In Friday’s (7/20) Philadelphia Daily News, Mary Sydnor writes, “Tonight, the Philadelphia Orchestra celebrates the 80th birthday of John Williams, the man behind such classic film scores as Star Wars, Jaws and the Indiana Jones series. The performance is part of the PECO Pops series at the Mann, and Williams is perfect subject for this light summer concert series. His music is nostalgic and iconic, fun and familiar. And he’s certainly distinguished within the field. He’s won Oscars for the scores of movies such as Schindler’s List, Emmys for TV shows such as a 1970 production of Jane Eyre, and Grammys for soundtracks to films such as Memoirs of a Geisha. Obviously, the moviegoing public loves him. But the story is different in the broader classical music community. … Tim Scheurer, chair of the Department of English and Humanities at Shawnee State University in Portsmouth, Ohio, and an expert in film music and popular culture, credits this lack of recognition from the classical community to inherent differences between film and classical compositions. ‘Williams’ work doesn’t stand as real classical music, but not because of its quality,’ Scheurer said. ‘It has to do with the nature of the music. The movie theme may be every bit as powerful and moving as a classical theme, but it would have to be reworked into the model of a classical structure.’ ”
Posted July 20, 2012
