Deutsche Grammophon releases never-before-heard Boston Symphony Orchestra recording of John Williams’ Imperial March, conducted by Williams

Deutsche Grammophon (DG) has just released a never-before-heard recording of John Williams’ Imperial March, performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) and conducted by the composer during a free Concert for the City at Symphony Hall in 2021. Since its first appearance as Darth Vader’s leitmotif in the 1980 Star Wars film The Empire Strikes Back, the iconic theme has become among the most pervasive pieces of film music in pop culture; together with other of Williams’ compositions, it has formed an enduring part of the Star Wars’s cultural and narrative legacy. This recording is available digitally wherever music is streamed; it also appears on a 12-inch picture disc single in the shape of Darth Vader’s helmet, alongside recordings by the Saito Kinen Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic, and Vienna Philharmonic. 

This release comes amidst DG’s announcement of John Williams in Concert, a 7-LP limited edition collection of Williams conducting his own works with Anne-Sophie Mutter and the BSO, Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, and Saito Kinen Orchestra. Included among the selections is<> the world premiere recording of Williams’ Violin Concerto No. 2, composed for Mutter and the BSO in 2021 and premiered and recorded at Tanglewood that same year.  

Of the concerto, Gramophone wrote: “Don’t expect Williams, the master of movie magic and purveyor of luscious themes, simply to tender more of the same in his concertos. What he offers here is way more complex, way thornier … [The music] is infectious by virtue of its creative energy, the sparks of interaction generated between player and composer.”  

For more than forty years, John Williams has been a frequent and celebrated collaborator with the BSO and Boston Pops Orchestra. He was named the 19th conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra in January 1980, succeeding the legendary Arthur Fiedler. At the time of his appointment, the world-renowned film composer was not especially known as a conductor, but he brought to the podium the background, talent, and celebrity to succeed at the daunting assignment. He broadened and updated the Boston Pops’ repertoire, wrote and commissioned new works and arrangements, maintained the popularity of the PBS series Evening at Pops, made numerous best-selling recordings, and toured extensively with the orchestra. Since stepping down as Pops conductor in 1993, Williams has maintained an active relationship with the organization as Boston Pops Conductor Laureate and Artist in Residence at Tanglewood. 

Known worldwide for his film scores, John Williams is also a prolific composer for the concert stage. His decades-long relationship with the Boston Pops (first as conductor and then as conductor laureate) has proved fruitful in generating new works, and both the BSO and Pops have premiered several of Williams' compositions. Among them are his first concerti for Tuba (1985), Cello (1994), Viola (2009), Harp (On Willows and Birches, 2009) and Oboe (2011) and his second for Violin (2021); and his iconic Olympic Fanfare and Theme (1984). Williams has conducted more than 40 recordings with the Boston Pops, ranging from his own film scores and other compositions to works by Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, and classic Hollywood and Broadway scores; members of the BSO have also appeared on Williams’ scores and recordings, including his 1993 score for Schindler’s List featuring soloist Itzhak Perlman.