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One of the pillars of film scoring and the most popular film composer of his era, John Williams has created music for some of the most successful motion pictures in Hollywood history -- Star Wars, E.T. the Extra Terrestrial, Jurassic Park, and Harry Potter are just a handful of selections from an extensive catalog that has included over 50 Academy Awards nominations. After getting his start in television in the late '50s, Williams worked more steadily on feature films by the early '70s, impressing with his stirring orchestral scores for blockbuster disaster films like The Poseidon Adventure (1972), Earthquake (1974), and The Towering Inferno (1974), as well as through his work with such emerging directors as Robert Altman (1973's The Long Goodbye) and Steven Spielberg (1974's The Sugarland Express). His recurring partnership with Spielberg would span six decades. Williams' ominous, encroaching "Shark Theme" for Spielberg's Jaws in 1975 and his five-note spacecraft melody from 1977's Close Encounters of the Third Kind (penned with Spielberg's note that it should convey "hello" in mind) would have likely cemented his stature as the go-to Hollywood composer for sci-fi-adventure-thriller fare even without the colossal success of 1977's Star Wars, his most iconic score. His instrumental themes from Jaws, Close Encounters, and Star Wars all charted on the Billboard Hot 100, with Star Wars' cracking the Top Ten. Over time, he was recognized for his prowess with more poignant material as well, such as Best Song Oscar nominee "Somewhere in My Memory" from Home Alone and his mournful violin theme (performed by Itzhak Perlman) from his Oscar-winning score for Schindler's List (1993). However, he has remained associated across generations for his lush, exciting, romantic music for other worlds, including the first two Jurassic Park films in the '90s, the first three Harry Potter films in the 2000s, and the episodic Star Wars prequels and sequels. In the early 2020s, as he entered his nineties, Williams set to work on his fifth straight entry in the Indiana Jones film franchise. While not quite as prolific in the concert hall realm, he has composed concertos for no fewer than ten different instruments, among dozens of other orchestral and chamber works.

Born February 8, 1932, in Floral Park, New York, Williams was the son of a movie studio musician, and he followed in his father's footsteps by studying music at UCLA and Juilliard. Initially, he pursued a career as a jazz pianist, later working with Henry Mancini to compose the score for the hit television series Peter Gunn. Williams then went solo to pen a number of TV soundtracks for series including Playhouse 90, Wagon Train, and Bachelor Father. In 1959, he ventured into film with Daddy-O, and spent the majority of the 1960s alternating between the silver screen (The Killers, The Plainsman) and its smaller counterpart (Gilligan's Island, Lost in Space, Kraft Suspense Theatre).

In 1968, Williams earned his first Academy Award nomination for his work on Valley of the Dolls. In 1970, he garnered nods for both The Reivers and Goodbye, Mr. Chips, and two years later finally won for Fiddler on the Roof. A slew of Oscar nominations followed, for features including The Poseidon Adventure, Tom Sawyer, and The Towering Inferno. By 1974, he had received his first nomination for best original song, for Cinderella Liberty's "Nice to Be Around," a collaboration with Paul Williams (lyrics).

Over much of his career, two major relationships helped secure Williams' iconic legacy in film and music. In 1974, he teamed with a young filmmaker named Steven Spielberg for the first time on a crime drama titled The Sugarland Express. Over the coming decades, the two frequently re-teamed, often with stunning results, including 1975's Jaws and 1977's Close Encounters of the Third Kind. His thrilling score for Jaws won an Oscar for original score; Close Encounters was nominated. Williams' other frequent collaborator was George Lucas, beginning with 1977's Star Wars -- another best score Oscar winner. Star Wars' rousing, orchestral opening theme even went to number ten on the Billboard singles chart. He and Lucas soon reunited for 1980's The Empire Strikes Back, the same year Williams took over for the late Arthur Fiedler as the conductor of the Boston Pops.

Back with Spielberg, Williams delivered more of his memorably triumphant melodies for 1981's Raiders of the Lost Ark and the next year's E.T. His soaring music for the latter resulted his fourth Academy Award trophy. He was back atop the box office rankings with 1983's Return of the Jedi, the third Star Wars feature. In the meantime, he composed for other filmmakers, turning out scores for films like 1978's Superman and 1983's Yes, Giorgio, which included another Oscar-nominated song ("If We Were in Love"). Among his vast output later in the '80s were contrasting Oscar-nominated scores for Spielberg: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), the World War II drama Empire of the Sun (1987), and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989).

The '90s saw Williams work on franchises old and new, beginning with the inaugural Home Alone family comedy in 1990. It resulted in nominations for both score and song ("Somewhere in My Memory, with lyricist Leslie Bricusse). Following a score nomination for Oliver Stone's JFK and a song nod (again with Bricusse) for "When You're Alone" from Spielberg's Hook, he won an Oscar for his next Spielberg collaboration, 1993's Schindler's List, whose haunting theme was performed by violinist Itzhak Perlman. That year also saw the first Jurassic Park film hit theaters featuring a ubiquitous Williams score, as he passed the Boston Pops baton to Keith Lockhart following a 13-year stay. The composer agreed to score George Lucas' Star Wars prequel trilogy as they went into production just before the release of his Oscar-nominated scores for the Spielberg historical dramas Amistad (1997) and Saving Private Ryan (1998). Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace broke the single-day box office record on its opening day in May of 1999.

