John Williams: A Composer's Life

The first biography of a great American composer of the cinema age

John Williams is one of the most important film composers of all time, having almost singlehandedly revived the Hollywood symphonic scoring tradition and helped restore the livelihood of American orchestras through the popularity of film music programming. His film music, in the words of director Oliver Stone, "came to stand for the American culture."

In John Williams: A Composer's Life, the first biography of the composer, author Tim Greiving offers an engaging account of a man whose body of work is well-known but whose personal life has consistently remained very private. Williams wrote the memorable scores and hummable themes for a staggering number of popular touchstones across multiple generations--among them Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Jaws, E.T., Jurassic Park, Schindler's List, and the Harry Potter series--and earned more Oscar nominations than any individual artist in the history of the motion picture Academy. He also composed dozens of concerti, fanfares, and other concert works and was a national presence as music director of the Boston Pops for more than a decade. He inspired countless children to pursue a career in the orchestra and won the respect of the classical community worldwide. Seeking to understand what drove Williams's musical productivity and its effects on the lives of those close to him, Greiving delves deeply into the composer's decades-long career, uncovering countless new stories and revelations. Throughout, he analyzes and describes Williams' film scores, recalling them primarily in narrative and emotional terms rather than purely musicological ones, and in doing so emphasizes one of Williams's principle strengths: his musical storytelling.

With unprecedented interview access to Williams and those close to him, Greiving presents the definitive portrait of a beloved but famously private doyen of twentieth-century pop culture. Featuring 175 exclusive interviews--including with Steven Spielberg, Oliver Stone, George Miller, Mia Farrow, Hans Zimmer, Yo-Yo Ma, session musicians, family members, and friends--John Williams: A Composer's Life is the first and last word on the great court composer of the cinema age, the musical conductor of our collective memory.

Author: Tim Greiving
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 09/02/2025
Pages: 640
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 2.30lbs
Size: 8.80h x 6.40w x 1.90d
ISBN: 9780197620885


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 07/15/2025
Library Journal 08/01/2025 pg. 69

About the Author
Tim Greiving is an arts journalist in Los Angeles who specializes in film music. He has contributed stories to NPR, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, and the New York Times. He has written program notes for the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Royal Albert Hall, and liner notes for more than one hundred soundtrack albums. He contributes to the Visual History Program for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and teaches film music history at the University of Southern California.