The Legacy of John Williams Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Tommy Tedesco (1930-1997) was an American guitarist who worked for almost 40 years and had one of the greatest careers as a studio musician in Los Angeles and Hollywood. He performed on a gazillion of recording dates, including thousands of film and television scoring sessions for virtually all the major film composers in Hollywood. Tedesco was part of an unofficial collective of studio musicians labeled as "The Wrecking Crew," who performed (often uncredited) on an impressive amount of recordings for pop and rock artists between the late 1950s and the early 1980s, including such big stars as Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, The Beach Boys, The Mamas & The Papas, Sonny & Cher, Barbra Streisand, Nancy Sinatra, The 5th Dimension, The Byrds, and many others.

In this episode of the "L.A. Studio Legends" series, producer and director Denny Tedesco talks about the extraordinary career of his father Tommy, from his early days as a young guitar player to the peak years of The Wrecking Crew, going in detail about his many experiences playing for John Williams on numerous projects, including such film scores as Conrack, The River and Indiana Jones. Denny also reflects on his father's unique legacy and how he celebrated it through his own documentary film The Wrecking Crew.

For more detailed information, go to https://thelegacyofjohnwilliams.com/2024/07/19/tommy-tedesco-podcast/

Soundtrack label La-La Land Records has announced the world premiere release of the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack of the 1974 Universal Pictures film The Sugarland Express, the very first collaboration between John Williams and Steven Spielberg. The esteemed director/composer duo celebrates this year the 50th anniversary of their legendary collaboration.

Released by La-La Land Records and produced in association with Universal Studios as part of their Universal Pictures Film Music Classics Collection, this world premiere limited CD release is edited, mixed and mastered by archival soundtrack producer Mike Matessino under the composer's supervision and approval. The album presents the original score composed and conducted by John Williams, freshly remastered from original multi-track session elements and includes also cues not heard in the final film.

In this new "Soundtrack Spotlight" episode of The Legacy of John Williams podcast, producer Mike Matessino returns to discuss the long-awaited premiere release of The Sugarland Express. Together with hosts Maurizio Caschetto and Tim Burden, Matessino chronicles the journey that led to the 50th anniversary soundtrack album, also commenting on the virtues of both Steven Spielberg's stunning debut film and John Williams' gentle, blues-y score.

More information at https://thelegacyofjohnwilliams.com/2024/07/03/soundtrack-spotlight-the-sugarland-express-50th-anniversary/

World-renowned conductor and author JOHN MAUCERI returns on The Legacy of John Williams podcast for an in-depth discussion about his latest book "The War On Music: Reclaiming the 20th Century" (Yale University Press), a riveting analysis of how music written by classical composers in the 20th century fell victim on the battlegrounds between nations during the three major global wars (World War I, World War II and the Cold War), with so much orchestral and operatic repertoire being erased (or "cancelled") and not being performed as a consequence of ideologies and policy making. 

The conversation spotlights how Hollywood became a refuge for musicians escaping the totalitarian regimes in Europe during the 1930s and how much this still reverberates in the music of composers working in Hollywood today, including John Williams. 

GRAMMY-nominated composer AUSTIN WINTORY joins the discussion, bringing his own views and sensibilities as a contemporary composer of media music navigating the current landscape.

Don't miss this fascinating talk with two very fine musical personalities exchanging passionate views and opinions about how the history of 20th century still lingers today with many consequences and how film and media music must play a pivotal role in creating a new pact with the audience of today.

Hosted and Produced by Maurizio Caschetto for The Legacy of John Williams

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LISTEN to our 2019 podcast with John Mauceri: https://thelegacyofjohnwilliams.com/2019/09/09/john-mauceri-podcast/

John Mauceri Offical Website http://www.johnmauceri.com/

Buy "The War On Music": https://a.co/d/djMXeki

Austin Wintory Official Website https://www.austinwintory.com/

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The acclaimed classical composer and conductor talks his most recent projects and how the music of John Williams continues to be a source of inspiration

Hosted by Maurizio Caschetto and Tim Burden

Peter Boyer continues to be one of the most talented, versatile and successful living American classical composers. His brilliant symphonic music is celebrated across the United States and around the world as some of the most accessible and enjoyable repertoire composed in the recent years.

In 2022, Peter Boyer produced the fourth album of his orchestral music, ‘Balance of Power’ and Other Orchestral Works. Released on the Naxos label as part of their successful “American Classics” series, the album features world premiere recordings of symphonic works composed by Peter Boyer over the last number of years, with the composer on the podium conducting the world-renowned London Symphony Orchestra.

