A Certain Point of View: Writing, Film and Stuff

On July 29, 1990 - per a notation I made on the compact disc's liner note booklet - I purchased CBS Masterworks' reissue of an album that featured two compositions by Joaquin Rodrigo: the Concierto de Aranjuez and Fantasia para un gentilhombre. Performed by the acclaimed Australian guitarist John Williams with members of the Philadelphia Orchestra (conducted by Eugene Ormandy) and the English Chamber Orchestra (conducted by Charles Groves), this "Great Performances" recording features two signature compositions written for guitar and orchestra composed by the brilliant Spanish composer and pianist. The Concierto de Aranjuez was composed in 1939, that fateful year that was marked by two connected historical events: Generalissimo Francisco Franco's rise to power as the fascist ruler of Spain at the end of that country's devastating civil war; and the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, one of the two right wing dictatorships which had backed Franco...

Cover Design by Howard Fritzson. Photos (C) 1977, 1980, 1983 by Lucasfilm Ltd. (C) 1990 CBS Records Some day I’m going to build a recording studio with a sound as live as if it were inside a cathedral! – George Lucas to composer John Williams after the recording sessions for The Empire Strikes Back score, 1980 Official Sony Classical Video: Star Wars - Main Title In March of 1990, Star Wars creator George Lucas hired 90 San Francisco Bay area classical musicians and created a one-time ensemble which he called The Skywalker Symphony Orchestra. Between March 19 and 20, Lucas, composer-conductor John Williams, and a recording team led by producer Thomas Z. Shepard worked with this unique group of players at the brand-new recording studio in Lucas’s Skywalker Ranch, located in Marin County, California. The result was Sony Classical’s John Williams Conducts John Williams: The Star Wars Trilogy – Star Wars * The Empire Strikes Back * Return of the Jedi, a 13-track compila...