As the result of a casual suggestion by BSO violist Michael Zaretsky, Williams wrote one of his rare chamber-music scores, Duo concertante for violin and viola, for Zaretsky and BSO violinist Victor Romanul. Williams’s harp concerto, On Willows and Birches, was a gift for former BSO principal harp Ann Hobson Pilot at the time of her retirement from the orchestra. These include a tuba concerto for former BSO member Chester Schmitz a concerto for BSO oboist Keisuke Wakao, and a viola concerto for Pops principal viola Cathy Basrak, all premiered by the Pops under the composer’s direction. Many of these pieces are concertos written with specific soloists in mind-especially members of the Boston Pops with whom he worked during his tenure as the titled conductor of the orchestra and in the decades following. The circumstances surrounding many, if not most, of these pieces is completely in keeping with the generosity of spirit and joy in connections with others that are such a well-known aspect of Williams’s personality. The bulk of that catalog dates from about the beginning of his tenure as Conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra. The overwhelming popularity and familiarity of John Williams’s film music and his status as a Hollywood icon have tended to overshadow an impressive catalog of works for the concert stage. He has also won numerous Grammy, Golden Globe, and Emmy awards, among many other honors. The winner of five Academy Awards, Williams trails only Walt Disney as the Academy’s most-nominated individual, with fifty-two total Oscar nominations. The composer has also worked with such prominent directors as Oliver Stone, Chris Columbus, and of course George Lucas in the Star Wars franchise. the Extra-Terrestrial, Schindler’s List, the Indiana Jones and Jurassic Park series, The BFG, and many others. Jaws was only the second in a string of collaborations with Steven Spielberg it was followed by twenty-six further films, including E.T. It was his music for Jaws (1975) that upped the ante two years later, Star Wars cemented his status as a household name and as one of the most famous American composers in history. Chips, The Cowboys, and The Poseidon Adventure. Mutter expands her already remarkable, stylistically varied string of commissions from such composers as Witold Lutosławski, Wolfgang Rihm, Krzysztof Penderecki, Henri Dutilleux, and Sebastian Currier, among others.Īlready very active in the 1960s in both TV and film, Williams’s work had become familiar to viewers with his scores for TV series ( Lost in Space and Wagon Train, among many others), TV movies of Jane Eyre and Heidi, and such feature films as How to Steal a Million, Goodbye, Mr. In requesting a new concerto from John Williams, Ms. 2 is a serious and substantial addition to a tradition that encompasses some three hundred years of repertoire, from Vivaldi through Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky through Berg, to Sofia Gubaidulina and André Previn. The violinist, one of the preeminent soloists in the world, was well aware of the composer’s deep love for the violin, not only from his concert works for violin and orchestra-the Violin Concerto and TreeSong-but also the beautiful Three Pieces from Schindler’s List, derived from his Academy Award-winning film score. At Tanglewood in summer 2017, the violinist had given the world premiere performance with the Boston Symphony Orchestra of a new work requested by and written for her, John Williams’s Markings for violin and orchestra. 2 is the result of many years of collaboration and friendship between John Williams and Anne-Sophie Mutter. 2 calls for 3 flutes (3rd doubling alto flute and piccolo), 3 oboes (3rd doubling English horn), 3 clarinets (3rd doubling bass clarinet), and 3 bassoons (3rd doubling contrabassoon) 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, and tuba timpani, percussion (glockenspiel, xylophone, vibraphone, marimba, chimes, large and small triangles, high and medium sizzle cymbals, bright cymbal, 4 suspended cymbals, choke cymbal, 3 tam-tams, high slapsticks, 2 tambourines, small ratchet, Japanese woodblocks, tuned drums, bass drum, taiko), harp, piano and celesta, and strings (violins I and II, violas, cellos, double basses). 2 for violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter, who gave the world premiere performance at Tanglewood on July 24, 2021, with the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by the composer. John Towner Williams was born February 8, 1932, in New York City, and lives in Los Angeles, California.
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