Final Thesis - John Williams - ScholarsArchive at Oregon State ...

Holst’s style, especially with “The Planets,” is typically considered the precursor for
space-themed movie composing. The pieces “Mars” and “Uranus” are most notably
similar to Williams’ style for the Star Wars score. This influence may have come
from George Lucas’ use of “Mars” as a temp track for the film prior to the completion
of the score ("Star Wars Music").
Richard Strauss is another classical composer whose composition style is
often emulated by film composers. Some of the early composers who show a lot of
similarity are Alfred Newman and Erich Wolfgang Korngold. These composers
created rich and majestic themes with fanfare and march-like melodies and tones.
Comparing Korngold’s theme for “The Adventures of Robin Hood” to Strauss’ “Don
Juan,” a listener can easily pick up on the similarity in instrument selections and
bold melody composition. Some of Strauss’ pieces such as “Also Sprach Zarathustra,”
which was used as the majestic opening of 2001: A Space Odyssey, have become an
integral part of film history on their own. The composers who have emulated
Strauss’ style have continued building on this style, and influenced later composers
such as John Williams, who has based his style in particular on music from this late
romantic era (Paterson "Richard Strauss").
Igor Stravinsky was a Russian-American composer who gained fame and
notoriety for his groundbreaking diverse style in the early 1900s. He was
commissioned to compose three ballets in the early 20 th century, one of which was
“The Rite of Spring,” which transformed the traditional rhythmic structure and
pushed the boundaries of musical composition. The first performance of “The Rite of
Spring” provoked a riot because it was so different from the traditional ballets
12