for an
original composition.[31]

Shortly thereafter, Spielberg and Williams began a long collaboration on their next feature film, Close
Encounters of the Third Kind. During the two-year collaboration, they crafted its distinctive five-note figure
that functions both in the background music and as the communications signal of the film's extraterrestrials.
Williams also used a system of musical hand signals in the film that were based on hand signs created by
John Curwen and refined by Zoltán Kodály.[33]

During the same period, Spielberg recommended Williams to his friend and fellow director George Lucas,
who needed a composer to score his ambitious 1977 space epic film Star Wars. Williams eventually
delivered a grand symphonic score in the fashion of Richard Strauss, Antonín Dvořák, and Golden Age
Hollywood composers Max Steiner and Erich Wolfgang Korngold. The Star Wars' theme is among the
most widely recognized in film history, and the "Force Theme" and "Princess Leia's Theme" are well-
known examples of leitmotif. Both the film and its score were immensely successful—it remains the highest
grossing non-popular music recording of all time—and Williams won another Academy Award for Best
Original Score.[34]

In 1980, Williams returned to score The Empire Strikes Back, introducing "The Imperial March" as the
theme for Darth Vader and the Galactic Empire, "Yoda's Theme", and "Han Solo and the Princess". The
original Star Wars trilogy concluded with the 1983 film Return of the Jedi, for which Williams's score
provided most notably the "Emperor's Theme", "Parade of the Ewoks", and "Luke and Leia". Both scores
earned him Academy Award nominations.[31]

Williams scored the 1976 Alfred Hitchcock film Family Plot.

Williams did not much like the film, but did not want to turn down
the chance to work for Hitchcock. Hitchcock merely told him to
remember one thing, "Murder can be fun." Hitchcock was very
satisfied with the result.

Williams worked with director Richard Donner to score the 1978

film Superman. The score's heroic and romantic themes,
particularly the main march, the Superman fanfare and the love
theme, known as "Can You Read My Mind", appeared in the four
John Williams conducting the score
sequel films. For the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark, created by
to Raiders of the Lost Ark in the
Lucas and directed by Spielberg, Williams wrote a rousing main
Avery Fisher Hall
theme known as "The Raiders March" to accompany the film's
hero, Indiana Jones. He composed separate themes to represent the
Ark of the Covenant, the character Marion, and the story's Nazi
villains. Additional themes were featured in his scores to the subsequent Indiana Jones and the Temple of
Doom, a prequel (1984), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom
of the Crystal Skull (2008). Williams composed an emotional and sensitive score to Spielberg's 1982
fantasy film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, for which he was awarded a fourth Academy Award.[31]
In 1985 Williams was commissioned by NBC to compose a television news music package for various
network news spots. The package, which Williams named "The Mission", consists of four movements, two
of which are still used heavily by NBC today for Today, NBC Nightly News, and Meet the Press.[35]

The Spielberg–Williams collaboration resumed with the 1987 film Empire of the Sun, and still continues,
spanning genres from science fiction thrillers (1993's Jurassic Park) to somber tragedies 2005's Munich to
Eastern-tinged melodramas (2005's Memoirs of a Geisha, directed by Rob Marshall) to dramatic war films
(1998's Saving Private Ryan). Spielberg has said, "I call it an honorable privilege to regard John Williams
as a friend."[36]

1993's Schindler's List proved to be a challenge for Williams, and after viewing the rough cut with
Spielberg, was originally hesitant to score the film, being so overcome with emotion watching the cut. He
told Spielberg, "I really think you need a better composer than I am for this film. " Spielberg then replied, "I
know, but they’re all dead."[37] Williams enlisted the help of classical violinist Itzhak Perlman to play the
main theme for the film. Williams then garnered his 5th Oscar for Best Original Score.

