The Well-Tempered Ear

Classical music: Do you know the influence of classical music in the “Star Wars” movies?

By Jacob Stockinger

This past weekend, the seventh and latest episode of the “Star Wars” movie franchise premiered and beat expectations.

Last The Ear heard, at the box office “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” (below) grossed more than $220 million in the U.S. and more than $230 million internationally. That would make it the second most profitable movie opening ever.

So chances are good that many readers of this blog saw it.

But did they hear the influence to classical music in this and other “Star Wars” films?

If not, here is a link to a 2015 story, posted by radio station WQXR-FM in New York City, in which the film score composer John Williams (below) explains the connections he used.

Here are two hints: Tchaikovsky and Chopin.

Hope you enjoy it:

http://www.wqxr.org/story/throwback-thursday-classical-music-influences-inside-john-williams-star-wars-score/

Of course, “Star Wars” is hardly alone.

The Ear thinks of the Piano Concerto No. 21 by Mozart in the film “Elvira Madigan.”

He also liked the way the used the Symphony No. 7 by Beethoven in “The King’s Speech.”

Do you have other favorite uses of classical music in films?

Use the COMMENT section to let us know the film, the piece and the composer with a link to a YouTube sample if possible.

The Ear wants to hear.