Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (soundtrack)


The soundtrack to Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was released on 30 October 2001. The film's score was composed and conducted by John Williams. The soundtrack was nominated for Best Original Score at the 74th Academy Awards. The film introduces many character-specific themes that are used in at least one sequel as well, although most of the themes are only used again in Chamber of Secrets. These themes include two themes for Voldemort, two themes for Hogwarts, a Diagon Alley theme, a Quidditch theme, a flying theme, two friendship themes, and the main theme. This main theme can be found in all eight of the main Harry Potter films as well as the 2016 spinoff film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, although not usually in its unaltered state.
The soundtrack was certified gold in Canada by the Canadian Recording Industry Association on 14 December 2001. It was also certified gold in Japan for 100,000 units by the RIAJ. In 2002, the soundtrack was nominated for Best Original Score at the 74th Academy Awards in which Williams took part in conducting the ceremony. However, Williams lost to Howard Shore's of .
The soundtrack was performed at Air Lyndhurst Studios and Abbey Road Studios in London. It entered the Billboard 200 at 48 and also charted at 2 on the Top Soundtracks Chart. In UK, the album charted at number 19.

Track listing

Critical reception

Critical reactions to the soundtrack were almost universally positive, praising the score's central themes. However, some critics felt that the score lacked originality and repeated its themes excessively.

Behind the scenes

"Hedwig's Theme" is the leitmotif for the film series. Often labelled as the series's main theme, it first appeared in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in the track "Prologue." A concert arrangement of the same name is included in the end credits. "Hedwig's Theme" has been interpolated in the fourth through eighth Harry Potter film scores, including in those by Patrick Doyle, Nicholas Hooper, and Alexandre Desplat. It also appears in the scores to the last four Harry Potter video games, all composed by James Hannigan. "Hedwig's Theme" has achieved significant pop culture status, being featured as ring tones, trailer music, and other forms of multimedia.
Track 10 concludes with "A Change of Season," although in the film, the season's change had occurred before the Norwegian Ridgeback had hatched.
Track 18 is also included in the epilogue of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 as a tribute to Williams and the series' end.