In 1999, Lucas launched the first of three prequels to the original Star Wars trilogy. Williams was asked to
score all three, starting with The Phantom Menace. Along with themes from the previous films, Williams
created new themes to be used as leitmotifs in 2002's Attack of the Clones and 2005's Revenge of the Sith.
Most notable of these was "Duel of the Fates", an aggressive choral movement in the style of Verdi's
Requiem,[38] utilizing harsh Sanskrit lyrics that broadened the style of music used in the Star Wars films. It
used vocal melodies instead of his usual compositions using brass instruments. Also of note was "Anakin's
Theme", which begins as an innocent childlike melody and morphs insidiously into a quote of the sinister
"Imperial March". For Episode II Williams composed "Across the Stars", a love theme for Padmé Amidala
and Anakin Skywalker (mirroring the love theme composed for The Empire Strikes Back).[39][40] The final
installment combined many of the themes created for the series' previous films, including "The Emperor's
Theme", "The Imperial March", "Across the Stars", "Duel of the Fates", "The Force Theme", "Rebel
Fanfare", "Luke's Theme", and "Princess Leia's Theme", as well as new themes for General Grievous and
the film's climax, titled "Battle of the Heroes".[41]

In the new millennium Williams scored the first three film adaptations of J. K. Rowling's widely successful
book series Harry Potter. As with his Superman theme, the most important theme from Williams's scores
for the Harry Potter films, "Hedwig's Theme", was used in the fourth through eighth films (Harry Potter
and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood
Prince, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part
2), scored by Patrick Doyle (Goblet of Fire), Nicholas Hooper (Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood
Prince) and Alexandre Desplat (Deathly Hallows). Like the main themes from Jaws, Star Wars, Superman,
and Indiana Jones, fans have come to identify the Harry Potter films with Williams's original compositions.
Williams was asked to return to score the film franchise's final installment, Harry Potter and the Deathly
Hallows – Part 2, but director David Yates said that "their schedules simply did not align", as he would
have had to provide Williams with a rough cut of the film sooner than was possible.[42]

In 2002, for the 20th anniversary edition of E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Williams composed a reorchestrated
score for the Universal Pictures logo segueing to music from the movie.

In 2006, Superman Returns was directed by Bryan Singer, best known for directing the first two films in
the X-Men series. Singer did not request Williams to compose a score for the intentionally Donner-esque
film, but he employed the skills of X2 composer John Ottman to incorporate Williams's original Superman
theme as well as those for Lois Lane, Krypton and Smallville. In 2011 the "Main Title Theme" and
elements of "Can You Read My Mind" were used in the final scene of "Finale", the series finale of the
WB/CW television series Smallville.[43] Don Davis, recommended by Williams to the producers,
performed a similar role for Jurassic Park III.[44]
In 2008, Williams returned to the Indiana Jones series to score the fourth film, Indiana Jones and the
Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. He received a Grammy nomination for his work on the film. Indiana Jones
and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was also the only film score from the Indiana Jones film series not to
be nominated for an Academy Award. Also in 2008 Williams composed music for two documentaries,
Warner at War[45] and A Timeless Call,[46] the latter directed by Spielberg.

In 2011, after a three-year absence from film scoring, Williams composed the scores for Spielberg's The
Adventures of Tintin and War Horse. Both scores received overwhelmingly positive
reviews[47][48][49][50][51][52] and earned Academy Award nominations,[53] the latter also being nominated
for a Golden Globe.[54] The Oscar nominations were Williams's 46th and 47th, making him the most
nominated musician in Academy Award history (having previously been tied with Alfred Newman's 45
nominations), and the second most nominated overall, behind Walt Disney. Williams won an Annie Award
for his score for The Adventures of Tintin. In 2012 he scored Spielberg's film Lincoln and subsequently
received his 48th Academy Award nomination.[55]

In February 2013, Williams expressed interest in working on the Star Wars sequel trilogy, saying: "Now
we're hearing of a new set of movies coming in 2015, 2016... so I need to make sure I'm still ready to go in
a few years for what I hope would be continued work with George."[56] He also scored the 2013 film The
Book Thief,[57] his first collaboration with a director other than Spielberg since 2005. The score earned him
an Academy Award, Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations and a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental
Composition. It was his 44th nomination for Best Original Score (and 49th overall), setting a new record
for the most nominations in that category (he tied Alfred Newman's record of 43 nominations in
2013).[31][58]

In 2015, Williams scored Star Wars: The Force Awakens, earning him his 50th Academy Award
nomination.[59][60] He was also set to write the score for Bridge of Spies that year, which would have been
his 27th collaboration with Spielberg,[61] but in March 2015 it was announced that Thomas Newman
would score it instead, as Williams's schedule was interrupted by a minor health issue.[62] This was the first
Spielberg film since The Color Purple (1985) not scored by Williams.[63]

In 2016, Williams composed the score for Spielberg's The BFG, which opened in July 2016.

