John Williams's film music. 'Jaws,' 'Star Wars,' 'Raiders of the Lost Ark,' and the return of the classical Hollywood music style

Audissino, Emilio (2014) John Williams's film music. 'Jaws,' 'Star Wars,' 'Raiders of the Lost Ark,' and the return of the classical Hollywood music style. University of Wisconsin Press, Madison WI, USA. ISBN 9780299297343

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Abstract

John Williams is one of the most renowned film composers in history. He has penned unforgettable scores for Star Wars, the Indiana Jones series, 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 Music explores 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 for Jaws and Star Wars, Williams’s work as conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra, and a full film/music analysis of Raiders 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.

Item Type: Book
Subjects: Film and television
Music
Depositing User: Emilio Audissino
Date Deposited: 16 Feb 2016 11:20
Last Modified: 28 Aug 2021 07:19
URI: https://repository.uwl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1630

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