Happy 88th Birthday Maestro John Williams

[Hedji]

88 Years old today. My favorite artist of all time, of any media. No other individual artist has brought more joy to me personally.

Every year, every score is a gift. I will often sit and just listen without distraction, and find myself with real tears in my eyes.

Here's a new one that does the trick. Such a sweet and surprisingly sentimental farewell to the Star Wars Saga from John Williams.


Just take a minute and honor the man... give this your attention for 4 minutes. It's gorgeous.

I can't believe I'm lucky to have lived in the same time as John Williams.

[Random Axe]

His talents and contributions to film through music will never be equaled, total agreement. I don't know enough about him or his awards but if he hasn't earned a lifetime achievement Oscar it would be a travesty.

[Hedji]

I believe he is at 52 nominations for the Academy Awards. He's the most nominated living person for the Oscars. Walt Disney is the most nominated of all time, with 59 nominations.

Not that awards really tell the whole story of an artist's worth, but still.. pretty neat.

[Hedji]

A really nice Spotify list

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6h...GYgN4z5jLZ375k

[Bruce Banner]

All hail the maestro!

[PNGwynne]

Loved him on the Pops, too. Happy birthday!!

[Nostalgiabuff]

Amazing he is still working too. Happy Birthday!

[Hedji]

In case you're wondering, this is how Williams spent his birthday yesterday. Give a watch, and you won't believe this energy and enthusiasm is coming from a man of 88 years. I LOVE his final statement!

And here is the cake I made yesterday:

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[Werewolf]

Love the cake.

[Hector]

88 Years old today. My favorite artist of all time, of any media. No other individual artist has brought more joy to me personally.

John Williams and Queen for me.

[Earth 2 Chris]

In total agreement with everything said here. The word "legend" gets thrown around a lot, but he has earned it 1,000 times over. There are other great film composers, but he's in a category all his own, an atmosphere above the rest.

Chris

[YoungOnce]

Great thread... all accolades are deserved for Mr. Williams.

Any director who knows that John Williams will be doing the score of their movie has earned a great gift. He elevates every movie he creates music for.

It amazes me how he evokes so much emotion with a few little musical phrases. Too, he seems to be able to tap into that childhood wonder that still lives inside of all of us. I once thought that his music did that for me because I was just nostalgic for those movies I grew up with like Superman, Star Wars, E.T., Jaws etc... but he is still able to draw out those same feelings today. I think of Rey’s Theme in The Force Awakens and how powerful (and wondrously beautiful) that melody is. It’s an artist’s gift to be able to make someone 12 years old again.

[Hedji]

^I’m admittedly a biased superfan... but you’re dead on about Rey’s Theme. I’ll never forget hearing it for the very first time when the character went ‘sand sledding’ in Force Awakens. I was almost in disbelief that Williams defied modern scoring conventions and gifted us with that beauty in 2015. That type of writing is found nowhere else these days.

[YoungOnce]

It’s just a perfect storm of someone who had an amazing talent, cultivated it and mastered his field of expertise, and instead of letting that musical knowledge turn Him into something snobbish and arrogant, is still able to tap into that earlier primal thing.

He just gets it. In any movie, an actor is trying to get to the emotional center of the scene. John Williams does the same “acting” in the scene with his music. With just a few notes, he takes you right to what he wants you to be feeling.

[Earth 2 Chris]

^Rey's and Kylo Ren's themes are both great, but Rey's is just so perfect for that character. A stroke of genius for him to NOT use it in Rise of Skywalker again until the very end of the film as well, when Rey has "found" herself once more.

But then again, he IS a genius.

Chris