Highlights:
- Legendary film composer John Williams dismisses film music as a “lesser art form”.
- He has scored more than 100 films, including Star Wars, Jaws and Harry Potter.
- At 93, Williams remains the most nominated living Oscar recipient with 54 nods.
- His comments appear in a new authorised biography to be published in September.
- A new London concert in October will reimagine his most famous scores.
A surprising confession
John Williams, one of cinema’s most celebrated composers, has admitted he never held film music in high regard, despite creating some of the most recognisable scores in movie history.
Speaking in a rare interview for an upcoming biography, John Williams: A Composer’s Life, the 93-year-old said: “I never liked film music very much … what we think of as this precious great film music is … we’re remembering it in some kind of nostalgic way. Just the idea that film music has the same place in the concert hall as the best music in the canon is a mistaken notion.”
Williams described much of the genre as “ephemeral” and “fragmentary”, adding that film-scoring assignments, even the most acclaimed, were “just a job”.
A record-breaking career
Over a career spanning seven decades, Williams has written the music for more than 100 films, including Jaws, E.T., Jurassic Park, the Indiana Jones series and the first three Harry Potter films.
He is the most nominated living Academy Award recipient, with a record 54 Oscar nominations and five wins. His music has defined cinematic moments for generations — from the ominous two-note motif in Jaws to the mournful violin theme of Schindler’s List.
Collaboration with Spielberg
Williams spoke warmly of his long-standing partnership with director Steven Spielberg, for whom he has scored films such as Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Saving Private Ryan.
He credited Spielberg’s musical upbringing for their enduring collaboration: “He’s more musically educated than most of the directors that I’ve worked with. He grew up with his mother who played Clementi and Bach and Chopin … he played a little clarinet. And he is very musical.”
Views from the biographer
Tim Greiving, the author of the forthcoming biography, described Williams’s views as “sort of shocking”, noting that they were not false modesty. “He is genuinely self-deprecating, and deprecating of ‘film music’ in general,” Greiving said.
He added: “I consider his film music to be kind of sublime art at its best. He perfected the art of film scoring. He took it to its greatest heights and elevated film music to a high art form.”
Beyond film
Outside Hollywood, Williams has composed numerous concert works, including concerti and fanfares, and served as music director of the Boston Pops Orchestra for more than a decade. His influence in classical circles has inspired new generations of musicians.
He has also approved a new performance series, John Williams Reimagined, featuring new arrangements of his scores for flute, cello and piano. The concert will take place at Cadogan Hall in London on 27 October, accompanied by an album release.
Williams praised the musicians involved, saying: “Pianist Simone Pedroni, flutist Sara Andon and cellist Cécilia Tsan have enhanced and elevated my music and that brings me great joy.”
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