“One of the surprise stars in Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a musical one: Gustavo Dudamel, music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, conducted the opening and end titles music by composer John Williams,” writes Tim Greiving in Monday’s (12/14) Los Angeles Times. “Dudamel recalled his disbelief when Williams called to ask for the conductor’s help.… ‘John has such a wonderful sense of humor, and I somehow thought that there must be a catch. It turns out there was: I couldn’t tell anyone!’ Not until Monday that is. Dudamel recorded the bookend pieces at the Sony scoring stage on Oct. 12…. He conducted contract players, including some members of the L.A. Phil, whom Williams employed on the rest of the score. The Force Awakens, which … opens in theaters on Thursday night, is the seventh release in the Star Wars saga. All have been scored by Williams. The composer himself conducted most of the rest of the score.” Dudamel said, “I cannot tell you how inspired I felt when I held [Williams’s] score in my hands for the first time, stunned by the beauty of his writing. He’s a genius.”
Posted December 15, 2015
Pictured: Composer John Williams, left, confers with conductor Gustavo Dudamel about the score for “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” on Oct. 12 at Sony Picture Studios in Culver City. Photo by Lucasfilm
