Never mind May the 4th be with you! “Star Wars” opened on May 25, 1977. If you weren’t a kid in the summer of ’77, there’s no way you could possibly understand how good life could be. Long lines, sold-out theaters, enthusiastic audiences, eyepopping special effects, strange worlds, high adventure, and a dynamite soundtrack with the power to change lives. Although I was conscious of movie music well before “Star Wars” (I was a film junkie from the time I could watch TV), it was “Star Wars” that really introduced me to the power of the symphony orchestra. The rest, as they say, is history. Happy Orthodox Star Wars Day!
Tag: Star Wars
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David Cripps Star Wars Horn Hero
When sifting through the musical obituaries, my eyes usually settle on the composers, conductors, and star performers. Less glory is allotted to orchestra musicians, whose artistry often is not properly appreciated until it’s too late. I mean, their importance is understood, if perhaps a tad taken for granted, but wider fame and adulation usually elude them. This, despite the quality of their performances having such a profound impact on listeners.
It’s only days after I saw that David Cripps died that it finally registers who he was. Cripps served as principal horn of the London Symphony Orchestra during the halcyon years of 1974 to 1983. So it is Cripps’ horn that set me dreaming as an 11 year-old as I wore out the grooves on my original two-LP set of the soundtrack to “Star Wars.” That’s Cripps conjuring the romance of far horizons in “Princess Leia’s Theme” and the music for Tatooine’s binary sunset. As was often the case, John Williams tailored much of his music recorded with the orchestra during that era by drawing on his intimate working knowledge of the LSO’s principal performers.
During his time with the orchestra, Cripps also appeared as soloist in repertoire ranging from the Mozart and Strauss Horn Concertos to Benjamin Britten’s “Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings.” I assume that’s him in the slow movement of André Previn’s recording of Vaughan Williams’ “A London Symphony” and as principal horn at the other links provided below.
Cripps joined the LSO as a section player in 1970. Previn served as the orchestra’s principal conductor from 1968 to 1979. He was succeeded by Claudio Abbado, who held the post until 1988.
Cripps spent the latter part of his career in the U.S. He died in Tucson on Saturday. He was an unsung hero, in a way, having touched so many beyond the concert hall who never knew his name, thanks to the medium of the movies.
Cripps talks “Star Wars”
“Princess Leia’s Theme”
Binary sunset
Vaughan Williams, “A London Symphony,” Mov’t. II: Lento
Mendelssohn, Nocturne from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”
“André Previn’s Music Night”
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Star Wars Day John Williams on KWAX
Looking for a good start to your “Star Wars Day?” Meet your recommended daily allowance of John Williams’ music by joining me for no less than 12 selections from the principal feature films of the “Star Wars” saga.
The original “Star Wars” actually opened on May 25, 1977. But why let historical accuracy get in the way of a good pun? May the Fourth be with you!
Strap yourselves in – we’re ready to make the jump to “Sweetness and Light” speed, this Saturday morning at 11:00 EDT/8:00 EDT, exclusively on KWAX, the radio station of the University of Oregon!
Stream it, wherever you are, at the link:
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John Williams Turns 92 A Film Music Legend
It’s 92 candles on the cake for John Williams – a suitable tribute for the brightest light among living film composers.
Williams’ career has spanned some 70 years. I know it’s trite to say, but the man is living history. No, really.
Well before he became a household name in the 1970s, with blockbusters like “Jaws” and “Star Wars,” he worked as an orchestrator and session pianist on such films as “Sweet Smell of Success,” “Bell, Book and Candle, “God’s Little Acre,” “The Big Country,” “Some Like It Hot,” “The Magnificent Seven,” “Studs Lonigan,” “The Apartment,” “Hemingway’s Adventures of a Young Man,” “To Kill a Mockingbird,” “The Guns of Navarone,” “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” “Charade,” “The Pink Panther,” “The Great Race,” “West Side Story,” and any number of other screen musicals.
He collaborated or apprenticed with many of the greatest film composers who ever lived, including Elmer Bernstein, Jerry Goldsmith, Bernard Herrmann, Henry Mancini, Jerome Moross, Alfred Newman, Dimitri Tiomkin, and Franz Waxman.
Of course, he was also composing his own original scores. His first A-list movie assignment was “How to Steal a Million” in 1966. Prior to that, he’d scored some goofy comedies and did TV work. Eddie Cantor once quipped, it takes 20 years to become an overnight success. By the time the wider public began to sit up and take notice of John Williams, with “Jaws” in 1975, that’s about right. By then, he’d already quietly amassed a string of hits and even landed his first Oscar (for adapting “Fiddler on the Roof” in 1971).
Curious to hear Williams’ first film score? While serving in the U.S. Air Force, Williams was assigned to the Northeast Air Command Band and stationed at Fort Pepperell in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada. There, he was approached by a local production company, Atlantic Films, to score a tourism short in 1952, titled “You Are Welcome.” His contribution consists largely of arrangements of local folk tunes, so don’t go into it expecting the unmistakable “Williams sound” he honed in Hollywood. But it will give you a real sense of history.
Mighty oaks from little acorns grow. You’ve come a long way, baby! Happy birthday, John Williams!
PHOTOS: Williams today (top), and recording “You Are Welcome” in 1952
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Star Wars Post-Jedi Rant Livestream
May 25th. It’s been 40 years since the release of “Return of the Jedi,” the twilight of acceptable “Star Wars.” Hear me rant about everything post-1983, when I join Roy and his (prequel-era) son, Ry, on a special edition of Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner. Check your Midi-chlorians in the comments section, when we livestream on Facebook, YouTube, etc. Your feeble skills are no match for the power of the Dark Side, this Thursday evening at 7:00 EDT!
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