Should John Williams quit before Eps 8 & 9?

well technically, for many of the themes, he does not have to see

in fact he worked longer on the TFA score than any of the prequel scores. The regimen was pretty similar to the scoring of the originals. The only difference was that Abrams and Lucasfilm allowed Williams almost unlimited freedom in scoring TFA>.

 

Ok cool.

 

Are you guys on patrol?
Maybe I was not lucky in phrasing my explanation.
I stated that I don't know if it's true: "But I read from some sources that J.J. explained characters/story parts to John Williams"
I have no doubt that John Williams wrote some stuff beforehand.
How much, I don't know - maybe most parts of the score, he is a great maestro and I can imagine he does not need visual help to write.
By the way it does not make sense to go to a recording session unprepared without material.
Fine tuning and changing things is a different story in my opinion. (I guess that is time when editing was wrapped and the movie was available to him)

 

the answer is a big fat NO! now read this
http://www.kotaku.com.au/2016/01/why-composer-john-williams-knows-more-about-star-wars-than-you-do/

 

Absolutely not.

For me, TFA's soundtrack was the best one since ESB.

Soundtracks don't need to be bombastic and more pronounced, soundtracks you don't notice above everything else, that sort of seep into the consciousness, are for me much better.

Also, clearly you can still make magnificent music right until the end despite health problems - just look at Bowie.

 

i'd like to see him finish it.

i thought "The Starkiller", "Torn Apart" and "Jedi Steps" were standout and I loved the swell of music on "The Abduction" (when Finn is screaming "Rey!").

not crazy about Kylo Ren's theme, but Rey's was nice.

i agree there was a lot of recycle here but like the retread in the film itself, i'm totally okay with that.

 

To be honest I'm not bothered either way. There are pros and cons for

Yes it's clever and to listen to it without the film, in my headphones, it's an interesting suite of music. I just didn't get anything out of it accompanying the film. I didn't agree with the comment made about the friendships. In the original star wars movie Luke and Leia don't automatically get along with Han as he is for the most part only interested in reward and self interest. He is also very chauvinistic which is great when he comes up against Leia. This is something we don't see in TFA and one of the things I had a problem with.

 

When I put my headphones on and put the volume up I can hear people turning their pages and even the conductor humming along. Especially prominent when listening to 'The Starkiller' and 'Jedi Steps and Finale'. Can anyone else hear it?

 

Ok so I don't have to the musical know how to understand how big a part a conductor plays in composing someone else's music. I assume them being the conductor does play a medium role in the outcome. (?)
To get to the point, after looking at the track list in my CD I read there was a guest conductor,Gustavo Dudamel, and after some online searching discovered he was the one who actually conducted the Main Title and Finale. He was also involved in The Starkiller and March of The Resistance (Whether he conducted them fully IDK)

So I'm asking you guys, how big a role does that play in the end...?

 

I wonder how Alexandre Desplat's score for Rogue One will rank with John Williams.

 

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/tavissmiley/interviews/composerconductor-john-williams/?show=26075

 

there was only 7 minutes of recycled music from the originals. Williams himself revealed that 95% of the score was new.

 

that's really interesting! glad to hear it. i think the Star Wars themes are so prominent (and stand out) that it feels like more (particularly when they are used in big moments like when Rey catches the lightsaber.

i listen to the score every day these days. i enjoy 90% of it. the track i often skip is the Main Titles just because, well, i've known that one for dern near 40 years.

 

you should listen to the extended oscar version. That one is really really enjoyable

 

ooo i'll have to go find that. i just have the regular soundtrack. thanks!

 

here you go: https://www.youtube.com/user/Playstation354/videos

You can also listen to this one, but the recording quality is not always optimal: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbdLeIe4_RqFk0c-AgJUjGCdO9m76A1Ee

 

awesome! thank you!

 

The new soundtrack took a little time to grow on me, but it's classic Star Wars, and classic John Williams. Many truly magical moments that no other composer could pull off.
To say another composer should score the rest of the trilogy is like saying they need to find a different actor to play Luke Skywalker.

 

Evidently you do have to be musical to know, because a conductor plays NO role in composing someone else's music. They literally do what their title implies: conduct. An arranger/orchestrator has more power when it comes to the actual music itself, but Williams did the music for TFA more or less all on his own, with perhaps a little orchestration assistance from William Ross.

 

The backcover of the soundtrack reveals that most of the longer and up-tempo pieces are conducted by one of his collegues. Probably because of his back problems and his physical condition.