John Williams's film music - Emilio Audissino

John Williams is one of the most renowned film composers in history. He has penned unforgettable scores forStar Wars, theIndiana Jonesseries,E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Jaws, Superman,and countless other films. Fans flock to his many concerts, and with forty-eight Academy Award nominations as of 2013, he is the second-most Oscar-nominated person after Walt Disney. Yet despite such critical acclaim and prestige, this is the first book in English on Williams’s work and career.

Combining accessible writing with thorough scholarship, and rigorous historical accounts with insightful readings,John Williams’s Film Musicexplores why Williams is so important to the history of film music. Beginning with an overview of music from Hollywood’s Golden Age (1933–58), Emilio Audissino traces the turning points of Williams’s career and articulates how he revived the classical Hollywood musical style. This book charts each landmark of this musical restoration, with special attention to the scores forJawsandStar Wars, Williams’s work as conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra, and a full film/music analysis ofRaiders of the Lost Ark. The result is a precise, enlightening definition of Williams’s “neoclassicism” and a grounded demonstration of his lasting importance, for both his compositions and his historical role in restoring part of the Hollywood tradition.