The City Light Symphony Orchestra, founded in Lucerne in 2018, has announced its debut album with the 100-minute program Spotlight on John Williams. The 90-piece orchestra recorded a selection of classic film scores by Williams in the concert hall of the KKL Luzern in September 2020 – with a deliberate focus on his great stylistic diversity. The music is conducted by Kevin Griffiths and the featured soloists include Valentine Michaud, Reinhold Friedrich and Paul Meyer. Pirmin Zängerle is producing the record, which will be released digitally on April 9, 2021 by Prospero Classical (visit Amazon to pre-order) and as a 2-CD set overseas on the same day and internationally in May. Listen to several tracks from the album after the jump.
Tag: John Williams
‘The Time Tunnel’ Soundtrack Collection Announced
La-La Land Records has announced a new soundtrack album for the 60s sci-fi series The Time Tunnel created by Irwin Allen and starring James Darren, Robert Colbert, Whit Bissell, John Zaremba and Lee Meriwether. The first volume in The Time Tunnel soundtrack collection features the original music from several episodes of the show composed by John Williams (as Johnny Williams) (Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jaws, Jurassic Park), Lyn Murray (To Catch a Thief, Gunsmoke), Paul Sawtell (Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Jack the Giant Killer) and Robert Drasnin (Mission: Impossible, Lost in Space). The 3-CD set, which is limited to 1,000 copies, is now available to order on the label’s official website, where you can also check out the full album details and listen to audio samples.
Expanded Soundtrack Album for Steven Spielberg’s ‘War of the Worlds’ Announced
Intrada Records has announced a new soundtrack album for Steven Spielberg’s 2005 feature War of the Worlds starring Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning, Justin Chatwin, Miranda Otto and Tim Robbins. The 2-CD set features the remastered and expanded score from the Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures production composed and conducted by John Williams (Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Schindler’s List, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Jaws), including the film’s complete score on the first disc and a remastered version of the original 2005 soundtrack album, as well as 15 minutes of extras on the second disc. Visit the label’s official website for the full album details and to order the soundtrack.
Expanded ‘The River’ Soundtrack Album Announced
Intrada Records has announced a new soundtrack album for the 1984 drama The River directed by Mark Rydell and starring Sissy Spacek, Mel Gibson and Scott Glenn. The album features the expanded original score from the composed and conducted by John Williams (Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jaws, Schindler’s List, Jurassic Park, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone) who received an Academy Award nomination for his work. The releases includes a remastered version of the original 1984 soundtrack album, as well world premiere release of full the original soundtrack recording, including around 20 minutes of previously unreleased material. The soundtrack is now available to order on the label’s official website, where you can also check out audio samples.
John Williams in Vienna Concert Album Announced
Deutsche Grammophon has announced the concert album John Williams in Vienna. The album features the the live recordings of the Hollywood legend’s Vienna Philharmonic 2020 debut. The composer shared the stage with violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter. Among the titles features on the release are Star Wars, Harry Potter, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jurassic Park, E.T. the Extra-Terrestria’, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Jaws, Schindler’s List, Hook, War Horse, The Witches of Eastwick, Far and Away and The Adventures of Tintin. The album will be released on August 14, 2020. Visit Amazon to order the CD and vinyl version of the standard edition and click here to order the deluxe edition, which features 6 additional tracks, as well as Blu-ray Disc. A first track, Imperial March, is now already available to stream/download on Apple Music. Also check out a video of the live performance after the jump.
Expanded ‘Far and Away’ & ‘The Swarm’ Soundtracks Announced
La-La Land Records has announced a new soundtrack album for the 1992 historical drama Far and Away directed by Ron Howard and starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. The album features the remastered and expanded original music from the Universal Pictures release composed and conducted by John Williams (Star Wars, Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jurassic Park, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Schindler’s List), including previously unreleased tracks from the score and alternate cues. The 2-CD set, which is limited to 3,500 copies, is now available to order on the label’s official website, where you can also check out the full track list and listen to audio samples.
Hollywood Bowl 2020 Season Schedule Announced
The Hollywood Bowl has announced this summer’s season schedule, which includes a number of film music concerts. On June 27, the Bowl will host a live to projection concert for Nicholas Hooper‘s score for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Justin Freer will conduct the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. Click here for more information. On July 30, John Williams and violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter will perform the Los Angeles Philharmonic for a special program of music from their album Across the Stars, featuring re-imagined versions of Williams’ themes from Star Wars, Sabrina, Far and Away, Harry Potter, and many more (click here for more details).
Hildur Guðnadóttir Wins Grammy Award for ‘Chernobyl’ Score
Hildur Guðnadóttir has won her first Grammy Award for her score for the HBO limited series Chernobyl in the Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media category. The composer has previously received an Emmy Award for her work on the show. In the Best Song Written For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media, Natalie Hemby, Lady Gaga, Hillary Lindsey & Aaron Raitiere won the award for the song I’ll Never Love Again from A Star Is Born. The Bradley Cooper-directed movie also won the prize in the Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for Visual Media category.
Weekly Film Music Roundup (December 20, 2019)
Two new movies are opening nationwide this weekend:
Opening in most theaters is Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker directed by J.J. Abrams and starring Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson, Lupita Nyong’o, Keri Russell, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Carrie Fisher and Billy Dee Williams. The film’s original music is composed by John Williams (Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jurassic Park, E.T., Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone). Walt Disney Records has released a soundtrack album featuring the composer’s score. Check out our previous article for the full album details.
Also opening wide is the film adaptation of the stage musical Cats directed by Tom Hooper and starring James Corden, Judi Dench, Jason Derulo, Jennifer Hudson, Ian McKellen, Rebel Wilson, Francesca Hayward, Robbie Fairchild and Taylor Swift. Andrew Lloyd Webber (Evita, Jesus Christ Superstar) has composed the film’s music. Polydor has released a soundtrack album featuring all songs from the movie, including the original track Beautiful Ghosts performed by Swift. Click here for the full album details.
‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’ Soundtrack Details
The full details of the soundtrack album for Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker have been revealed. The album features the film’s original music compose and conducted by Academy Award winner John Williams (Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jurassic Park, E.T., Schindler’s List, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone). The soundtrack will be released digitally tomorrow, December 18 (click here to stream/download) and physically this Friday, December 20. Check back on this page for the streaming/download link to be added and visit Amazon to pre-order the CD version. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker directed by J.J. Abrams and starring Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Keri Russell, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Carrie Fisher and Billy Dee Williams is opening in theaters nationwide this weekend.