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At 93, John Williams Says He Never Rated Film Music Highly - Phrasemaker

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John Williams may have written the most recognizable movie themes in history — Star Wars, Jaws, Jurassic Park, E.T. — but the legendary composer isn’t convinced his life’s work belongs in the same league as the classical canon. In a rare interview for the forthcoming biography John Williams: A Composer’s Life (Oxford University Press, September), the 93-year-old Oscar-winner (and all-round cinematic legend) admits to a long-held ambivalence about the very medium he helped define. “I never liked film music very much,” Williams said to The Gaurdian’s Dalya Alberge, “Film music, however good it can be — and it usually isn’t, other than maybe an eight-minute stretch here and there … I just think the music isn’t there. What we think of as this precious great film music … we’re remembering it in some kind of nostalgic way. Just the idea that film music has the same place in the concert hall as the best music in the canon is a mistaken notion, I think.” Williams — the most nominated living pe

At 93, John Williams Says He Never Rated Film Music Highly - Phrasemaker At 93, John Williams Says He Never Rated Film Music Highly Ben Gryce August 27, 2025 3–4 minutes Art & Books , Film & TV , Music , News , News , News 93-Year-Old Titan Who Wrote ‘Star Wars’ Says Film Music Is Second-Rate John Williams may have written the most recognizable movie themes in history — Star Wars, Jaws, Jurassic Park, E.T. — but the legendary composer isn’t convinced his life’s work belongs in the same league as the classical canon. ‘Just a Job,’ Not High Art In a rare interview for the forthcoming biography J

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