List of compositions by John Williams

Film Scores

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

The Olympics

• "Olympic Fanfare and Theme" – 1984 Summer Olympics, Los Angeles
• : Written specifically for the opening ceremonies. In a 1996 re-release, the opening trumpet fanfare was replaced with "Bugler's Dream", a previous Olympic Theme written by Leo Arnaud. This recording has been used as the theme for NBC's Olympic coverage ever since. Williams received a Grammy for Best Instrumental Composition.
• "The Olympic Spirit" – 1988 Summer Olympics, Seoul
• : Commissioned by NBC Sports for their television coverage. Williams received a Grammy nomination for Best Instrumental Composition.
• "Summon the Heroes" – 1996 Summer Olympics, Atlanta, Georgia
• : Written in commemoration of the Centennial of the Modern Olympic Games. Premiering on July 19, 1996, the piece features heavy use of the brass and wind sections and is approximately six minutes in length. Principal Boston Pops trumpeter Timothy Morrison played the opening solo on the album recording. It has been arranged for various types of ensembles, including wind ensembles. This theme is now used prevalently by NBC for intros and outros to commercial breaks of the Olympics.
• "Call of the Champions" – 2002 Winter Olympics, Salt Lake City, Utah

  Television

• For NBC :
• * NBC News – "The Mission"
• ** NBC Nightly News
• ** The Today Show
• ** Meet the Press
• * NBC Sunday Night Football
• Alcoa Premiere
• Amazing Stories
• Amazing Stories
• Bachelor Father
• Ben Casey
• Breaking Point
• Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
• Checkmate
• General Electric Theater
• Evening at Pops
• Gilligan's Island
• Great Performances
• Kraft Mystery Theatre
• Kraft Suspense Theatre
• Land of the Giants
• Lost in Space
• M Squad
• Markham
• Playhouse 90
• Tales of Wells Fargo
• The Eleventh Hour
• The Tammy Grimes Show
• The Time Tunnel
• Wagon Train
• Wide Country

  Concertos

Celebration pieces and other concert works

• "Prelude and Fugue for Orchestra". Premiered by the Los Angeles Neophonic Orchestra conducted by Stan Kenton. The original Kenton version is on the album Stan Kenton Conducts the Los Angeles Neophonic Orchestra. Another recording is available for download in MP3 at the .
• "Essay for Strings"
• "Symphony No. 1", premiered by Houston Symphony under André Previn in 1968. Williams reworked the piece in 1988.
• "Sinfonietta for Wind Ensemble", commissioned and first recorded in 1970 by Eastman Wind Ensemble under Donald Hunsberger.
• "A Nostalgic Jazz Odyssey"
• Thomas and The King, premiered in London. Recorded in 1981 by the .
• "Jubilee 350 Fanfare", premiered by the Boston Pops conducted by Williams. Piece celebrating the 350th anniversary of the City of Boston
• "Fanfare for a Festive Occasion", composed for by the Boston Civic Orchestra and its conductor Max Hobart, and premiered on November 14, 1980.
• "Pops on the March". Composed as a tribute to Arthur Fiedler
• "America, the Dream Goes On"
• "Esplanade Overture"
• Liberty Fanfare, premiered on July 4, 1986 by the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra. Piece composed for the Liberty Weekend Centennial of the Statue of Liberty
• "Celebration Fanfare". Composed for the sesquicentennial of the Texas Declaration of Independence
• "A Hymn to New England"
• "We're Looking Good!". Composed for the 1987 Special Olympics World Games
• "Fanfare for Michael Dukakis". Composed for Michael Dukakis' presidential campaign and premiered at the 1988 Democratic National Convention
• "Fanfare for Ten-Year-Olds"
• "For New York" . Composed for Leonard Bernstein's 70th birthday celebrations
• "Winter Games Fanfare"
• "Celebrate Discovery!". Composed for the 500th anniversary celebration of the arrival of Columbus in America
• "Aloft... To the Royal Masthead", for the visiting Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
• "Sound the Bells!", composed in honor of the wedding of Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako.
• "Song for World Peace"
• "Variations on Happy Birthday"
• "Satellite Celebration"
• "Seven for Luck"
• "American Journey". Portions premiered as accompaniment to a film by Steven Spielberg as part of the Millennium Celebration in Washington D.C. December 31, 1999
• "For Seiji!". Tribute to conductor Seiji Ozawa, premiered by the Boston Symphony Orchestra on April 23, 1999
• "Three Pieces for Solo Cello"
• "Soundings", composed for the Walt Disney Concert Hall
• "Star Spangled Banner", special arrangement for game 1 of the 2007 World Series played by the Boston Pops Orchestra
• "A Timeless Call". Score to the Steven Spielberg war veteran tribute film shown on day 3 of the 2008 Democratic National Convention
• "Air and Simple Gifts", performed by Itzhak Perlman on violin, Yo-Yo Ma on cello, Gabriela Montero on piano, and Anthony McGill on clarinet. Composed for the Barack Obama 2009 presidential inauguration
• "Viktor's Tale", for clarinet and concert band. From "The Terminal".
• "La Jolla Quartet: A Chamber Piece for Violin, Cello, Clarinet, and Harp". Premiered August 2011 at the La Jolla Music Society's SummerFest
• "A Young Person's Guide to the Cello" for solo cello
• "Fanfare for Fenway", Premiered April 2012 as part of the Boston Red Sox's commemoration of their 100th anniversary in Fenway Park.
• "Rounds", for solo guitar - Composed for Spanish guitarist Pablo Sáinz Villegas and premiered in June 2012 at the Parkening International Guitar Competition in Malibu.
• "Fanfare for 'The President's Own'", Premiered May 2013 for the United States Marine Band's 215th anniversary.
• "Conversations", a four-movement work for solo piano. The first two movements were premiered by pianist Gloria Cheng on July 22, 2013 at the Mendocino Music Festival in California. She premiered the entire work in November on the Piano Spheres series in Los Angeles. A recording of "Conversations" was released on February 10, 2015 as part of Gloria Cheng's solo album 'Montage'.
• "Music for Brass" for Brass Ensemble and Percussion, premiered on June 12 by the National Brass Ensemble.
• "A Toast!", celebrating the arrival of Andris Nelsons as new Music Director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
• "Just Down West Street...on the left", Tanglewood Music Center 75th Anniversary commission.
• Theme and ambient music for attractions