#jon williams

To be honest, this is more straight up appreciation than any kind of critical review. I had the chance to go to Jon William’s 90th Birthday celebration at Tanglewood in the Berkshires, where lots of his music was played and many talented artists came forward to honor the composer, including Yo-Yo Ma, James Taylor, Jessica Zhou, Branford Marsalis, Eric Revis, and J. William Hudgins, with Ken-David Masur conducting.

Prior to this concert, my exposure to Jon Williams’ work was only from the movies he scored. I loved his work on films, and he was one of my two favorite movie composers of all time (shout out to Hans Zimmer). But this concert was a wonderful experience because I heard many compositions that were not part of Williams’ film score repertoire. From songs inspired by the bells of Japanese temples to tributes to Leonard Bernstein, I saw a much deeper portfolio of Williams’ work than even before.

Not only was the music beautiful and, as with most concerts at Tanglewood, stirring and thought provoking, I found it masterfully constructed. Although some of the works has been modified for a full orchestra, and the very talented players certainly aided the experience, I found Williams’ use of sound and pitch quite interesting. I especially liked the contrast between deep, resounding percussion used in concert with light, airy sounds like flutes and clarinets.

Though I am by no means an expert in music, or even well versed enough to speak to good versus bad classical compositions, I have always admired the work of Jon Williams and admire it even more now after being exposed to more of his body of work. I would strongly recommend his music.

The WordD- You're Gonna Make Me (1966)