New Release: The Fabelmans

John Williams' latest collaboration with Steven Spielberg

One of the most enduring partnerships between director and composer is that of Steven Spielberg and John Williams.

Their 50th anniversary is coming up, and The Fabelmans marks the occasion, as it is their 31st collaboration. The two haven’t paired up since The Post in 2017.

And today, Sony Classical released John Williams’ original score for The Fabelmans. The CD drops on December 9. The album includes Williams’ original music as well as excerpts from classical pieces featured in the film, with a total running time of 31 minutes.

Spielberg said his parents had been “nagging” him to put them on the big screen prior to their deaths. His father died in 2020 at the age of 103, and his mother in 2017 at 97.

“They were actually nagging me, ‘When are you going to tell that story about our family, Steve?’ And so this was something they were very enthusiastic about.”

The film is Spielberg’s love letter to his parents. But aside from the emotion, he thought about it from a creative perspective:

“I started seriously thinking, if I had to make one movie I haven’t made yet, something that I really want to do on a very personally atomic level, what would that be? And there was only one story I really wanted to tell.”

This personal element extends to John Williams as well. Over the years, Spielberg would often bring his parents to John’s scoring sessions, and Williams himself came to know them quite well.

The intimacy of the score for The Fabelmans — one that likely reflects the relationship John Williams had with them as well — is evident, as the primary instrument throughout the album is a solo piano.

Remember that Williams is a pianist first and foremost; he studied piano at Julliard and worked as a jazz pianist in the early part of his career. Every day at home, he composes music while sitting at his piano.

You can listen to 60-second samples of the tracks on Presto Music.

TRACK LIST

01. The Fabelmans (2:13)
(John Williams)
02. Mitzi’s Dance (2:05)
(John Williams)
03. Sonatina in A Minor, Op. 88 No. 3: III. Allegro burlesco (1:51)
(Friedrich Kuhlau)
04. Midnight Call (2:23)
(John Williams)
05. Reverie (1:44)
(John Williams)
06. Mother and Son (2:28)
(John Williams)
07. Sonatina in C Major, Op. 36 No. 3: Spiritoso (1:58)
(Muzio Clementi)
08. Reflections (2:02)
(John Williams)
09. Concerto in D Minor, BWV 974: II. Adagio (3:46)
(Johann Sebastian Bach)
10. New House (2:28)
(John Williams)
11. The Letter (2:08)
(John Williams)
12. The Journey Begins (6:08)
Includes excerpt from Sonata No. 48 in C Major, HOB. XVI: 35: I. Allegro con brio
(John Williams/Joseph Haydn)

It’s a short album, but based on the subject matter and the emotion associated with it, my guess is we’ll experience an impact similar to what he achieved with Schindler’s List. Let me know what you think when you’ve seen it.

Enjoy the music,