Episode 76 - Schindler's List

04/29/20 • 64 min

The Baton: A John Williams Musical Journey

Host Jeff Commings presents his longest solo episode to date, discussing the Oscar-winning score to the 1993 drama "Schindler's List." It's 13 minutes longer than the amount of original music Williams composed for the 192-minute film. In addition to discussing the often-told backstory of Williams' reluctance to accept the job, you'll learn about the three locations in which the score was recorded and why the Boston Symphony Orchestra was picked to play a portion of the score. You'll hear musical excerpts from many of the score's highlights, including the 12-minute cue that sets up the bulk of the film and the heartbreaking music for violinist Itzhak Perlman during the Auschwitz scenes. But the episode goes beyond discussion of "Schindler's List," stepping into 1994 during Williams' time off from film scoring as he created two concertos for celebrated musicians.

Previous Episode

Episode 75 - Jurassic Park

Host Jeff Commings counts the score to "Jurassic Park" as the gateway to becoming a John Williams fan, and he's joined by David Kay to talk about the aspects of the score that introduced a generation of people to Williams' music. They talk at length about the rousing fanfare that plays at the introduction to the island where the bulk of the action takes place, as well as the uncharacteristically gentle music that shows the dinosaurs for the first time. There is plenty of terror music for the dangerous raptors that consume half the humans on the island, and the two also ponder why Spielberg and/or Williams decided to change the music for a part of the finale.

Next Episode

Episode 77 - Sabrina

We've approached a new chapter in John Williams' career: the post-Golden Age era when the films he chose were not always of superior quality but still gave him the chance to write mostly memorable music. Host Jeff Commings is joined for the third time by Gianmaria Caschetto to discuss the breezy score to "Sabrina" that gave Williams the opportunity to reach back into his jazz roots, as well as his romantic comedy score past from the 1960s. He collaborated with lyricists Alan and Marilyn Bergman for two original songs for the film, one of which was nominated for an Academy Award and bears a resemblance to a previous song the three wrote together. Caschetto provides some insight into Williams' composition of Sabrina's theme and the foreboding undertones playing underneath the piano. And it's none other than the Maestro himself tickling the ivories for part of the score, offering us the opportunity to marvel at Williams' mastery at the piano.