The Baton: A John Williams Musical Journey

About The Baton: A John Williams Musical Journey

Take a chronological journey through the 60-year career of film composer John Williams!

Publisher

Jeff Commings

Category

music · tv & film

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

2 Jan 2019

Latest episode

20 Aug 2026

Latest episodes

1 of 116 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   20 Aug 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Episode 115 - The Hoth Battle (The Empire Strikes Back)

   Host John Williams explores the thrilling musical score composed for the Hoth battle in "The Empire Strikes Back."

2. 

   26 Jun 2026

   Episode 114 - Disclosure Day

   Steven Spielberg convinced semi-retired John Williams to write the film score for his new science-fiction epic about alien visitations called Disclosure Day. The result is a "restrained" score that lacks the thematic richness we have come to expect from Williams. But the score, as host Jeff Commings details, is one of the best Williams has written in the 21st century. Join this episode to hear music from the score, including a brooding first cue, an intensely scored cue for a car chase that doesn't focus on the car chase, and a lovely end credits cue that takes variations of a melody that is sparsely used throughout the film.

3. 

   12 Jul 2023

   Episode 113 - Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

   The fifth Indiana Jones movie brought 79-year-old Harrison Ford back into the old fedora for another adventure involving a precious artifact that could spell doom if put into the wrong hands. Along for the ride was 91-year-old John Williams, who completed his 43-year association with Indy with a score that features callbacks to moments from previous Indiana Jones films and a lack of a major theme that had the potential to make the score a major standout. Host Jeff Commings details some of the highlights of the score on this latest episode of The Baton: A John Williams Musical Journey.

Inside a recent episode

Episode 115 - The Hoth Battle (The Empire Strikes Back)

Published 20 Aug 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] The gentle yet noble theme for the Jedi Master Yoda, the tender hesitancy of the love theme for Han and Leia, and of course, the Imperial March. I got the distinct sense when I look back over the years that John Williams just decided to roll up his sleeves and really let loose with a tour de force score after the success of the original Star Wars. And George Lucas as producer and director Irvin Kirshner really gave Williams so much room to play with this score. Every time I listen to a piece of music from The Empire Strikes Back, which seems to be almost every day, I tend to find new layers. Sometimes it's a recognition that another part of the orchestra is giving us a great melody or a realization that one particular instrument was responsible for the emotion I was feeling. […]

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.8 / 5

91 ratings

Spotify

4.9 / 5

44 ratings

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