Tone Poem Tuesday

John Williams may be the most famous film composer in history, but he has also done a fair amount of composing for the concert hall. This piece is a good example. His concert work tends to be slightly programmatic, often taking inspiration from real-world things (particularly nature), but that tends to be as far as these things go. This piece was inspired by a book of photography of trees (a particular item of inspiration to Williams), and it's a fascinating listen: fifteen minutes of mainly sustained slowness, but with moments of real drama and yearning lyricism. The work does not allude to any of Williams's film work, but for the experienced Williams listener, his voice can be most definitely heard.

Here is John Williams's Heartwood.