[Thor Joachim Haga]

FSM # 8: October 4, 2000 (but actually posted as early as August 11, 2000, on moviemusic.com, and then reposted on FSM a couple of months later)

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Well, I’ve been walking around with this somewhat silly, pointless competition in my head recently: Which is John Williams’ most avantgardistic piece of work?

Now, I should probably define “avantgardistic”, but I will dare no such endeavour (hmm, I just sounded like Cpt. Picard). You know the drill: Modernistic, often atonal, dissonant, seemingly chaotic etc.

I have narrowed it down to these three nominees:

1. THE FLUTE CONCERTO

A dynamic, trembling orchestra backs up a long string of wooded outbursts by a flute that thinks it is a shakuhachi. Mesmerizing, and the likely “winner” in this competition, IMO.

2. IMAGES

The hypnotizing score to this Robert Altman film, coupling frenetic-exotic percussion performed by Mr. Yamash(i)ta with human moaning, deserves a nomination. However, melodic tracks such as the Bachian “Blood Moon” leviates some of the musical pressure.

3. IRWIN ALLEN TV SCORES

Yes, third comes the sturm und drang cacaphony that is the Irwin Allen TV series of the 60’s (especially LOST IN SPACE). Intense and Bernard Herrmannish on a large scale, but also moments of intricate beauty.

Honorable mentions: His WIND SINFONIETTA and most of CLOSE ENCOUNTERS.

Any other suggestions for this fantasy prize?

[Thor Joachim Haga]

Talk about a “bomb” of a topic….and here I was, thinking John Williams always “sells”. 😉

In any case, the three candidates mentioned up there, 25 years ago, still stand. But in recent years there have been some new works, especially for piano (“Conversations”, “Piano Concerto”, “Scherzo for Piano and Orchestra”) that are up there amongst the challenging ones.

Also, plenty of suspense cues from yesteryear that would qualify, I think.

[GerateWohl]

I think, your selections pretty much cover the question.
But if Avantgarde can also be just weird, not necessarily dissonant then John Goldfarb, Please Come Home might qualify.

[Sigbjørn]

What about his newer concert works?

[GerateWohl]

Does the avantgarde still exist?

I find Williams’ Essa, For Strings quite challenging, too.

[Thor Joachim Haga]

The avant garde will always exist in one way or another, I think. But the way I coined the headline there, in the year 2000, was originally a fancy-schmanzy word play – ‘avant garde’ literally meaning ‘front troop’, and ‘Caesar’ then as the leader of said front troop, as were it Roman times.

I suppose it doesn’t have to be all abstract and dissonant, as Gerate says. It can be weird juxtapositions in other ways, like we often think of John Zorn or even Carl Stalling. The Arab go-go music of JOHN GOLDFARB would indeed be a contender that way.

[Thor Joachim Haga]

As I listen to Williams’ Irwin Allen scores again now, especially LOST IN SPACE, I maintain this as a candidate for the “prize” as most avantgardistic work by the composer – as alluded to in previous posts. Very challenging — lots of sturm und drang. Screaming brass. Not for the faint of heart.

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