I could listen to John Williams for hours without getting bored for just a second.

I like that he briefly mentioned Jerry Goldsmith...

Genius talking about Genius.

He pronounced Miklós Rózsa's name perfectly like a hungarian. This is why I love him so much, he cares for these things.

Alex North's love them from Spartacus is just sublime .one of the most emotive pieces of music ever put to film.

Legend. Humble, respectful and amazing to hear this awesome man talking about the great Alex North!!!!

Someone needs to interview John Williams before he leaves us forever. I especially want to hear his explanation for the way he scored the first episodes of "Lost in Space". One episode, "My Friend Mr Nobody", has a music score that is probably the most beautiful piece of music written for any tv show of the 60s in the US. Williams is a genius.

I'd love to hear what he thought of Jerry Goldsmith in detail both he and Jerry were known to be friends

I love the Spartacus soundtrack and it's truly a masterpiece!!!

This is wonderful. I so admired Alex North and love his music.

Alex North is a very big inspiration indeed , I love too Miklos Rosza !! A veteran speaks out of another veteran .

Alex North was the greatest !

Thank you so so much for this wonderful upload!

GREAT post-! Thank you-!

It should be mentioned that Jerry Goldsmith was more than merely a "fan" of Alex North. The two gentlemen shared a tremendous respect for one another and developed a deep personal friendship; the likes of which few composers can boast. I find it amusing the way Mr. Williams posed his Goldsmith remark. It seems even the greats aren't above trying to position themselves next to larger greatness. Love 'em all nonetheless!

I'd be curious to know the influence of Shostakovich on American composers of Alex North's era as Shostakovich's music has a cinematic quality to it, no doubt due to his writing scores for Soviet cinema.

I want John to make a recording dedicated to Mancini...We forget that John was the pianist for all the famous Mancini recordings...Peter Gunn, etc. North's score for the Misfits is sublime. At one time I had the original vinyl soundtrack of The Bad Seed, which was one that really heavy early vinyl....now that record can pay a months rent for some people...anyway, now you can find it on CD. Tom Waits is also a fan of Alex North.

I wonder if anyone pointed out to Williams that he was having it both ways, claiming that North was and wasn't formed in the European tradition, especially as he talks about him being influenced by Prokofiev and Shostakovitch, two of the more classical, European tradition oriented composers of the time.

I can't believe John Williams says that he knows of no other film composer who used such "exaggerated instrumentation"! What about Bernard Herrmann???

John Williams sits at the top of the film music pecking order---however, right below him in very close position, sits Erich Korngold. Then....below these two, there is a group of remarkable composers led by Bernard Herrmann, Max Steiner, Franz Waxman, Dimitri TIomkin, Alfred Newman, and Alex North. Then, just below these guys you find Jerry Goldsmith, Elmer Bernstein, David Raksin, and a number of others.