This is a list of compositions by John Williams.
The following list consists of select films for which John Williams composed the score and/or songs.
Year | Title | Director | Studio | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1954 | You Are Welcome [1] [2] [3] | — | — | Promotional film for the tourist information office of Newfoundland |
1958 | Daddy-O | Lou Place | American International Pictures | Feature film debut Credited as Johnny Williams. |
1959 | Gidget | Paul Wendkos | Columbia Pictures | Orchestrator |
Year | Title | Director | Studio | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
2022 | The Fabelmans | Steven Spielberg | Amblin Entertainment Reliance Entertainment Universal Pictures | Nominated—Academy Award for Best Original Score Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score Nominated—Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media |
2023 | Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny | James Mangold | Walt Disney Pictures Lucasfilm Ltd. Paramount Pictures | Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition ("Helena's Theme") Nominated—Academy Award for Best Original Score Nominated—Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media |
Williams has composed music for four Olympic Games:
Year | Title | Network | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1958 | Playhouse 90 | CBS | Episode: "The Right Hand Man" |
1958–1959 | M Squad | NBC | — |
1958–1964 | Wagon Train | NBC ABC | — |
1959 | Markham | CBS | Episode: "Woman of Arles" |
1959–1960 | Bachelor Father | CBS NBC ABC | — |
1960 | Tales of Wells Fargo | NBC | — |
1960–1962 | Checkmate | CBS | Theme Nominated—Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media |
General Electric Theater | Episodes: "Ten Days in the Sun" and "Journal of Hope" | ||
1961 | Kraft Mystery Theatre | NBC | — |
1961–1963 | Alcoa Premiere | ABC | Theme |
1962–1963 | Wide Country | NBC | Theme |
1963 | The Eleventh Hour | Episode: "The Bronze Locust" | |
1963–1965 | Kraft Suspense Theatre | Theme | |
1963–1967 | Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre | Theme | |
1964 | Breaking Point | ABC | Episode: "Better Than a Dead Lion" |
1964–1965 | Gilligan's Island | CBS | Episode: pilot |
1965 | Ben Casey | ABC | Episode: "A Little Fun to Match the Sorrow" |
Lost in Space | CBS | Episodes: "My Friend, Mr. Nobody", The Hungry Sea", "Island in the Sky" and "The Reluctant Stowaway" | |
1966 | The Tammy Grimes Show | ABC | Theme Episode: "How to Steal a Girl Even If It's Only Me" |
1966–1968 | The Time Tunnel | Theme Episode: "Rendezvous with Yesterday" | |
1968 | Land of the Giants | Episode: "The Crash" | |
CBS Playhouse | CBS | Episode: "Saturday Adoption" | |
1976 | 48th Academy Awards | ABC | Musical director |
1981–2005 | Evening at Pops | PBS | Theme |
1985–1987 | Amazing Stories | NBC | Theme Episodes: "The Mission" and "Ghost Train" |
2009 | Great Performances | PBS | Theme |
2022 | Obi-Wan Kenobi | Disney+ | Theme Score composed by Natalie Holt Theme adapted by William Ross |
Composition Year | Title | Premiere Date | Premiere Performers | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1969 | Concerto for Flute and Orchestra | 1981 | Leonard Slatkin/St. Louis Symphony Orchestra – Peter Lloyd, flute – St. Louis | |
1976 | Concerto for Violin and Orchestra | 1981-01-29 | Leonard Slatkin/St. Louis Symphony Orchestra – Mark Peskanov, violin – St. Louis | Composed at the suggestion of Barbara Ruick, first wife of the composer. Begun in 1974, shortly after Ruick's death, and completed in 1976 |
1985 | Concerto for Tuba and Orchestra | 1985-05-08 | John Williams/Boston Pops Orchestra – Chester Schmitz, tuba – Boston | Composed in 1985 for the Centennial of the Boston Pops |
1991 | Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra | 1991-04-13 | John Williams/Riverside County Philharmonic – Michele Zukovsky, clarinet – Los Angeles | Composed in 1991 for Michele Zukovsky, principal clarinet of the LA Philharmonic [8] |
1993 | Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra (The Five Sacred Trees) | 1995-04-15 | Kurt Masur/New York Philharmonic – Judith LeClair, bassoon | Composed in 1993 for the 150th celebration of the New York Philharmonic |
1994 | Concerto for Cello and Orchestra | 1994-07-07 | John Williams/Boston Symphony Orchestra – Yo-Yo Ma, cello – Tanglewood | Composed in 1994 for the opening of the Seiji Ozawa Hall in Tanglewood |
1996 | Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra | 1996-10 | Christoph von Dohnányi/Cleveland Orchestra – Michael Sachs, trumpet | Composed in 1996 for Michael Sachs, first trumpet of the Cleveland Orchestra |
