FERDE GRO FÉ (1892-1972)
JO H N WILLIA MS (1932-)
An American composer, arranger, conductor and pianist, Grofé enjoyed a diverse career, even at an early age. As a seven-year-old, he was already performing professionally as a pianist and violinist at dances, and he eventually joined the Los Angeles and San Francisco Symphonies, in addition to performing on film sets, in cabarets, vaudeville houses and theatres in the American West and Southwest.
John Williams’s early music instruction was similar to that of many traditional composers of art music, when at the age of 8, he began to study piano. His family moved to Los Angeles in 1948, allowing him to work with the pianist and arranger Bobby Van Eps. Later Williams would serve as an orchestrator/arranger and conductor in the US Air Force bands, and in 1954, he moved to New York, to continue study at the Juilliard School and earned money playing in jazz clubs and recording studios. Two years later, he would return to Hollywood as a studio pianist and he began a career composing and arranging.
Grofé was perhaps best known for his commercial endeavors working with jazz greats Art Guerin and Paul Whiteman, and his eventual work as the chief arranger and composer at Radio City Music Hall in New York. He brought traditional European arranging techniques to music specifically American, including jazz and dance music, and gained much popularity for an arrangement of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. This helped create a truly light-fare symphonic music imbued with American inspired themes. Some of these works were Mississippi and Metropolis but the most important work is by far the Grand Canyon Suite. The happy-go-lucky and often geographically inspired themes from the Grand Canyon Suite paint vivid pictures in the minds of listeners. This is not surprising considering the popularity of radio broadcasts and programs prior to the widespread availability of the television. Music from his Grand Canyon Suite has appeared in numerous modern media, most notably in the popular 1983 movie A Christmas Story, in which the music accompanies the scenes describing the old west as imagined by the main character, Ralphie, in an effort to secure a Red Ryder BB Gun for Christmas.
History will most likely look back on the partnerships of John Williams and film producers Steven Spielberg and George Lucas as two of the most important artistic relationships of the 20th century. These producers realized works that served as inspiration for some of the greatest film scores ever composed, including early works such as Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Star Wars, Superman, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and E.T.: the Extra Terrestrial and Schindler’s List. Later works better known to a younger audience include Jurassic Park, the Star Wars prequels, the Harry Potter series, and the newest Star Wars film to be released in 2015. Additionally, Williams has composed signature tunes for NBC and several official Olympic fanfares.
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