John Williams will be 90 in February. He hasn’t composed a new film score since “Star Wars: Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker” in 2019. In fact, he kind of intimated at the time that he would be retiring, leaving the window open to future Spielberg projects, perhaps, and the odd opportunity that would be too good to refuse. Essentially, that’s the position he’s been in now for years anyway. When you’re John Williams, you can pretty much do what you want.

The lack of film projects certainly doesn’t mean he hasn’t kept busy. In fact, Williams seems to be as active as ever, with a full schedule of conducting engagements and recordings. In particular, he’s being seen everywhere with Anne-Sophie Mutter, touring his new Violin Concerto (No. 2) and assorted film themes arranged for violin and orchestra. The audio for the concerto, in its Tanglewood debut (which took place on July 24), was available briefly on YouTube – long enough for me to share the link and listen to it a couple of times – but, alas, it has since been taken down. Thankfully, it’s been recorded for commercial release on compact disc, which still has not been the case for too many of Williams’ other concert works.

If you’re interested and you haven’t heard it yet, PBS will be broadcasting the concert on “Great Performances” THIS FRIDAY EVENING AT 9:00 EST. Williams’ concerto will form the centerpiece of a program that will include Aaron Copland’s “Quiet City,” Igor Stravinsky’s “The Firebird Suite,” and Jesse Montgomery’s “Starburst,” with the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Andris Nelsons. Williams will conduct the concerto with Mutter as soloist. Check your local listings. You’ll find an interview and promos here:

Anne-Sophie Mutter Performs John Williams’ Violin Concerto

In other recording news, Williams has been in the studio with Yo-Yo Ma and guitarist Pablo Sáinz Villegas (for whom he composed his concert piece “Rounds”). I’m hoping it will result in an album of more concert music. I know new arrangements of the film themes are popular, but I always find those types of records to be a little kitschy. (Sorry, Morricone.) Why do I need movie themes arranged for cello or violin, when I can already enjoy them as written? Regardless of my preferences, the orchestra on the new recording, whatever it contains, will be the New York Philharmonic.

Williams was supposed to have begun scoring the latest Indiana Jones film – still being referred to simply as “Indy 5” – in the coming weeks, but now Disney has pushed the release date back a year, to 2023, to accommodate the crush of superhero movies that have been piling up, presumably, since the start of the pandemic. This means Williams may actually be scoring the film at the age of 90 or 91? Harrison Ford will be 81 at the time of the film’s new projected release date of June 30, 2023.

On the bright side, that will take some of the pressure off Williams’ commitment to score Spielberg’s semi-autobiographical coming-of-age drama, “The Fabelmans,” which will be released next year.

So, as he nears the end of his eighth decade, Williams is not just resting on his throne of gold, tabulating his mountains of royalties. It must be very rewarding indeed to be able to show up to packed houses all over the world and perform one’s own music to engaged listeners, paying top dollar to hear one conduct it. Well, he earned it. Have a great “retirement,” John Williams.