BSO Says Preservation Of John Williams, Boston Pops Tapes Nearly Done

BOSTON, MA — The Boston Symphony Orchestra has announced that a project to preserve and reformat years of recordings featuring John Williams conducting the Boston Pops is nearly done.

The BSO made the announcement on Wednesday, which was the 91st birthday of the legendary composer and conductor, who is perhaps best known for creating the film scores for movies like "Jaws," "Superman," "E.T.," and the "Star Wars" movies.

On Feb. 8, 2022, Williams' 90th birthday, the BSO received a grant from the Grammy Museum and the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) to fund the audio preservation and reformatting project.

The collection that is being preserved features 256 reel-to-reel analog tapes representing 233 radio broadcasts of live Boston Pops concerts conducted by Williams between 1979 and 1991. The concerts originally were broadcast locally on WCRB and WGBH and distributed to stations across the U.S.

The recordings feature guest appearances by music legends like: Yo-Yo Ma, Isaac Stern, Tony Bennett, Aretha Franklin, Carol Channing, Wynton Marsalis and Sarah Vaughan, to name just a few.

The Boston Pops recordings also feature the first concert arrangements of many of Williams' famous film scores.

"(The tapes) offer a glimpse into the legendary composer's creative process in translating his movie music for the concert stage," the BSO said in a statement.

The BSO has completed the digitation process and currently is creating access files for public use, the organization said.

The files currently are searchable on HENRY, the BSO digital archives, and the audio streams will be available by request after June 15.