Highlights:
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John Williams admits he “never liked film music very much,” calling it a “lesser art form.”
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He has scored more than 100 films including Star Wars, Jaws, Jurassic Park and Harry Potter.
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At 93, he holds 54 Oscar nominations and five wins — the most for any living composer.
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His comments appear in the authorized biography John Williams: A Composer’s Life, out in September.
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A new London concert, John Williams Reimagined, will take place in October.
John Williams, one of the most acclaimed composers in cinema history, has admitted that he never held film music in particularly high regard. Despite being responsible for some of the most enduring scores in modern film, the 93-year-old composer described the genre as a “lesser art form.”
In a rare interview for the forthcoming authorized biography John Williams: A Composer’s Life, he said:
“I never liked film music very much … what we think of as this precious great film music is … 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.”
Williams went further to describe much of film music as “ephemeral” and “fragmentary,” stating that composing for the screen, even for highly regarded projects, was “just a job.”
A Career Defined by Iconic Scores
Although John Williams expressed skepticism about the artistic status of film music, his career tells another story. Over seven decades, he has composed music for more than 100 films, including Star Wars, Jaws, E.T., Jurassic Park, the Indiana Jones series, and the first three Harry Potter films.
His work has defined cinematic experiences for audiences across generations. The two-note suspense motif from Jaws, the soaring theme of Star Wars, and the haunting violin melody in Schindler’s List are just a few examples of how John Williams’s compositions have become part of popular culture.
Williams is also the most nominated living Academy Award recipient, with 54 Oscar nominations and five wins. His awards record reflects both the scale of his work and the critical recognition it has received.
John Williams and His Collaboration with Steven Spielberg
A central part of John Williams’s career has been his long-standing partnership with director Steven Spielberg. Their collaboration began in the 1970s and has included films such as Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T., Jurassic Park, and Saving Private Ryan.
Reflecting on this working relationship, Williams highlighted Spielberg’s musical background:
“He’s more musically educated than most of the directors that I’ve worked with. He grew up with his mother who played Clementi and Bach and Chopin … he played a little clarinet. And he is very musical.”
This mutual understanding has been key to creating film scores that align closely with narrative storytelling.
Biographer’s Perspective on John Williams
Tim Greiving, who authored John Williams: A Composer’s Life, described the composer’s remarks as “sort of shocking.” He stressed that the comments were not an act of false modesty.
“He is genuinely self-deprecating, and deprecating of ‘film music’ in general,” Greiving said.
However, Greiving emphasized the lasting value of Williams’s contributions:
“I consider his film music to be kind of sublime art at its best. He perfected the art of film scoring. He took it to its greatest heights and elevated film music to a high art form.”
Work Beyond Film
John Williams’s career has not been confined to cinema. He has composed numerous concert works, including concerti, fanfares, and symphonic pieces. He also served as music director of the Boston Pops Orchestra for more than a decade, expanding his influence in classical music circles.
His work in the concert hall demonstrates his versatility and has inspired younger generations of musicians who see him as a bridge between popular and classical traditions.
John Williams Reimagined: New Concert in London
Despite his reservations about film music as an art form, John Williams continues to approve projects that celebrate his legacy. A new performance series titled John Williams Reimagined will premiere in London on 27 October at Cadogan Hall.
This concert will feature new arrangements of his scores for flute, cello, and piano, accompanied by an album release. Williams expressed his appreciation for the musicians involved:
“Pianist Simone Pedroni, flutist Sara Andon, and cellist Cécilia Tsan have enhanced and elevated my music, and that brings me great joy.”
Conclusion: John Williams’s Complex Legacy
John Williams may downplay the artistic status of film music, but his work has shaped the sound of cinema for more than half a century. His comments suggest a distinction between his personal view of the art form and the immense impact his scores have had on audiences, filmmakers, and musicians alike.
With a record-breaking career, multiple Academy Awards, and a body of work that continues to be performed worldwide, John Williams remains one of the most influential composers of the modern era — even as he insists that film music should not be considered on the same level as the classical canon.
