“I never liked film music very much,” Williams said to The Guardian’s Dalya Alberge, “Film music, however good it can be — and it usually isn’t, other than maybe an eight-minute stretch here and there … I just think the music isn’t there. What we think of as this precious great film music … 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, I think.”

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[–] redhorsejacket@lemmy.world 9 points 2 weeks ago

I mean, John Williams can say anything he likes about the quality of film music, he's certainly earned the right.

That being said...

[–] dhork@lemmy.world 6 points 2 weeks ago

I mean, I kind of get it. Soundtrack music -- and particularly Williams' music -- is extremely evocative. But it is designed to be paired with scenes from a film, and add to the mood of a film. There is a lot of evocative classical music, which is just as good as setting a tone or a mood, but doesn't have the advantage of projecting a scene into your eyeballs while you listen.

So maybe it's just that Williams thinks that writing film scores is a sort of "cheat code" to getting an audience to feel something through music. Still, I don't mind listening. And isn't that the true measure of success of a musical piece, that people look forward to listening to it?

[–] orbituary@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

I am no Prequel fan, but when it comes to John Williams music, very little beats "Duel of the Fates" for me. That's some epic shit, with or without accompanying scenes.

https://youtu.be/J1gH_cjdb60

[–] acosmichippo@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago

has he heard any John Williams scores?

[–] WeirdGoesPro@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 2 weeks ago

For most movies, yes, for some movies, no. Lord of the Rings has a score that can stand alone.