My Pro-John Williams manifesto (with some other stuff, too) by Joseph Sowa

Dave Lewis wrote:

>JOHN WILLIAMS
>
>You folks are going to have me over a barrel for this one, but I no
>longer work in Hollywood, so I can say it out loud: (cups hands to mouth)
>"John Williams is the most over rated composer in the world." Ahh, that
>feels better.  If it weren't for the megahit blockbuster movies which he
>scores, Williams' penchant for too-simple melody and paint-by-number
>orchestration would've gotten him no farther than that of band director for
>a local high school.  He has done nothing in thirty years to live up to his
>early promise as a big band jazz arranger and has never written a note of
>original music which has stirred my emotions on it's own account. [...]

I must have this thing about disagreeing with people, but that summation
is IMHO, quite wrong.  Some of us *like* having very distinct melodies
in our music.  In addition, several of we composers (excuse the grammar),
cannot write without melody.  For example, Rachmaninov (who said so
himself), and myself.  About the music not stirring emotions on own it's
account, you've probably never bought one of his soundtracks *before*
you've seen the movie.  I did with The Phantom Menace, and got it the
first day it was released.  Even without the story to back his music up,
it played fantastic.  It has a graver, and more mature tone than the music
from the other 3 movies.  Even if saw the movie, try watching SW: A New
Hope in the infamous binary sunset scene when Luke looks on toward the
horizon.  Without the music: flat scene; with the music: great scene.
Even if John Williams is a bad composer, he's by a very very long way the
best composer Hollywood has to offer.  James Horner lacks the depth and
consistency, and Jerry Goldsmith is too cerebral.  (The thing about Horner
is that he's just as much a melodist as Williams, if not worse) Only John
Williams has the ability to balence the music so that it fits.  In short,
he may be overrated in your eyes, but in my eyes, HE'S THE GREATEST LIVING
COMPOSER.  (However, coming from Hollywood I can understand why you feel
that way.  Having someone's name blasted in your ears 24x7 isn't exactly
helpful to you're esteem of them.  Same sort of thing is on with me and
Mozart.)

>And now five *under-rated* composers-
>FRANZ BERWALD

I'm astounded how wrong, and then how right your opinions are.  Berwald
is fantastic, he's up there in the romatics with Dvorak.  His whole
melody/harmony language is unique and quite fresh.

As for more *under-rated* composers -

ALEXANDER BORODIN
Best melodist that ever lived.  He wrote the best symphony ever written by
a Russian in the Romatic era.  His music is gentle, but not without climax.
He also was good at orchestrating his melodies.  As for his place in the
might five, he was the melodist, Rimsky-Korsakov was the painter, and
Mussorgsky (sp?) was the revolutionary.

Can't think of any others off hand

Regards,

Joseph Sowa
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