John Williams, 90, Is Stepping Away From Film Composing After INDIANA JONES 5, But Will Still Be Making Music

John Williams is behind some of the most special and captivating movie music of all time, creating scores for Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Superman, Jaws, E.T., Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List, A.I., Harry Potter, and so much more. He is 90 years old and is currently finishing up work on the upcoming Indiana Jones sequel. After his incredible career, he is just now considering stepping away from the film industry.

In a recent interview with AP News, Williams said:

“At the moment I’m working on ‘Indiana Jones 5,’ which Harrison Ford — who’s quite a bit younger than I am — I think has announced will be his last film. So, I thought: If Harrison can do it, then perhaps I can, also.”

Ford hasn’t actually officially said that he is 100% retiring publicly. And Williams, who turned 90 in February, isn’t completely ready to retire either. He went on:

“I don’t want to be seen as categorically eliminating any activity. I can’t play tennis, but I like to be able to believe that maybe one day I will.”

Right now, though, there are other ways Williams wants to be spending his time. A Star Wars film demands six months of work, which he notes, “at this point in life is a long commitment to me.” Instead, Williams is devoting himself to composing concert music, including a piano concerto he’s writing for Emanuel Ax.

The report notes that this spring, Williams and cellist Yo-Yo Ma released the album A Gathering of Friends, recorded with the New York Philharmonic, Pablo Sáinz-Villegas and Jessica Zhou. It’s a radiant collection of cello concertos and new arrangements from the scores of Schindler’s List, Lincoln, and Munich, including the sublime “A Prayer for Peace.”

Williams went on to add a beautiful sentiment about music, saying:

“It’s given me the ability to breathe, the ability to live and understand that there’s more to corporal life. Without being religious, which I’m not especially, there is a spiritual life, an artistic life, a realm that’s above the mundanities of everyday realities. Music can raise one’s thinking to the level of poetry. We can reflect on how necessary music has been for humanity. I always like to speculate that music is older than language, that we were probably beating drums and blowing on reeds before we could speak. So it’s an essential part of our humanity. It’s given me my life.”

Whatever Williams ends up doing, he has given us enough beautiful music for a lifetime, and we are forever grateful.