Regarding the John Williams is a better composer than Jerry Goldsmith postulate (strictly musically speaking ignoring merits as far as film.) I think the opposite is true and obviously so. Williams is the traditionalist here with a very straightforward harmonic language. I don't know if I've ever strained much trying to understand what he was doing musically (as much as I may or may not have admired it.) Goldsmith has baffled me too many times to count. And I'm not alone because he has never been copied successfully. Williams has never written anything like Alien or Freud or Planet Of The Apes or Coma etc. These are not triadic harmonies (the hallmark of Williams music.)
I beg to differ and ad that I have never heard this suggested by anyone. David Raksin presented excerpts from the history of film music on KUSC which featured everyone from Steiner to Goldsmith. Williams was not even included on the program. This was a radio program which was about the music on it's own and spoken of in musical terms. Raksin would not of left anyone with superior compositional ability off the program.
This is not to disparage the immensely gifted John Williams who has been both criticized out of petty jealously and out of honest objective observation. But to simply say he in no way has ever had the chops of Jerry Goldsmith.
Dave Connor
I beg to differ and ad that I have never heard this suggested by anyone. David Raksin presented excerpts from the history of film music on KUSC which featured everyone from Steiner to Goldsmith. Williams was not even included on the program. This was a radio program which was about the music on it's own and spoken of in musical terms. Raksin would not of left anyone with superior compositional ability off the program.
This is not to disparage the immensely gifted John Williams who has been both criticized out of petty jealously and out of honest objective observation. But to simply say he in no way has ever had the chops of Jerry Goldsmith.
Dave Connor