PODCAST

The Baton: A John Williams Musical Journey

Jeff Commings

Take a chronological journey through the 60-year career of film composer John Williams!

tv & film film history

All Episodes

01:14:07

Episode 94 - Catch Me If You Can

The Baton: A John Williams Musical Journey ·

2020/09/02

John Williams capped off a marathon year of writing film scores with his Oscar-nominated composition for Steven Spielberg's dramedy "Catch Me If You Can." The score gave Williams the opportunity to return to his jazz roots, writing music that reflected the 1960s setting of the film. Many of the music cues feature saxophone solos by Dan Higgins, who joins host Jeff Commings to talk about his musical background and why playing the music in the score fit perfectly into his performance style.

31:44

Episode 93 - Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

The Baton: A John Williams Musical Journey ·

2020/08/26

The demanding work schedule John Williams faced in 2002 meant he had to make a tough choice for his score to "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets." He asked composer/orchestrator William Ross to help out by adapting much of the music from the first film for use in the sequel, while fitting the new music Williams wrote into certain places. This allowed Williams to work on Steven Spielberg's second film of the year, but it meant trusting that Ross would do a good job with his music. Host Jeff

46:24

Episode 92 - Minority Report

The Baton: A John Williams Musical Journey ·

2020/08/19

John Williams didn't have a lot of time to think about the score for Steven Spielberg's futuristic science fiction thriller "Minority Report," going right into the project almost immediately after finishing work on "Attack of the Clones." Spielberg and Williams agreed on a score that put more emphasis on tone rather than melody, something that was quite new for a Spielberg/Williams collaboration. But, the film manages to create some compelling themes and interesting action cues, with the flute

40:00

Episode 91 - Attack of the Clones

The Baton: A John Williams Musical Journey ·

2020/08/12

The 2002 film "Attack of the Clones" not only challenged John Williams with continuing the musical portrait he started with "The Phantom Menace" and closing the gap with the original "Star Wars" trilogy, but also trying to write a compelling score before he had to dash off to write music for "Minority Report." In the end, Williams was unable to finish his score, using music from "The Phantom Menace" to cover the climactic battle scene that was still being created in the visual effects department

51:21

Episode 90 - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

The Baton: A John Williams Musical Journey ·

2020/08/05

The 90th episode of "The Baton" highlights the return to the melodic theme composition styles that made John Williams famous in the 1970s and 1980s. With "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," Williams creates no less than seven new themes for the main characters and the title stone that causes so much trouble. Host Jeff Commings details all seven themes and their appearances in the score, including the fun Quidditch match and the thrilling chess game. There's also a look at the final piece of

01:00:39

Episode 89 - AI Artificial Intelligence

The Baton: A John Williams Musical Journey ·

2020/07/29

John Williams' score to "AI Artificial Intelligence" has a cold and detached feeling for most of the film, mostly using synthesizers to depict the life of a robot boy who wants to become human. But, some of the best moments in the score come when Williams unleashes the organic strength of the orchestra, in scenes such as David's abandonment in the woods or the arrival to Manhattan. But, one of the standout moments comes during a nighttime chase through the forest, when Williams' son Joseph provides

50:29

Episode 88 - The Patriot

The Baton: A John Williams Musical Journey ·

2020/07/22

For the final time in his career, John Williams stepped in as replacement composer, this time for the Revolutionary War action film "The Patriot," starring Mel Gibson in a role very similar to the one he played in "Braveheart" five years earlier. Though the film is largely fictional, the war setting provided John Williams with some great opportunities to write music for instruments of the time. But, the focus in the action scenes relied on some incredibly difficult writing for brass instruments

39:00

Episode 87 - Angela's Ashes

The Baton: A John Williams Musical Journey ·

2020/07/15

Though two composers had won Oscars for their scores on previous Alan Parker films, the director didn't reach out to them to write music for his first straight nonmusical drama in almost 10 years. Neither Giorgio Moroder or Michael Gore would have fit the mold for the music needed for "Angela's Ashes," based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir by Frank McCourt. John Williams had read the book and agreed to do the score, opting to forgo any of the typical Irish instruments that he employed seven

01:16:35

Episode 86 - The Phantom Menace

The Baton: A John Williams Musical Journey ·

2020/07/08

Fans were going crazy in anticipation of the return to the Star Wars galaxy with the release of "The Phantom Menace" in theaters. How would John Williams' score reflect that we are getting a lot of new characters while also keeping us musically grounded in the familiar? Though Williams used the main theme in the opening crawl, he decided to create a lot of new thematic material, including a bold choral piece called "Duel of the Fates" that has gained a life outside the film. Its constant play on MTV

31:27

Episode 85 - Stepmom

The Baton: A John Williams Musical Journey ·

2020/07/01

The story of John Williams' hiring to write the score for "Stepmom" has been the cause of rumor and hearsay for more than two decades, since the involved parties have never spoken publicly about how Williams came to replace Patrick Doyle as composer after Doyle supposedly turned in a complete score. Host Jeff Commings details the many rumors that have circulated in 22 years, and provides some exclusive insight into the timeline covering Williams' involvement to help clear up any misunderstanding