In 2017, Williams scored the animated short film Dear Basketball, directed by Glen Keane and based on a
poem by Kobe Bryant.[64][65] He also wrote the music for Star Wars: The Last Jedi,[66] the eighth episode
of the saga, and Steven Spielberg's drama film The Post, both of which opened in December 2017.[67]

Williams contributed "The Adventures of Han" and several additional demos for the 2018 standalone Star
Wars film Solo: A Star Wars Story, while John Powell wrote the film's original score and adapted
Williams's music.[68][69][70][71]

A three-disc box set compilation of all of Williams's musical scores for Spielberg's films, John Williams &
Steven Spielberg: The Ultimate Collection, was released on March 17, 2017, and includes two previous
score compilations from 1991 and 1995.[72]

Williams's body of work in film composing was featured in the 2017 documentary film SCORE: A Film
Music Documentary.[73]

In March 2018, Williams announced that following Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, which was released
in December 2019, he would retire from composing music for the Star Wars franchise: "We know J. J.
Abrams is preparing one Star Wars movie now that I will hopefully do next year for him. I look forward to
it. It will round out a series of nine, that will be quite enough for me."[74] Williams makes a cameo in the
film as Oma Tres, a Kijimi bartender.[75]
In July 2018, Williams composed the main musical theme for Disneyland and Disney's Hollywood Studios
theme park attraction Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge. William Ross, who conducted the symphonic recording of
the theme with the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) on Williams's behalf, additionally arranged
Williams's original composition in different musical contexts for use, recording nearly an hour of musical
material at Abbey Road Studios in November 2018.[76][77] Williams won the Grammy Award for Best
Instrumental Composition for his Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge Symphonic Suite.

In June 2019, The New York Times Magazine listed Williams as one of hundreds of artists whose material
was destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.[78]

Williams is attached to score the fifth Indiana Jones film, scheduled for a 2022 release.[79]

Conducting, performing, and other classical works

From 1980 to 1993 Williams served as the Boston Pops Orchestra's
Principal Conductor, succeeding Arthur Fiedler. Williams never met
Fiedler in person but spoke with him by telephone. His arrival as the
Pops' new leader in the spring of 1980 allowed him to devote part of the
Pops' first PBS broadcast of the season to presenting his new
compositions for The Empire Strikes Back.[80]

Williams almost ended his tenure with the Pops in 1984[81] when some
players hissed while sight-reading a new Williams composition in
rehearsal; Williams abruptly left the session and turned in his resignation.
He initially cited mounting conflicts with his film composing schedule,
but later admitted a perceived lack of discipline in, and respect from, the
Pops' ranks, culminating in this latest instance. After entreaties by the
management and personal apologies from the musicians, Williams Williams signing an autograph
withdrew his resignation and continued as principal conductor for nine after a concert
more years.[82] In 1995 he was succeeded by Keith Lockhart, the former
associate conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and
Cincinnati Pops Orchestra.[83]

Williams is now the Pops' Laureate Conductor, thus maintaining his affiliation with its parent, the Boston
Symphony Orchestra (BSO). Williams leads the Pops on several occasions each year, particularly during
their Holiday Pops season and typically for a week of concerts in May. He conducts an annual Film Night
at both Boston Symphony Hall and Tanglewood, where he frequently enlists the Tanglewood Festival
Chorus, the BSO's official chorus.[84]

Williams has written many concert pieces, including a symphony; a Concerto for Horn written for Dale
Clevenger, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's Principal Hornist; a Concerto for Clarinet written for
Michele Zukovsky (the Los Angeles Philharmonic's Principal Clarinetist) in 1991;[85] a sinfonietta for wind
ensemble; a cello concerto premiered by Yo-Yo Ma and the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood in
1994; concertos for the flute and violin recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra; and a trumpet
concerto, which was premiered by The Cleveland Orchestra and their principal trumpet Michael Sachs in
September 1996.[86]