Williams began work on yet another blockbuster franchise in 2001 with the release of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (aka Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone). Mixing winding, aerial melodies with a darkly majestic palette, Williams' initial contribution to that magical universe was nominated for best original score. He followed that with a string of consecutive hits: Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002), Spielberg's Minority Report (2002), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can (2002), and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2003). The composer of multiple Olympic themes, he received the Olympic Order award from the International Olympic Committee in 2003. Films including Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and Spielberg's War of the Worlds and Munich followed in 2005, with Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull arriving before the end of the decade. Williams was awarded the National Medal of Arts at the White House in 2009.

Regular appearances on the Oscar nominee list continued in the 2010s, with Spielberg's The Adventures of Tintin (2011), War Horse (2012), and Lincoln (2013) among them. He received three more Oscar nominations for the Star Wars sequel trilogy, beginning with 2015's The Force Awakens. In 2016, Williams became the first composer to receive the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award. He finished the decade with movies including the Spielberg projects The BFG (2016) and The Post (2017). In 2017, their partnership was anthologized with John Williams & Steven Spielberg: The Ultimate Collection. Two years later, he also collaborated with celebrated violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter on the album Across the Stars, which featured Mutter playing a selection of Williams' film themes; the composer both arranged the music and conducted the Recording Arts Orchestra of Los Angeles for the Deutsche Grammophon release. The ninth episode of the Star Wars saga, The Rise of Skywalker, saw release in 2019. 2022's A Gathering of Friends saw Williams working with cellist Yo-Yo Ma on a set of two concert works, as well as selections from his scores for Schindler’s List, Lincoln, and Munich.

During their first 50 years of working together, John Williams scored all but five of Steven Spielberg's films (1983's Twilight Zone: The Movie, 1985's The Color Purple, 2015's Bridge of Spies, 2018's Ready Player One, and 2021's West Side Story). In 2023, Williams returned to the Indiana Jones film series with his score for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. ~ Marcy Donelson & Jason Ankeny

Since its inception in 1842, the Wiener Philharmoniker (or Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in English) has represented the best in the Central European orchestral tradition. Before the Wiener Philharmoniker was founded, there was no permanent, professional orchestra to be found outside the opera halls in the city of Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven. The Wiener Philharmoniker is one of the most traditional orchestras in the world today, with much-beloved traditions, like the annual New Year's concerts of waltzes by the Strauss family.

In 1833, Franz Lachner, conductor at the Hofoper, had formed a musicians' association from the ranks of the opera orchestras to play symphonic music, but this was a temporary endeavor. Nine years later, a group of music critics and other interested parties persuaded Otto Nicolai, principal conductor of the Kärntertortheater, to conduct the first Wiener Philharmoniker concert at the Grosser Redoutensaal (Great Ballroom) on March 28, 1842. The group was founded as the first completely self-governing orchestra, and it has remained so ever since. Although concerts were irregular until 1860, the orchestra quickly built up a reputation. From 1860 to 1875, Otto Dessoff was the permanent conductor, bringing the music of Brahms, Wagner, and Liszt into the concert halls. Hans Richter succeeded Dessoff and conducted the orchestra until 1898, introducing Bruckner and Dvorák to Viennese audiences. Both of these conductors played major roles in establishing the Wiener Philharmoniker as one of the finest orchestras in the world. During this time, the Wiener Philharmoniker had numerous premieres of now-classic works such as Brahms' Second Symphony and Bruckner's Eighth; sometimes, as in the case of Bruckner's Third, the premiere was conducted by the composer himself. The great Gustav Mahler conducted from 1898 to 1901, but his tenure was marked by dissension within the orchestra.

The longest-term conductor of the post-Mahler era was Felix Weingartner, from 1908 to 1927. He was beloved by the orchestra for his measured, classical style and, in particular, for his Beethoven interpretations. From 1933 to 1938, the revered conductors Bruno Walter and Wilhelm Furtwängler shared the subscription concerts; after Hitler's annexation of Austria in 1938, the Nazi Party dissolved the orchestra, but the decision was reversed after Furtwängler intervened. The Wiener Philharmoniker led an uneasy life during the war but afterward reclaimed its place in the world's orchestral pantheon. The list of conductors who have led Wiener Philharmoniker subscription concerts reads like an honor roll of maestros; Richard Strauss, Arturo Toscanini, Herbert von Karajan, and Leonard Bernstein have each taken turns at the podium.

