Music Album Review: 'The Spielberg-Williams Collaboration - Part III'

(C) 2017 Sony Classical/Sony Masterworks

On March 17, 2017, Sony Classical, an imprint of Sony Masterworks, released The Spielberg-Williams Collaboration – Part III, a sequel to 1991’s The Spielberg-Williams Collaboration – John Williams Conducts His Classic Scores for the Films of Steven Spielberg and 1995’s Williams on Williams: The Classic Spielberg Scores. These two albums were recorded for Sony Classical during Maestro Williams’ stint as conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra and showcased the results of the long collaboration between the five-time Academy Award-winning composer and the two-time Best Director Oscar-winning filmmaker.

Official Sony Classical Video: The Adventures of Mutt 

In this third collection of music from his scores for the films of Steven Spielberg, Williams conducts the Recording Arts Orchestra of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus, the California State University, Fullerton, University Singers, and – for Escapades for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra from Catch Me if You Can – saxophonist Dan Higgins, vibraphonist Martin Grubinger, and bassist Michael Valerio.

The other soloists featured in The Spielberg-Williams Collaboration – Part III are flutist Heather Clark and trumpeter Thomas Hooten. 

Official Sony Classical Video: The BFG

The Spielberg-Williams Collaboration – Part III presents music from Steven Spielberg movies made between 1997 (Amistad) and 2016 (The BFG), with a slight retrograde detour to the 1980s (Raiders of the Lost Ark). The album’s 16 tracks represent 11 feature films and one film/concert project (The Unfinished Journey), and the different styles – ranging from a choral performance by a mix of college singers and a children’s choir to a jaunty suite of “cool jazz” played by a trio and the orchestra – make for an eclectic mix curated by executive producer Steven Spielberg and music editors Ramiro Belgarat and Robert Wolff.

Track Listing:

1. The Adventures of Mutt: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
2. Dry Your Tears, Afrika: Amistad (Los Angeles Children’s Chorus * California State University, Fullerton, University Singers)
3. The BFG: The BFG (Heather Clark, flute)
4. With Malice Toward None: Lincoln (Thomas Hooten, trumpet
5. The Duel: The Adventures of Tintin
6. A New Beginning: Minority Report
7. Escapades for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra Movement 1: Closing In: Catch Me if You Can (Dan Higgins, alto saxophone; Martin Grubinger, vibraphone; Michael Valerio, bass)
8. Escapades for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra Movement 2: Reflections
9. Escapades for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra Movement 3: Joy Ride
10. Marion’s Theme: Raiders of the Lost Ark
11. Hymn to the Fallen: Saving Private Ryan (California State University, Fullerton, University Singers)
12. Dartmoor, 1912: War Horse
13. Viktor’s Tale: The Terminal
14. Prayer for Peace: Munich
15. Immigration and Building: The Unfinished Journey
16. With Malice Toward None (Alternate Version): Lincoln (Stephen Erdody, cello)

My Take

The Spielberg-Williams Collaboration – Part III was a project that, frankly, was long overdue. Nearly 22 years had passed since Maestro Williams had recorded a selection of themes and suites from his friend’s movies with the Boston Pops Orchestra, and because both Williams and Spielberg were busy with various projects, the notion of a third collection was far from their minds.

Official Sony Classical Video: Escapades for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra from "Catch Me If You Can": Movement 1: Closing In

That is, until 2016, when Spielberg’s fantasy film The BFG was in its post-production stages and Maestro Williams had completed recording the movie’s score with the Recording Arts Orchestra of Los Angeles, one of several studio ensembles that specializes in recording music for movies and television series.

As Jon Burlingame writes in the album’s liner notes:

In fact, (Spielberg and Williams) were so impressed with the Los Angeles studio musicians who recorded the score for The BFG that they decided to make this album…. So when a brief window opened between film assignments, (Williams) scheduled two days for recording at UCLA’s Royce Hall (whose acoustics Williams deems among the finest in America). Ninety-five musicians, plus the eighty-voice Cal State Fullerton University Singers and the forty-voice Los Angeles Children’s Chorus, took part.

As a long-time fan of Spielberg’s films and Maestro Williams – and of course, these Spielberg-Williams Collaboration albums – I was happy to see that Sony Classical released a third album, which is also available in the four-disc (three compact discs, one DVD) box set John Williams – Steven Spielberg: The Ultimate Collection.

To be sure, I was a bit disappointed when I noticed that the album omitted several of Spielberg’s movies that were released after his last Boston Pops Orchestra recording in this series, Williams on Williams: The Classic Spielberg Scores. Where was the “trek” theme from The Lost World: Jurassic Park? Or the haunting Where Dreams Are Born hymn from A.I. Artificial Intelligence? (In my defense, I had not read the liner notes until after I’d listened to this album –it’s difficult for anyone to select a suitable mix of themes and suites for a project like The Spielberg-Williams Collaboration – Part III, even if “anyone” happens to be John Williams (who produced the album) or Steven Spielberg (who served as the project’s executive producer).

Quality-wise, The Spielberg-Williams Collaboration – Part III is a better album than Williams on Williams: The Classic Spielberg Scores, Here, there is a better mix of films – 11 in all, instead of nine, and where this album focuses more than two tracks on one film – Catch Me if You Can – it presents the content in one three-movement suite rather than scattered hither and yon throughout the CD or digital album.

There is also more variety in the content. Where Williams on Williams: The Classic Spielberg Scores didn’t have any choral selections, The Spielberg-Williams Collaboration – Part III gives us two: Dry Your Tears, Afrika from 1997’s Amistad and Hymn for the Fallen from 1998’s Saving Private Ryan. 

Official Sony Classical Video: Hymn for the Fallen from Saving Private Ryan

As far as franchise offerings here, Indiana Jones fans will find selections from films that are 27 years apart but are connected both in emotional and musical contexts.

Track 1, Adventures of Mutt from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, underscores the reckless actions of Henry “Mutt” Williams, the rebellious adolescent who also happens to be Indy’s son. While it’s not as iconic as Williams’ Raiders’ March for Indy, it is bright, spirited, and brash.

Complimenting this 2008 composition is Marion’s Theme from 1981’s Raiders of the Lost Ark (track 10). This is a new arrangement of the 1930s-style theme for Indiana Jones’ ultimate leading lady, and here it is presented with a warmer, more “mature” sensibility that reflects the character’s growth over 21 years and her relationship between her son – Mutt – and her long-lost love, Indy.

All in all, if you are a fan of the long-running (and still ongoing) Spielberg-Williams collaboration, this album is a must-have recording for your music collection. I eagerly recommend it.