John Williams: News

Williams conducts the Seattle Symphony

On Wednesday, September 27, 2017, John Williams conducted the Seattle Symphony in a sold-out performance devoted largely to music from the films of Steven Spielberg — who made a surprise appearance to narrate the second half of the concert.

Williams to score The Papers, not Ready Player One

In an exclusive for Variety, Jon Burlingame reports that Alan Silvestri will score Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One, while John Williams will score The Papers, as both films will be in post-production simultaneously.

John Williams on KUSC

On Tuesday, April 4, from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. PDT, John Williams joins Jim Svjeda on the KUSC-FM Evening Program to discuss the new album John Williams–Steven Spielberg: The Ultimate Collection.

Boston Pops to record Williams albums

To celebrate John Williams’ 85th birthday, the Boston Pops will dedicate their 2017 spring season to their esteemed conductor laureate. On April 7 and 8, 2017, prior to the official beginning of the Pops season, the orchestra and music director Keith Lockhart will record two pre-season concerts for a live album featuring selections from Williams’ lesser-known scores (including The Towering Inferno and Goodbye, Mr. Chips). Williams himself returns to the Pops (sharing the podium with Lockhart) for Film Night concerts on May 31 and June 1. Lockhart will also conduct live-to-screen presentations of E.T. (May 12 & 13) and Jaws (May 25 & 26) as well as a full program of Williams selections (May 16 & 24).

Markings for Anne-Sophie Mutter

On Sunday, July 16, 2017, violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter will premiere Markings, for solo violin, string orchestra and harp, a new work composed expressly for her by John Williams. Andris Nelsons, music director of the Boston Symphony, will conduct the BSO in a program that also features the Tchaikovsky violin concerto and Berlioz' Symphonie Fantastique. Tickets to this performance, as well as an open rehearsal the morning of July 15, go on sale January 23. Mutter has for some time been asking Williams to compose a work for her. “He wrote a beautiful violin concerto in the 1970s,” she told The Wall Street Journal in 2015. “What he could bring to a new composition now is just tremendous.”

Markings for Anne-Sophie Mutter

On Sunday, July 16, 2017, violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter will premiere Markings, for solo violin, string orchestra and harp, a new work composed expressly for her by John Williams. Andris Nelsons, music director of the Boston Symphony, will conduct the BSO in a program that also features Tchaikovsky’ violin concerto and Berlioz’ Symphonie Fantastique. Tickets to this performance, as well as an open rehearsal the morning of July 15, go on sale January 23. Mutter has for some time been asking Williams to compose a work for her. “He wrote a beautiful violin concerto in the 1970s,” she told The Wall Street Journal in 2015. “What he could bring to a new composition now is just tremendous.”

Elsewhere on the Tanglewood schedule, Williams will conduct music from Jurassic Park, Minority Report and Jaws at the August 1 Tanglewood on Parade concert. For the annual Film Night at Tanglewood event on August 19, Williams will conduct music from the Harry Potter films, E.T., Far and Away and Lincoln, while Nelsons will lead music by Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Bernard Herrmann and Alex North. On June 18, Keith Lockhart conducts the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra in a live-to-picture presentation of Jaws, and on August 25 Lockhart and the Boston Pops present a live performance of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.

Williams conducts Force Awakens music at the Hollywood Bowl

On Labor Day weekend (Friday, Saturday and Sunday, September 2–4), John Williams made his annual appearance at the Hollywood Bowl, conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic in selections from The Force Awakens and other films in the Star Wars saga — along with the West Coast premiere of his Suite from The BFG. On the first half of the program, conductor David Newman led the Philharmonic in other film music favorites, including Williams’ theme from Sabrina.

Signature Edition scores on sale

A current sale on orchestral music and scores at online retailer Sheet Music Plus applies to all of the John Williams Signature Edition scores and orchestral parts, providing savings of 20% over list prices. This includes the newest addition, John Williams’ Suite from The Force Awakens (Hal Leonard 4491706).

Guitarist Meng Su records Rounds and “Avner’s Theme”

Guitarist Meng Su’s first solo CD, Meng (Tonar Music TON-CD-MENG), features a recording of John Williams’ 2012 work for solo guitar, Rounds, as well as a sonata by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (with whom Williams studied composition during the 1950s) and works of J.S. Bach, Francisco Tárrega and William Walton. According to The Baltimore Sun, she “brings a particularly sensitive touch to a darkly beautiful theme from John Williams’ Munich film score” (“Avner’s Theme”).