A question for classical music lovers!

[Princess Cleocatra]

Hi,

I have been listening to Beethoven.com for awhile now.. And about 1 year ago I heard a piece of music here that sounded VERY familiar. It was the 'theme' from Star Wars. Now I know that John Williams is reputed to be the composer of the main theme, but I listened to the entire piece and at the end of the piece the announcer/DJ announced it was a piece from a Russian composer, that I unfortunately could not even spell out phonetically. Since then I have attempted a few times to discover the composer and name of this piece that John Williams 'borrowed for his composition, to no avail. Does anyone here know who the composer is that inspired John Williams in his Star Wars theme?? This is driving me quite mad trying to find out who the real master-mind behind the theme is. Any suggestions?? Thanks!!!

[OperaTenor]

Hi Princess, welcome to the Pit!™

Sorry, no help from this quarter....

[Princess Cleocatra]

Thanks for the welcome!!

I've asked a tough question here, I know. But surely there is someone out there that has the answer to my quandary...

[jamiebk]

:D Hi,

I have been listening to Beethoven.com for awhile now.. And about 1 year ago I heard a piece of music here that sounded VERY familiar. It was the 'theme' from Star Wars. Now I know that John Williams is reputed to be the composer of the main theme, but I listened to the entire piece and at the end of the piece the announcer/DJ announced it was a piece from a Russian composer, that I unfortunately could not even spell out phonetically. Since then I have attempted a few times to discover the composer and name of this piece that John Williams 'borrowed for his composition, to no avail. Does anyone here know who the composer is that inspired John Williams in his Star Wars theme?? This is driving me quite mad trying to find out who the real master-mind behind the theme is. Any suggestions?? Thanks!!!

Hi Princess...welcome to the BBB! Your question is a good one and one that I have wondered about ever since I listened to Erich Korngold's "Kings Row" music composed for the movie of the same name in 1942. Here is a place where you can listen to a clip: http://www.rhapsody.com/playlistcentral ... d=10532207

Here is a bit of information on that recording: http://www.moviemusic.com/soundtrack/kingsrow

There has long been discussion of the similarities between Wagner's ring and the Star Wars trilogy. Here is an interesting piece on that: http://www.trell.org/wagner/starwars.html#struct

I don't know of any Russian composer (to whom you refer) that comes as close to matching the Star Wars theme as Korngold's piece...I know what it is like to get one of these things stuck in you head. Good luck on your search for "the truth".

If you start Googling around on Korngold, you can find quite a bit of his classic film music: http://play.rhapsody.com/erichwolfgangk ... ounce=true

[Trumpetmaster]

Welcome to the BBB Princess C!!

[piqaboo]

Quick! Someone PM Bones!

[barfle]

Quick! Someone PM Bones!

Done.

[Bones]

Barfle sent me here, but I'm afraid I can't be of much help. To my knowledge, the Star Wars score is all original stuff, although obviously influenced by a number of classical sources. When I listen to Williams's Star Wars music, I am reminded of Wagner, R. Strauss, Korngold, Walton, Holst, Stravinsky, and Khachaturian.

If the main Star Wars theme had been taken from another composer's work, I would imagine that the composer's music would have become disproportionately popular to the mainstream listener by now, as happened in the case of Strauss's Zarathustra. In the case of Star Wars, we don't know the other composer because I believe there is no other composer.

Anyway, the closest I can come to the Star Wars theme by a Russian composer is Marche Slave, but that's a stretch, and it's certainly not by an obscure Russian.

[OperaTenor]

...I'm afraid I can't be of much help.

Then you must be an impostor!

What have you done with the real Bones?!!

[Bones]

The real Bones will be retiring at the end of February and spending considerable time at the beach. (I guess I should have posted this in the "Fix Your Job" thread).

[piqaboo]

Hooray for you!

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

Congratulations, I think. Which beach do you plan to grace with your presence?

[Shapley]

Congratulations on your upcoming retirement, Bones! And thanks for dropping by. It's always a pleasure to hear from you.

[Trumpetmaster]

Congrats on your retirement Bones!!!!

All the best on the beach!!!

[Trumpetmaster]

Shapley,

How was Toronto?

[Shapley]

I saw, as usual, very little of it. I arrived late Wednesday evening, passed through customs with little trouble, and then had to wait about an hour-and-a-half for the party I was meeting to pass through as well. We then drove about an hour and a half to our destination, checking into the hotel about midnight.

We attended a meeting Thursday morning, took a quick tour of the facility followed by a catered lunch, and then drove back to the airport, arriving there about 3:00 p.m. I spent about three hours in the airport, waiting for a flight to Cleveland, and from there to St. Louis.

The weather was cooperative. Global warming had melted the snow that had preceeded us, but it cooled back down to the 20s during my visit. The rain held off until the return flight. It rained heavily across the lake, but slacked off in Cleveland to permit a safe landing and take-off an hour-and-a-half later. I arrived in St. Louis about 10:00 p.m. and arrived home at 12:30 this morning.

A typical business trip.

I had had tickets to see Jerry Seinfeld last night, but had to miss it to go on the trip. My wife and son went, and my son wore my puffy shirt for the occasion. It made the local news (not much to report in Paducah, KY, apparently). You can read the headline here, but you need a subscription to read the article, and to see the photo of my son wearing the shirt. The shirt, however, looks like this:



V/R
Shapley

[Trumpetmaster]

Shapley,

Gee... Too bad you didn't get a chance to go to the CN Tower....

I like the shirt!!!
Pretty Cool!

Glad to hear you arrived safely home.

Regards,
TM

[Bones]

Congratulations, I think. Which beach do you plan to grace with your presence?

Hi , Selma. We've had a place at Rehoboth Beach, Delaware for many years. It a little over 2 hours away. Now I won't have to limit myself to numerous weekend trips. One long trip spanning several weekends will be much better.

[barfle]

The real Bones will be retiring at the end of February and spending considerable time at the beach. (I guess I should have posted this in the "Fix Your Job" thread).

You dog, you.