The Empire Strikes Back: Greatest Score? (with Frank Lehman) | Ep20

Dr. Frank Lehman, film music scholar and professor at Tufts University, returns to chat with David Lane about a score that is often lauded as the greatest of all time, The Empire Strikes Back composed by John Williams.  This episode is a discussion along with musical examples of the themes, harmonies, and orchestration choices that make this a masterpiece, along with a comparison to the 1st Star Wars series, and a little on the legendary performance from the London Symphony Orchestra.  May the force be with you as you join us as we tackle this ultimate Jedi of scores!

If you missed it, be sure to catch the 1st episode with Dr. Lehman, where we discussed John Williams more generally as well as some other scores here: https://www.davidlanemusic.com/toolkit/episode/7d49eeaa/episode-8-the-craft-of-john-williams-with-frank-lehman

Frank's marvelous catalog of Star Wars themes and analysis is located here: https://franklehman.com/starwars/

Do you have something to add to our discussion?  Let me know by telling me directly at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact 

Musical Excerpts.  All tracks by John Williams and from The Empire Strikes Back except where noted.

18:39 King's Row Main Title (Erich W Korngold)

19:30 Theme from Ivanhoe (Miklos Rozsa)

27:14 Darth Vader Motif from Star Wars

29:02 The Imperial March (2 clips)

34:16 Yoda's Theme

34:47 Yoda's Death (Return of the Jedi)

37:10 Yoda and the Force

39:58 Han Solo and the Princess

40:51 Princess Leia's Theme (Star Wars)

42:20 Rescue from Cloud City

43:55 The Rebel Fleet/Finale

45:12 End Credits

46:36 Droids Theme

47:25 The Wampa's Lair

48:28 Main Title (Luke's Theme)

48:53 Force Theme

49:50 Rebel Fanfare

51:25 Lando's Theme

52:41 Boba Fett's Theme/Attack Position

53:18 Darth Vader's Trap

54:17 Dark Side Motif/Magic Cave

54:46 Yoda and the Force

56:04 The Asteroid Field (2 clips)

59:54 City in the Clouds

1:01:11 Mynock Cave

1:02:16 End Credits (Raiders of the Lost Ark)

1:02:30 End Credits (Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade)

1:04:48 Mynock Cave

1:08:22 The Battle of Hoth (5 clips)

1:15:08 Carbon Freeze (2 clips)

1:18:48 Hyperspace

1:22:37 End Credits

 

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