The music of Peter Boyer is unabashedly tonal, earnest and very emotional, yet composed with a thorough attention to detail to achieve a high level of craft in the treatment of the orchestral resources in the great tradition of such American luminaries of symphonic music as Aaron Copland, Leonard Bernstein and John Williams. Boyer himself acknowledges how John Williams’s music is the gold standard for any orchestral composer when it comes to write memorable tunes and applying them with sensational dramatic instinct.

In this conversation, Peter Boyer talks about his recent projects (including the recording of “Balance of Power”) and to offer more insightful and in-depth thoughts about his approach to composition, the challenges of writing for orchestra, his views on the contemporary classical scene and how John Williams remains for him a role model and an ongoing source of inspiration.

For more information, visit https://thelegacyofjohnwilliams.com/2023/06/21/legacy-conversations-peter-boyer

Top-tier flutist talks her career as a studio musician in Hollywood and her many collaborations with John Williams on such legendary scores as Hook, Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones, The BFG, and many others Hosted by Maurizio Caschetto

Geraldine Rotella is unquestionably one of the most heard flutists in the world. In a career now spanning five decades, she performed as a freelance on many studio recordings in Los Angeles, thus becoming one of the first-call studio musicians working in the area. She’s also Principal Flutist for the Los Angeles Master Chorale and the Assistant Principal/Piccolo for the Pasadena Symphony.

Geri Rotella performed on thousands of session dates for film and television soundtracks, playing for some of Hollywood's most acclaimed composers including John Williams, for whom he's the piccolo player since 1990 and performed on such legendary scores as Hook, Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List, The Lost World, Amistad, The Patriot, A.I. Artificial Intelligence, Minority Report, Catch Me If You Can, Memoirs of a Geisha, War of the Worlds, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, The Adventures of Tintin, War Horse, The Book Thief, The BFG and the Star Wars sequel trilogy. She can be often heard playing high-pitched notes in the piccolo during the action scenes of those films (the Velociraptor sequences in the Jurassic Park movies being some of the trickiest she ever performed), but also performed a lot beautiful lyrical alto flute parts.

In this conversation, Geri Rotella talks her illustrious career as a studio musician in Hollywood, highlighting her family heritage and unique musical upbringing, the mentorship she received from Sheridon Stokes and Louise Di Tullio, and her many collaborations with John Williams throughout the years. Geri recollects the unforgettable experiences playing on such scores as Hook, Jurassic Park, The BFG and Indiana Jones among others, reflecting on Williams’ flute writing and also at his skills as a communicator on the podium.

For more information and the listing of the musical excerpts, go to https://thelegacyofjohnwilliams.com/2023/06/07/geri-rotella-podcast/

Soundtrack Producer Mike Matessino presents the new 2-CD expanded edition of John Williams' romantic score coming May 2 on La-La Land Records Hosted by Maurizio Caschetto & Tim Burden

The Legacy of John Williams presents an exclusive preview of the first John Williams' archival soundtrack reissue of 2023, courtesy of La-La Land Records: a lavish 2-disc release of the Academy Award-nominated score composed by Maestro Williams for the 1995 romantic comedy Sabrina, directed by Sydney Pollack and starring Harrison Ford, Julia Ormond and Greg Kinnear. Assembled, mastered and produced by archival soundtrack producer Mike Matessino, the new edition offers a wonderfully exhaustive presentation of John Williams' lush romantic score, remastered from 1st-generation analog tapes and expanded with a great wealth of previously unreleased material, including many unused cues and several alternates.

The new release presents an expanded edition of the original orchestral score composed and conducted by John Williams, plus all the source music and the songs (including the two original ones written by Williams and lyricists Alan & Marilyn Bergman) that were specifically arranged and recorded for the film.

 

In this special podcast episode, The Legacy of John Williams presents two exclusive preview tracks from the new expanded edition, with Soundtrack Producer Mike Matessino offering his own precious insight and commentary on the lovely John Williams' score, how it sits in the composer's catalogue and chronicling the making of this new archival release.

 

Sabrina - 2-CD Expanded Soundtrack Limited Edition is coming May 2 on lalalandrecords.com

Special Thanks to MV Gerhard and Matt Verboys (La-La Land Records)

 

 

Music Scoring Mixer and Recordist talks his experience working at Sony Pictures Scoring Stage on numerous film score recordings, including many projects with John Williams Hosted by Maurizio Caschetto Special Guest: Douglas S. Lacey

Adam Michalak is one of the most experienced scoring mixers working today in Hollywood. He made his first steps in the industry at Sony Pictures Scoring Stage, first as an intern and then gradually climbing up the ladder to become one of the most trusted recordists working in the studio. In that role, he worked for such veteran engineers of the industry as Shawn Murphy, Dennis Sands and Alan Meyerson, recording for film scores by virtually all the great film composers working in Hollywood including John Williams.

