Esplanade Overture

In May of 1982, John Williams told Richard Dyer, “On my desk right now I have the score of a ‘Comedy Overture’ of my own — I hope to finish it in time to play it during June. No, it doesn’t go to any specific comedy — the audience will just have to invent one as it goes along.” The Boston premiere did not take place until May 3, 1983, but in the interim Williams scored the film Monsignor and utilized music from the overture for parts of the score.

Recordings

While the Esplanade Overture itself has never been recorded, it is more or less identical (save a slightly different coda) to the cue “Meeting in Sicily” on the Monsignor soundtrack album.

Sheet Music

The orchestral score and parts to this work are not commercially available, nor has any arrangement ever been published.

References