1997 rev. 2002 | Elegy for Cello and Orchestra | Premiered by John Williams, piano, and John Waltz, cello. Later arranged for cello and orchestra | Composed in 1997 for a memorial service in Los Angeles. Based on a secondary theme from Seven Years in Tibet | |
2000 | TreeSong for Violin and Orchestra | 2000-07-08 | John Williams/Boston Symphony Orchestra – Gil Shaham, violin | Composed in 2000 for Gil Shaham |
2001 | Heartwood: Lyric Sketches for Cello and Orchestra | 2002-08-04 | John Williams/Boston Symphony Orchestra – Yo-Yo Ma, cello – Boston | Composed in 2001 for Yo-Yo Ma |
2003 | Concerto for Horn and Orchestra | 2003-11-29 | John Williams/Chicago Symphony Orchestra – Dale Clevenger, horn – Chicago | Composed for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's principal horn Dale Clevenger |
2007 | Duo Concertante for Violin and Viola | 2007-08-17 | John Williams/Boston Pops Orchestra – Victor Romanul, violin – Michael Zaretsky, viola – Tanglewood | Composed for Michael Zaretsky |
2009 | Concerto for Viola and Orchestra | 2009-05-26 | John Williams/Boston Symphony Orchestra – Boston | Composed for Cathy Basrak. Unreleased |
2009 | On Willows and Birches (Concerto for Harp and Orchestra) | 2009-09-23 | John Williams/Boston Symphony Orchestra – Boston | Composed for Ann Hobson Pilot |
2011 | Concerto for Oboe and Orchestra | 2011-05-25 | John Williams/Boston Pops Orchestra – Keisuke Wakao, oboe – Boston | Composed for Keisuke Wakao |
2014 | Scherzo for Piano and Orchestra | 2014-07-03 | China Philharmonic Orchestra – Lang Lang, piano – Beijing | Composed for the Music in the Summer Air Festival |
2017 | Markings for solo violin, strings, and harp | 2017-07-16 | Andris Nelsons/Boston Symphony Orchestra – Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin – Tanglewood | Composed for Anne-Sophie Mutter |
2018 | Highwood's Ghost, An Encounter for Cello, Harp and Orchestra | 2018-08-19 | Andris Nelsons/Boston Symphony Orchestra – Yo-Yo Ma, cello – Jessica Zhou, harp – Tanglewood | Composed for Yo-Yo Ma and Jessica Zhou |
2021 | Violin Concerto No. 2 | 2021-07-24 | John Williams/Boston Symphony Orchestra – Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin – Tanglewood | Composed for Anne-Sophie Mutter |
John Towner Williams is an American composer and conductor. In a career that has spanned seven decades, he has composed some of the most popular, recognizable, and critically acclaimed film scores in cinema history. He has a distinct sound that mixes romanticism, impressionism, and atonal music with complex orchestration. He is best known for his collaborations with Steven Spielberg and George Lucas and has received numerous accolades including 26 Grammy Awards, five Academy Awards, seven BAFTA Awards, three Emmy Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards. With 54 Academy Award nominations, he is the second-most nominated person, after Walt Disney, and is the oldest Oscar nominee in any category, at 91 years old.
Alexander Mair Courage Jr. familiarly known as "Sandy" Courage, was an American orchestrator, arranger, and composer of music, primarily for television and film. He is best known as the composer of the theme music for the original Star Trek series.
Michael Giacchino is an American composer of music for film, television, and video games. He has received many accolades for his work, including an Oscar for Up (2009), an Emmy for Lost (2004), and three Grammy Awards.
The music of the Star Wars franchise is composed and produced in conjunction with the development of the feature films, television series, and other merchandise within the epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas. The music for the primary feature films was written by John Williams. Williams' work on the series included the scores of nine feature films, a suite and several cues of thematic material for Solo and the theme music for the Galaxy's Edge Theme Park. These count among the most widely known and popular contributions to modern film music, and utilize a symphony orchestra and features an assortment of about fifty recurring musical themes to represent characters and other plot elements: one of the largest caches of themes in the history of film music.
The various film and theatre appearances of the Superman character have been accompanied by musical scores.
The score from The Empire Strikes Back composed by John Williams. Between Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back, Williams had also worked with the London Symphony Orchestra for the scores to the films The Fury, Superman and Dracula. The score earned another Academy Award nomination for Williams. Again, the score was orchestrated by Herbert W. Spencer and Angela Morley, recorded by engineer Eric Tomlinson and edited by Kenneth Wannberg with supervision by Lionel Newman. John Williams himself took over duties as record producer from Star Wars creator George Lucas.