His bassoon concerto, "The Five Sacred Trees", which was premiered by the New York Philharmonic and
principal bassoon player Judith LeClair in 1995, was recorded for Sony Classical by Williams with LeClair
and the London Symphony Orchestra. Williams was the subject of an hour-long documentary for the BBC
in 1980, and was featured in a report on 20/20 in 1983.[87]
 He composed the "Liberty Fanfare" for the Statue of Liberty's
rededication, "We're Lookin' Good!" for the Special Olympics in
celebration of the 1987 International Summer Games, and themes
for the 1984, 1988, 1996, and 2002 Olympic Games. One of his
concert works, "Seven for Luck", for soprano and orchestra, is a
seven-piece song cycle based on the texts of former U.S. Poet
Laureate Rita Dove. "Seven for Luck" was given its world
premiere by the Boston Symphony under Williams with soprano
Cynthia Haymon.[86]
Stanley Donen (left) and Williams at
Williams makes annual
Avery Fisher Hall
appearances with the Los
Angeles Philharmonic at the
Hollywood Bowl, and took
part as conductor and composer in the orchestra's opening gala
concerts for the Walt Disney Concert Hall in 2003. In 2004 he both
served as the Grand Marshal for the Rose Parade, and directed "The
Star Spangled Banner" at the Rose Bowl's beginning. In April 2005,
Williams and the Boston Pops performed the "Throne Room Finale"
from Star Wars at opening day in Fenway Park as the Boston Red
Sox, having won their first World Series championship since 1918,
received their championship rings. For Game 1 of the 2007 World
Williams conducting at Hollywood
Series, Williams conducted a brass-and-drum ensemble through a new
Bowl
dissonant arrangement of the "Star Spangled Banner".[87]

In February 2004, April 2006, and September 2007, Williams

conducted the New York Philharmonic at Avery Fisher Hall in New York City. The initial program was
intended to be a one-time special event, and featured Williams's medley of Oscar-winning film scores first
performed at the previous year's Academy Awards.[88] Its unprecedented popularity led to two concerts in
2006: fundraising gala events featuring personal recollections by film directors Martin Scorsese and Steven
Spielberg.[89][90] Continuing demand fueled three more concerts in 2007, which all sold out. These
featured a tribute to the musicals of film director Stanley Donen, and had the distinction of serving as the
New York Philharmonic season's opening event.[91][92] After a three-season absence, Williams conducted
the Philharmonic once again in October 2011.[93]

Maestro Williams also conducted the National Symphony Orchestra, the U.S. Army Herald Trumpets, the
Joint Armed Forces Chorus, and the Choral Arts Society of Washington performing his new arrangement
of "The Star-Spangled Banner" for its 200th anniversary. The performance was held at A Capitol Fourth,
an Independence Day celebration concert in Washington, D.C., on July 4, 2014.[94]

On April 13, 2017, at Star Wars Celebration Orlando, Williams performed a surprise concert[95] with the
Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra featuring "Princess Leia's Theme" (a tribute to the recently deceased
Carrie Fisher), "The Imperial March" and "Main Title" followed by George Lucas saying, "The secret
sauce of Star Wars, the greatest composer-conductor in the universe, John Williams".

German classical violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter and Williams, introduced to each other by their mutual
friend André Previn, collaborated on an album," Across the Stars " in which Mutter played themes and
pieces from Williams's movies rearranged by him for the Violin. It was released in August 2019.[96]

The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra invited Williams to lead concerts in January 2020, his first engagement
with a European orchestra,[97] for an all-Williams concert featuring Mutter as soloist. The concert included
many pieces from the " Across the Stars " Album. The resulting Album from the concert, " John Williams
in Vienna " became the best selling orchestral album in 2020, reaching the top 10 in many countries, along
 with topping the Classical Charts in the UK, and the US.[98] The
Orchestra also commissioned a new procedural from Williams for
their annual Philharmonikerball,[99] which is to replace the
hitherto used 1924 fanfare by Richard Strauss.

Williams is scheduled to conduct the Berlin Philharmonic from

October 14 to the 16th in 2021, marking his second engagement
with a European Orchestra and his first with the Berlin
Philharmonic.[100]

John Williams conducting the Boston

Pops in May 2018 Legacy
John Williams is regarded as one of the most influential film
composers. His work has influenced other film composers, as well as contemporary classical and popular
music. The Norwegian classical composer Marcus Paus argues that Williams's "very satisfying way of
embodying dissonance and avant-garde techniques within a larger tonal framework" makes him "one of the
great composers of any century".[8][9]

Similarly, Williams film music has clear influences from other classical and film composers, including
Holst,[101] Stravinsky, Korngold, and others. But while many have specifically referenced the
similarities,[102][103] these are generally attributed to the natural influence of one composer on another.

