The partnership between the Los Angeles Philharmonic and composer, conductor, and pianist John Williams is quintessentially a Hollywood story.
Williams was born and raised in New York; his father, a professional jazz percussionist, encouraged him to study music. By the time the family moved to Los Angeles in 1948, Williams was a skilled pianist. In the late 1950s, Williams performed for the very first time on the Hollywood Bowl stage with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
A multifaceted musician, Williams eventually found his place in LA’s largest industry: Movies! In November 1977, two years after Jaws was released, the Hollywood Bowl and Williams joined forces once again. At the time, the executive director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic was Ernest Fleischmann—a leader who quickly figured out that any successful Los Angeles orchestra would need to reflect the unique charm of its cinephilic city. The LA Phil’s 1977 tour to Japan had suddenly been canceled, and Fleischmann needed to fill two weeks of programming. Former Music Director Zubin Mehta recalled Fleischmann’s savvy: “So we thought, ‘Let’s give a children’s concert at the Bowl.’ And Ernest said, ‘Look, every child loves Star Wars.’” The film, which had premiered a few months earlier, was a sensation; its score was a sensation, too. Williams instantly agreed to let the LA Phil perform his wildly popular music and even compiled a new suite for the occasion. The concert was a success and the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
A year later, thanks again to Fleischmann’s inventiveness, Williams added a new title to his already hefty résumé: conductor. In need of a substitute for the legendary leader of the Boston Pops Arthur Fiedler, who had taken ill, Fleischmann urged Williams to take the Bowl podium. Recalling his hesitancy, Williams said, “I really didn’t think I could do it. But Ernest was a very imposing figure and very important impresario in the classical world. If he said you should do something, you’d be foolish not to do it.”
From then on, Williams became a frequent guest artist with the LA Phil, conducting both his film music and concert works not only at the Hollywood Bowl but also at the more intimate Dorothy Chandler Pavillion. In fact, in 2003, Williams composed and conducted his inventive piece Soundings for the inaugural gala opening of Walt Disney Concert Hall. Describing the Frank Gehry building, Williams said, “A more inspiring subject for music can’t be imagined.”
In 2015, Williams asked Music & Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel to conduct the opening and closing music for The Force Awakens. “I cannot tell you how inspired I felt when I held his score in my hands for the first time, stunned by the beauty of his writing,” Dudamel said. “He’s a genius.”
In the years since Williams first played piano on the Hollywood Bowl stage, he has conducted the Los Angeles Philharmonic in over 120 performances. The orchestra has performed music from over 60 of Williams’ scores and has debuted several of his works, including the world premiere of Centennial Overture—a piece commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Hollywood Bowl—as well as the West Coast premiere of his Concerto for Tuba and Orchestra.
Williams’ music has become a trademark of the LA Phil; on its 2024 European tour, the “Raiders March” from Indiana Jones was performed as an encore. Every year, listeners flock to the concert hall and to the Hollywood Bowl to hear his iconic music, often including the two-note ostinato that signals a shark attack, the festive chimes of Home Alone, or the devastatingly beautiful solo violin of Schindler’s List. He has seen the LA Phil through six music directors and three concert halls. And more than any other composer, Williams has ensured that film music garners the same degree of respect as other symphonic repertoire. Williams has composed the soundtracks for countless classic films and, incredibly, he has composed our own soundtrack too.