01:02:33

Episode 84 - Saving Private Ryan

The Baton: A John Williams Musical Journey ·

2020/06/24

Just about everyone involved in the production of the World War II epic "Saving Private Ryan" was tasked with pushing the envelope in terms of what could be seen and heard onscreen -- except composer John Williams. Director Steven Spielberg and Williams made the wise decision to keep music out of the key battle scenes, and even other key scenes that would have normally used music, to keep us immersed in this tale of a group of soldiers sent to retrieve the last surviving Ryan brother. Host Jeff

01:09:54

Episode 83 - Amistad

The Baton: A John Williams Musical Journey ·

2020/06/17

With the beautiful mezzo soprano voice of Pamela Dillard and the stately trumpet playing of Tim Morrison in his arsenal, John Williams delivered a score for "Amistad" that feels like the Maestro wrote two different scores for one film. One part of the score features tribal African percussion rhythms accentuated by Dillard vocalizing the main theme, while the other features an Americana flavor for the theme for President John Quincy Adams. But, in the context of the film, the two sides of the same

33:12

Episode 82 - Seven Years in Tibet

The Baton: A John Williams Musical Journey ·

2020/06/10

Brad Pitt took on another foreign accent for his 1997 true-life drama "Seven Years in Tibet," telling the story of an Austrian mountain climber captured during World War II who takes refuge in Tibet and befriends a young Dalai Lama. Pitt's accent wasn't the only misfire of the film. Director Jean-Jacques Annaud butchered John Williams' score, taking many of the cues featuring famous cellist Yo-Yo Ma out of the film in favor of pre-existing Tibetan music and some of the more unaffecting portions of

01:01:46

Episode 81 - The Lost World: Jurassic Park

The Baton: A John Williams Musical Journey ·

2020/06/03

The second half of 1997 felt like 1993 all over again, as Steven Spielberg and John Williams were working together on another dinosaur movie and another historical drama. First up was the sequel "The Lost World: Jurassic Park," in which Spielberg advised Williams to take the score in an entirely different direction from the wildly popular original 1993 film. And Williams obliged with his most prevalent use of percussion since 1972's Images. He also goes in a different direction for the main theme,

53:07

Episode 80 - Rosewood

The Baton: A John Williams Musical Journey ·

2020/05/27

When jazz composer and renowned trumpet player Wynton Marsalis was unable to write a score for "Rosewood" that suited director John Singleton, John Williams was brought in to compose music that would fit the mood of the film. And he created one of his most underrated scores for the true story of an all-black town burned to ashes during a riot started by a neighboring all-white town. Williams wrote three gospel songs for the film, his first time tackling songwriting on his own. Host Jeff Commings

49:38

Episode 79 - Sleepers

The Baton: A John Williams Musical Journey ·

2020/05/20

John Williams collaborated just once with Oscar-winning director Barry Levinson, writing a different score for "Sleepers" than he had composed in just about any of his 77 previous films. The music for the tale of four boys whose prank goes horribly wrong has a very modern and slick feel, relying more on synthesizers than he had recently. Host Jeff Commings talks about his surprise at learning Williams was involved with the film and how the famous Dies Irae melody might have found its way into the

46:33

Episode 78 - Nixon

The Baton: A John Williams Musical Journey ·

2020/05/13

The 1995 film "Nixon" was the third and final collaboration between director Oliver Stone and composer John Williams. The film presents a fractured story of Nixon's rise from humble beginnings in California to the presidency. That uneven presentation likely hampered Williams' ability to paint -- musically speaking -- on the canvas Stone presented him. The film features strong themes, from the main theme on Tim Morrison's trumpet to the mournful family theme on strings. Host Jeff Commings doesn't shy

59:41

Episode 77 - Sabrina

The Baton: A John Williams Musical Journey ·

2020/05/06

We've approached a new chapter in John Williams' career: the post-Golden Age era when the films he chose were not always of superior quality but still gave him the chance to write mostly memorable music. Host Jeff Commings is joined for the third time by Gianmaria Caschetto to discuss the breezy score to "Sabrina" that gave Williams the opportunity to reach back into his jazz roots, as well as his romantic comedy score past from the 1960s. He collaborated with lyricists Alan and Marilyn Bergman for

01:04:00

Episode 76 - Schindler's List

The Baton: A John Williams Musical Journey ·

2020/04/29

Host Jeff Commings presents his longest solo episode to date, discussing the Oscar-winning score to the 1993 drama "Schindler's List." It's 13 minutes longer than the amount of original music Williams composed for the 192-minute film. In addition to discussing the often-told backstory of Williams' reluctance to accept the job, you'll learn about the three locations in which the score was recorded and why the Boston Symphony Orchestra was picked to play a portion of the score. You'll hear musical

55:54

Episode 75 - Jurassic Park

The Baton: A John Williams Musical Journey ·

2020/04/22

Host Jeff Commings counts the score to "Jurassic Park" as the gateway to becoming a John Williams fan, and he's joined by David Kay to talk about the aspects of the score that introduced a generation of people to Williams' music. They talk at length about the rousing fanfare that plays at the introduction to the island where the bulk of the action takes place, as well as the uncharacteristically gentle music that shows the dinosaurs for the first time. There is plenty of terror music for the

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The Baton: A John Williams Musical Journey

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