Personal life
In 1956, Williams married Barbara Ruick, an American actress and singer. They had three children:
Jennifer (b. 1956), Mark Towner Williams (b. 1958), and Joseph (b. 1960), the lead singer of Toto.[104]
The two remained married until her death in 1974. In 1980, Williams married Samantha Winslow, a
photographer.[105]

Honors and legacy

John Williams has been nominated for 52 Academy Awards, winning five; six Emmy Awards, winning
three; 25 Golden Globe Awards, winning four; 71 Grammy Awards, winning 25; and has received seven
British Academy Film Awards. With 52 Oscar nominations, Williams currently holds the record for the
most Oscar nominations for a living person,[106][107] and is the second most nominated person in Academy
Awards history behind Walt Disney's 59. Forty-six of Williams's Oscar nominations are for Best Original
Score and five are for Best Original Song. He won four Oscars for Best Original Score and one for Best
Scoring: Adaptation and Original Song Score (Fiddler on the Roof).

He has received several academic honors. In 1980, Williams received an Honorary Doctorate of Music
from Berklee College of Music.[108] Williams received an Honorary Doctor of Music degree from Boston
College in 1993,[109] from Harvard University in 2017,[110] and from University of Pennsylvania in
2021.[111] Williams was made an honorary brother of Kappa Kappa Psi at Boston University in the late
1980s.[112]

Since 1988, Williams has been honored with 15 Sammy Film Music Awards, the longest-running awards
for film music recordings.[113]

In 2000, Williams received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.[114]
Williams has been inducted into the American Classical Music Hall of Fame and the Hollywood Bowl Hall
of Fame. Williams was honored with the annual Richard Kirk award at the 1999 BMI Film and TV
Awards, recognizing his contribution to film and television music.[115] In 2004, he received the Kennedy
Center Honors.[116] He won a Classic Brit Award in 2005 for his soundtrack work of the previous year.

Williams has won the Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition for his scores for Star Wars,
Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Superman, The Empire Strikes Back, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,
Angela's Ashes, Munich, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and The Book Thief. The
competition includes not only composers of film scores, but also composers of instrumental music of any
genre, including composers of classical fare such as symphonies and chamber music.

In 2003, the International Olympic Committee accorded Williams its highest individual honor, the Olympic
Order.[117]

In 2009, Williams received the National Medal of Arts in the White House in Washington, D.C., for his
achievements in symphonic music for films, and "as a pre-eminent composer and conductor [whose] scores
have defined and inspired modern movie-going for decades".[118]

In 2012, Williams received the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music.[119]

In 2013, Williams was presented with the Ken Burns Lifetime Achievement Award.[120]

In 2016, Williams was made a Chevalier De L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres – Government of France[121]

In 2020, Williams won the Grammy Award for "Best Instrumental Composition" for composing Star Wars:
Galaxy’s Edge Symphonic Suite,[122] and he received his 52nd Oscar nomination for "Best Original Score"
at the 92nd Academy Awards for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.[123]

In 2018, the performing rights organization Broadcast Music, Inc. established The John Williams Award, of
which Williams became the first recipient.[124] Also the same year, Williams received the Grammy Trustees
Award which is a Special Merit Award presented to individuals who, during their careers in music, have
made significant contributions, other than performance (and some performers through 1983), to the field of
recording.[125]

In 2020, Williams received the Gold Medal of the Royal Philharmonic Society[126] as well as the Princess
of Asturias Award for the Arts (jointly with Ennio Morricone).[127]

Charting hits (U.S., Billboard)

Billboard Billboard
Year Title
Hot 100 AC

1975 Main Title (Theme from "Jaws") 32[128] 22[129]

1977 Star Wars (Main Title) 10[130] 4[129]

Theme from "Close Encounters of the Third
1978 13[128] 13[129]
Kind"

