A Certain Point of View: Writing, Film and Stuff

Art Design by Dennis Mukai and Peter Nomura (C) 1986 Philips Classics Productions “If music be the food of love, play on, Give me excess of it; that surfeiting, The appetite may sicken, and so die.” ― William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night In 1985, Philips Classics Productions, the classical music label of Philips Records (now Decca) released Pops in Love: John Williams & the Boston Pops Orchestra, an 11-track album of light classical works by Gabriel Faure, Erik Satie, Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, and others. The recording was first issued in two formats – vinyl long-play (LP) records and the then-new compact disc (CD) – in the United States. Later editions were on CD and manufactured in what was then West Germany. The West German CDs later made their way to American record stores and online emporiums such as CD Now and Amazon. Millions of people know that the Boston Pops are fun. You can see that from the television shows, hear it on 50 ye

(C) 1995, 2017 Sony Classical/Sony Masterworks On November 14, 1995, four years after the release of The Spielberg-Williams Collaboration, Sony Classical dropped a sequel to that album by John Williams and the Boston Pops Orchestra. Titled Williams on Williams: The Classic Spielberg Scores – John Williams & the Boston Pops Orchestra, this one-disc recording presented 15 themes composed and conducted by the Academy Award-winning maestro for director Steven Spielberg.   Official Sony Classical Video: The Basket Game from Raiders of the Lost Ark The Spielberg-Williams collaboration began in the early 1970s when the then 27-year-old director asked John Williams if he would score his first feature film, The Sugarland Express (1974). Spielberg loved Williams’ score for the 1969 film The Reivers and wanted the music for his set-in-Texas comedy-drama to have that same contemporary Western sensibility. The two men got along well, and since 1973, Williams has composed th

(C) 2012 Sony Classical John, Happy birthday to the greatest of all maestros and the greatest of all friends. - Steven Spielberg , writing in the liner notes booklet, A Tribute to John Williams: An 80th Birthday Celebration On February 28, 2012, Sony Classical released A Tribute to John Williams: An 80th Birthday Celebration, a one-CD compilation of music composed and conducted by the dean of film composers and - perhaps - one of America's most beloved composers. The 15-track album contains 14 musical pieces - movie themes, classical works, and even a television network's theme - recorded over the years with several ensembles, including the Boston Pops Orchestra, the Recording Arts Orchestra of Los Angeles, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Skywalker Symphony Orchestra, and several studio ensembles hired for various movie scores by Hollywood studios for original motion picture soundtracks. All 14 of these tracks were previously released in earlier albums by Sony

Illustration by Sergio Baradat. Art design by Umi Kenyon. (C) 1991 Philips Classics Productions On May 21, 1991, Philips Classics Productions released The Very Best of the Boston Pops: John Williams and the Boston Pops Orchestra. This album is a nine-track compilation that features a mix of themes from Hollywood classics, a television series, and several Broadway musicals. It also serves as a valedictory, of sorts, to the label's long association with Maestro Williams and the Boston Pops; Philips Classics Production was by now a division of PolyGram Records, which was itself owned by Philips NV, the Dutch electronics company responsible - with Sony- for the invention of the CD.  As you can imagine, this Williams-Boston Pops Orchestra is an ode to showbusiness. Its eclectic mix of composers includes Alexander Courage, George Gershwin, Marvin Hamlisch, John Kander, Duke Ellington, Richard Rodgers, and - naturally, Maestro Williams himself. From Star Trek to Oklahoma! and

(C) 2012 Decca Records On February 21, 2012, Decca Records released A Celebration: John Williams & the Boston Pops Orchestra, a 2-CD compilation album with over two hours’ worth of film themes, show tunes, easy listening compositions, and light classical works. Originally produced in 2004 by the same British label, A Celebration was re-issued in honor of Maestro Williams’ 80 th birthday. To mark the eightieth birthday of the renowned composer and conductor John Williams, Decca celebrates his time as principal conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra. In this quintessentially American programme. Williams’ unrivaled contribution to film music is showcased through performances of his most memorable themes and other Hollywood favourites, complemented by a second disc of Broadway numbers and timeless songs. – Producer’s blurb, A Celebration: John Williams & the Boston Pops Orchestra Produced by Raymond McGill, A Celebration presents 30 orchestral works, divided evenly