The Wiener Philharmoniker has held an annual New Year's Day Concert of Strauss family works, particularly those of Johann II, since 1941 when Clemens Krauss began the tradition; the first of these concerts was actually held on New Year's Eve in 1939, after which the concert has occurred on New Year's Day. Riccardo Muti led the orchestra in its 80th New Year's concert in 2021, marking his sixth appearance in the series. While some of its traditions are revered, others have come under fire in recent years. Though the Wiener Philharmoniker premiered a lot of music in its early days, it now prefers to play mostly music written before 1900, which created a controversy at the Salzburg Festival during the 1990s. The orchestra also refused until 1997 to accept a female musician as a full member, threatening to disband rather than cave in to political pressure. The first woman member of the Wiener Philharmoniker was harpist Anna Lelkes, who was granted full membership after 26 years of service. Simone Young was the first woman to conduct the Wiener Philharmoniker in 2005, and in 2008, Albena Danailova became the orchestra's first female concertmaster. Historically, the Wiener Philharmoniker has opposed hiring musicians who are not Central European in order to preserve what is perceived as a unique quality of sound. While the orchestra's policies may be controversial, it cannot be disputed that the Wiener Philharmoniker is one of the world's finest orchestras, performing with exceptional finesse and clarity, with a beautifully blended woodwind and brass sound that meshes perfectly with its subtle, lush strings.

The Wiener Philharmoniker is celebrated on 24-carat gold bullion coins issued by the Austrian Mint. In 2006, the design of the coinage was featured by Austrian Airlines on its airplanes to promote both the orchestra and the sale of the coins, which are among the most popular with investors. ~ Andrew Lindemann Malone

Anne-Sophie Mutter is widely regarded as one of the greatest violinists of modern times, combining technical virtuosity, beauty of tone, and exceptional charisma. She has nurtured the classical music scene through her own Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation, which has commissioned new works and fostered the careers of younger violinists.

Mutter was born in the West German town of Rheinfelden, near the Swiss border, on June 29, 1963. She took up the piano at five and the violin shortly after. By nine, she was advancing rapidly and had begun lessons with Aïda Stucki. Mutter appeared in recital at the Lucerne Festival when she was 13 and was heard there by legendary conductor Herbert von Karajan. He became a key backer, inviting her to make her orchestral debut with the Berlin Philharmonic at the Salzburg Whitsun Festival in 1977 and to collaborate with him on her 1978 debut recording, an album of Mozart violin concertos. Their collaboration became a lasting one as they recorded many of the major 19th century violin concertos together for Deutsche Grammophon. In the 1980s, Mutter made her debut appearances in major musical capitals, including Washington and New York (1980), Tokyo (1981), and Moscow (1985), and by the late '80s, she was a superstar violinist. She was appointed International Chair in Violin Studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London in 1986 and the following year founded the Rudolf Eberle Trust to support the development of gifted young string players throughout Europe. After several mergers with other groups, this became the Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation in 2008.

Mutter married Detlef Wunderlich in 1989; the couple had two children, but the marriage ended with Wunderlich's death in 1995. Her 1999 recording of the Vivaldi Four Seasons violin concertos with the Trondheim Soloists was dedicated to his memory. Mutter married conductor and pianist André Previn in 2002. Although this marriage ended in divorce in 2006, the couple remained friends and collaborators; Previn's Violin Concerto "Anne-Sophie," Violin Concerto No. 2, and Violin Sonata No. 2 are among Mutter's many world premieres, which also include works by Wolfgang Rihm, Krzysztof Penderecki, and Henri Dutilleux.

Mutter announced her retirement in 2008 at the age of 45, but she later said the announcement had been misinterpreted, and indeed in the 2010s, she was exceptionally active as a recording and concert artist. Mutter made pioneering appearances at electronic music clubs at Berlin's Asphalt in 2013 and Neue Heimat in 2015; these were recorded and released in Deutsche Grammophon's new Yellow Lounge series. Her appearances late in the decade included a performance at the BBC Proms in the 2017-2018 season and a recital tour honoring the 85th birthday of Penderecki. She has remained associated with Deutsche Grammophon, where a compilation of her Penderecki recordings appeared in 2018. The Tokyo Gala Concert, a live appearance at Tokyo's Suntory Hall with conductor Seiji Ozawa leading the Saito Kinen Orchestra, followed in 2019.

Among Mutter's many honors are four Grammy Awards. She also earned the 2011 Erich-Fromm-Preis for the advancement of humanism through social engagement. Mutter has often lent her talents in support of charitable causes, including making appearances to benefit victims of the 2011 tsunami in Japan. She is the holder of the Merit Cross 1st Class of the Federal Republic of Germany, and she is an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2020, Mutter joined cellist Yo-Yo Ma and pianist Daniel Barenboim for an all-star recording of Beethoven's Triple Concerto, Op. 56, on Deutsche Grammophon. She returned in 2022 with a recording on that label of John Williams' Violin Concerto No. 2. ~ James Manheim