Concert works
Concertos
1969: Concerto for Flute and Orchestra
1976: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra
1985: Concerto for Tuba and Orchestra
1991: Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra
1993: Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra, The Five Sacred Trees
1994: Concerto for Cello and Orchestra
1996: Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra
1997: Elegy for Cello and Orchestra
2000: TreeSong for Violin and Orchestra
2002: Heartwood: Lyric Sketches for Cello and Orchestra
2002: Escapades for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra (adapted from the Catch Me If You Can
film score)
2003: Concerto for Horn and Orchestra
2009: Concerto for Viola and Orchestra
2009: On Willows and Birches, for Harp and Orchestra
2011: Concerto for Oboe and Orchestra
2014: Scherzo for Piano and Orchestra
2017: Markings for Violin, Strings and Harp
2018: Highwood’s Ghost, An Encounter for Cello, Harp and Orchestra
2021: Second Violin Concerto

Other orchestral works

1965: Prelude and Fugue (recorded on Stan Kenton Conducts the Los Angeles Neophonic
Orchestra (Capitol, 1965))
1965: Symphony No. 1
1965: Essay for Strings
1968: Sinfonietta for Wind Ensemble
1975: Thomas and the King – Musical
1980: Jubilee 350 Fanfare
1984: Olympic Fanfare & Theme
1986: Liberty Fanfare
1987: A Hymn to New England
1988: Fanfare for Michael Dukakis
1988: For New York
1990: Celebrate Discovery
1993: Sound the Bells!
1994: Song for World Peace
1995: Variations on Happy Birthday
1999: American Journey
2003: Soundings
2007: Star Spangled Banner
2008: A Timeless Call
2012: Fanfare for Fenway
 2012: Seven for Luck for soprano and orchestra
2013: For 'The President's Own'
2014: Star Spangled Banner

Chamber works
1951: Sonata for Piano
1997: Elegy for Cello and Piano
2001: Three Pieces for Solo Cello
2007: Duo Concertante for Violin and Viola
2009: Air and Simple Gifts for violin, cello, clarinet and piano
2011: Quartet La Jolla for violin, cello, clarinet and harp
2012: Rounds for solo guitar
2013: Conversations for solo Piano
2014: Music for Brass for Brass Ensemble and Percussion

Discography

See also
List of compositions by John Williams
Music of Harry Potter
Music of Star Wars
Music of Superman

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Further reading
Aschieri, Roberto (1999). Over the Moon: La Música de John Williams Para El Cine (https://b
ooks.google.com/books?id=LodQrgTgTlIC) (in Spanish). Santigo, Chile: Función Privada,
sponsored by Universidad Diego Portales. p. 400. ISBN 978-4-89799-246-4.
 Audissino, Emilio (2021): John Williams's Film Music: Reviving Hollywood's Classical Style
(https://uwpress.wisc.edu/books/5787.htm). (Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press),
376 pp. ISBN 978-0-299-33234-1.
Audissino, Emilio ed. (2018): John Williams: Music for Films, Television and the Concert
Stage (http://www.brepols.net/Pages/ShowProduct.aspx?prod_id=IS-9782503580340-1).
(Lucca, Italy: Bepols), 440 pp. ISBN 978-2-503-58034-0.
Moormann, Peter (2010). Spielberg-Variationen: die Filmmusik von John Williams (in
German). Baden-Baden: Nomos, Edition Reinhard Fischer. p. 797. ISBN 978-3-8329-5355-
3.
Paulus, Irena: "Williams versus Wagner – Or an Attempt at Linking Musical Epics". In:
Stoppe, Sebastian (2014). Film in Concert: Film Scores and their Relation to Classical
Concert Music. Glücksstadt, Germany: VWH Verlag. pp. 63–108. ISBN 978-3-86488-060-5..
Valverde, Andrés (2013). John Williams: Vida y Obra (in Spanish). Berenice Press.
ISBN 978-8-4154-4142-7.

External links
John Williams (https://www.discogs.com/artist/John+Williams+%284%29) discography at
Discogs
John Williams (https://curlie.org/Arts/Music/Composition/Composers/W/Williams%2C_John/)
at Curlie
John Williams (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002354/) at IMDb
John Williams Fan Network (http://www.jwfan.com)
John Williams (http://www.jw-collection.de/start.htm) music listings
Unofficial website (http://www.johnwilliams.org/)

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