In 2018, Adam left Sony and joined Hollywood Scoring, a company that has provided music production for feature films, episodic television, popular video games, and varied broadcast streaming media, but also produced large scale stadium music performances, concert hall productions, and outdoor music festivals.

In this conversation, Adam recollects the path that led him to become a recording engineer for orchestral music, from his early days as a film music fan to his first steps in Hollywood working at Sony's scoring stage and experiencing first hand the work of great film composers and their trusted mixers, offering a unique insight into the creative process of John Williams and Shawn Murphy on several projects as seen from the recording booth. Adam also reflects on the history and evolution of the recording process, offering a wide variety of examples and sharing anecdotes from his own experiences as a scoring mixer. Joining the conversation is film music and John Williams connoisseur Doug Lacey, who shares a friendship with Adam and also has a great experience working in the audio field.

Find more information at https://thelegacyofjohnwilliams.com/2023/03/17/legacy-conversations-adam-michalak/

 

LA Phil Principal Pianist/Keyboardist talks about her unique experience of recording the piano solos for Steven Spielberg's The Fabelmans, including the original score by John Williams

Hosted by Maurizio Caschetto

John Williams has written solo parts spotlighting specific instrumentalists both in his film scores and works for the concert hall. While it's not rare to see such superstar musicians as Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma or Anne-Sophie Mutter as the featured soloist and the dedicatee of a piece, Williams has often used the talents of some of the best musicians of the Los Angeles area, including distinguished members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. It's the case of Joanne Pearce Martin, the Principal Keyboardist and Pianist of the LA Phil, who recently had the honour to be the featured piano soloist on the soundtrack for Steven Spielberg's acclaimed The Fabelmans, performing both the piano solos from the classical repertoire as heard in the film and John Williams' Academy Award-nominated original score.

In this conversation, Joanne talks about her experience of playing for John Williams and Steven Spielberg on The Fabelmans, sharing stories and insights about her unique collaboration with both the director and the composer during the creation of the film's soundtrack. She also talks about her experience playing under John Williams at the Hollywood Bowl and at the Disney Hall with the LA Phil many times over the years and also as rehearsal pianist, giving her own perspective on the Maestro's musicianship as a composer and conductor.

Learn more at https://thelegacyofjohnwilliams.com/2023/02/24/legacy-conversations-joanne-pearce-martin/(opens in a new tab)

Grammy Award-winning composer and conductor talks about his love for the music of John Williams and how it impacted his own life as a musician

Hosted by Maurizio Caschetto

The music of John Williams has inspired at least two generations of composers who have now successful careers not just in film, but also in the contemporary classical world. Grammy Award-winning composer and conductor Eric Whitacre is part of this peculiar group. One of the most popular and frequently-performed composers in the world, Whitacre is known primarily for his work in choral music, but he is actually a true multi-faceted artist who became a beacon and an inspiration for a multitude of singers, musicians, composer and lovers of music across the globe. His works are programmed worldwide and his ground-breaking Virtual Choirs have united more than 100,000 singers from more than 145 countries. 

In this conversation, Eric Whitacre talks about his love for the music of John Williams and how it helped shaping his own musical imagination since childhood, explaining why it continues to be for him an object of sincere admiration and also reflecting on his own approach to musicmaking and what it means to be a classical composer today.

More info at https://thelegacyofjohnwilliams.com/2023/01/23/eric-whitacre-podcast/

n February 2022, the month of John Williams' 90th Birthday, the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland staged a weekend of sold out concerts celebrating the maestro’s landmark birthday. The conductor was Richard Kaufman and The Legacy of John Williams was delighted to present two pre-concert talks with Richard at Dublin’s iconic National Concert Hall.

Prior to the talk we screened our tribute video and images and video clips were presented to the audience members throughout the talk.

The audio was recorded by the NCH and what follows is the full 36 minute talk hosted by Head Contributor Tim Burden, featuring Richard discussing his personal and professional experiences with John Williams, with whom he shares a long-lasting friendship. There are also insightful questions from the audience which gave a suitable intro to both Williams concerts.

Find photos and exclusive videos from the concert at thelegacyofjohnwilliams.com