John Williams turns 90: the most Oscar-nominated musician who put soul into the great sagas

There are scenes that are part of the collective imagination of the entire world: a shark lurking on a beach full of children and young people; five boys on bicycles ascending to the sky with the sunset as a background; a man in a red cape cutting through the air to stop a girl and a helicopter from falling from a New York skyscraper; warships soaring through infinite space to fight against an evil empire; a hatted hero trying to survive being whipped in some exotic setting; the dinosaurs regaining their dominance over the earth; children raising their wands to face evil. All these images are not only familiar to anyone who has been a child or adolescent in the last 50 years, but also have a particular musical accompaniment that is as familiar to us as everyday, as natural as what has always been a part of life. A soul that, by extracting it, can make those moments cease to be identifiable. This can be felt, in the same way, by someone who lives in Iceland, Japan, Croatia, Colombia, South Africa, Australia or Peru. And all thanks to a man born in Floral Park, New York, on February 8, 1932, when theaters premiered gangster films and the United States was still experiencing the consequences of the Great Depression. John Towney-Williamsthe most nominated composer Oscar (52 times), would come to the world with the roar of a hungry city as background music. There would be no fanfares or apotheosis, but there would be an example: his father was a percussionist in a jazz band. He would soon know that his path would also be marked by sheet music.

“Good night gentlemen, good night. Thanks to the Academy for this prestigious recognition. I want to acknowledge the other nominees, in particular my esteemed John Williams. There is no great soundtrack without a great movie to inspire it.”, Ennio Morricone said in February 2016, when he won the Oscar for the music of Tarantino’s “The Hateful Eight”. After 5 nominations and an honorary award, the Italian maestro, then 87 years old, finally won a statuette for a soundtrack. The first he hugged when he heard his name as the winner was John Williams, also nominated that same night and sitting next to him in a box. Williams was happy for his friend. Between him and Morricone they are responsible for the sound of much of today’s contemporary cinema. As if to confirm the recognition that both deserve, in 2020 they jointly received the Princess of Asturias Award for the Arts.

“His innumerable compositions have not only been a backdrop to accentuate atmospheres or define characters, but have gone beyond the screen and have known how to perfectly mix the backgrounds of music history with the sound of their time, without forgetting their own idiosyncrasies.”, highlighted the jury about the sound legacy of both composers.

In addition to being a jazz musician and member of the Raymond Scott Quintette, John Williams Sr. also participated in film soundtracks, often alongside composer Bernard Herrmann, consecrated thanks to the music of films such as “Citizen Kane”, “Vertigo”, “Psycho” or “Taxi Driver”. Herrmann, Williams Jr. has said, admired the way his father played the kettledrums. So it’s like he was born into the industry. Perhaps for this reason traces of jazz and popular standards can be found in his scores, as well as the influence of composers such as Stravinsky, Aaron Copland or, without a doubt, Richard Wagner.

In 1956, at just 24 years old, John Williams would have his first credit, for the additional orchestration of the film “Carousel”, by Henry King, where he would meet his future wife, actress Barbara Ruick, whom he met in high school. In 1958 he would appear as a composer in an episode of the series “Playhouse 90 ″ and the film “Daddy-O”, a comedy that only deserves to be remembered because he made the music. In 1959 he would participate in the soundtrack of his first big title: “Some Like it Hot”, one of the funniest films in history, directed by Billy Wilder and starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon.

“John Williams has been the single most significant contributor to my success as a filmmaker.”, Steven Spielberg said, bluntly, a few years ago. Despite the fact that his name is inseparable from the Star Wars saga, his work with the director has marked the careers of both since they collaborated for the first time in “Sugarland Express” (1974), throughout titles that have marked history. movies: “Jaws” (1975), “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” (1977), “Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark” (1981), “ET The Extra-Terrestrial” (1982), “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” (1984), “Empire of the Sun” (1987), “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” (1990), “Jurassic Park” (1993), “Schindler’s List” (1993), “Rescuing Private Ryan” (1998), “Artificial Intelligence” (2002) or “Lincoln” (2013) are some examples of an extraordinary society.

Shortly before “Jaws” and “ET”, in addition, Williams was devastated after becoming a widower from one moment to another, as his wife Barbara suffered a brain hemorrhage at only 44 years old. However, Williams was not a rookie when Spielberg met him and began working with him. In 1971 he had already won his first Oscar for the music of Norman Jewison’s Fiddler on the Roof.

“When John Williams saw ET he was very happy with the movie. I know when John likes a movie, because then we hardly talk about music. He already has issues going around his head”, Spielberg once recalled. “Working with Steven is always an occasion to tell stories with music, so to speak. –Williams recalled, meanwhile-. His themes and his way of directing are very compatible with a certain sense of musical development.”.

In June 2016, John Williams received the Life Achievement Award from the American Film Institute. His friend Steven of his was there to celebrate with him. “John, you bring certainty to the movies we’ve made he said, before handing him the award. You take the movies, many of them about our wildest dreams, and with your genius as a musician, you make them real and timeless for billions of people.”. Those millions of people, in the 5 continents, know perfectly well that many of their favorite scenes in the history of cinema would be unrecognizable if they did not have the music of John Williams as a background. In many ways, it can be said that his musical pieces are the soul that makes characters and films live.

In an interview with The New Yorker in July 2020, he referred to the fireproof quality of his music. Something beyond time or fashion. “It’s a bit like the way the olfactory system is connected to memory, so that a certain smell reminds you of your grandmother’s kitchen (…) Something similar happens with music. Actually, at the root of the question is something about our physiological or neurological makeup that we don’t understand. It has to do with survival, or protecting the identity of the group, or God knows what. Music can be so powerful, even though it walks away and we chase it”.

Perhaps it is because of this esoteric quality that Spielberg assured about his work: “”.

After completing his music studies at the University of California in the early 1950s, he directed and arranged music for military bands as part of his service in the Air Force. That is another undoubted influence on his work. Later, he went through the prestigious Juilliard School, where he solidified his musical training.

Williams’ compositions give life to hundreds of films. We can find his credit in “The Valley of the Dolls” (1967), “Goodbye, Mr Chips” (1969), “The Poseidon Adventure” (1972), “Hell in the Tower” (1974), “Superman” ( 1978), “The Eatswick Witches” (1987), “My Poor Little Angel” (1990), “JFK” (1991), “The Patriot” (2000), “Memoirs of a Geisha” (2005) or in series of television, like the well-remembered “The Time Tunnel” (1966-67).

But it is not the only work he has done. In his 90 years of life he has written two symphonies, a concerto for bassoon, another for cello, for flute and violin, for trumpet and concertos for clarinet and tuba, demonstrating, in addition to his inexhaustible talent, his versatility. He, however, keeps it simple:

“I have received five Oscars and people say to me: Don’t you get tired of that? I think it’s human instinct never to tire of being appreciated (…) We never feel like we’ve done our best work. We always hope that the next one will be the best. So when someone pats you on the back or gives you an award, it’s certainly rewarding, you never become indifferent to that. At least, in my case, it makes me think: “Maybe next time I can do something even better”.

Although the comparison is not exact, because it does not talk about styles, it does talk about geniuses: John Williams is, without a doubt, the Wagner or the Beethoven of our time.