Cue Darth Vader’s March
…because the Chattanooga Symphony and Orchestra is playing The Music of Star Wars this weekend.
John Williams’ Star Wars score, and scores for subsequent movies in the Star Wars universe, are among some of the most recognizable pieces of classical music in the world today. Williams draws on such 19th-century composers as Tchaikovsky and Wagner, creating serious, dramatic scores that highlight characters or themes by repeated motifs.
Williams has also written plenty of famous music you may not associate him with, from themes of Gilligan’s Island and Lost in Space to the beautiful scores of the first three Harry Potter movies. But with Star Wars, he became a household name.
The original Star Wars score is the best-selling non-pop musical recording of all time. Williams earned an Academy Award for the first installment, as well as nominations for The Empire Strikes Back, The Return of the Jedi, The Force Awakens, and The Last Jedi.
Williams has hinted he will retire after writing music for this December’s Rise of Skywalker movie, but his music will live on, both in recordings and in live performances, like this weekend’s.
Prepare to have your spirits stirred this Saturday, May 4, at 7:30 p.m. at the Tivoli Theatre. As in “May the Fourth be with you.”