Star Wars: Return of the Jedi is the film score to the 1983 film Return of the Jedi, composed and conducted by John Williams and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. The score was recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London between January and February 1983. Again, John Williams served as producer. Herbert W. Spencer, Thomas Newman and Gordon Langford served as orchestrators. Engineer Eric Tomlinson, music editor Kenneth Wannberg, and record supervisor Lionel Newman again reprised their respective duties. The score earned another Academy Award nomination for Williams. Return of the Jedi, which is the original trilogy's shortest score, was only released on a single-LP instead of a double-set like the Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back soundtracks before it.
Jurassic Park: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the film score to the 1993 Steven Spielberg film of the same name, composed and conducted by John Williams. Alexander Courage and John Neufeld served as orchestrators.
John Williams Greatest Hits 1969–1999 is a compilation of concert suites from various films John Williams has scored between 1969 and 1999. The album contains takes from various orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops Orchestra and Skywalker Symphony Orchestra.
Star Wars: In Concert, previously referred to as Star Wars: A Musical Journey, is a series of concerts featuring a symphony orchestra and choir, along with footage from the Star Wars saga films displayed on a large LED screen at three stories tall. The screen is set to live performances of the Star Wars score composed by John Williams. The first performance took place in The O2 Arena in London, England and was attended by approximately 20,000 fans. The first North American tour started in Anaheim, California on October 1, 2009, and the second and most recent North American tour ended in London, Ontario on April 14, 2015. The concert series was scheduled to return sometime in 2016, but has since been delayed.
The Cinematic Symphony is a musical ensemble based in Austin, Texas. The group is composed of volunteers and is dedicated to preserving and performing the music of film and television.
John Williams, an accomplished composer formerly credited as Johnny Williams, initially worked as a jazz pianist and studio musician before transitioning into composing for television and film. Throughout his illustrious career, he has often conducted his own compositions whenever possible.
Jurassic World: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the film score to Jurassic World composed by Michael Giacchino. The album was released digitally and physically on June 9, 2015 by Back Lot Music.
Ewoks – Original Soundtrack is the film score to the television films Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure and Ewoks: The Battle for Endor composed by Peter Bernstein. The score also includes brief reprisals of John Williams' Ewok theme from Return of the Jedi. A soundtrack album containing Bernstein's music from both films was officially released as a 12-inch LP record by Varèse Sarabande on December 8, 1986.
The music of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) covers the soundtracks of the American media franchise and shared universe, which is centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The soundtracks include the original scores composed by various composers for the films and television series of the franchise, as well as the songs that are heard in each film.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is the soundtrack album to the 2016 film Rogue One directed by Gareth Edwards, which is the first instalment in the Star Wars anthology series. Originally, Alexandre Desplat was hired for the film score but was replaced by Michael Giacchino during the film's post-production. Giacchino scored the film within a span of the month, despite the tight schedule, and had incorporated John Williams' themes from previous Star Wars films into the score, having minor elements, while most of the themes were newly composed. The soundtrack was released by Walt Disney Records on December 16, 2016, coinciding with the film's theatrical release.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is the film score for the 2018 film of the same name composed by Michael Giacchino. The album was released by Back Lot Music on June 15, 2018 digitally and physically.
Jurassic World Dominion (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the film score album to the 2022 film of the same name composed by Michael Giacchino. The sixth film in the Jurassic Park franchise, it is also the sequel to Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) and the final film in the Jurassic World trilogy, while also serving as a conclusion to the storyline started in the original Jurassic Park trilogy. It is directed by Colin Trevorrow, who co-wrote the script with Emily Carmichael and story with Derek Connolly, and produced by Frank Marshall and Patrick Crowley, who also produced the predecessors, with Steven Spielberg, who directed Jurassic Park (1993), served as the executive producer.
Obi-Wan Kenobi is the musical score accompanying the 2022 Disney+ limited series Obi-Wan Kenobi, composed by Natalie Holt and William Ross with the main theme for the title character composed by John Williams. It was released by Walt Disney Records on June 29, 2022.
Incredibles 2 (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack album to the 2018 film Incredibles 2, the sequel to Pixar's The Incredibles (2004). The film is directed by Brad Bird and featured musical score composed by Michael Giacchino, who also worked on the predecessor. The recording of the score began during mid-2017 and continued till May 2018, at the Sony Scoring Stage in California. The soundtrack album was released digitally, alongside the film, on June 15, by Walt Disney Records and in CDs on June 29. The soundtrack featured Giacchino's scores as well as vocalised theme songs for Mr. Incredible, Frozone, and Elastigirl featured in the credits. The digital release also featured bonus versions of the theme songs sung by Disney's a cappella group, DCappella, and their version of the track "The Glory Days" from the predecessor.