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Four of the best John Williams recordings

We recommend a handful of the greatest examples of the film composer John Williams' work on disc

Who is John Williams

Freya Parr

Published: July 31, 2019 at 6:00 am

Star Wars

London Symphony Orchestra/John Williams Sony S2K92950 (2 discs)

John Williams leads the LSO in the best-selling film score album ever, in classic ‘Golden Age of Hollywood’ style. We named London Symphony Orchestra one of the best orchestras in the world

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All nine Star Wars scores ranked...

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Arista 07822 19004-2

One of Williams’s favourites, as well as the famous five-note motif, there are Ligeti-esque clouds of sound.

Memoirs of a Geisha

Yo-Yo Ma (cello), Itzhak Perlman (violin) et al/John Williams Sony 82876 77857 2

An understated character study featuring a range of Japanese instruments.

Yo-Yo Ma Plays the Music of John Williams

Sony SK 89670

One of Williams’s closest collaborators in non-film works ranging from richly melodic to impressionistic.

Freya Parr

Digital Editor and Staff Writer, BBC Music Magazine

Freya Parr is BBC Music Magazine's digital editor and staff writer, editing and writing on all styles of music across both the website and print magazine. She has also written for titles including the Guardian, Circus Journal, Frankie and Suitcase Magazine, and runs The Noiseletter, a fortnightly arts and culture publication. Freya's main areas of interest and research lie in 20th-century and contemporary music. She's a regular sea shanty singer, folk obsessive and occasional flautist, pianist, organist and musical theatre director.
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