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Tue May 21 05:48:49 SAST 2013

Classical Brits to honour US film composer John Williams

Reuters | 22 August, 2012 11:05
A scene from Schindler's List, for which composer John Williams won an Oscar.

Five-time Oscar winning film composer John Williams will receive a lifetime achievement honour from the Classical Brit Awards in London in October, organisers said.

Williams won his first Academy Award more than 40 years ago with Fiddler on the Roof, and went on to earn the famous statuette again with Jaws, Star Wars, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial and Schindler’s List.

Including those wins, he was nominated for an Oscar nearly 50 times, reflecting his place at the pinnacle of soundtrack composition.

The 80-year-old American is still going strong, composing the music for the upcoming film “Lincoln” which is due to hit US theatres late this year.

“For many, the first introduction to large-scale orchestral music was a cinematic experience,” said Dickon Stainer and Barry McCann, co-chairmen of the Classic BRIT Awards committee, in a joint statement.

“From the film scores of William Walton, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Erich Korngold and others to the modern day composer, their sheer emotive power has thrilled audiences for decades.

“John Williams has crafted some of the most memorable film scores for over half a century and we are delighted that he has kindly accepted the Lifetime Achievement award in honour of his fine work.”

As well as scoring dozens of films, Williams has produced 130 studio albums, 49 compilation albums and 23 singles, according to the Brits.

With a total of 47 Academy Award nominations, he is the second most short-listed individual after Walt Disney.

The Classical Brits, sponsored by Mastercard, will be held at London’s Royal Albert Hall on October 2.

Listen to the theme from John Williams' classic Jurassic Park here. Note: The awesome part starts around 1:30.

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